DP-Analysis

and Approaches Subject booklet

Table of Contents
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme ....................................................... 2
Mathematics: analysis and approaches ............................................................................. 2
What do you need to be a successful person? ................................................................... 4
Process of learning - Learning phases ................................................................................ 5
Time management ............................................................................................................ 9
Class Codes ...................................................................................................................... 11
Policies ............................................................................................................................ 13
Teacher’s expectations .................................................................................................... 14
Syllabus outline ............................................................................................................... 15
Assessment – Outline SL .................................................................................................. 16
Assessment – Outline AHL ............................................................................................... 17
Assessment – Glossary of command terms ...................................................................... 18
Internal assessment- Mathematical exploration .............................................................. 20
Assessment criteria for Explorations ................................................................................ 21

Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 27














AA Subject booklet 1

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

“The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (DP) is a rigorous pre-university course of
studies, leading to an examination, that meets the needs of highly motivated secondary
school students between the ages of 16 and 19 years. “

Put in mind that:

The BEST is for the BEST

Description of your course:

Mathematics: analysis and approaches
This course recognizes the need for analytical expertise in a world where innovation is
increasingly dependent on a deep understanding of mathematics. This course includes topics
that are both traditionally part of a pre-university mathematics course (for example,
functions, trigonometry, calculus) as well as topics that are amenable to investigation,
conjecture and proof, for instance the study of sequences and series at both SL and HL, and
proof by induction at HL.

The course allows the use of technology, as fluency in relevant mathematical software and
hand-held technology is important regardless of choice of course. However, Mathematics:
analysis and approaches has a strong emphasis on the ability to construct, communicate and
justify correct mathematical arguments.

Mathematics: analysis and approaches: Distinction between SL and HL

Students who choose Mathematics: analysis and approaches at SL or HL should be

comfortable in the manipulation of algebraic expressions and enjoy the recognition of
patterns and understand the mathematical generalization of these patterns. Students who wish
to take Mathematics: analysis and approaches at higher level will have strong algebraic skills
and the ability to understand simple proof. They will be students who enjoy spending time
with problems and get pleasure and satisfaction from solving challenging problems.

Aims
The aims of all DP mathematics courses are to enable students to:

1. develop a curiosity and enjoyment of mathematics, and appreciate its elegance and
power.
2. develop an understanding of the concepts, principles and nature of mathematics.
3. communicate mathematics clearly, concisely and confidently in a variety of contexts.
4. develop logical and creative thinking, and patience and persistence in problem
solving to instil confidence in using mathematics.
5. employ and refine their powers of abstraction and generalization.
6. Take action to apply and transfer skills to alternative situations, to other areas of
knowledge and to future developments in their local and global communities.
7. appreciate how developments in technology and mathematics influence each other.

AA Subject booklet 2

 8. appreciate the moral, social and ethical questions arising from the work of
mathematicians and the applications of mathematics.
9. appreciate the universality of mathematics and its multicultural, international and
historical perspectives.
10. appreciate the contribution of mathematics to other disciplines, and as a particular
“area of knowledge” in the TOK course.
11. develop the ability to reflect critically upon their own work and the work of others.
12. independently and collaboratively extend their understanding of mathematics.

AA Subject booklet 3

What do you need to be a successful person?

1- Enhance your IB learner profile:

Profile Inquirer Knowledgeable Critical thinker Communicator Risk-taker

Rating

Profile Principled Caring Open-minded Well-balanced Reflective

Rating

Now
1- Give your self a rating from 1 to 4 in each attribute (where 4 is really excellent, and 1
is really weak and needs improvement)
2- Put yourself a target to improve the weak attribute and enhance your strong
attribute, as it will be what makes you special in the community.
3- Calculate the total and at the end of each term recalculate it and check how well you
are improving

As you can see being intelligent or a genius is just 1/10 of what you need to be successful
Enhancing your IB profile is what will lead you to increase your performance.


2- Be motivated

To be motivated you should begin by setting yourself an objective in life. The rules of setting
an objective are that it should be: SMART

Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timed


Tick under each to check if you did set a SMART objective

Every morning remind yourself of your objective to charge your battery of energy.
Remember that “if there is a will there is a way”.
This motivation will certainly lead you to be a HARD WORKER.

