|
The IB Diploma Programme at Eyüboğlu High School
The IBDP is offered during the last two years of “Lycée”: students choose to follow it in either the Science IB track or the the Turkish/Mathematics IB track.
Science IB Track
Turkish-Mathematics IB Track
Notes:
- IBDP students are thoroughly prepared not only for the Diploma requirements but also for the requirements of the Turkish High School Diploma and thus for the University Entrance Examination (ÖSS)
- Those students who complete the IB Diploma requirements earn, in addition to their Turkish High School Diploma, a second school leaving diploma, a diploma which has the advantage of being recognized overseas.
Some Important Points about The Implementation Of The Diploma Programme
- Students enrolled in the Diploma Programme are nevertheless obliged to complete National Curriculum requirements.
- All courses taught in non-IB classes are taught to the IB groups.
- All students, IB or not, are assessed for the purpose of national assessment according to the national assessment criteria. Therefore, the fact of being an IB student should not have an adverse effect on any student’s internal grades.
- It is possible too to enter certificate programmes in individual IB subjects.
- There is a great deal which is common between the IB programme and the National Curriculum. In the Turkish Mathematics track, IB students are required to take the additional subjects of Business or a second foreign language and Biology (which does help prepare for the ÖSS university entrance examination).
- Towards the end of the second year of the programme, students enter the IB examinations, which are set and assessed externally.
- Most of our IB Diploma students aim to study at a Turkish university; all of them manage to prepare for the for the ÖSS university entrance examination
- Although there is no extra tuition fee levied for the IB Diploma Programme at our school, there are examination fees levied by the International Baccalaureate Organisation. These fees amount to $750 for each Diploma and $150 for each Certificate student.
Benefits of the IB Diploma Programme
- The fact that the IB Diploma Programme promotes a critical and inquiry-based approach to learning rather than one based on memorization makes for a more effective learner whom the new ÖSS university entrance examination will suit.
- The IB Diploma Programme furnishes the student with academic skills that will stand them in good stead at university.
- The IB Diploma Programme promotes a rigour in both thinking and work habits that will play an important role in a student’s preparation for the ÖSS university entrance examination.
- In Turkey, IB Diploma holders make up a small and select group. It is probable that employers will become aware in the near future of the special characteristics of this part of the work force.
- The IB Diploma is recognized around the world.
- The IB Diploma can facilitate university entrance abroad.
- The IB Diploma can increase a student’s chance of obtaining at least a partial scholarship at a university abroad.
- The IB Diploma can increase a student’s chance of obtaining advanced placement at a university abroad. This can mean that a student can complete a foreign university programme more quickly and more cheaply.
Aims of Courses within the IB Diploma Programme
IBDP Language and Literature Courses
The overarching aims of any IBDP language and literature course at Eyüboğlu, whether it be the study of literature in the mother tongue or language/literature work in English or even work in a third language (German, French or Italian), are to promote an appreciation for the richness of language, to heighten awareness of shades of meaning and to develop facility of expression. Students whose first language is English can do A1 English.
A1: Turkish Language and Literature
The IBDP A1 (mother tongue) course aims: to develop both written and oral expression while at the same time promoting a critical appreciation of literature. Students are guided in their inquiry into the analysis of literary works, studying form and content in some detail. Students are taught to value their own linguistic and cultural heritage as well as to gain insights into works written in other languages. They will then arrive at a position from where they can express universal ideas with a confident personal voice.
Language A2: English
This language course for advanced language users studies both literature and contemporary issues under these themes: Global Issues, Society and Culture, Language and Culture, Media, Future Change. The course focuses on the study of purpose and meaning in text and speech to develop expert communication skills. The aim of the course is that the learner will acquire bilingual competence in international interactions.
Language B: English, German, French or Italian
Like in Language A2, Language B aims to improve communicative competence by the study of a range of text types. Up until now, English B and German B have been offered and it is hoped that in the future French B and or Italian B too can be taught.
Sciences (Physics, Chemistry & Biology)
IB science subjects give students a solid grounding in theoretical concepts through an experiential approach. Students learn important research and analysis skills as they inquire through a variety of activities including laboratory work and field trips. At the same time they see links between the sciences as well as between science and other disciplines.
Mathematics
IB Mathematics aims to promote the use of various techniques and technologies to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills, while at the same time emphasising that mathematics is a language of international expression.
