Teacher's responsibility in the IA's

[guanemo]

Hello guys- can someone please educate me on the teacher's responsibility with our IA's? Is he or she responsible of guiding us away from a research question that is setting us from failure or is the guidance never provided with the IA's.

 

Thanks

[batool]

There should definitely be guidance (note: this does NOT mean that your teacher can suggest RQs for you). For instance, you can tell your teacher your RQ and then it is up to them to make a personal judgment on it then guide you by asking you questions (i.e how would you measure this if you were to do that? Do you think our school has all of the required supplies? Do you think this approach is too broad/specific for the topic?). If your teacher isn't providing any help whatsoever with your RQ when you have gone up to them and asked them about your ideas, you should consider sitting down and talking it out with them. 

[Sandy]

The teacher cannot tell you 'this is a bad RQ, change your topic'. However, he/she is supposed to guide you to a better RQ by telling you it's not focused, or doesn't make much sense, something like that. Like batool said, they'd ask you questions to make sure you answer them in your IA and don't end up submitting a piece of ****. The teacher also has to give a feedback on your IA at least once and sit with you for 10 hours (if I'm not wrong) discussing your IA.

[guanemo]

So if a teacher knows that your RQ is not suitable ( for instance its missing a DV or IV, or if its even not do-able) , the teacher should tell you to stir away from it or should ask you questions to challenge your RQ in order for you to think and improve it. Correct?

Im sorry if im being nitpicky and asking detailed questions- but i would just like to know what i can and can't ask of my teacher.

Edited January 20, 2016 by guanemo

[guanemo]

Where are you getting the 10 hour information from? i think you're mistaking it with the 10 hours of lab work.

[WesPotts2k16]

The IA is more of a hands-off approach to running a design lab. IB is truly looking to see a personal connection to your IA, they want it to be more than a "have-to-do" (not like it's my first choice either but). They want demonstrated interest in the topic and/or a personal connection to your exploration. The focus is taken off of how the teacher can push you, but of an assessment of your practical lab skills. If you have a textbook, try flipping through the chapters, seeing topics that pique your interest, and you can also build off of past labs you may have done (not the exact same topic, but something in a similar vein to it).  It would be wise to keep the experiment simple in terms of how many manipulating factors (IVs) or measuring factors (DVs) you have because it will be a necessary evil for you to run between 5-10 trials (in case one trial messes up, or something goes wrong in procedure, also reduces error, and provides even more data to support your hypothesis or reject it). Hope this helps

[guanemo]

Guys- i know its a hand off approach, but let me clarify my question. Before we even begin conducting the experiments, our teachers are supposed to tell us whether we can continue or whether we shouldn't continue with the question because of safety issues, and so on. If the question is also not practically possible - as in if it it imposible to test that question, wouldnt it be the teacher's responsibility to stir us away from that question by not telling us to conitnue with it (directly OR indirectly through asking us challenging questions as in" what do you think if.....?'']

 

 

Thank you for your replies

[kw0573]

Before we even begin conducting the experiments, our teachers are supposed to tell us whether we can continue or whether we shouldn't continue with the question because of safety issues

You would have to design a safe experiment pending your teacher's approval. All labs are safe if you are using a computer simulation.

 

If the question is also not practically possible - as in if it it imposible to test that question, wouldnt it be the teacher's responsibility to stir us away from that question by not telling us to conitnue with it

Feasibility and practically cannot be determined until with a planned procedure.

 

It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that students are familiar with:

• the requirements of the type of work to be internally assessed

• the IB animal experimentation policy

• the assessment criteria—students must understand that the work submitted for assessment must address these criteria effectively.

Teachers and students must discuss the internally assessed work. Students should be encouraged to initiate discussions with the teacher to obtain advice and information, and students must not be penalized for seeking guidance. As part of the learning process, teachers should read and give advice to students on one draft of the work. The teacher should provide oral or written advice on how the work could be improved, but not edit the draft. The next version handed to the teacher must be the final version for submission. It is the responsibility of teachers to ensure that all students understand the basic meaning and significance of concepts that relate to academic honesty, especially authenticity and intellectual property. Teachers must ensure that all student work for assessment is prepared according to the requirements and must explain clearly to students that the internally assessed work must be entirely their own. Where collaboration between students is permitted, it must be clear to all students what the difference is between collaboration and collusion.

Extracted from the 2016 Chemistry Guide

You can see that there are no explicit expectations from teachers at the initial stage. The short answer is that your teacher does not have to reject an "impossible" question until you provide some procedure/outline (eg, using a piece of equipment the school doesn't own). If you have shown your teacher a complete procedure, the teacher would have to prevent carry-forth of unsafe labs. The teacher does not have to ensure that everyone gets perfect scores. But surely if you ask your teacher on specific advices or guidance the teacher should provide them to you.

Now if you think the question is impossible, you should stir away from the question yourself.

[guanemo]

Thanks a ton for educating me guys!