MOTIVATION IS FROM THE INSIDE

3- Be organised
Without organisation you will be lost in the tasks and unable to fulfil them.

AA Subject booklet 4

Process of learning - Learning phases

AA Subject booklet 5

Phase one [Being fit]:
• Healthy food
• Eight consecutive hours of sleep
• Exercising

Phase two [In class]:
• Concentration
• Note taking
• Participation

Phase three [closing the Jar]:
• Quick review of the lesson
• Writing the concepts and skills
• Dividing the HW

Phase four [HW]
• Solve the HW and correct question by question with a different coloured pen
• Solve each question with high concentration as if it is in an exam
• Prepare the material you will study from in the future

Phase five [Studying]:

You study the topic once and revise it every time you have a test
Where to study from ? (tools needed)
o Class copy book (Work on your note taking skill, remember
that your class copybook should contain more than what is
written on the board)
o Book or booklets provided, HW copy book, past exams and
past reflections and Exercise sheets
o Syllabus specific skills

Before studying prepare the suitable atmosphere:
o Neither hungry nor full.
o Concentrate; don’t be distracted by thinking of something
else.
o Suitable weather
o No noise what so ever, even music is considered a distraction
factor. Don’t forget that you have five senses and one mind,
full concentration when least senses are working.

AA Subject booklet 6

 o All your tools should be prepared before you start (no need to
go search for tools or resources during the studying process)
o Your stay should be effective (80-100%)
o The stay shouldn’t be less than 4 hours with a possible 10 min
break in-between. (This means about 2 consecutive hours
without any distraction, this will increase your ability of
concentration in exams)

During studying follow the steps below IN ORDER
1- Open the book (which is already edited) and all other tools.
2- While studying a topic you need to:
a. Write on a separate paper/copybook the skills of each topic.
b. Solve problems on each skill until you master it.
c. Choose one problem on each skill to be solved during the revision phase.
(write it down or write its reference)
3- Make a summary of concepts and skills without looking at the skills you wrote earlier
then revise it to make a full summary
4- In the full summary finalise the choice of selected questions to ensure that they
cover all the skills within the topic. (can be short questions or extended ones).
After studying
• Put your summary in a safe place for use during revision phase
• Remember that when you wrote these you were in your best shape in this
topic and you need to reach this same best shape in a very short time when
you revise for the end of year exam.

AA Subject booklet 7

Note that you need to discover your learning style
o Visual learner (use colours, underline, put rules in boxes and
summarize into tables at the end of each chapter).
Summarizing is a skill that you need to improve during your
whole life. Don’t forget to put * or an arrow beside important
points
o Kinaesthetic learner [learn by doing]
o Auditory learner [learn by listening]

Phase six [Revising]:

1- Prepare all material, including the syllabus guide
2- Calculate the expected time to revise each topic to make sure that the time you
allocate is applicable
3- Revise topic by topic from summaries and while revising the topic you should solve
some of the selected questions
4- When you finish revising all the topics as described above, solve a collection of
questions covering all topics as a home test

REMEMBER; When you work, you have to FOCUS for at least 2 consecutive hours (i.e.
no disturbance by emails, face book, TV,…etc)

" People who are doing good today are ensuring their happiness for
tomorrow" - Robin S. Sharma

AA Subject booklet 8

Time management

1- Prepare the suitable ground

The first step is to calculate how many hours of studying you can afford per week.

