Second Semester Refresher Expectancy Sheet

Intro to IB History

The IB Diploma Program history course is a world history course based on a comparative and multi-perspective approach to history. It involves the study of a variety of types of history, including political, economic, social and cultural, and provides a balance of structure and flexibility. The course emphasizes the importance of encouraging students to think historically and to develop historical skills as well as gaining factual knowledge. It puts a premium on developing the skills of critical thinking, and on developing an understanding of multiple interpretations of history.

Students of history should learn how the discipline works. It is an exploratory subject that poses questions without providing definitive answers. In order to understand the past, students must engage with it both through exposure to primary resources and the work of historians, while constantly analyzing and evaluating the resources critically. A study of history both requires and develops an individual’s understanding of, and empathy for, people living in other periods and contexts. This course is designed in a way to explicitly reinforce the emphasis on the development of international-mindedness.

There are six key concepts that have particular prominence throughout the DP history course:

Change
Continuity
Causation
Consequence
Significance
Perspectives

Course Outline

This course consists of:

Prescribed Subject #3 –The Move to Global War (Paper 1)
Case Study 1: Japanese expansion in East Asia
Case Study 2: German and Italian Expansion
World History Topics (Paper 2)
#11 – Causes and Effects of 20th century wars
#12 – The Cold War
Aspects of History of the Americas (Paper 3)
#10 – Emergence of the Americas in global affairs (1880-1929)
#16 – The Cold War and the Americas (1945-1981)
#17 – Civil Rights and Social Movements in the Americas (post-1945)

Course Timeline

Throughout the two year course, these options will cover major historical developments with a focus on the time period 1880-1980. Although the course is called history of the Americas, the region will be studied within the scope of world history. We will begin with a brief overview of early US history which will require you to draw on previous knowledge, but the emphasis will be on the topics listed above. Each topic is covered with a case-study approach, and within each section, political, economic, cultural, and social aspects will be studied in detail.

2017-2018
US imperialism-Move to Global War
1820s-1941
Internal Assessment
2018-2019
20th Century Wars – Civil Rights Movements
1941-1991
External Assessments

Assessment

Similar to other IB Diploma Program courses, students will be formally assessed both internally and externally upon completion of their two year program. Students will be assessed by: 1) writing an external examination and 2) producing an internal historical investigation research paper.

The external assessment consists of an assessed examination at the end of the two year curriculum. Higher Level students will write three papers within the examination, totaling 5 hours.

In addition to the external IB examination, students will be required to write an internal historical investigation paper. This internal assessment (IA) is a research project in which students choose their own topic, research it, and produce their own piece of historical analysis. The purpose of the IA is for students to apply the skills of a historian by selecting, evaluating, and analyzing evidence and sources to reach a conclusion. Higher Level students must construct a piece of original research that consists of 2,200 words.

The following chart highlights how students will be marked for these two examinations:

Form of Assessment % of Total Mark

External Assessments
Paper 1: Prescribed Subject (60 minutes) 20%
Source-based paper with 4 short-answer questions
Paper 2: World History Topics (90 minutes)25%
2 extended-response questions
Paper 3: History of the Americas (150 minutes)35%
3 extended-response questions
Internal Assessment
2,200 word Research Paper20%

Besides the IB internal/external assessments, you will also complete essays and examinations in class. At the end of each unit, students will take an IB-style assessment to test their historical skills and content understanding.

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History and Theory of Knowledge

The relationship between history and theory of knowledge is of crucial importance and fundamental to the Diploma Program. History is an interesting area of knowledge because it raises questions such as how far we can speak with certainty about anything in the past, and whether historians’ accounts are necessarily subjective. All of the elements of the history course provide excellent scope for making links to TOK. The most explicit link to TOK comes in the form of reflections. Throughout the course, you will be required to reflect on the role of methods used by, and challenges facing, the historian. To that end, we will focus on several questions throughout your study of history. You will now break into small groups and discuss the following…….

Why study history?

What is the role of the historian?

What methods do historians use to gain knowledge?

How does the context within which historians live affect historical knowledge?

Why do accounts of the same historical event differ? Whose history do we study? Who decides which events are historically significant?

Is it possible to describe historical events in an unbiased way? Why? Is (historical) objectivity ever possible?

To what extent does studying history help us to better understand ourselves in the present? Can you give any specific examples of this?

IB History - Ms. Bruggeman