IB-guide

Studying in the IB programme

The IB section in Tampereen lyseon lukio is a three-year programme. It consists of a one-year preparatory programme (called the preparatory year) and the two-year international IB Diploma programme proper. In May the final year IB students take the international IB Diploma examination, which is recognised in institutions of higher education all over the world. In Finland it is considered equivalent to the Finnish matriculation examination.

During the preparatory year students follow the national curriculum. However, most of their study units are taught in English. Preparatory year students can also take other study units with national curriculum students. To a certain extent this is also possible during the first actual year in the IB.

The IB Diploma programme proper is clearly different. The students have fewer subjects (usually six) than those in the national programme, and teaching is not course-bound, which means that teaching in each subject continues uninterrupted throughout the academic year.

Each year IB students will take part in mock-exams, where all the material studied up to that point is examined. The idea of the mock-exams is to get students used to studying larger entities and to familiarise them with the form and procedures of the Diploma examination. The mock-periods take place at the end of the fifth period in the first actual year in the IB and in the middle of the fourth period in the second/last actual year in the IB.

The IB Diploma programme involves studying in groups and also a lot of independent work with strict deadlines. This method of study requires initiative, self-discipline and punctuality from the students. In all IB subjects the Diploma grade is not only based on the examination results, but also on independent work such as laboratory work and essays. During the last year in the IB the school is required to send this material to the IB Assessment Centre in Cardiff for assessment according to a strict timetable. Therefore complying with the deadlines set by the school is absolutely necessary; it not only helps students to organise their work more effectively, but also reduces stress by preventing work from piling up. Following the school’s deadlines is one of the prerequisites of transferring student to the last year of the IB.

IB students are required to participate actively in the daily tasks of the study group. If students are absent from lessons, they are required to produce a note from parents or a doctor stating the reason for the absence. If students are frequently absent without any explanation, there will be discussions first with the student and, if necessary, with the parents. If students are having problems with deadlines, they should contact the subject teacher, the IB coordinator or any member of the staff immediately, rather than wait until the problem has become overwhelming.

The preparatory year

The school feels that it is necessary to ensure that the preparatory year students are ready for IB proper and therefore there is less room for selection in this programme than in the national programme. Study units that are compulsory for IB-students are mostly taught in English. However, there is still room for the student’s own interests and it is advisable to make the most of this opportunity.

The chart below lists the obligatory study units for preparatory year students. They are marked with a “K" in the set of study units offered to students (kurssitarjotin). Students should make sure that they plan their studies in such a way that they will be able to take all these study units. The students cannot continue their studies in the IB Programme Proper if they have unfinished study units (T) in obligatory subjects for the preparatory year.

Otherwise students may choose the study units they want. The required minimum is 60 study units. If the student has applied for exemption from Swedish language, the required minimum is 56.

If students are not able to study the Finnish A or B study units (Äidinkieli, Suomi toisena kielenä) offered at Tampereen lyseo, they are encouraged to choose courses from the providers outside of school. The studies may be evening studies or online studies. Based on the hours studied, the student will be credited study units (1-6 units) for the Finnish studies completed outside of school.

Courses can be found at Ulkoinen linkkifinnishcourses.fi .

Online studies can be done for example through Ulkoinen linkkiWordDive .

If the student wishes to take as an IB subject:

· IB Physics he/she has to take in addition to FY1 also course FY4

· IB Chemistry or Biology HL he/she has to take course KE9.

· IB History he/she has to take also course HI3

· IB Visual Arts he/she is recommended to take at least one extra art course from the set of courses, depending on which course fits his/her schedule. This, however, is not mandatory, so a student may choose Visual Arts also if he/she has studied only one course during the pre year.

In cases where students wish to continue studying Swedish during their IB years, they should at least take course RUB03 during the preparatory year. The school will try to offer an opportunity to take courses in Swedish during IB1 so that students can complete the five obligatory courses needed for the matriculation exam. The school would like to remind that Finnish higher education institutions still require Swedish skills from their Finnish students.