Example of a daily plan
SUN to WED
6:30 wake up
8:00 to 4:00 At school
4:00 to 4:30 take lunch
4:30 to 5:30 Only one hour of sleep (studies proved that 45 min of rest is the best if you cant then cancel
it)
5:30 to 6:00 refreshment
6:00 to 8:00 Study I (2 hours without interruption)
8:00 to 8:10 Break
8:15 to 10:15 Study II (2 hours without interruption)
10:15 to 11:00 Dinner and rest (reading for 15 minutes before sleeping is a good idea)
11:00 Go to bed
THU
6:30 wake up
8:00 to 4:00 At school
4:00 to 4:30 take lunch
4:30 to 5:30 Only one hour of sleep (studies proved that 45 min of rest is the best)
6:00 to 8:00 Study I (2 hours without interruption to make plan of week as described below)
8:00 to 8:30 Get dressed to go out J
8:30 to 10:30 Go out with your friends
10:30 to 11:00 Reading for 15 minutes before sleeping is a good idea
11:00 Go to bed
FRI
6:30 wake up, take a small breakfast (spoon of honey, Biscuits and tea)
7:00 to 11:30 Study I(4.5 hours without interruption)
11:30 to 12:00 Take breakfast with the family
12:00 to 01:00 Rest and boys go to pray
01:00 to 4:00 Study II (3 hours without interruption)
4:00 to 4:30 Take lunch
4:30 to 5:30 Only one hour of sleep (studies proved that 45 min of rest is the best)
5:30 to 6:00 Get dressed to go out J
6:00 to 10:30 Go out with your friends (playing sports is a good idea)
10:30 to 11:00 Reading for 15 minutes before sleeping is a good idea
11:00 Go to bed
SAT
6:30 wake up, take a small breakfast (spoon of honey, Biscuits and tea)
7:00 to 11:00 Study I (4 hours without interruption)
11:00 to 11:30 Take breakfast with the family
11:30 to 4:00 Study II (4.5 hours without interruption)
4:00 to 4:30 Take lunch
4:30 to 5:30 Only one hour of sleep (studies proved that 45 min of rest is the best)
6:00 to 8:00 Study III (2 hours without interruption)
8:00 to 8:30 Get dressed to go out J
8:30 to 10:00 Go out with your friends [this break is important before the start of the week]
10:00 to 11:00 Rest at home (reading for 15 minutes before sleeping is a good idea)
11:00 Go to bed

AA Subject booklet 9

Notice that:
1) You sleep everyday at the same time and wake up at the same time; this will be better
for your body development and your mind development.
2) You go out 3 times per week, doing some sports in this time is an excellent idea to keep
you in shape.
3) Now you know that during one week you have around 40 hours of study. Whatever you
change never wake up late on FRI and SAT and keep minimum 35 effective study hours
4) Every Thursday dedicate one or two hours to prepare your plan of the week
5) Every weekend you should plan to study at least two subjects


Now that you have calculated the studying hours (35 to 40 hours depending
on your capabilities) and specified the daily plan, how will you fill these
hours??

2- Assigning expected duration of tasks

Consider every subject and on Thursday, the planning day, assign the duration of each task.
Example: how many hours you need to study each subject and how many hours you need to
do the maths HW and so on.

3- Put every task in its correct position in the following table:


URGENT NOT URGENT

IMPORTANT


NOT IMPORTANT


In this step you will know which task to start with.

Which cell should be the most filled with tasks ???

AA Subject booklet 10

Class Codes

Respect and love are two main ingredients:

Both are essential basics of a successful teacher-student or student-
student relation

Our class is like a chain, this chain is as strong as its weakest link:

By supporting others you guarantee having someone to support you during a
rainy day

“Where is shouting, there is no true knowledge” Leonardo Davinci

I hate shouting; to organize the class we will agree on a certain sign to
indicate when we should have a complete silence. (Repetition is not a sign of
importance)

You are grown up now and responsible:

o You will correct your HW from the answers one by one and
use a red or green pen. If the answer is wrong you should redo
the problem until you get the correct answer then step to next
question. Persistence is a key of success

o I will ask at the beginning of the lesson if you have troubles in

the HW, you are responsible to ask when you have a problem.

You all have the chance of a new beginning:

“An error doesn’t turn to a mistake until you refuse to correct it” J.f Kenedy]

o Never wait until your problem is huge but come to me as soon
as you feel you are not confident in a certain topic.

o Always remember that “if there is a will there is a way.”

Your Tools:

1- Class copybook: a jumbo copybook

2- Homework copybook: a thin copybook also with a table of contents.
3- Graphic display Calculator
4- Essential with everyone: Blue or Black Pen, 0.5 mm pencil, rubber, ruler and
at least 1 phosphoric highlighter.

