IB Group 6 subjects

The Group Six of IB Diploma Programme subjects is subtitled 'the arts and electives'. In group six, students can take any of the subjects offered in the other five groups. There are also a number of arts options such as music, theatre arts, and visual arts. Two new programs are in the pilot stage: Film and Dance. Many school-based syllabi, those devised by a group of IB schools rather than the IBO, also fit into this group.

IB Music

IB Music can be taken at either the standard level (SL) or higher level (HL). For both levels of IB Music the candidate must conduct a musical investigation. This requires research of two completely different musical genres with comparable qualities (ex.Tuvan throat singing and Baroque opera). The information will then be presented in the form of a media script which will be assessed externally.

There are three paths in which the IB Music SL course can be taken: group performance, solo performance, or composition. For the group performance, the candidate should participate either in the school ensemble or a similarly serious group. To fulfill the solo performance requirements, the candidate must perform an accumulation of approximately 20 minutes as a solo instrumentalist. It is in the candidate’s best interest to limit him or herself to a single instrument, but this is not a requirement. A candidate who chooses composition should compose between 5-15 minutes worth of original music, consisting of three contrasting pieces. Each of the three compositions should be recorded for assessment purposes.

The IB Music HL course combines a medley of the IB Music SL options into a single curriculum. To satisfy IB Music HL, the candidate must perform solo for an accumulation of 20 minutes (again, it is in the candidate’s best interest to play only one instrument) and write three contrasting compositions that last between 5 and 15 minutes.

At the conclusion of both the SL and HL courses, the candidate must take a written examination that will be assessed externally. In preparation for the exam, the candidate will be provided with a soundtrack and complete score for a specified composition. The exam itself will include five questions. The first question will have two parts and will be in relation to the score provided prior to the examination. The remaining four questions will be based on four excerpts the candidate has not heard before. All of the questions will ask for a written response, analyzing each excerpt based on three given aspects of music. The examination will last two hours and thirty minutes.

Further details of the course can be found in the IB Music Wikibook. [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/IB_Music/Exam]

IB Theatre

In the IB Theatre SL program students must complete three summative projects. The first is a research commission of 1,750 words or 2,500 for HL students. The second is a portfolio project not to exceed 3,000 words for standard level, but for higher level 4,500 words that concludes the two years work based on journal entries which are required to be kept throughout the program. The final project is an oral interview about the direction of a play. The student must choose from a selection of plays and discuss how they would direct it. In the HL course there is an additional project entitled the Individual Project in which the students choose an aspect of theatre arts, for instance, writing a play, and they are allowed full artistic license during the project but are expected to present the project and write a summary of it for their portfolio. However the course has been changed this year and the research is no longer required for IB candidates graduating in 2009 or later.

For students graduating in 2009, a 4000 word essay must be submitted as part of the independent project.A research investigation approx. 2000 words.

to be continued

IB Visual Art

There are two areas of focus in the IB Visual Arts subject. The first is studio (practical work) and the second is the research workbook. The Visual Art program aims to teach the student about design, structure and the aesthetic development of work. The candidates must demonstrate creative and personal thinking, feeling and interaction with their work.

The exam for Visual Art encourages the candidate to articulate their concerns and development over the course of the two years of study. An exhibition will be constructed of the candidates work and an external examiner will visit and talk to the student about their pieces. This given mark is then moderated against the Record of Workbook, which contains a collection of photographs of the candidates work and a number of photocopied pages from their research workbook.

The candidates' research workbooks are also marked, once internally and once externally. These books aim to show the candidates journey over the two years of study. They document art and design history that is relevant to the candidate’s exploration of ideas and will also contain notes, sketches, photographs, mind-maps and pictures of inspiration, development and final works. The candidate must also document a number of art exhibition visits.

Elective Subjects

Group 6 subjects are considered electives, and thus any other IB Subject from another group can be taken as a replacement. A common scenario is where students are unable to study Group 6 subjects, and must therefore study two subjects from any group. This often results in students studying an extra language, social science class, science class, ITGS, or Computer Science. ITGS and Computer Science would be taken only as sixth subjects because they do not replace their respective group subjects.