All students who want to choose a B language as an IB subject will have to study that language during the pre year. During the preparatory year and in most IB proper courses, B languages are studied in groups which include the national side students as well. Therefore, the teaching language is partly Finnish. French B and Spanish B students use a Finnish textbook in those courses. In separate IB courses for French B and Spanish B no Finnish is used and the study material is an IB textbook.

Guidance counselling course will be spread over three years of studies in Tampereen lyseon lukio.

Preparatory year school reports

The grades of the students can be followed in the Wilma system.

Subject selection in the IB programme proper

When making IB subject choices during the spring term of the preparatory year, the students should have a grade point average (GPA) of above 7,5. This GPA is based on the average grade of the subjects. When choosing the IB subjects the student should have GPA of 8 in each HL subject and GPA of 7 in each SL subject. In addition, the students’ motivation will be taken into account in the subject selection an in the admission to the actual IB Diploma Programme.

Students have to choose one subject from each IB subject group (with the exception that instead of taking a language from group 2 student may take another language from group 1). A Higher Level subject equals 8.5 courses and a Standard Level subject 5.2 courses during the two years of IB studies. Students must have no less than three and no more than four Higher Level subjects. In some cases the students can take an extra subject i.e. a seventh subject in the study programme. Also, some exceptions are allowed in special cases, but these should be discussed with the coordinator.

Students can choose all three science subjects in their diploma either by taking one of them as a seventh subject, or by making a request to the IB for a non-regular diploma. In a non-regular diploma programme the students replace their group three subject by a group 4 subject.

For students to be able to apply for a non-regular diploma by asking the IB Coordinator to make a request to the IB. In non-regular diploma programme the students replace their Group 3 subject by a Group 4 subject.

For students to be able to apply for the non-regular diploma their pre-year grades must fulfil the following requirements:

• a grade 9 in at least one science subject (biology, chemistry, physics)

• at least a grade 8 from the other two science subjects

• courses KE9K and FY4K completed during the pre-year

IB subject groups

See IB subject briefs from Ulkoinen linkkihttps://www.ibo.org/university-admission/ib-recognition-resources-and-document-library/#briefs

Some subjects will be placed side by side on the course tray which means that just one of them can be included in the study programme of an individual student. This means that the students will have to choose between

1. Chemistry and History

2. Physics and Psychology and French B

3. Economics and Visual Arts and Spanish B

IB School reports

During the actual IB studies students are also given grades at the end of each period in Wilma like in the preparatory year. The purpose of this is to give feedback to students and their parents. The grades given after the mock-exams give the best overall indication of the achievement levels of the students. The mock-exams are at the end of the fifth period in the first actual year in the IB and in the middle of the in the second/last actual year in the IB. The students’ work is assessed on a scale from 1 (low) to 7 (high). For TOK (Theory of Knowledge), the students receive a grade S if the course has been completed and a grade T if it is incomplete (e.g. because of too many absences). At the end of the last IB year students will receive their school-leaving certificate from the IB programme, if its requirements have been completed successfully.

Changing subject selections during IB1

Sometimes students may need to make changes in their subject selections during the IB1 year. All such changes should preferably be made at the end of the first period.

Requirements for IB studies

Grading of the IB diploma

The subject grade is usually the result of both internal assessment (work done and assessed within the school and moderated by external examiners) and external assessment (the final exam and other work assessed by external examiners). Based on this work, the students receive a grade from 1 to 7. All six diploma subject grades add up to a maximum of 42 points. In addition to this, students may get up to 3 bonus points from Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay combined. In this case the maximum number of points is 45. The required minimum for the Diploma is 24 points. Students also have to complete the CAS (Creativity, Action and Service) programme. The results of the IB final examinations are sent to schools during the second week of July. The official Diplomas arrive during September.

Requirements for the award of the IB Diploma

· The sum of the grades of the six IB subjects must be at least 24.

· CAS requirements have been met.

· There is no “N" awarded for TOK, the EE or for a contributing subject.

