IB Diploma Economics:
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A REVIEW OF THE IB Economics TEACHING AND LEARNING RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO BOTH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Mr Burton Reviews |
Derek Burton, site author of IBDeconomics.com, is Head of Commerce at a leading independent IB school. He is a very experienced and highly successful IB Economics teacher. Here he reviews the resources available to teachers and students of the course.
The teaching and learning textbooks, study guides and other learning technologies listed below are a comprehensive selection of the available resources. The reviews here, while based on his opinions and experiences, are also triangulated with his network of influential IB Economics practitioners. If you are a teacher looking to resource your course or a student looking for the best textbook or study guide, read on ... The key point to take home from the IB Economics teaching and learning resources review, is that while there are some very good resources out there, there is no single resource that will allow the student to achieve the 7. Students really need a good and experienced IB Economics teacher to guide them through more advanced knowledge and engage them in critical thinking. |
Best Classroom TextbookThis textbook by Ellie Tragakes is the most comprehensive IB Economics textbook on the market. Its in depth coverage of topics and fine array of relevant questions is second to none.
However, and admittedly superficially, the design of the book isn't great and it's visually unappealing with no photos or pictures besides the IB Economics models. Only two colours are used throughout. Further, many of the textbook student comprehension questions do not have answers. The answers it does have are contained in a separate CD which brings one or two issues with classroom use. Your students will never reach the required knowledge to gain a 7 in this course without the depth and breadth of coverage this book provides. A great classroom resource to have. Please do not make your students carry this to and fro between class and home. It is an exceptionally weighty option and provides too much coverage of aspects of the course that are not assessed in the IB Economics examinations. An experienced teacher is needed to guide their students through what is and what is not important. |
Most student friendly TextbookIf funding is not an issue at your school, you should have Tragakes in the classroom (perhaps enough for one between two) and this book in your students' bags, or even better, loaded onto your students' laptops. Yes, it is the only (decent) text that's available as an e-book (which means that it is a readable PDF with a few links).
As a student, it is relatively easy to read and understand guide to the course. It's also the best designed textbook having colour and pictures. However, it is not a comprehensive guide and your teacher will need to supplement it with other IB Economics material. This book has few questions aligned towards each topic being studied, and does not provide answers – so again, an experienced teacher is going to be important here if this is your textbook of choice. This book is promoted as having various online activities, worksheets and quizzes, but none of these are great, and again, there are no answers to any of the activities. Good luck with having your students complete one of their online 'interactive' quizzes! |
Poor OFFERINGS FOR THE PRICEAs Economists we know about value! This is a very expensive set of limited multi-choice and fill in the blank type questions. The content isn't sufficient for the two year IB Economics diploma course, not engaging enough to motivate students, and too shallow to drive student learning. Some teachers may use it to 'occupy' students for 20 minutes occasionally. Really, I would have my students engaging in some economics news, watching a short video or engaging in a group activity instead – all infinitely more beneficial. This author has the cheek to print on each page that the work can't be photocopied and handed out to students. You may need to buy some extra whiteout!
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Worst textbookEasily the worst offering in the IB Economics textbook market.The only reason you would have this IB Economics textbook is that it is the first textbook that is released when the IB Economics syllabus is updated. New IB Economics teachers may be persuaded to purchase this because it is the only IB Economics textbook that is endorsed by the IBO. Experienced teachers know that they probably need to buy one of these texts when the new syllabus is updated to help with their planning. Experienced teachers will wait three to six months for the better textbooks to hit the market before making a purchase for their classroom set. The content is limited, the design is poor and the questions are superficial.
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Best Study GuideI never recommend study guides to my students. Course concepts are almost invariably presented in their shallowest form (e.g., definitions and summary tables). If you have been bone idle for the two years of your course and would be happy with an IB Economics 4 or 5, then you may consider purchasing this for revision purposes. Possibly. Students, listen to your teachers. The best IB Economics study guide on the market, not that that's much of a recommendation! All IB Economics concepts are sufficiently covered here and have very clear explanations and models, and it has especially useful step-by-step guides to the quantitative components of the IB Economics HL Paper 3.
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Worst Study guideThis IB Economics study guide presents the student with the worst possible options. Many concepts are addressed in insufficient depth and some are missing completely. Surely the author and publisher should have left out the numerous blank pages where students are expected to take their own notes that pointlessly bulk up the book and added extra content instead – more models, information or explanations.
This study guide is not particularly succinct or easy to understand. There is a very disappointing lack of good questions where students can practice concepts and understanding. And, with all of these faults it is not cheap! |
Tonnes of useful InformationThis book has lots of great information and is very question and answer focused. It is one of the few IB Economics resources that pitches its concepts and explanations at a reasonably high level. It is great for the high achieving IB Economics student who has an inexperienced or ineffectual IB Economics teacher. It is pitched at a reasonably high level and many students may have difficulties with the explanations and questions. It makes an ideal supplement to a good IB Economics textbook. I really like this book but I have tried and failed to figure out how to use this as a classroom resource! The great 'exercise' questions don't have answers. The 'example' questions have answers that follow directly on from the questions.
