[x0-Beautiful-Soul-0x]

...

[~Lc~]

oka TOK and english are in my domain... jst PM me in anything u want and i'll do it for you, don't worry presentations are easy to do.. i planned mine in 3- 3 30 hours max.. and i gt a REALLY high grade from what i heard from my teacher... jst PM me and i'll give u my email and we can chat...

oka for group 4 i think you guys should do what my class did, we chose music as our topic and based all our presentation on research work rather than experimentation.. bt there should be experiments in it...

I advise you to do it on types of wood, bio can work on ecology and populations, easy research and lab work. while chemistry ppl can work on the chemical composition of wood, how age affects it's composition blah blah fertilizers you get the picture. And physics might work on sumthing to do with absorbtion of light by wood rather than the leaves. If you're wondering why I know details about it because this was out alternative topic :P so we kinda researched 2 topics and chose to do music instead of this.

lsn seriously PM me about the TOK and I can find you a topic for it and resources and everything... YES! I am a TOK nerd I happend to love the subject:P

and you didn't really mention ur problem in english... so if u want anything jst add it up here:P:
hope I helped

[Spica P.]

Well the subjects you take are not the same at all as mine, but I can help you with TOK and Group 4 (and CAS, if you need it too).

Remember that in Group 4 (Experimental Sciences) you have Physics, Chem, Bio, and Design Technology. Now the G4 Project, you do it as a big class of Group 4 students.

This is what the science teachers at my school did:

They gathered all the Group 4 students in one classroom (including me, of course) and told us to think about a location in which we can design experiments of all G4 subjects. This could be different, noting that ~Lc~ had to choose a topic instead of a location, but I believe the principal is the same.
Then we were divided into smaller groups. Ideally, each group should have at least 1 person from each G4 subject. But a group should NOT have people from only one subject.
After the location (or the topic) is decided, we had to design the experiments based on the subjects we take. Our chosen location was a national fruit garden. If you are a Chem student, you focus on the Chem side, like perhaps investigating the acidity of fruits of different colours. If you are a Physics student, you will do something like the accelerations of fruits of different masses when dropped or slide (I know this may sound silly, but a group in my class did it anyways).
If you take two G4 subjects, for example (like me, I take Bio and Chem), you will have to design two experiments, one for each.
At the end of the project, you will present your investigations from the very beginning (Research Question) to the conclusion.

If I'm not mistaken, you have to do max. 40 hours on G4 Project. Or was it 14? I'm sure it's 40. Can someone please confirm that?


I don't know much about the portfolio your teachers were talking about, but we have to keep a portfolio too, and it consists of IA's, reports (some of them are not considered as IA's), tests, quizzes, etc.

Good luck. Don't stress out, and remember to have fun!

[~Lc~]

no it's average of 13 hours per person... that's what we did. It's 13 hours including experimental reasearch and presentation time
And what we actually did was that we divided into groups depending on our subjects... like all chems together and all physics are together... blah blah blah... so you can do it more than one way... but i think it's basically depending on the presentation itself in the end...

[o.Ob]

Group 4 Projects
You should note that the way the Group 4 projects are presented are left to the discretion of your teachers since the way they are assessed depends on what your teacher wishes to do. 10 - 15 hours should be allocated to the project in total and again, the emphasis on the project is left to the discretion of your teacher. I think it's fairly common that a type of science fair is set up for the Group 4 projects and are assessed likewise.

Your school may do the following in terms of the assessment of the Group 4 projects:

• not to assess the project at all
• to assess the project according to the criteria for the school’s local or national requirements
• to assess the project against one or more of the IB Diploma Programme internal assessment criteria.

The project may produce evidence for the full range of criteria, particularly planning (a) and (b), and personal skills (a) and (b).

So, you may want to ask your teacher how he/she is assessing you can determine for yourself how much effort you want to put into your G4 project (I certainly didn't do much and got a high mark for it anyways).

Mathematics - Internal Assessment
The portfolio is worth 20% of your final IB score and is divided into two parts - Type I (Mathematical investigation) and Type II (Mathematical modelling). Your teachers should have fixed tasks for each of them and you must do them according to the IB criteria (you do want to score well right? ). If you want sample ones, do a search on google or click the revision link at the top of this forum). Here are some details from the syllabus (SL if you're wondering):

Type I - mathematical investigation
While many teachers incorporate a problem-solving approach into their classroom practice, students also should be given the opportunity formally to carry out investigative work. The mathematical investigation is intended to highlight that:
• the idea of investigation is fundamental to the study of mathematics
• investigation work often leads to an appreciation of how mathematics can be applied to solve problems in a broad range of fields
• the discovery aspect of investigation work deepens understanding and provides intrinsic motivation
• during the process of investigation, students acquire mathematical knowledge, problem-solving techniques, a knowledge of fundamental concepts and an increase in self-confidence.

