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THE GROUP 4 PROJECT
Summary of the Group 4 Project
The group 4 project allows students to appreciate the environmental, social and ethical
implications of science. It may also allow them to understand the limitations of scientific
study, for example, the shortage of appropriate data and/or the lack of resources. The
emphasis is on interdisciplinary cooperation and the processes involved in scientific
investigation, rather than the products of such investigation.
The exercise should be a collaborative experience where concepts and perceptions from
across the group 4 disciplines are shared. The intention is that students analyze a topic or
problem that can be investigated in each of the science disciplines offered by a school.
The topic can be set in a local, national or international context.
Project Stages
The 10–15 hours allocated to the group 4 project, which are part of the teaching time set aside for
internal assessment, can be divided into four stages: planning, definition of activities, action and
evaluation.
Planning
This stage is crucial to the whole exercise and should last 2–4 hours.
• The planning stage could consist of a single session, or two or three shorter ones.
• This stage must involve all science students meeting to “brainstorm” and discuss the central
topic, sharing ideas and information.
• The topic can be chosen by the students themselves or selected by the teachers.
• Where large numbers of students are involved, it may be advisable to have more than one
mixed discipline group.
After selecting a topic or issue, the activities to be carried out must be clearly defined before
moving from the planning stage to the action and evaluation stages.
Definition of Activities
A possible strategy is that students define specific tasks for themselves, either individually or as
members of groups, and investigate various aspects of the chosen topic. Contact with other
schools, if a joint venture has been agreed, is an important consideration at this time.
Action
This stage should take 6–8 hours in total and may be carried out over one or two weeks in normal
scheduled class time. Alternatively a whole day could be set aside if, for example, the project
involves fieldwork.
• The students (as individuals, single subject groups or mixed subject groups) should
investigate the topic from the perspective of the individual science disciplines.
• There should be collaboration in the action stage; findings of investigations should be shared
with others working on the project. This may be difficult if the action stage takes place during
normal lessons, but it is possible to use bulletin boards (either physical or electronic) to
exchange information or to use times when students are together, such as lunchtimes.
Enthusiastic students will no doubt share information informally.
• During this stage it is important to pay attention to safety, ethical and environmental
considerations.
Evaluation
The emphasis during this stage, for which 2–4 hours is probably necessary, is on students sharing
their findings, both successes and failures, with other students. How this is achieved can be
decided by the teachers, the students or jointly.
• One solution is to devote a morning, afternoon or evening to a symposium where all the
students, as individuals or as groups, give brief presentations (perhaps with the aid of an
overhead projector, flip charts, posters, video player, computers, etc).
• Alternatively the presentation could be more informal and take the form of a science fair
where students circulate around displays summarizing the activities of each student or group.
• The symposium or science fair could also be attended by parents, members of the school
board and the press. This would be especially pertinent if some issue of local importance has
been researched. Some of the findings might influence the way the school interacts with its
environment or local community.
•
In addition to the presentation, each student must show evidence of his or her participation in
the project.
Preparation
The impact the project has on the organization of the school is an important consideration. The
key is the formulation of an action plan, perhaps in the form of a list of questions, to help draw up
a strategy for all the activities involved. The following are suggestions for such a list (these could
be adapted to suit the needs of an individual school).
• How might a topic be selected? Possibilities are a questionnaire to students, discussions with
students and/or teacher selection.
• Will teachers from other non-science departments be involved?
• Will people from outside the school be used as a source of ideas for the project? If so, what is
their availability?
• What communication methods are available for the coordination of activities, exchange of
data and joint presentations?
• When should the project be conducted, and over what time period?
• What are the implications in terms of staff and resources?
Strategies
Considerations
Teachers will find that there are many factors to consider when planning the project work, besides
deciding at what point to carry out the project and what the starting and completion dates should
be. These factors include:
• The way the school’s year is organized into terms or semesters
• The number of sciences offered
• The number of IB students
• Whether or not the school wishes to collaborate with other schools either locally, nationally
or internationally.
• The needs of the students should be of foremost importance when weighing up the
advantages and disadvantages of the various possibilities.
Ensuring that carrying out the project is a group experience (not restricted to a single science in
group 4) may present organizational problems for some schools. The options may be limited
because, for example, there is a small number of students, only one science is offered or other IB
schools are some distance away. Teachers should take into account factors specific to their school
and the general points made in this section when planning their strategies.
Timing
The time-span for carrying out the project is not a full two years.
• The project must be finished, at the latest, 19 months after starting teaching.
• Therefore, allowing for the planning stages, there may only be 18 months during which the
project can be carried out. In the case of those completing the course in one year, such as
anticipated SL candidates, the time available is limited further.
• Before starting work on the project students should, ideally, have some experience of
working in a team.
