Originally posted on November 26, 2019 @ 9:00 am
A summary of my week hosting #DPChat focussing on the integration of the extended essay into the rest of the IBDP.
With much thanks fo the many educators who got online and joined the discussion that week and provided the ideas that I have collated here. These are the people to follow on Twitter:
@JeffersonLars @Elfdaws @ExtendingEast @agudteach @rajashree_basu @trigrama @malikah_sheriff @AdrianvWJ @shoey_sarah @geogeducator @IdeasRoadshow @zoebadcock @bear48
Why is the EE important?
At the most basic level, it’s good preparation for university.
Students get to follow an interest (lacking in some subjects) develop excellent research skills, work one on one with their mentor (communication, self development) fine tune essay writing skills for further Ed.
I think EE is a great project that is an opportunity for students to formally connect content, concepts, and context in a meaningful way. Investigating, researching and reporting a detailed evaluation of diverging viewpoints is a life skill.
As a former IB student, the two takeaways that you keep for life are: 1) learning about learning, the ATLs that make you a lifelong learner; and 2) knowing about knowing, which comes from #TOK and builds up your critical thinking skills.
Ideas for structuring the EE
We’ve just kicked off the EE with our EEco @MalinMeiLing . We started with a fair to celebrate the end of the grade 12s. They gave tips to grade 11 & their essay review. Next was the intro workshops explaining process & looking at global issues. Next week we’ll have fair with subjects represented.
#DPChat As a mentor it seems to be my job to teach my #IBEE std how to reference and use the library databases and walk them through appropriate EE structure. Students didn’t even know about the reflections they need to do.
I think as a minimum the cohort should have some workshops in the library about how to use online databases and how to reference properly using the different conventions. I don’t believe this currently happens at all.
We have an EE coordinator (@ExtendingEast) and she does an incredible job of structuring the EE for both students and supervisors, including introductory carousels, support workshops, and an EE day for focused writing and research #DPChat
HoD’s present mini-workshops (20 min) based on subject area. 1/2 our #G11 students choose which 2 they’d like to attend; the other 1/2 attend a research/writing workshop in the library. The next day, they switch. This all takes place during mentor time in the morning.
We hold sessions in the beginning working on organization and research skills. We have whole group and supervisor check ins. Reflection on the process is a skill specifically taught right after the first interaction. Citation specific session is held at the end.
On #EECelebrationDay, our G12’s came dressed as their #EE after submitting their final drafts. Special thanks to the supervisors who guided them & the parents who fed them! Congratulations, G12’s! #buzzbuzz
Ideas for integrating EE into the DP
We have EAL learners and for support and development of ATL skills of research , thinking and communication we use some templates in the initial part to induce and develop these skills. We have core lessons where explicit strategies for skill development are taught
New Lang A syllabus = new opportunities for the EE. The focus on global issues is a great segue for students to start thinking about a WSEE. Can also be more seamlessly connected to both TOK & CAS. Loving the layers of learning here
I think the knowledge framework from ToK is a great resource for World Studies EEs, helped students to clearly understand and article the different approaches of their two subjects.
This year I had students do a practice ToK presentation on their EE topic. This helped them (I think!?) to frame their topic as a knowledge question, and think a bit more about their methodology.
I think we need to structure the EE for all students in task-specific goals for each step of the EE. Break it down into doable segments with frequent meetings and strict deadlines. ATLs should be developed BEFORE DP, but we have to remember, these are NOT yet responsible adults.
We just did this service workshop with @cbkaye . The MISO method is a great way to ask a lot of questions in a short period of time. Connect your EE to #SDGs or #service and you could most likely combine your CAS and EE in an awesome way. Is this ok? Or is it double-dipping?
It’s great! In my experience consulting for #IBO they loved when there was intersection between EE and CAS. More connected learning through different vantage points and experiences.
I love sentence starters. As often know the information but may need help getting sentences and paragraphs started.
#DPchat I suggest adding one more discussion point to the #IBEE discussion: What is the role of librarians in support students with their #EE? Librarians can provide important training to students and advice on academic honesty. #lksw2019 #intlchat #sisrocks #IBDP
For EAL students doing the EE I’d say it’s actually not so different? I’d suggest going over the assessment criteria along w/ subject-specific expectations from the EE guide. I’d also want to discuss research practices to be sure they’re drawing upon quality sources …
In many cases those could be in their best language, but also pulling a lot from research in target language (probably English).I’ve been doing the EE, but realized recently I need to support the handling of sources better: finding/selecting, reading, analyzing/evaluating, using.