IB Biology

Link zum NOVARTIS-TAG 2018

Student’s  Individual  Investigation

During the IB Biology course students perform an individual investigation (c. 10h). They construct a research question, and design a practical that will enable that question to be answered.  How many replicates should I make?  What range of concentrations should I use? (shall I perform a Pilot study first to establish my effective treatment concentration range?). Each student performs, analyses and produces a project write up.  This counts for 20% of their IB Biology grade. The Individual investigation is conducted mid-way through the course, when students have learnt much about practical procedures, accuracy, experimental design & statistical analysis from numerous in-lesson practicals, which parallel the course syllabus.

Practical lessons

The IB style in science is “learning by doing”. Practicals form a major part of our learning programme. You can tell someone a fact and they’ll probably forget it, but if they discover the pattern/response for themselves they’ll remember it. At frequent intervals we perform practicals in normal lesson time which cover the syllabus topics. (cell measurement, osmosis, membrane transport, cell division, DNA extraction, enzyme action, cellular respiration, Photosynthesis, cardiovascular output & breathing rates vs activity level, .). IB Biology students complete a practical program of at least 40 lab hours (SL) Biology Diploma (see 4/PSOW below: the practical record of a class that graduated in Summer 2018).