AA Subject booklet 11

 5- Optional with few students only: Glue stick, corrector, scotch, scissors,
protractor and a compass ….etc.
[Note that to pass an item you should ask the teacher first NEVER THROW ITEMS]

AA Subject booklet 12

Policies

A- Lateness policy:

If you come and you find the door closed, you should stay out without knocking on
the door and without moving. Wait outside until you are take the permission to
enter the class.

B- Absence policy:

Follow ALL these 7 steps and in order:

1- Ask a colleague by phone what we took in class (which part in book)
2- Read lesson and examples from book and try to solve the homework
3- When you come to school, photocopy the lesson
4- Ask the nominated colleague for explanation
5- Copy the lesson in your class copybook
6- Review the homework if you had problems to finish it
7- Come to me after all the above to show me your class copybook and the HW
(I will not ask you to come but you should come by yourself)

C- Mobile policy:

If I see or hear a mobile in the class room:

For the first time:
I will take the mobile and sim card until the next day. If the next day is a vacation then you
will take back the mobile after the vacation. However, if you have a good account with me,
you may take it during the vacation.

For the Second time:
I will take the mobile and sim card for 3 days. If the end of the three days is during a
vacation then you will take back the mobile after the vacation. However, if you have a good
account with me, you may take it during the vacation.

For the Third time:
I will take the mobile and sim card for one week. If the end of the week is during a vacation
then you will take back the mobile after the vacation. However, if you have a good account
with me, you may take it during the vacation.

AA Subject booklet 13

Teacher’s expectations


A. Come to class on time

B. Once you enter the class you should:

1. Sit quietly
2. Take out your class copybook and book should be in front of you and ready to
be used.
3. Always have your homework ready to be checked.
4. LOOK, LISTEN, THINK before you ask a question.
5. Whenever you want to ask a question raise your hand and I will listen to your
question and answer it in the appropriate time.
6. Listen carefully to your colleagues’ questions
7. Respect your colleagues and do not interrupt them
8. When a teacher asks a question raise your hand to answer, sometimes the
teacher want to give your colleagues the opportunity to think
9. Never stand-up or move without a permission even when the bell rings, you
should wait until the teacher dismisses the class.
10. Clean your place before moving out of the class.

C. Daily at home:
1. Revise the lesson and complete it in your class copybook
2. Read book examples concerning the lesson
3. Solve the homework and correct every question with a red or green pen, one
by one not at the end of the homework,.
4. If you are required to revise a topic at home before the start of a new lesson
do it with concentration because it will help you understand the new lesson
correctly and smoothly.

D. Before tests and exams:

1. Follow the instructions in the “How to study” lesson.
2. Sleep early (Maximum 11:00 pm you should be in bed)

AA Subject booklet 14

Syllabus outline

AA Subject booklet 15

Assessment – Outline SL

AA Subject booklet 16

Assessment – Outline AHL

AA Subject booklet 17

Assessment – Glossary of command terms

AA Subject booklet 18



AA Subject booklet 19

Internal assessment- Mathematical exploration
The specific purposes of the exploration are to:
• develop students’ personal insight into the nature of mathematics and to develop
their ability to ask their own questions about mathematics

• provide opportunities for students to complete a piece of mathematical work over
an extended period of time

• enable students to experience the satisfaction of applying mathematical processes
independently

• provide students with the opportunity to experience for themselves the beauty,
power and usefulness of mathematics

• encourage students, where appropriate, to discover, use and appreciate the power
of technology as a mathematical tool

• enable students to develop the qualities of patience and persistence, and to reflect
on the significance of their work

• provide opportunities for students to show, with confidence, how they have
developed mathematically.
Requirements and recommendations:
• Students can choose from a wide variety of activities, for example, modelling,
investigations and applications of mathematics.
• The exploration should be approximately 12-20 pages long with double line spacing,
including diagrams and graphs, but excluding the bibliography. However, it is the
quality of the mathematical writing that is important, not the length.
• Teachers are responsible for indicating to students the existence of errors but should
not explicitly correct these errors. It must be emphasized that students are expected
to consult the teacher throughout the process.
• Students need to start planning their explorations as early as possible in the course.
Deadlines should be firmly established.
• There should be a date for submission of the exploration topic and a brief outline
description, a date for the submission of the first draft and, of course, a date for
completion.
• In developing their explorations, students should aim to make use of mathematics
learned as part of the course. The mathematics used should be commensurate with
the level of the course, that is, it should be similar to that suggested by the syllabus.
It is not expected that students produce work that is outside the mathematics
syllabus—however, this is not penalized.

