Examination preparations

The EEs are gone, the IAs are being moderated and what is left for our IB students? The exams, of course. Now, none of us can teach in 10 days what previously took us two years, so the issue of what to do to help them in this last period is very personal.

I for one choose the subjects that we covered in the first year and take time going over those – not a lot, but enough to get the students started. Earlier, for example, we created a table of different Mexican leaders during the revolution so that the students had a study guide that they could work with.

When reviewing single party states the students took comparative questions (using different regions) and in groups they broke them down to ensure that they understood the questions and answered them in their entirety.

With this in mind, we took the IB list of command terms and worked with those. With some even I found the definitions from the subject guide a bit difficult, so with some help from the Internet (IS Tolouse still gets my vote as the most exhaustive IB history website) and dictionaries we created our own definitions that we understood.

In the end, they have to memorize facts and dates. Just as they will probably never write a commentary again, those studying in the US in particular may not ever have to memorize a date again, but for now it is necessary and highly useful.

I wish all of your students the best of luck on their history exams.