All investigations develop from an initial problem, the starting point. The problem must be clearly stated and contain no ambiguity. In addition, the problem should:
• provide a challenge and the opportunity for creativity
• contain multi-solution paths, that is, contain the potential for students to choose different courses of action from a range of options.

Essential skills to be assessed
• Producing a strategy
• Generating data
• Recognizing patterns or structures
• Searching for further cases
• Forming a general statement
• Testing a general statement
• Justifying a general statement
• Appropriate use of technology

Type II—mathematical modelling
Problem solving usually elicits a process-oriented approach, whereas mathematical modelling requires an experimental approach. By considering different alternatives, students can use modelling to arrive at a specific conclusion, from which the problem can be solved. To focus on the actual process of modelling, the assessment should concentrate on the appropriateness of the model selected in relation to the given situation, and on a critical interpretation of the results of the model in the real-world situation chosen.

Mathematical modelling involves the following skills.
• Translating the real-world problem into mathematics
• Constructing a model
• Solving the problem
• Interpreting the solution in the real-world situation (that is, by the modification or amplification of the problem)
• Recognizing that different models may be used to solve the same problem
• Comparing different models
• Identifying ranges of validity of the models
• Identifying the possible limits of technology
• Manipulating data

Essential skills to be assessed
• Identifying the problem variables
• Constructing relationships between these variables
• Manipulating data relevant to the problem
• Estimating the values of parameters within the model that cannot be measured or calculated from the data
• Evaluating the usefulness of the model
• Communicating the entire process
• Appropriate use of technology

Theory of Knowledge - Internal Assessment
Note that the presentation is worth 20 points out of the 60 for ToK. The other 40 are for the Prescribed title essay (the one where you have 10 topics to choose from).

Part 2 The Presentation
General

• Students must make one or more individual and/or small group oral presentations to the class during the course, and complete a self-evaluation report.
• Topics for oral presentations may be chosen by the student(s) with the teacher’s approval, or may be assigned by the teacher. The presentations may be on any topic relevant to TOK, provided that it has the potential to meet the demands of the assessment criteria. Prescribed Titles, however, should never be used as presentation topics.
• Presentations may take many forms, such as lectures, skits, simulations, games, dramatized readings, interviews or debates. The students may use supporting material such as videos, overhead projections, posters, questionnaires, cassettes of songs or interviews, costumes, or props. Under no circumstances, however, should the presentation be simply an essay read
• aloud to the class.
• If a student makes more than one presentation, the teacher should choose the best (or the best group presentation in which the student participated) for the purposes of assessment.
• Although a student may have made the presentation as a member of a group, the teacher must attribute points on an individual basis.
• Students must prepare a written self-evaluation report, using the relevant form from the Vade Mecum, including a concise description of the presentation and brief answers to questions such as:
  
  - In what ways did the topic address problems of knowledge, such as reaching truth or gaining evidence?
  - What was the main objective of the presentation? Explain briefly.
  - What methods were used to present the topic and why were these methods selected?
  - Was the presentation well-organized, thought-provoking and engaging?
  - If a group presentation, what was your personal contribution?
  - What were the strong and weak points of the presentation? If you were to do it again, what, if anything, would you do differently to improve it?

Is that all you need ?

[HMSChocolate]

G4 my class was told is supposed to take 12-15 hours. everyone else had pretty much covered the important points of G4 up there already anyway.

There are fixed tasks for Math Portfolios and youre supposed to be given them by your teacher. My teacher says you're only supposed to spend 5 hours on each portfolio piece but of course, you always end up spending a lot more time. So ask your teacher for the portfolio task. they dont appear out of thin air.

[dan]

Hey, O.ob, did you swallow the Vade Mecum or are you just copying it from a website.... it must take you AGES to type that stuff out.

However, if its a website, do you mind posting the link in Deus' revision sites thread because I know for a fact that people always come on this sub forum asking about rules for something and it would make life a lot easier if they instantly knew where to find out

[~Lc~]

(Original post by x0-Beautiful-Soul-0x)
Thx a bunch... EVERY1.. seriously... now abt the math portfolio no1 assigned nething all the idiot said was "portfolio 1 should be done by the 1st day after the vacation" n well asking him is out of the Q since hes probably in hawai sun tanning by now.. or wtv.... meh dont kno.. the whole class is having trouble so its not just me... neway thx again for every1s help seriously u ppl r life savers i have no clue wut i wouldve done wifout u

It really depends on the type of the portfolio he gave you, like for our first one, we got matrices... so on what topic is he giving you the portfolio? and are you first year or second year? cuz if your first year I don't think you should be worrying about the portfolio just yet....