AA Subject booklet 20

Assessment criteria for Explorations

The exploration is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB
using assessment criteria that relate to the objectives for mathematics.
Each exploration is assessed against the following five criteria. The final mark for each
exploration is the sum of the scores for each criterion. The maximum possible final mark is
20.
Students will not receive a grade for their mathematics course if they have not submitted an
exploration.

The “presentation” criterion assesses the organization and coherence of the exploration.

A coherent exploration is logically developed, easy to follow and meets its aim. This refers
to the overall structure or framework, including introduction, body, conclusion and how
well the different parts link to each other.

A well-organized exploration includes an introduction, describes the aim of the exploration
and has a conclusion. Relevant graphs, tables and diagrams should accompany the work in
the appropriate place and not be attached as appendices to the document. Appendices
should be used to include information on large data sets, additional graphs, diagrams and
tables.

A concise exploration does not show irrelevant or unnecessary repetitive calculations,
graphs or descriptions.

The use of technology is not required but encouraged where appropriate. However, the use
of analytic approaches rather than technological ones does not necessarily mean lack of
conciseness, and should not be penalized. This does not mean that repetitive calculations
are condoned.

AA Subject booklet 21


The “mathematical communication” criterion assesses to what extent the student has:

• used appropriate mathematical language (notation, symbols, terminology).
Calculator and computer notation is acceptable only if it is software generated.
Otherwise it is expected that students use appropriate mathematical notation in
their work.
• defined key terms and variables, where required.
• used multiple forms of mathematical representation, such as formulae, diagrams,
tables, charts, graphs and models, where appropriate.
• used a deductive method and set out proofs logically where appropriate.

Examples of level 1 can include graphs not being labelled, consistent use of computer
notation with no other forms of correct mathematical communication.

Level 4 can be achieved by using only one form of mathematical representation as long as
this is appropriate to the topic being explored. For level 4, any minor errors that do not
impair clear communication should not be penalizsed.

The “personal engagement” criterion assesses the extent to which the student engages with
the topic by exploring the mathematics and making it their own. It is not a measure of
effort.

Personal engagement may be recognized in different ways. These include thinking
independently or creatively, presenting mathematical ideas in their own way, exploring the
topic from different perspectives, making and testing predictions. Further (but not

AA Subject booklet 22

exhaustive) examples of personal engagement at different levels are given in the teacher
support material (TSM).

There must be evidence of personal engagement demonstrated in the student’s work. It is
not sufficient that a teacher comments that a student was highly engaged.

Textbook style explorations or reproduction of readily available mathematics without the
candidate’s own perspective are unlikely to achieve the higher levels.

Significant: The student demonstrates authentic personal engagement in the exploration on
a few occasions and it is evident that these drive the exploration forward and help the
reader to better understand the writer’s intentions.

Outstanding: The student demonstrates authentic personal engagement in the exploration
in numerous instances and they are of a high quality. It is evident that these drive the
exploration forward in a creative way. It leaves the impression that the student has
developed, through their approach, a complete understanding of the context of the
exploration topic and the reader better understands the writer’s intentions.

he “reflection” criterion assesses how the student reviews, analyses and evaluates the
exploration. Although reflection may be seen in the conclusion to the exploration, it may
also be found throughout the exploration.

Simply describing results represents limited reflection. Further consideration is required to
achieve the higher levels.

Some ways of showing meaningful reflection are: linking to the aims of the exploration,
commenting on what they have learned, considering some limitation or comparing different
mathematical approaches.

Critical reflection is reflection that is crucial, deciding or deeply insightful. It will often
develop the exploration by addressing the mathematical results and their impact on the
student’s understanding of the topic. Some ways of showing critical reflection are:
considering what next, discussing implications of results, discussing strengths and
weaknesses of approaches, and considering different perspectives.

