Internal Assessment
Purpose of internal assessment
Internal assessment is an integral part of the course and is compulsory for both SL and HL students. It enables students to demonstrate the application of their skills and knowledge, and to pursue their personal interests, without the time limitations and other constraints that are associated with written examinations. The internal assessment should, as far as possible, be woven into normal classroom teaching and not be a separate activity conducted after a course has been taught.
The internal assessment requirements at SL and at HL are the same.
Requirements of the historical investigation
Introduction
The historical investigation is a problem-solving activity that enables students to demonstrate the application of their skills and knowledge to a historical topic that interests them and that need not be related to the syllabus. The internal assessment allows for flexibility and should encourage students to use their own initiative. The emphasis must be on a specific historical inquiry that enables the student to develop and apply the skills of a historian by selecting and analysing a good range of source material and managing diverse interpretations. The activity demands that students search for, select, evaluate and use evidence to reach a relevant conclusion. The investigation should be written in the specific format outlined later in this section.
The historical investigation will be internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB.
Here are some of the samples below to the types of investigations students may undertake:
Choice of topic
Students should choose their own topic, with the teacher’s guidance and approval. The topic should be worthwhile and of interest to the student.
Teachers must approve the topic for investigation and the research question before work is started. They must ensure that there are sufficient sources to support the investigation, and that it can be assessed by the criteria for internal assessment.
Students must be aware of ethical considerations when undertaking any investigation. They must show sensitivity and respect confidentiality.
Students are required to provide references or acknowledgments for all sources used.
Below are some of the examples of the types of research questions that has been done in the past:
Internal assessment is an integral part of the course and is compulsory for both SL and HL students. It enables students to demonstrate the application of their skills and knowledge, and to pursue their personal interests, without the time limitations and other constraints that are associated with written examinations. The internal assessment should, as far as possible, be woven into normal classroom teaching and not be a separate activity conducted after a course has been taught.
The internal assessment requirements at SL and at HL are the same.
Requirements of the historical investigation
Introduction
The historical investigation is a problem-solving activity that enables students to demonstrate the application of their skills and knowledge to a historical topic that interests them and that need not be related to the syllabus. The internal assessment allows for flexibility and should encourage students to use their own initiative. The emphasis must be on a specific historical inquiry that enables the student to develop and apply the skills of a historian by selecting and analysing a good range of source material and managing diverse interpretations. The activity demands that students search for, select, evaluate and use evidence to reach a relevant conclusion. The investigation should be written in the specific format outlined later in this section.
The historical investigation will be internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB.
Here are some of the samples below to the types of investigations students may undertake:
- a historical topic or theme using written sources or a variety of sources
- a historical topic based on fieldwork, for example, a museum, archeological site, battlefields, places of worship such as mosques or churches, historic buildings
- a historical problem using documents (this could include newspapers)
- a local history study
- a historical study based on oral interviews
- a historical investigation based on interpreting a novel, film or art work
- a historical investigation of cultural issues.
Choice of topic
Students should choose their own topic, with the teacher’s guidance and approval. The topic should be worthwhile and of interest to the student.
Teachers must approve the topic for investigation and the research question before work is started. They must ensure that there are sufficient sources to support the investigation, and that it can be assessed by the criteria for internal assessment.
Students must be aware of ethical considerations when undertaking any investigation. They must show sensitivity and respect confidentiality.
Students are required to provide references or acknowledgments for all sources used.
Below are some of the examples of the types of research questions that has been done in the past:
- What were the contributions of Genghis Khan to the rise of Mongol power?
- Why was the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas important in the medieval Church?
- How historically accurate is the depiction of Saladin in the film Naser Salah el Dine, El (1963)?
- In what ways did the work of Henry the Navigator inspire Portuguese exploration?
- How did the geisha’s way of life change during the Meiji era?
- In what ways did the New Deal’s Farm Security Administration use photography as propaganda to support its programmes?
- How did the experiences of British Second World War veterans serving in Europe compare with those in the Pacific?
- In what ways did the Chinese communists use the traditional art form of opera to promote their ideology during the Cultural Revolution?
- To what extent did the experiences of Vietnam veterans in Tulsa, Oklahoma mirror the US public’s overall perception of the war?
- How did the coverage of the Falklands/Malvinas War differ in the British and Argentine press?
The Written Account
Every student must produce a written account totalling 1,500–2,000 words consisting of the following six sections.
The maximum value is 25 marks.
Internal assessment criteria—SL and HL
The historical investigation (SL and HL) is assessed against six criteria that are related to the objectives for the Diploma Programme history course.
Every student must produce a written account totalling 1,500–2,000 words consisting of the following six sections.
- A - Plan of the investigation
- B - Summary of evidence
- C - Evaluation of sources
- D - Analysis
- E - Conclusion
- F - Sources and word limit
The maximum value is 25 marks.
Internal assessment criteria—SL and HL
The historical investigation (SL and HL) is assessed against six criteria that are related to the objectives for the Diploma Programme history course.
Further to the above, students must include a cover page with student name, number, research question and accurate word count to accompany the entire written account.