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Self studying IB subjects


berbelk

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Hi everyone, I´m craving to do Maths HL and Physics SL in the Ib however my school does not offer those subjects. I´m starting IB 2 this month but I´ve heard until November the school does not sent any information about which subjects are their students going to be examined in May. I know some people in this forum self study subject from their IB curriculum, I would like to know how did they convinced their schools to being let self studying those subjects and which paper work had to be done(this is more owing to my ib coordinator being a newbie).

Those who are wondering why someone would be so crazy to start selfstudying Maths HL and Physics SL at IB 2, I´ll tell them that I´m not using the IB to enter any university as I´m going to apply using the diploma from the national system of Spain, so I´m using the IB more like an experience which I think would benefit me more with those subjects in my curriculum.

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OMG! I don't think anyone could ever self study Maths HL... it's really difficult to self teach!! what if you have a question and no teacher can help you?? you're going to be stuck forever...

but physics SL I think you still can do it.

tell your teacher you need those subjects for whatever course you want to study in uni. usually they'll have nothing to say and will let you do it.

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OMG! I don't think anyone could ever self study Maths HL... it's really difficult to self teach!! what if you have a question and no teacher can help you?? you're going to be stuck forever...

but physics SL I think you still can do it.

tell your teacher you need those subjects for whatever course you want to study in uni. usually they'll have nothing to say and will let you do it.

First of all thanks for your response. The reason why I want to study Maths HL is beacause I want to study Maths at university and although the level that is required in the national Spanish baccalaureate is enough to follow classes at university it would be a great assets to have studied Maths HL so the objective would not be trying to get as much note in Math HL but trying to learn as much as possible considering that as I already get 7´s in the exam papers I´ve done in Maths SL, little I´ll be able to learn in the next 8 months. And it is not that I´m not going to see anymore my Maths SL teacher to ask him any doubts of Maths HL syllabus.

Physics IB, I think would not be much a of a trouble maker for me. I´ve never got problems with Physics in the national system and the syllabus is quite similar, the only difficulty would be the lab praticals.

About convincing my school, my IB coordinator is already aware of the situation(difficulty in getting to do my degree abroad, similarities between national and international syllabuses, my archivements in Maths SL and previous self studying experience) but they insist that IB would not let them teach any subject without paying or doing any course or whatever fake excuse they want to use. As you said "usually they'll have nothing to say and will let you do it", what I´m trying to find here is the way I could make my school be usual.

Edited by berbelk
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This is inspirational, a student who actually wants to study and is willing to take on the workload on his own time. If nothing else, I applaud your conviction.

As far as I know, self study courses are only allowed by the IB for self-taught A1 languages, when students take language exams in their native tongue without actually studying for it in class ever, they do it on their own time. I've never heard of anyone taking Maths HL and Physics SL as self study because that would be disallowed by the IB usually. I'm quite sure the IB has rules about HL subjects needing 200-something hours of teaching and SLs needing 150 hours of teaching at a minimum to be allowed to sit for the exam at all (self-taught A1 languages being the exception I think).

I would discuss this with your IB Coordinator at great length and really explore all your options.

That being said, you should be prepared for the worst because Maths HL with the support of your peers and teacher is still a daunting task, without that, I imagine it can prove itself to be an insurmountable challenge. But hey, if you have the will, you will find the way I'm sure.

Best of luck,

Arrowhead.

Edited by Arrowhead
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Self-study Math HL is feasible, although no doubt at times you will be stuck however there are plenty of resources for you to consult. If you can still ask your SL teacher to assist you when required that should be sufficient. There are also plenty of videos online for you to watch for help if your book is at times insufficient.

My school places all students in SL level classes in IB1, and then those who wish to take HL or studies can do so in IB2. But I've pretty much taught myself the entire core syllabus so it's certainly doable.

Good luck!

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I have to say that this is absolutely crazy and probably a terrible idea. Teachers are there to motivate and provide help, which in IB you will most definitely need. Maths HL is pretty intense as well, I did a semester of it before dropping to studies as I didn't need maths and there might've been a slight difference in difficulty. Seriously unless you are in the top percentile for those subjects I would not attempt it, IB is a long long grind and it'll be that much harder without a teacher. If you're doing it, good luck but better to stick the school subjects/convince them to run your subject (my school does classes of 3 or 4) or change schools. This could be a major decision you end up regretting

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Hey, good luck with all of this, I know people say you probs wont be able to do it, but seriously if you believe you can (which it appears you do) you can actually do it :)

the issue is i think with the IBO i looked through google for you a bit and i cant seem to find any cases where people can self teach a subject not offered. I self teach myself from home but the subject is still offered at school. The fact that it isn't makes it difficult. Because as previously said you need an amount of classroom hours, which you can get around if your enlisted for the class, but in your case your not. I know its a bit of a leap but if you could somehow convince your co-ordinator to let you personally speak with someone from the IBO because you pleading your case will be a lot better than your IB co-ordinator who probs doesn't want to go through the fuss, if you know what I mean.

good luck :)

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I don't know where people have self studied subjects in this forum, but you cant. You can possibly self study a language, but definately not Math Hl and Physics SL because you need a certain number of teaching hours. Unless you have a qualified teacher wiling to teach you (for free, I assume), then you can't do this.

And btw, getting 7 in SL means little in comparison to Math HL. If I were you, just self study AP which are easier and more acessible.

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  • 7 months later...

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