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Second best study guideThis is an okay IB Economics study guide (as far as study guides go). I do not recommend study guides for any student, especially ones that purport to cover two years worth of content.
The coverage of IB Economics concepts is succinct and most explanations are reasonably clear. All practice questions are left to a meagre two pages at the end. These questions do not have answers to check understanding. If you are going to ignore this advice and hope that the purchase a study guide will save you, then purchase the Pearson's Essentials and find yourself a good source of exam practice questions. |
THird best study guideA very plain and lightweight IB Economics study guide. Both HL and SL are available. Limited treatment of the quantitative Paper 3 material. A poor selection of questions for the student to test understanding. If you are really going to buy an IB Economics study guide, buy a better one.
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There are no secrets hereA misleading title to a very average IB Economics study guide.There are definitely no magical secrets or shortcuts here that are going to save any student in their IB Economics examinations. If you are really going to buy an IB Economics study guide, buy a better one.
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IB Economics IA examplesThere is not that much help with the IB Economics commentary to be found in this book. Limited advice at the start of the book is followed by example commentaries that provide no indication of what makes these good examples. For the student, I seriously doubt that there is anything in this book that your IB Economics teacher won't provide you. Save your money. For the teacher, you probably have a good collection of IB Economics commentaries that you can share with your students. If not, then this is a ready collection for you.
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Little help with the commentaryThis is the only student resource that specifically targets the IB Economics IA and as such could hold immediate appeal to an eager student. This guide is not going to provide any more information, advice or guidance than your wise and knowledgeable IB Economics teacher will. All IB Economics teachers take the IA commentary very seriously because they know just how valuable collecting maximum marks on the IA is in terms of students' overall grades. If you are operating in a vacuum, by all means purchase the only IB Economics IA guide.
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Disappointing digital resourceTake a second rate textbook/study guide, digitise the content and add a few links, a few youtube videos, a few poorly produced teacher videos, and you have Kognity. If you did not like the Lanterna Education textbook/study guide then you are not going to like this either. It is less expensive than the other 'interactive' digital IB Economics resources, but you get what you pay for. I haven't purchased this for my class as I was unimpressed by the demonstration resource. I haven't heard anything good from other IB Economics teachers about Kognity's IB Economics. My recommendation is that if you want a good digitised text for your students laptops then purchase the digital version of Pearson's IB Economic Essentials.
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A VERY EXPENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
The complete set will cost you around $700! This is really a set of limited IB Economics notes. While I don't particularly like much of the content contained in the OSC IB Economics digital resource, I do like that they can be easily shared with students across school's e-learning platforms (Moodle, Blackboard, etc). All of my students have this loaded onto their laptops and I occasionally have them make use of it. This sort of resource should have many more learning activities and finding relevant activities should be easier. Ticks some e-learning boxes, but really should tick more. You will need lots of time to sort the good from the bad, and time is something IB Economics teachers don't have a lot of!
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good multiple choice questionsThere are not a lot of multiple choice questions targeting each topic of the IB Economics course, but there are probably enough to build some quizzes with if you have a little imagination and can create a few questions yourself. Buy one copy if you like preparing interactive quizzes for your class. Could make a quick throw-away IB Economics revision resource for students searching for more questions to test their knowledge.
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Good Data Response QuestionsFor students that don't have access to IB Economics examination papers and markschemes, there is a reasonable range of data response questions for students to practice their comprehension. It is especially pleasing to see Paper 2 stimulus material for the IB Economics-specific International and Development sections of the course.
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Useful for someA difficult review here. Firstly, there are two of these books, HL and SL. If you are a teacher in the market to purchase this kind of book you should definitely only buy the HL edition. I believe that these books contain a lot of useful IB Economics information. But there is no real content, only good 'how to'. The layout and structure of their respective sets of contents is initially difficult to follow. What worked for me as a new IB Economics teacher was to just put it to one side and only turn to it once I had a particular question or problem clearly identified and formed in my head.
Only my best students would have the time or inclination to devote to this, and these students are exactly the ones who would least be in need of the information provided here – listen to your teachers! |
$50 IB Economics Flashcards!A ridiculous amount of money to spend on a very average set of IB Economics flashcards. We think that all students should have separate flashcards for each IB Economics topic which should then be combined for each IB Economics unit. Please, don't spend money a set. Make your own or Google 'IB Economics Flashcards' to find flashcards some other IB Economics student has prepared.
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EXECRABLE TEACHER PD
If you are ever offered an online workshop from this company, run screaming. The most ineffective and infuriating IB Economics teacher professional development I have ever had the misfortune of being involved in. Don't let your IB Diploma Coordinator strong arm you into doing one of these courses, you just don't have the time to waste. These courses have many pointless activities, are very structured and do not provide any room for differentiated learning (i.e., going off script). Nobody likes these courses or finds them useful.
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TEACHER PD done right
IB Business Management teacher professional development as it should be done. I have done many of these things by now and still continue to learn loads from each one. It's expensive for sure, but worth its weight in gold. You will have access to a good, knowledgeable IB Economics practitioner, expand your networks and share resources and ideas with other professional IB Economics teachers, many of whom will have taught the subject for years, be examiners, etc. If possible, avoid Category 1 workshops, they're set at too low of a level
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