The following lesson plan focuses on the role of poverty/socioeconomic status on cognitive and social development. This lesson is linked to the chapter Poverty and development in the online text.Introducing conceptsFirst, students should watch this video at home - or you may choose to show it to start the class.Start the lesson with a quick discussion of Bregman’s solution for poverty. Why is...

This lesson will address the effectiveness of health programs. The goal of this lesson is to look at the question of how we can determine whether a health campaign is effective. You will see that this is very difficult to measure and often leads to bias in the interpretation of findings and the evaluation of the strategy.Evaluating campaignsTake a look at this campaign which encourages people to become...

The following is a quiz that I give to my students about two weeks into our study of memory. For this assessment, the Multi-Store Model is the focus.Sample answers are included below. Notice that for each of the questions, the response directly answer the prompt. Also, note that when only one limitation is asked for, only one should be assessed. Into to cognitive quizPotential responses1. Draw the...

The following sample is a response to the question: Evaluate research into the influence of poverty on children’s cognitive and/or social development.The sample response is an example of an exemplary response that should receive top marks. Comments about the essay are included below.The highlighted areas of the essay demonstrate critical thinking.This essay was written by Laura Swash.Sample...

The following set of practice papers are not official IB papers. As of the creation of this page, there is only one specimen paper available. All of the papers are created here by me, based on examiner experience.The questions for the papers are always the same. An explanation of the questions is given below.For each exam, there is a set of sample responses. Remember that in the new curriculum the...

Essential understandingsOur behaviour is influenced by others, even when we believe that we are acting independently.We have both an individual and a social identity which influences our behaviour.Behaviours are learned through our interaction and observation of others.Stereotypes affect behaviour.The sociocultural approachPsychologists recognize that human behaviour can only be fully understood if...

The following lesson introduces the Schema theory - its strengths and limitations. It is also a precursor to the lessons on reconstructive memory and the reliability of cognitive processes. This lesson takes two 80-minute periodsThe following Powerpoint was developed together with Anna Yakutonok from the Prague British School. It may be used together with the lesson plan below. Schema theory pptTask...

The following lesson plan looks at the Dual Processing Theory of thinking and decision making. There are several short activities used in this lesson which are all based on Daniel Kahneman's book "Thinking Fast and Slow." The lesson is not research heavy because the research on cognitive biases - that is, heuristics - can also be used to demonstrate the model and how it works.Introducing...

This lesson plan examines the role of emotion on memory. The theory that will be discussed is Flashbulb Memory.This part of the unit will introduce some of the biological concepts that will be discussed in the next part of the course - specifically, the use of an fMRI and the role of the hormone adrenaline in the creation of emotional memories.In addition, this part of the unit is also linked to the...

This section of the site is devoted to materials that may be used to organize and assist students in the setting up and carrying out of the internal assessment. The section includes suggestions for experiments to replicate, reminders of restrictions for the internal assessment, planners and checklists, as well as samples of IA's which students should consult before starting their report writing....