The Command Term Conundrum

Travis DixonCurriculum, Revision and Exam Preparation

Allow me to explain the IB Psychology command terms:  Explain means explain if it’s in Paper 1, but not if it’s in Paper 2, unless of course it’s coupled with another level three command term (e.g. discuss), then it does mean explain. And outline doesn’t really mean outline, it means describe, unless the question (or mark scheme) is actually asking …

How to solve the reproducibility crisis in Psychology

Travis DixonCurriculum, Research Methodology

The “reproducibility crisis” (or “replicability crisis”) is the term used to describe the recent discovery in psychology that many classic studies are failing to have their results reproduced. In fact, the whole of psychology, especially social psychology research, seems to be in a crisis regarding its credibility as a source of knowledge. Other fields like economics and the sciences are facing …

Understanding IB Psychology with 3 Easy Questions

Travis DixonAssessment (IB), Curriculum, Teaching Ideas, Themantics

The IB Psychology course can be a confusing beast and while the official IB Guide is there to tell us what we need to teach (as teachers) and study (as students), it’s not always clear. So I came up with a way of breaking down the IB Psychology course into three simple questions. Thinking about IB Psychology in the following …

IB Psychology – Grade Boundaries New Curriculum (Feb 2019)

Travis DixonAssessment (IB), Curriculum, IB Psychology

Are you wondering what you need to do to get a 7 in IB Psychology?It’s a bit tough to say exactly because as of now (February 2019) we have not had any exams for this new curriculum. But as I’m marking my students’ mock exams I have also created the grade boundaries that I will use for IB Psychology until …

Take the stress out of teacher evaluation observations

Travis DixonCurriculum, Teaching Ideas, Themantics

This post will be most helpful for teachers who see the value in Themantic Education’s teaching principles and practices, especially those already using our teacher support packs. Having an administrator or even a peer observe your lessons can be a stressful time, even for the most experienced teachers. The practical applications of our themantic model of curriculum design™ can give …