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MAPPING OUT THE IB PSYCHOLOGY INTERNAL ASSESSMENT angela chamosfakidis, M.Ed. American Community Schools (ACS) Athens, Greece [email protected] Presentation overview: Writing in the field of Psychology This presenta,on gives an overview of the development of scien/fic wri/ng skills for IB Psychology students. Many of the organiza,onal elements that apply to academic wri,ng may be incorporated in psychological wri,ng: formula,ng a thesis, suppor,ng it with evidence, presen,ng counter arguments. These skills provide a founda,on for IB candidates to approach wri,ng in the field of psychology. When wri,ng in psychology a strong emphasis is also placed on research, and students are expected to focus on synthesizing and cri,cally evalua,ng research studies, as well as connec,ng course material with current scien,fic literature. Psychological wri,ng is based on the American Psychological Associa,on style (APA). This style of wri,ng may seem dry at first but soon aHer results in clear, informa,ve, scien,fic reports. Yet, in reality… Crea/vity in psychology tends to come from the ideas behind the wri/ng, not wri/ng itself (Carson et al., 2012). Therefore, the framework presented aims at the development of specific research and wri,ng skills for Year 1 and Year 2 IB Psychology ACS students who aKend grades 11 th and 12 th . This process highlights in par,cular the IB Psychology Internal Assessment, a scien,fic report of a replica,on of a simple psychological experiment. JUSTIFICATION Assessment for the subject of IB Psychology is essay-based and it appears that the be8er the wri:ng skills of a candidate, the be8er his/her grade classifica:on. Clear thinking leads to clear wri:ng, just as clear wri:ng leads to be8er understanding. "If any man wishes to write in a clear style, let him first be clear in his thoughts" Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Wri0ng skills appear to be necessary for employment. According to research, a third of all workers fall short of employers' expecta:ons in wri5en communica0on skills (Read, 2004). Apparently wri:ng ability is one of the quali:es most sought aPer in graduate employees. THE IB PSYCHOLOGY INTERNAL ASSESSMENT “The Internal assessment is an integral part of the course and is compulsory for both Standard Level(SL) and Higher Level(HL) students. It enables students to demonstrate the applica1on of their skills and knowledge, and to pursue their personal interests, without the Ame limitaAons and other constraints that are associated with wriBen examinaAons (…) For the internal assessment students are required to plan, undertake and report a replica1on of a simple experimental study (...) AddiAonal requirements are made of HL students, for example, they are required to apply an inferen1al sta1s1cal test to the data they gather”. The experimental method For the IB Diploma Programme psychology course, the experimental method is defined as requiring: ò the manipulaAon of one independent variable while other variables are kept constant ò the measurement of the effect of the independent variable on one dependent variable. IBO Psychology Subject Guide STEPS OF THE WRITING PROCESS: THE IMPORTANCE OF READING AND REFLECTING The more one reads the be.er one writes. In order to learn to write well in psychology one needs to be well informed about the topic under inves8ga8on. Reading and reflec6ng on other researchers’ work leads to an awareness of strengths and limita8ons in one’s own work. Reading sources cri8cally, reviewing ar8cles, reflec8ng on authors’ hypotheses and methodologies, evalua8ng appropriateness of sample and sampling methods, showcase cri6cal thinking skills which are of utmost importance in the process of scien6fic wri6ng. Academic Honesty Policy “IB learners strive to be principled: They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, jus8ce and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communi8es. They take responsibility for their own ac8ons and the consequences that accompany them” (IBO Psychology Subject Guide). SELECTED REFERENCES American Psychological Associa1on. (2009). Publica(on manual of the American Psychological Associa(on (6th edi1on). Washington, D.C.: Author Carson, Sh. et al. (2012). Wri(ng for psychology: A guide for psychology concentrators (1 st ed.). Cambridge MA: Harvard College. Interna1onal Baccalaureate. (2009). Psychology guide. First examina(ons 2011 (1 st ed.). Chippenham, United Kingdom: IBO. Landrum, R. E. (2008). Undergraduate wri(ng in psychology: Learning to tell the scien(fic story. Washington, DC: American Psychological Associa1on. Read, M. (2004). Employers say one-third of workers wri1ng skills fall below job standards. Asheville Ci(zen Times, B7. STEPS OF THE WRITING PROCESS: THE IMPORTANCE OF READING AND REFLECTING The more one reads the be.er one writes. In order to learn to write well in psychology one needs to be well informed about the topic under inves8ga8on. Reading and reflec6ng on other researchers’ work leads to an awareness of strengths and limita8ons in one’s own work. Reading sources cri8cally, reviewing ar8cles, reflec8ng on authors’ hypotheses and methodologies, evalua8ng appropriateness of sample and sampling methods, showcase cri6cal thinking skills which are of utmost importance in the process of scien6fic wri6ng. Academic Honesty Policy “IB learners strive to be principled: They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, jus8ce and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communi8es. They take responsibility for their own ac8ons and the consequences that accompany them” (IBO Psychology Subject Guide). MAPPING OUT THE IB PSYCHOLOGY INTERNAL ASSESSMENT 1 st RESEARCH CYCLE: CONCEPTUALIZING, DESIGNING, READING, & REFLECTING ò Iden%fying the Ini%al Area of Interest ò Reviewing the psychological literature ò Reviewing the experimental method ò Deciding on an Experiment ò Performing a complete background literature review of the topic under inves;ga;on ò Iden;fying theories and research studies related to the topic ò Wri%ng the Introduc%on including the Hypotheses and Aim of the Study ò Providing complete references and in-text cita;ons ò Addressing the Design and Par%cipants Sec%ons ò Reviewing ethical considera;ons ò Evalua%on of First Steps and Reflec%ons MAPPING OUT THE IB PSYCHOLOGY INTERNAL ASSESSMENT 2 nd RESEARCH CYCLE: CONDUCTING THE EXPERIMENT ò Collec&ng the data ò Checking the materials ò Doing a pilot study ò Handling the raw data ò Performing the descrip8ve and inferen8al sta8s8cs ò Wri&ng the results ò Descrip8ve ò Inferen8al ò Discussing ò Providing a Reference list, full Appendices and an Abstract ò Submi@ng a 1 st draB è Receiving detailed feedback from the teacher è Student reflec&ng è Submi@ng Final Report
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