Choosing the subject

Subject choice

Different schools will have slightly different procedures in place as to how students go about choosing their subject. A common scenario is that someone (probably the member of staff in charge of all Extended Essays) talks to all the students making them aware of the general requirements and timetable etc. Subject teachers then talk to the students they teach about Extended Essays in their own subjects and the students then choose which subject they wish to do their Extended Essay in.

When talking to all the students about Chemistry I would include:

          The commitment I would expect from any student choosing Chemistry. 

          The fact that Chemistry is an experimental subject and the best Essays come from those
          students who include their own practical work in the school laboratory on a topic of their
          own choosing .

          Examples of some previous Extended Essay topics in Chemistry.       

          The value that an Extended Essay in Chemistry might have when applying to university to
          study Chemistry or a related subject such as Medicine.

          Emphasise that I will only agree to supervise them in Chemistry if they can indicate a
          particular area of chemistry that they are interested in. (To help them do this I will point
          them in the direction of general resources like, the Internet, Journals and Newspaper
          articles)

Finally I would emphasise that I strongly recommend that they choose the subject they are most interested in. 

One other important point is that a drip feed process should really start much earlier. In fact, as soon as they start their IB Diploma course (if not before). In your lessons, whenever an interesting point emerges in discussions or a particular chemical item is in the news, it is worth stimulating the curiosity of students and even throwing in comments like ‘That would make a good topic for an Extended Essay’. 

Choosing the area of investigation 

Once they are certain they want to do their Extended Essay in Chemistry they know that I will only agree to act as their supervisor if they come up with a suitable area for investigation. Note that I only expect them to come up with a general area of investigation. It is unreasonable to expect a student to formulate a precise research question at this stage.

There are several approaches to getting them to find an area to investigate. One is that the teacher gives them a list of topics to choose from. I would not recommend this. There is clear evidence that students who choose their own topic feel ownership of it and score much more highly on the assessment criteria that measure personal input and initiative (see Dr J. Munro's article in Resources). Some students already have a clear idea of the area of investigation but many do not. If they do not, then suggest they look at Chemistry Journals, newspapers or search online until they find something they are interested in. If they can relate it to the field they want to study e.g. something about drugs for Medicine or something about blood detection for Forensic Science then that can help to focus their mind. You could also point them to the table in my book IB Chemistry 2014 Study Guide page 179. This two table turn the problem on its head. It gives lists of the type of techniques that could be used in a school laboratory and then gives suggestions of possible topics that could be researched for each technique.

Once they state the area of investigation then I accept the role of supervisor (even if I think the area may not be suitable) and sign any necessary internal forms to this effect.

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