Subject Entries (Week ending 16.08.19)

Group 1

Language & Literature: Students of Language and Literature watched a Ted talk by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled ‘The Danger of a Single Story’.  The author spoke about the danger of having a single perspective on a group of people or an issue which lead to harmful stereotypes that erode the dignity of an individual. Using examples from her own life, she discussed how good literature can be used to expose people to a variety of perspectives thus averting this danger. The students then shared personal experiences of times they had either been a victim of a stereotype or perpetuated one.    Further on students dissected the reflective essay ‘Shooting an Elephant’ by George Orwell using the Freytag’s Pyramid and examined how the essay dealt with the abstract idea of imperialism. Additionally, we discussed how the background and the personal experience of the author as an imperial policeman in colonial Burma shaped his writing. The students concluded by reflecting on how a literary text can leave a lasting impression on its reader potentially transforming his or her view of the world just as Orwell’s perspective on imperialism may have urged many of his contemporaries to rethink their stance on the issue. HL students were given the task of comparing and contrasting the ideas expressed in the essay with Rudyard Kipling’s poem – ‘The White Man’s Burden’   Aranyani Swami

Group 2

French SL:   French Ab Initio We were introduced to the subject’s requirements, assessment criteria, themes to be studied, and the role of TOK and CAS in French ab initio. We visited the library to access the available resources on the first theme: Identities. We engaged in an activity on the criteria as well as on TOK question: How does the language adapt to the situation?   Abhinav Gupta

Spanish Ab Initio: We began this week by discussing the topic ‘family’ and what each relation is called in Spanish. We attempted our first FA based on the knowledge we have acquired till now and tested our basic knowledge and comprehension skills. To further sharpen our skills in Spanish we practiced grammar exercises which we further discussed in class.   Anish Jayesh Bhave

German Ab Initio: We began this week by discussing the topic ‘family relations’ and completed an activity based on it. We also did a task sheet on the topic as well. We learnt more verbs and their conjugations along with articles and how they change based on gender. Possessive pronouns in both the cases i.e. the nominative and akkusative cases were also practised. Currently we are working on adjective endings, it plays an important role in order to understand the gender of the noun in the same manner as in the Hindi language.   Kushaagra Kapoor

Hindi: Being introduced to DP, new classmates and a different curriculum, these first few weeks in Language Acquisition (Hindi) have been engaging and informative. We were introduced to the format of the DP assessment, division of papers and examined sample EEs in Hindi. We have begun our interactions with the teacher according to our benchmarked levels. As a practice, we also gave a mini mock of Hindi paper 1, which acted as a class activity to get us familiar with the level of difficulty and adapt to the new system of responses. Recently we were also introduced to the first unit, Social Organization wherein we pondered over potential topics of study, discussion and debate. These first weeks of being in DP have created a lively and interactive synergy in the environment and we are all geared up attain our diploma!   Rishav Haldar and Kunal Rathi

Group 3

History: We commenced with an activity which required us to compare and contrast two words: History and the Past. We moved ahead with our first unit – Japanese expansion in which we have started the Meji restoration and how it helped Japan improve its economy and military. We also watched a documentary ‘The Rise and Fall of Japan’ as part of the unit ‘The Move to Global War’. We discussed the various factors, for example, the Great Depression of 1929 that led to Japan becoming a militarized country in the 1930s.    Aryan Shrivastava and Aranyani Swami

Business Management: In the past two weeks, have discussed topics such as the four P’s of production, functions of business, different types of stakeholders, and the difference between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship in detail, through various tasks. We have also looked upon the six concepts that underpin the course of business management and discussed their relativity with respect to the topics already discussed in classes before. We tried to develop a better understanding of the topics covered through the study of the concepts. We also discussed about the structure of a business plan and the reasons why a business plan would fail and require amendments. Our teacher also introduced us to case studies related to the subject. We also had to create a mind map on the causes of a change in the business plan, and the implications of these changes on the various stakeholders of the company.   Aditi Singh and Ved Shah

Economics: We started off by laying the groundwork for future concepts and learnt the types of goods, the need for economics, a myriad of terms like market mechanism, law of demand, production possibility curve, opportunity cost among others. To enhance our comprehension of the subject, we were taught important graphical presentation of the concepts like PPC and demand. We were also provided a task to research about one economist and his/her contributions to the field, and present our findings in the form of a poster. Although sometimes the subject seemed arcane, through intense class discussions we made meaningful connections with real-life examples, thus building for us a strong foundation for the unit we are studying.    Samarth Chopra and Garima Gill

Psychology:This week we began a new unit – Biological Approaches to Psychology. We first drew a mind map of the unit, analyzing what we would study and how we would integrate the previous unit into it. We only covered a few topics, such as localization theory and used case studies to do the same (Paul Broca and his research on ‘Tan’). We were also able to generalize these results into constructs such as neuroplasticity.   Aryamoy Mitra

Global Politics: We recently completed our topic on Power, where we learned about the various types of power and their application in the real world in the last 10 to 15 years. This was accomplished through worksheets, articles and our course companion. In the last class we completed a formative wherein we made a presentation by choosing a topic on Power.   Tanmya Prasad