· There is no grade E awarded for TOK and/or the EE.

· There is no grade 1 awarded in a subject/level.

· There are no more than two grade 2s awarded (SL or HL).

· There are no more than three grade 3s or below awarded (SL or HL).

· The candidate has gained 12 points or more on HL subjects. (For candidates who register for four HL subjects, the three highest grades count.)

· The candidate has gained 9 points or more on SL subjects. (Candidates who register for two SL subjects must gain at least 5 points at SL.)

· The candidate has not received a penalty for academic misconduct from the Final Award Committee.

IB Deadlines

IB Final exam schedule

IB Terminology

AWARD OF THE IB DIPLOMA (article 13 of the IB Diploma general regulations)

13.1 All assessment components for each of the six subjects and the additional Diploma requirements must be completed in order to qualify for the award of the IB Diploma, except under the conditions stipulated in articles 18 and 19 of these regulations.

13.2 The IB Diploma will be awarded to a candidate provided all the following requirements have been met.

a. CAS requirements have been met.

b. The candidate’s total points are 24 or more.

c. There is no “N" awarded for theory of knowledge, the extended essay or for a contributing subject.

d. There is no grade E awarded for theory of knowledge and/or the extended essay.

e. There is no grade 1 awarded in a subject/level.

f. There are no more than two grade 2s awarded (HL or SL).

g. There are no more than three grade 3s or below awarded (HL or SL).

h. The candidate has gained 12 points or more on HL subjects (for candidates who register for four HL subjects, the three highest grades count). Graded on a scale from A (excellent) to E (unacceptable). Together with the TOK grade the EE may provide students with a maximum of 3 extra points for their IB Diploma score.

External assesment

Some assessment tasks are conducted and overseen by teachers without the restrictions of examination conditions, but are then marked externally by examiners. Examples include essays for language A and theory of knowledge, and extended essays. Because of the greater degree of objectivity and reliability provided by the standard examination environment, externally marked examinations form the greatest share of the assessment for each subject.

Final exam

The IB final exams take place during May of the last year of the IB. Final exams are usually divided into two of three different papers. The questions are in English except in language exams. In most of the subjects the exams are divided across two different days. Therefore the student may have, for example, Biology Paper 3 in the morning and Finnish Paper 1 in the afternoon. Usually the time allocated for each exam paper is fairly short and it requires the student to have good concentration and answer technique. These skills are practised especially during the MOCK exam periods.

If needed, it is possible to retake IB final exams either in the May or November exams. The student is allowed to have altogether three attempts for the diploma. These attempts need not be during consecutive examination sessions.

Group IV project

In group IV subjects (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) a Group IV Project is, together with laboratory work, an internal assessment requirement. The aim is to complete a combined unit of group work of these subjects. In this project the students study a chosen topic from the point of view of each subject and document the outcome.

IB

Tampereen lyseon lukio is a member school of International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) which is a non-profit educational foundation based in Switzerland. It is a private, non-governmental organization recognized by the Council of Europe and has consultative status with UNESCO). IB is led by the director general who is the chief executive officer overseeing the organization’s work from Geneva. A network of regional offices in New York, The Hague, Buenos Aires and Singapore provides services to member schools. There are more than 2300 IB schools all over the world offering the IB Diploma programme and following its educational philosophy.

Internal assessment

In nearly all subjects at least some of the assessment is carried out internally by teachers, who mark individual pieces of work produced as part of a course of study. Examples include individual oral commentaries in language subjects, student portfolios, class presentations, practical work, mathematical explorations and the exhibition in Visual Arts.

Levels: higher and standard

Higher Level subject comprises 8.5 courses and a Standard Level subject 5.2 courses.

Theory of knowledge (TOK)

Theory of Knowledge is 3.6 courses in length and it is divided throughout the two IB years. The interdisciplinary TOK course is designed to provide coherence by exploring the nature of knowledge across disciplines and encouraging an appreciation of other cultural perspectives. TOK course assessment is based on an essay and oral presentation.