Strategy and tactics

June 13, 2014

“Do nothing that is of no use.” Miyamoto Musashi (master swordsman, 1584 – 1645) This will be one of those posts that gets me into some hot water with people in the upper-echelons of the IB tower, but here goes: how much of the HL economics syllabus...

Movie clips for spice…

May 16, 2014

Increasingly, in dealing with the current young economists where the screen has replaced the note pad and buttons are making pens obsolete, I find it necessary to move with the times and increasingly use film clips to splice together a lesson. It  might sound a tad...

Revision and a practice paper

March 17, 2014

As mock exams are in full swing at the moment, the usual “Use of past papers” discussion once again rears its ugly, and frankly quite tiresome, head. For undersigned and an increasing number of teachers, the vote is over: don’t use past papers! This...

The carrot, the stick – and general leverage in Internal Assessment as an IB teacher

January 21, 2014

Most IB teachers who have had a few years under their belts have experienced that “I seem to be trying to herd cats!” feeling towards the final deadline period of IA. Undersigned is no different – just older and thus a bit more crotchety (an Americanism that means...

Internal Assessment – the good, the bad and the depressing (Part 1/4)

November 25, 2013

Having just spent the past three weeks ploughing through 66 IA scripts perhaps now is as good a time as any to put out a few “tendrils” to see if colleagues are encountering the same issues as I. Thus, while some of the content within the following four...

Professional Development Opportunities for IBDP Economics Teachers

September 18, 2013

Triple A Learning’s highly successful Online IB Teacher Workshops are available through OSC, providing teachers with an ideal and cost-effective professional development opportunity for teachers and school staff who cannot take time away from school. From October...