Turkish Social Studies
This specially written IB course covers, in a holistic fashion, the curricula of the Turkish National Curriculum courses of Geography, History and Sociology. While sharing the general aims of IB social studies courses it looks in particular at themes pertinent to Turkey and the Aegean . These themes include not only the history, geography and shared culture of the region but also political problems and the future. It is hoped that the course will enable students to see more clearly the role that Turkey has to play in the world.
Business and Management
Business and Management is the academic study of interaction in the business world. It looks at how decisions are taken and what the effects of these decisions are on individuals and groups, internally and externally. The course aims to promote in the student an analytical and inquiring faculty of thought as well as an understand of how the commercial world works.
Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS)
Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) is experiential learning; that is, the emphasis is on learning by doing real tasks that have real consequences and then reflecting on these experiences over time. According to IB expectations, the students should spare at least 150 hours over two years for CAS. There is no assessment of this part of the Diploma Programme but students are expected to record their activities in a careful and reflective manner.
Creativity is interpreted, as imaginatively as possible to cover a wide range of arts and other activities outside the normal curriculum and to include creativity by the individual study in designing and carrying out service projects.
Action can include participation in expeditions, individual and team sports and physical activities outside the normal curriculum; it also includes physical activity involved in carrying out creative and service projects as well as training for service.
Service is community or social service; it can include environmental and international projects. The community may be the school, the local district, or it may exist on national and international levels. Service activities are 'doing' things for others and with others and developing a real commitment with them.
Theory of Knowledge
The Theory of Knowledge course sits at the centre of the IB Diploma. Its purpose is a simple one—to make IB students more critical as knowers by having them think generally about knowledge in all its forms. The course is organized in such a way that many of the principal areas of IB study—mathematics, human and natural sciences, history, arts and languages—form a subset of the kinds of knowledge examined. Each of these areas of enquiry have favoured methodologies and long-held truths that form the core of their disciplines. For each area three key questions can be asked:
- What do we know?
- How do we know it?
- How do we know that we know it?
The first question is effectively answered by traditional coursework in the various areas in high school and university. The second and third form the core of TOK investigations. The second question is one of justification, and it introduces students to questions about the relationship between theory and evidence, and reasoning and truth. This is where discussions of the nature of proof in various disciplines arise. The third question is the most difficult of all. It requires an intense study not only of knowledge in general, but of the more elusive notions of truth and falsehood. It is at this level that bias must be distinguished from basis, so that unjustified opinions and the fruits of shoddy thinking are not accorded the same status as well-reasoned, firmly-grounded truths.
As for practical requirements, students are required to produce two pieces of work for the course. The first is a presentation which tries to address issues in the TOK course. In 10-15 minutes students must use the verbal and visual medium to try to elucidate a problem in human knowledge. Out of 60 total marks for the course the presentation is worth 20. The second piece of work is an essay of 1,200 to 1,600 words. This is to be an original piece of work which presents an in-depth examination of a question or issue in TOK (chosen from a list produced annually by the IBO). Due in the middle of the second year of the diploma, it is worth the remaining 40 of the 60 marks.
Extended Essay
The Extended Essay is an obligatory component of the IB Diploma Programme. It is a short piece of research work on a topic within the subject area of one of the IB courses, chosen by the student. The aim of the extended essay is to encourage the student to complete a piece of independent research in a tightly specified area of interest, the writing of which will develop skills necessary for university work.
The essay, although it includes a research element, encourages the student to express, , their own ideas. The extended essay, some 3500 words in length, is completed in the second year of the programme and marked externally. It is expected that each student will spend some 40 hours on their essay, some of which is spent with an extended essay supervisor. Each student is assigned a supervisor who guides especially in the areas of narrowing down the topic and the finding of suitable resources.
The following is a list of examples of essay titles recently completed by Eyüboğlu students:
Turkish Literature
- Reasons for and results of migration in John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” and Orhan Kemal’s “Eskici Dükkanı”
- A comparison of the ways women have taken control of their lives in Ayşe Kulin’s “Füreyya” and Jean Sasso’s “Sultana”
- An analysis of causes of mental distress in Joanne Greenberg’s “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” and Ayşe Nil’s “Kaçıklık Diploması”
English
- An analysis of the language of United Nations resolutions
- A linguistic comparison of articles in two newspapers reporting the same football match
- Black culture in the songs of Tupac
- A comparison of Irving Walsh’s “Trainspotting” with its film version
Physics
- Light pollution in Istanbul – causes and solutions
- Conservation of energy in roller-skates”
|