Substantial evidence means that the critical reflection is present throughout the
exploration. If it appears at the end of the exploration it must be of high quality and
demonstrate how it developed the exploration in order to achieve a level 3.

AA Subject booklet 23



The “Use of mathematics” SL criterion assesses to what extent students use mathematics
that is relevant to the exploration.

Relevant refers to mathematics that supports the development of the exploration towards
the completion of its aim. Overly complicated mathematics where simple mathematics
would suffice is not relevant.

Students are expected to produce work that is commensurate with the level of the course,
which means it should not be completely based on mathematics listed in the prior learning.
The mathematics explored should either be part of the syllabus, or at a similar level.

A key word in the descriptor is demonstrated. The command term demonstrate means “to
make clear by reasoning or evidence, illustrating with examples or practical application”.
Obtaining the correct answer is not sufficient to demonstrate understanding (even some
understanding) in order to achieve level 2 or higher.

For knowledge and understanding to be thorough it must be demonstrated throughout.

The mathematics can be regarded as correct even if there are occasional minor errors as
long as they do not detract from the flow of the mathematics or lead to an unreasonable
outcome.

Students are encouraged to use technology to obtain results where appropriate, but
understanding must be demonstrated in order for the student to achieve higher than level
1, for example merely substituting values into a formula does not necessarily demonstrate
understanding of the results.

AA Subject booklet 24

The mathematics only needs to be what is required to support the development of the
exploration. This could be a few small elements of mathematics or even a single topic (or
sub-topic) from the syllabus. It is better to do a few things well than a lot of things not so
well. If the mathematics used is relevant to the topic being explored, commensurate with
the level of the course and understood by the student, then it can achieve a high level in this
criterion.

The “Use of mathematics” HL criterion assesses to what extent students use relevant
mathematics in the exploration.

Students are expected to produce work that is commensurate with the level of the course,
which means it should not be completely based on mathematics listed in the prior learning.
The mathematics explored should either be part of the syllabus, at a similar level or slightly
beyond. However, mathematics of a level slightly beyond the syllabus is not required to
achieve the highest levels.

A key word in the descriptor is demonstrated. The command term demonstrate means to
make clear by reasoning or evidence, illustrating with examples or practical application.
Obtaining the correct answer is not sufficient to demonstrate understanding (even some
understanding) in order to achieve level 2 or higher.

For knowledge and understanding to be thorough it must be demonstrated throughout.
Lines of reasoning must be shown to justify steps in the mathematical development of the
exploration.

AA Subject booklet 25

Relevant refers to mathematics that supports the development of the exploration towards
the completion of its aim. Overly complicated mathematics where simple mathematics
would suffice is not relevant.

The mathematics can be regarded as correct even if there are occasional minor errors as
long as they do not detract from the flow of the mathematics or lead to an unreasonable
outcome. Precise mathematics is error-free and uses an appropriate level of accuracy at all
times.

Sophistication: To be considered as sophisticated the mathematics used should be
commensurate with the HL syllabus or, if contained in the SL syllabus, the mathematics has
been used in a complex way that is beyond what could reasonably be expected of an SL
student. Sophistication in mathematics may include understanding and using challenging
mathematical concepts, looking at a problem from different perspectives and seeing
underlying structures to link different areas of mathematics.

Rigour involves clarity of logic and language when making mathematical arguments and
calculations. Mathematical claims relevant to the development of the exploration must be
justified or proven.

Students are encouraged to use technology to obtain results where appropriate, but
understanding must be demonstrated in order for the student to achieve level 1 or higher,
for example merely substituting values into a formula does not necessarily demonstrate
understanding of the results.

The mathematics only needs to be what is required to support the development of the
exploration. This could be a few small elements of mathematics or even a single topic (or
sub-topic) from the syllabus. It is better to do a few things well than a lot of things not so
well. If the mathematics used is relevant to the topic being explored, commensurate with
the level of the course and understood by the student, then it can achieve a high level in this
criterion.

AA Subject booklet 26