Group 4

Chemistry: We completed our sub topic the Mole Concept, where we learned about moles, how to calculate the number of particles in a substance and how to find the empirical formula of a substance through interactive videos, worksheets and lab activities. We recently started a discussion on the limiting and excess reagent in a reaction and their calculation. We took a formative to assess ourselves on our previously completed topic ‘Moles’. Apart from this, we applied this knowledge in a practical lab activity, where we burnt magnesium to create magnesium oxide and calculated its empirical formula experimentally. We were also given a homework worksheet of IB style exam questions for self-assessment which helped us in strengthening the concepts further.   Tashvi Anand and Abhinav Gupta

Biology: We completed the sub-unit -enzyme to learn about its structure, functions and denaturation. We analysed graphs on various factors effecting enzyme activity and proceeded to conduct an experiment to test the effect of enzyme concentration and substrate concentration on the rate of reaction taking catalase as an enzyme. Through this, we learnt lab skills and basic experiment design and procedure. Using the oxygen sensor and data logging were new experiences for us. Our second practical showed the effect of temperature on the Lipase enzyme. We started the new sub unit -the structure of DNA and RNA which is ongoing. We also discussed our first FA results and completed the correction work.   Anish Jayesh Bhave

Physics: We completed our density lab work which was a task synthesized to practice our skills of handling uncertainties in data and data processing. Afterwards, we took an assessment that assessed our understanding of the uncertainties. We were introduced with the concept of vectors and scalars and began practicing the basic vector calculation. We were given two home tasks in this time period which helped us practice data analysis and processing skills and discussed each task and homework sheet in the class. We discussed expected answers in the assessments and were made aware of the common mistakes children make. We started with the second unit ‘Mechanics’ and viewed some fundamental concepts, like motion, distance, displacement, instantaneous velocity and used geometry to describe the same. We solved questions based on ‘SUVAT Equations’.      Mann Aswal & Aviraj Chaudhary

Computer Science: We were introduced to Python, the programming language for developing both desktop and web applications. We converted the pseudocodes we wrote into python scripts using simple control structures like ‘if’ and ‘for’ for selection and iteration. We then started our first unit of system fundamentals through an activity for which we brainstormed the social and technical issues that arise when an organization introduces a change.   Aryan Anand

ESS: We continued with various environmental issues and case studies about carbon capture and storage and we also made posters to spread awareness about various techniques to decrease carbon emissions. We watched videos related to pollution, for example, one of the videos talked about a Minamata disease; a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. We also learned about the different types of social systems. The first formative assessment is expected to take place soon. Tanmay Sehgal and AadityaTaneja

Group 5

Mathematics AA (HL): We revised the concept of arithmetic and geometric series. We started with the laws of exponents and applied the same to solve exponential equations. We have taken our first formative assessment on arithmetic and geometric series and discussed the same in class to make corrections. We have started with the topic ‘Binomial Expansion’ and understood how to expand the given expression using Pascal’s triangle and binomial theorem. Aryan Chowdhary

Mathematics AI (HL): We started off with learning what complex numbers are and one can say it is quite complex! Nonetheless, we were introduced to the very basics of complex numbers and how there is an imaginary and real part. Subsequently, we practiced simple questions involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of complex numbers. Thereafter, we learned about the conjugate of complex numbers and also how to solve quadratic equations which have a negative discriminant. Following this, we learned how to graph complex numbers which included an introduction to the Argand plane. We solved basic questions related to the concept to find the modulus and the argument and received a challenging weekend worksheet based on the same.   Dhruv Garg

Group 6

Theatre: We have been working on analyzing the theatre guide and making a few plaque cards related to the assessment criteria of all the four projects for our Diploma Programme. We have also started researching for our play text, which we are going to work on and analyze for our first task out of four, i.e. Director’s notebook. The various discussions in class about controversial topics, directors and their directing styles, actors and their acting styles and many more, have been a very new and enriching experience for all. Every class is so diverse in terms of the things we learn, that we cannot help but be amazed by this subject. We introspected on the strong impact of movies, live shows and literature on the lives of the common folk.   Ritwik Datta Chowdhary

Visual Art: We have begun our unit with the creative composition: drawing and illustration painting. We have tried to understand the different types of drawing and illustration techniques used in different paintings to create a visual language. We have been studying formal analysis using several elements of art and design such as line, color, texture, form, value, space and shape. We used this study and chose artists we were inspired by, and then identified how they manipulated these elements to create a strong narrative.   Based on their research, students have started making a layout of their practical work. They are also working out the mediums that they will use for their practical work and making mind maps based on their research. Keerat Singh Shah

Core

CAS: This week our CAS coordinator gave us a presentation on CAS. Through the presentation we got to know about various types of CAS projects, experiences and what are school-led projects and student-led projects. The students have started sharing their ideas and started planning for their initial CAS interview which is one of the CAS portfolio requirements.   Ishaan Mohan Gupta and Tanmay Sehgal

TOK : We have been working on our essays on the topic, ‘Is validation of knowledge necessary for it to be considered reliable?’ We mainly discussed general topics related to the TOK, shared our experiences and gave examples on discussion topics such as: What is the difference between validity and authenticity? In the past couple of lessons, we have begun the presentation of our essays and elaborate discussions on each other’s perspectives through the lens of the essays.    Mann Aswal