[HMSChocolate]

that's the point, Lc, he hasn't given her anything! which is stupid. I know IBO say you can design your own Type I but they're hellish to do when they're assigned already. forget making up one yourself.

oh yeah we should have a link to the Vade Mecum (or something that resembles it) in the Revision Links thread. would be helpful seeing as it's the IB Bible and all

[~Lc~]

what? why didn't he give you one? is he an idiot? wait rhetorical question, don't answer...

Well then can't she access one from the web or something? or do teacher only have access to them?

Oh and x0-Beautiful-Soul-0x aren't you math higher? if you are then I have no clue what to do.. it's way out of my league:P

[HMSChocolate]

yeah, beautiful soul has started another thread desperately asking for help re her portfolio. I think someone around here must be able to give her the question sheet. not sure.

EDIT: even if he did give the task, I think it's rather harsh and unreasonable to just dump the portfolio on you and tell you to do it. I mean, there isnt really a specific way you have to set it out, you just answer the questions, but inevitably, these portfolios are designed to challenge you and they will confuse you. once you get into a confusing muddle, it's rather hard to get out of if you don't know where you went wrong. unless you are totally a genius or you wrote the tasks and know the answers, you will probably need help along the way and the TEACHER should be the one you go to.

[o.Ob]

(Original post by danglenister)
Hey, O.ob, did you swallow the Vade Mecum or are you just copying it from a website.... it must take you AGES to type that stuff out.

However, if its a website, do you mind posting the link in Deus' revision sites thread because I know for a fact that people always come on this sub forum asking about rules for something and it would make life a lot easier if they instantly knew where to find out

The former

Yeah, my teacher kind of dumped us with a specific task that she designed herself, the criteria that we are being assessed on, and a month to do it. But anyway, are you suppose to design your own task? That would be hell. I don't know if this is allowed but maybe you could take take a sample one off the Math SL/HL TSM (Teacher support material). It would be much easier than developing a task all on your own

[o.Ob]

There's no 'sheet' so to speak but rather, the teacher support material that has some sample tasks for you. Also, just because it seems 'too short and too silly', it may very well be a good task to do. My Type I was rather simple (dealt with transformations of one graph into another) but as long as there is something that allows to provide an in-depth analysis and satisfies the criteria, you're fine. There's no specific format for the math portfolio just as there is no regulated format for your economics commentaries. You just have to fulfill the criteria you're being assessed on. Anyway, I've uploaded the HL Internal assessment TSM and hopefully you can get an idea of what to do (or you can just take one of the tasks if you're allowed to):

HL Mathematics - Internal Assessment (Teacher Support Material) [approx. 6 mb]

As for why I have it, don't ask ... I have resources for SL Math to SL Further math ... I have problems

[x0-Beautiful-Soul-0x]

Thx.. A BUNCH! seriously... im pretty sure im allowed to do anything... especially since he didnt specify anything in particular... thx.. SO MUCH! ur a life saver.. u really r

[HMSChocolate]

oh there you go. that should solve your problem now, I hope.

my teacher was really nice regarding portfolio. we spent a month in class doing the 2 portfolio pieces with a lot of help and hints from her. I would have pulled all my hair out otherwise regarding the type I, properties of cubic. type II wasn't so bad.

[perihan]

I get 2 report cards in my school at the end of each semester.One for IB and the other official one. The course for Ib students are harder than the non IB students so some schools increase the report card grades for IB students in order to get a better GPA. Do you know any school like this?

[HMSChocolate]

probably only in American where everything seems to depend on GPA. You know, your story just kind of proves that GPA is relative and you shouldn't depend too much on it. But alas, US unis all want them. My school's IBC, being Brit, hates being asked to calculate GPA for students applying US though he would be very nice about it. My school never calculates it unless asked.

[o.Ob]

Yeah, that's why there's the weighted and unweighted GPA's right? Anyway, I've read people whose GPAs are boosted when doing the IB programme. I'm from Canada and we somewhat do the same thing to our marks in general. The thing is that there's no set formula per se to calculate our 'boosted' marks but rather, it's left to the discretion of our teachers. Because of this, a lot of people at our school have very poor averages since the teachers don't really bump our marks by much (maybe 5%ish?). Oh well ...

[photopsia]

(Original post by o.Ob)
Yeah, that's why there's the weighted and unweighted GPA's right? Anyway, I've read people whose GPAs are boosted when doing the IB programme. I'm from Canada and we somewhat do the same thing to our marks in general. The thing is that there's no set formula per se to calculate our 'boosted' marks but rather, it's left to the discretion of our teachers. Because of this, a lot of people at our school have very poor averages since the teachers don't really bump our marks by much (maybe 5%ish?). Oh well ...

argh, at my school, we only get our marks increased in chemistry. we have this "bell curve" that you can use to calculate how much your mark should be increased. it's amazing though, because it's like, you get the mark you deserve for once! aha. idk, the other courses we don't really need bumped up. except i could do with math up about.. 20%.
GPA's are so confusing for me.