• It is very important that students have reached a point where they have a certain degree of
scientific knowledge and skills, and have experience of experimental techniques, before
undertaking the project.
The 10–15 hours that the IBO recommends should be allocated to the project may be spread over
a number of weeks. The distribution of these hours needs to be taken into account when selecting
the optimum time to carry out the project. However, it is possible for a group to dedicate a period
of time exclusively to project work if all other schoolwork is suspended.
Year 1
In the first year students’ experience and skills may be limited and it would be inadvisable to start
the project too soon in the course. However, doing the project in the final part of the first year
may have the advantage of reducing pressure on students later on. This strategy provides time for
solving unexpected problems.
Year 1–Year 2
The planning stage could start, the topic could be decided and provisional discussion in individual
subjects could take place at the end of the first year. Students could then use the vacation to think
about how they are going to tackle the project and would be ready to start work early in the
second year.
Year 2
Delaying the start of the project until some point in the second year, particularly if left too late,
increases pressure on students in many ways: the schedule for finishing the work is much tighter
than for the other options; the illness of any student or unexpected problems will present extra
difficulties. Nevertheless, this choice does mean students know one another and their teachers by
this time, have probably become accustomed to working in a team and will be more experienced
in the relevant fields than in the first year.
Combined HL and SL
Where circumstances dictate that the project is only carried out every two years, HL beginners
and more experienced SL students are combined.
General Strategies
• Collaborate with students taking group 3 subjects such as geography, psychology or
economics. (This is only relevant to schools not offering the full IB Diploma Programme.)
• Encourage participation of local teachers or experts from local industries, businesses, colleges
or universities. (This may be helpful to small schools or those distant from other IB schools.)
• Encourage IB students to work with non-IB students in the school who may be following
courses leading to national or other equivalent qualifications. (This may be useful for small
schools or those with a single science.)
• Carry out the project only every two years so that first- and second-year students can work
together to make a larger group, bearing in mind the restriction on timing. (This is perhaps
only necessary for small schools and may be difficult in terms of timing.)
• Collaborate with other IB schools, including:
• Direct contact with local schools
• Post, fax, telephone, email, video conferencing.
This is particularly useful for small schools or those with a single science, and where schools
have well-established contacts they wish to exploit, or new ones they wish to develop. Where
schools in different countries are linked, the importance of internationalism can be reinforced.
Selecting a Topic
In most cases all students in a single school will be involved in the investigation of the same
topic. Where there are large numbers of students, it is possible to divide them into several smaller
groups, each undertaking their own project. The students may choose the topic or propose
possible topics; teachers then decide which one is the most viable based on resources, staff
availability etc. Alternatively, the teachers select the topic or propose several topics from which
students make a choice.
Student Selection
Students are likely to display more enthusiasm and feel a greater sense of ownership for a topic
that they have chosen themselves. A possible strategy for student selection of a topic, which also
includes part of the planning stage, is outlined below. At this point, subject teachers may provide
advice on the viability of proposed topics.
• Identify possible topics by using a questionnaire or a survey of the students.
• Conduct an initial “brainstorming” session of potential topics or issues.
• Discuss, for 10 minutes, two or three topics that seem interesting.
• Select one topic by consensus.
• Examine the topic. Students in each science subject write down relevant aspects that could be
studied given the local circumstances, resources etc.
• Each subject group reads out their list and a master copy is made.
•
Students in each discipline make a list of potential investigations that could be carried out.
All students then discuss issues such as possible overlap and collaborative investigations.
Assessment
The group 4 project forms one part of a candidate’s overall practical experience and does not
contribute any fixed percentage to internal assessment. A school may choose:
• Not to assess the project at all
• To assess the project according to the criteria for the school’s local or national requirements
• To assess the project against one or more of the IB Diploma Programme internal assessment
criteria.
The project may produce evidence for the full range of criteria, particularly planning (a) and (b),
and personal skills (a) and (b).
Given the diverse nature of the activities associated with the project, it may be difficult for a
single teacher to gain a fair overview of an individual student’s contribution, especially in regard
to planning and personal skills. It may be necessary for teachers to exchange observations and
comments concerning student performance. Group, peer and self-evaluation can also contribute
valuable extra information.
Participation
The evidence of a candidate’s involvement in the project, required by the IBO in a moderation
sample, can take a variety of forms. It must be accompanied by a copy of the written instructions
and/or a summary of the verbal instructions given in relation to the project.
For each student in the moderation sample, the evidence may be:
A statement written by the student about his/her own individual contributions
A copy of a self-evaluation form
A copy of a peer-evaluation form
An individual laboratory report or complete project report
Rough work or a record of data collected by the student
Photographs, for example, of a final poster produced by the group.

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