Three Weeks Of Opportunity: Time To Prepare

The following schedules are optimistic. Higher Level IB Computer Science papers will be written on May 22 and May 23, 2002. They are the culmination of a marathon of experiences paced over two years of intellectually exciting, challenging efforts. Now comes the final lap.

Even though great efforts have already been made, the next three weeks draw us into the final stretch. For three weeks Churchill’s IB Computer Science students, Candidate and Diploma alike, must give preparation for those final papers their highest priority.

Summer will bring a welcomed change of pace, but now is the time for sacrifice. Time must be set aside each and every day between now and when those papers are written. Routine is the mother of discipline. Be proactive (take charge) and be smart about your study.

Research tells us that we remember most in the first five minutes and the last five minutes of a study session. Give yourself 15-20 minute study sessions with 5 minute breaks. Physically get up, grab a glass of water, pet the dog, gaze at the fish, admire the sunset, and then back at it.

Eat small snacks frequently and avoid large meals. Blood rushing to the stomach to digest food leaves us feeling lethargic. Herbal tea or ice water is refreshing when studying.

Listen to Mozart if you want, but people are poor multitaskers. We do best when we do one thing at a time. Do not listen or attend to anything that distracts you when studying. Pull the plug on your phone and ask family to take messages during study sessions.

The May papers will test expertise in both computer programming (especially algorithms and structures) and the broader objectives of the IB syllabus. Let mastery of those objectives be your objective for the next three weeks. Leave those objectives in a prominent place where you study. (Pin them on the wall perhaps.) Refer to those objectives frequently while studying.

The expected level of response demands correctness of fact and terminology and process.

Use your resources wisely when studying. You have excellent text books, access to IB Computer Science web sites rich in syllabus-specific content, links to technology specific “webopedias”, and the company of a teacher and peers who care very much for your success and happiness.

The most successful students will not only “know their stuff”, but they will have a strategy and comfort level of test sophistication that will maximize their performance in writing those papers.

Organize materials the day before: pens, calculator, pencil, eraser, sharpner, kleenex, lip balm. Bring a bottle of water. Place your watch on your desk and pace yourself smartly. Visit the washroom 15 minutes before the scheduled starting time. Arrive 5-10 minutes early to handle administrivia and unforseen problems. Use the first 2-3 minutes to overview the entire paper before committing responses. Stay until the end. Don’t change a “guess” without sound reason.

Answer first those questions that you feel most confident about and those with the highest marks. Use diagrams. Don’t bluff. Give thorough responses. Two or three words are inadequate. Describe process, not just what happens. Write sentences. List in point form.

Let the marks indicate the extent of the response. One mark begs a brief response. Five marks demands attention to detail and elaboration. Answer the question, then stop. Move on.

The following schedules focus on practice in writing IB Computer Science papers. Success in writing the May papers will be directly related to the time spent in preparation for those sessions.

Before correcting a paper at school, write it at home under IB exam time constraints. Then research each question thoroughly using all available resources, bringing the response to each question to a level that you are confident would give full marks. Good luck.

Computer Science 35IB Period 2 Schedule: April 26 - May 23, 2002