KGV GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

     

IB STUDENT GUIDE

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Welcome to the IB Geography course.

 

The aim of this booklet is to give you an idea of what you will be encountering over the next few years, some advice and resources that will help you achieve your potential and a breakdown of the assessment methods that you will be exposed to.

 

In order to conserve resources – and you will be examining why this is important during the course – we have deliberately created it as an electronic resource. However, if you find it more useful to have a paper copy then please print it out.

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

The course is made up of a CORE THEME which is studied by both Higher Level (HL) and Standard Level (SL) and several OPTIONAL THEMES. HL students are required to study FOUR Optional Themes while SL students must study TWO, as follows;

 

HIGHER LEVEL
CORE THEME	OPTIONAL THEME
Population, resources and development	Lithospheric processes and hazards	Drainage basins and their management	Globalisation	Settlement

 

STANDARD LEVEL
CORE THEME	OPTIONAL THEME
Population, resources and development	Lithospheric processes and hazards	Drainage basins and their management

 

In addition, throughout the course you are required to practice essential GEOGRAPHICAL SKILLS. These include data handling and interpretation, map interpretation, geographical data collection techniques, data presentation and so on. A complete list of the skills prescribed by the IBO can be found in HERE

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE MATERIAL

 

The IB Syllabus can be accessed here.

 

 

 

CORE THEME: POPULATION, RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT (2.1 – 2.12)

 

This section of the course is designed to underpin all the other themes – which is why it is studied by all candidates.

 

The world that we are living in is changing very rapidly and this course helps us to understand the factors that lead to some of these changes and why it is changing at different rates in different places.

 

Some questions that we will be considering are;

How big will the world’s population get? Why is it growing at different rates in different places? Can the earth maintain a growing human population? Why are so many people in the world living in poverty? What is the best way of helping them?

 

The most important thing to remember when studying this theme is that all of the elements (population, food, health, development etc.) are interrelated and a holistic approach is most successful. For example, when explaining the shortage of food resources in east Africa, it would be important to consider rates of population growth, effects of poverty and lack of investment in mechanization and infrastructure, the role played by other countries, the impact of AIDS ….and so on. In addition, it would be unwise to view this as Human Geography – in the example of east Africa there is an obvious link between the amount of food grown and its Physical Geography.

 

There is a HUGE amount of material available to support this Theme. The course book (Population, Resources and Development by Jegede and Jegede) obviously provides a useful starting point, but these issues are constantly in the news and it is essential that you keep up to date with current affairs by watching the news, reading a newspaper or occasionally visiting a news site on the internet. To help you when you are completing work, a list of relevant links has been assembled for you and is available here;

 

CORE WEBLINKS

 

 

 

OPTIONAL THEME: LITHOSPHERIC PROCESSES AND HAZARDS (3.4)

 

TRINDAD MUD VOLCANO – this link illustrates how often, dramatically and significantly the lithosphere impacts on society.

 

After understanding the processes that lead to earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides, candidates are expected to be able to explain why different lithospheric hazards have different impacts in different places.

 

Students must be willing to consider not just the physical processes but how factors such as levels of development and preparedness can impact on the seriousness of different hazards.

 

 

OPTIONAL THEME: DRAINAGE BASINS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT (3.1)

 

Rivers are essential to society and perform a variety of functions and can have both positive and negative impacts on people.

 

One recent example of the impact of rivers can be found here. In order to understand the impacts of rivers students first study the processes that operate within the river channel and the drainage basin and then look at how these processes can affect human activities. Furthermore, we will then look at the successes and failures that scientists have had in managing these processes to minimise loss of life and damage to economies.

 

OPTIONAL THEME: GLOBALISATION (3.10)

 

The term globalization is often applied to the spread of economic, social and cultural ideas across the world, and the growing uniformity between different places that results from this spread. The consequence of globalization is a dilution of economic, social and cultural differences between places.

 

The concept of globalization generates debate at various levels. Some commentators see it as an agent of growing MEDC government and transnational corporate influence, while others go so far as to deny globalization actually occurs. Therefore, the concept is a contestable one.

 

Traditionally, a major focus of the study of geography has been describing, analyzing and explaining the differences between places. As globalization works to reduce these differences, it becomes an important focus for study by geographers.

 

This theme examines the spatial aspects of globalization. A detailed study of tourism is used to illustrate globalization in practice.

 

OPTIONAL THEME: SETTLEMENT (3.8)

 

As the world becomes increasingly urban, we look at the forces that are driving this process and the impacts that it is having in different places. Is the future of the planet one where the majority of people live in overcrowded, polluted unhealthy and dangerous neighbourhoods – or is the move to the city an opportunity to improve people’s lives and increase levels of development?

 

FIELDWORK AND INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

 

The fieldwork will take place in northern Thailand in March – your teacher will give you details in the first few weeks of the course. You will also be able to access the KGV GEOGRAPHY FIELDWORK GUIDE that has more detailed guidance about what you will be doing.

 

Following the fieldtrip you will be required to write up a fieldwork report of no more than 2500 words (HL) or 1500 words (SL). This report will be marked by your teacher, moderated by the department and then a sample from KGV will be moderated by IBO examiner. This report accounts for 25% of your final grade at HL and 20% at SL.

 

ASSESSMENT OUTLINE

 

In addition to the IA candidates must complete 2 written papers which are assessed externally by IBO examiners. These account for the remaining 75% of your grade.

 

PAPER 1
Duration	% FINAL GRADE	Questions to be answered	Question style	Max score per qu.
90 minutes	HL: 25% SL: 40%	2 from choice of 3	Data response	25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PAPER 2
Duration	% FINAL GRADE	Questions to be answered	Question style	Max score per qu.
HL: 150 minutes   SL: 90 minutes	HL: 50% SL: 40%	HL: 4 in total; 2 from Section A 1 from Section B 1 choice from A, B   SL: 2 in total	Choice of data response OR essay	20

 

At the end of this document is the markbands that examiners will use to grade your work – you should make sure that you use it so that you know what is expected of you and what you can do to improve. Your teacher will also be using these markbands for work that you produce during the 2 years so that you can get to grips with the expectations of the exam.

 

HOMEWORK AND EXTRA READING

 

Homework will be set in accordance with guidance for students taking either HL or SL courses – that is 5/6 hours for HL per cycle and 2/3 hours for SL per cycle. In order to meet the requirements of the IB course, homework is a vital component of your studies – failure to complete it (even if it does not need to be handed in) will have an impact on your final result.

 

The IB course credits independent learning – in other words, the more that you can do yourself, the better your mark will be. It is not possible to successfully cram for an IB Group 3 subject – the ideas, interrelationships and connections are all developed during the course of the 2 year programme. Homework plays an important role in this and is an opportunity for you to set yourself apart from the other KGV candidates. To use the old cliché – you will only get out what you put in.

 

Geographers are very lucky – the subject is always around them and as such it is not difficult to keep up to date with what is going on. It is vital that you read the papers and keep an eye on the news. This is the best way that you can complement the material that your teacher will give you. By doing this, you will show the examiner that you have a real interest in the subject – anyone can regurgitate information about the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, but how many candidates can compare this with the development of a mud volcano in Trindad only a few moths before the exam?