{"id":15199,"date":"2025-03-22T16:01:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-22T07:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/?p=15199"},"modified":"2025-03-22T16:01:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-22T07:01:02","slug":"beware-the-booby-traps-in-class-practicals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2025\/03\/22\/beware-the-booby-traps-in-class-practicals\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware the Booby Traps in Class Practicals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes I feel like a little kid running excitedly across a field towards a fancy new playground when I’m planning for this new course. Other times I feel like the field’s littered with landmines. A false step and I might blow up my leg, or in class I might miss something that has big ramifications down the line for students. This is so true in the class practicals. Let me explain something that’s easily missable so you can tip-toe through the landmines.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The practicals are exciting to plan for and the mind races with possibilities. However, just like real researchers who have to balance validity, ethicality and practicality, we’re faced with the exact same balancing act in IB classrooms. While some studies would be fascinating to conduct, practically speaking they’re problematic. Others are ethically sound, but dreadfully boring. Here are my thoughts on the class practicals.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Available Now<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Teacher Leads, Students Participate<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I am not planning my class practicals for students to conduct. It’s a lovely thought. Wouldn’t it be nice if the course wasn’t so jam-packed with content that we could? I will figure out other simple lesson plans that can be practical, like getting students to do their own correlational studies and experiments in learning and cognition. But for a practical that’s on the exams, I just won’t risk it.<\/p>\n

Like with most inquiry-based ideas, it falls down if we have very specific assessment criteria for which students have to meet. If we give student choice on their topic for the class practical, not only does this open up a can of ethical and practical worms, it also jeopardises their ability to answer Question 4 in Paper 2. This brings me to my next point.<\/p>\n

Plan Backwards from Question 4<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Paper 2, Section A is on the class practicals. The last question requires students can explain how they could use an alternative method to study the topic in their class practical. Sounds easy, until it’s not. This is a six mark question so it’s important students can explain this easily in exam conditions. I think this question will trip up a lot of teachers in the first few years. The biggest problem I can see is when you try to apply the class practical topic to observational methods.<\/p>\n

For example, the guide gives the following possible examples for a class practical experiment on learning and cognition:<\/p>\n