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Whether you’re a big-picture thinker or a details-oriented person, having a clear understanding of the IB Psychology syllabus and how to fit it into those 150 standard level or 240 higher level hours is vital.

I can’t imagine the stress of standing in front of my class for the first time in September without a clear roadmap to guide them.

Long-term planning can be a logistical challenge, but putting all the pieces together to see how everything fits makes it a totally worthwhile endeavour.

Creating Your Roadmap

So, how do you create a long-term plan?Here are some simple steps to follow:

1. Produce a yearly plan, split into individual weeks that reflect your school calendar.
2. Create space in the plan to assign topics for SL and/or HL.
3. Allocate space for assessments.
4. Calculate appropriate time for each paper (based on weight).
5. Use the syllabus to create a list of topics.
6. Calculate time for each topic within each paper.
7. Decide on the order of study.

Optimal Study Sequence

What order of study works best?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but after experimenting with a few variations, I’ve found the following works best:

Standard Level

1. Biological Approach
2. Cognitive Approach
3. Socio-cultural Approach
4. Internal Assessment
5. Paper 2 Option Unit

Here’s a copy of my SL plan for next year. (IBDP SL Psychology Year 1 LTP.docx)

Higher Level

1. Biological Approach
2. Cognitive Approach
3. Socio-cultural Approach
4. Approaches to Research
5. Internal Assessment
6. Paper 2 Option Unit 1
7. Paper 2 Option Unit 2

Here’s a copy of my HL plan for next year. (IBDP HL Psychology Year 1 LTP.docx)

It becomes a bit more complicated if you’re teaching standard level and higher level together, but here is a copy of how I do it (IBDP SL and HL Psychology Year 1 LTP.docx).

Managing Assessments

I also like to pre-plan my assessments so that I can regularly check progress and offer extra support or challenges when needed.Many factors will affect your long-term planning, such as the ability and size of your class, as well as whole-school determined deadlines.

Get your head around those factors and spend time working out a plan that will work best for you and your students. 

You won’t look back. 

The road ahead will be clear, and you’ll save time and energy, allowing you to focus on doing the things you love.

See you next week,

Thes

Future articles in this series:

• The importance of cultural relativism.
• Being contemporary in IB Psychology. 
• How to recap Year 1.