Why is Isabel the only one posting to this folder? You’ll want to be sure to have more than just case studies on Guatemala in advance of the IB Exam. You won’t be able to benefit form your colleagues’ research if you’re not making your papers public-please upload Papers #1 and #2 today.

what is the annotated bibliography?

HL1
HL1 Calendar
Monday: Gaddis Group, pp. 119.155: “The Emergence of Autnonomy” Please be sure to submit your study guides before class to Turnitin.
Tuesday/Wednesday: “Mutually Assured Destruction”

Discussion Questions

• What is deterrence?
• Is M.A.D. logical?
• What policies did the U.S> and Soviet Union develop to deal with nuclear realities?
• What is an arms race? How do they begin, escalate, and end?
• What were the shared interests of both the U.S. and USSR with respect to nuclear weapons/posture/policy?
• How did domestic/civilian societies respond to/deal with the threat of nuclear war?
• What is an ABM? What are MIRVs? Do they contribute to or undermine deterrence?
• What is the purpose of arms control? How effective do yo think it is?
• Evaluate te evolution of U.S. nuclear policy: Massive Retaliation; No Cities-Counterforce; MAD; Deterrence
• Summarize the following arms control treaties: Limited Test Ban Treaty (1963); Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1970); Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I (1970); Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (1972)

and “Detente”

CNN Videos on how the Cold War went from the brink of nuclear disaster to an easing of tensions over the span of about 10 years.

Thursday: Research Group: You should have your research question complete and the relevant literature complied before class. We’ll use class to organize the literature into themes & other organizational tasks.
Friday: Readings Group: Garnett (1999) Mr. Smith will be leading the seminar.

HL2
HL2 Calendar
Monday: Work on Paper #3
Tuesday: Work on Paper #3
Thursday: Work on Paper #3
Friday: Roundtable Discussions: “Popular culture: new manifestations and trends in literature, films, music and entertainment” in [your country]. Paper uploaded ot the shared folder and due to Turnitin.com by Sunday night at 11.59pm

Mo Quote Of The Day:

“Do you know who would be good at dictation? Stalin…get it…he was a dictator! Hahaha.”

I’ve finished with the midterm exams….

As my previous post alluded to, three groups of students have emerged. Students in the “very good” category scored between 25-34 marks (out of a possible 40) on both questions. Responses to these questions were well organized, highly detailed, analytical, and demonstrated a mastery of most (if not all) of the content covered so far in The Cold War. 8 out 30 students fell into this category. The next group (“acceptable”) scored between 16 and 24 (out of 40) marks on the exam. Their responses to the questions were reasonable, with some detail and occasional analysis of the material. 12 out of 20 students fell into this category. The final group (“needs improvement”) scored between 8 and 15 marks (out of 40) on the exam. In these cases, responses lacked not only analysis and organization, but also depth of understanding and even basic historical detail. 10 out of 30 students fell into this category.

I’ll be including these results, along with your IA, in your midterm comments (posted to Edline tomorrow). However, I won’t post grades on these until I’ve finalized norming the scores for these exams; most likely on Monday. In the meantime, I’ll be happy to provide you with your category (“very good”, “acceptable”, or “needs improvement”). I will return the exams with the specific markschemes for the questions you answered early next week.

(Reminder) Please return all books to the “Gleek Library” by tomorrow. Also, don’t forget tomorrow’s Dress Down day for relief efforts in Haiti. Thanks for all of your help!

A few trends have emerged as I’ve been reviewing your midterm exams. First, there is a clear distinction between a group of students who are able to work in the current course format and those who are struggling. This manifests in everything from knowledge of content to organization/preparation/study skills, etc. While I’m still finishing the F Period exams, I would suspect that about 1/3 of the students are demonstrating a mastery of the content, another 1/3 have an acceptable level of knowledge, and about 1/3 are in desperate need of improvement. The second trend is that it is painfully clear that the majority of students are not doing the requisite work for the course. Honestly, its simple (& was outlined explicitly in the syllabus):

1. Read the assigned pages in McMahon (online)
2. Complete the corresponding questions for the Study Guide
3. Watch the related documentary material
4. ASK RELEVANT QUESTIONS in class
5. Complete your optional seminar (Gaddis, Research/IA, or Readings)

Consequently, I’m reconfiguring the schedule for two weeks in order to give you all an opportunity to get back on track. To be perfectly honest, I am not comfortable with this level of “hand holding” especially for Year One IB Students. You are perfectly capable of (a) reading & studying on your own each day and (b) advocating for yourself when it comes to your own understanding of the material. I expect each of you to say/yell/use semaphores when you ‘don’t get it’ so that I can help facilitate the content and supporting exercises so that you can develop a mastery of the skills & content necessary for you to be successful.

Here’s the revised schedule (beginning tomorrow)

Friday: Video: Watch and DISCUSS (I’m still surprised by the fact that many of you don’t ask questions in class) Cuba

For the Weekend: Read “Eyeball to Eyeball” in McMahon (Chapter 5). Complete the corresponding questions in the study guide. PRINT these out and give me a hard copy when you come to class on Monday. Please don’t make me explicate a list of consequences in case you don’t complete this; the learning itself should be motivation alone…

Monday: All Students-In class exercises on “The Cuban Missile Crisis“

Tuesday/Wednesday: (probably the best film + book on the subject) Watch & DISCUSS Thirteen Days (Felipe, can I have my DVD back, please?)

Thursday: All Students: Finish DISCUSSING and watching Thirteen Days

Friday: Readings Seminar, ‘The Cuban Missile Crisis Revisited” (Sophie has the presentation)

For the Weekend: Referencing the film Thirteen Days, create a graphic organizer (using XMind) that explains the onset of the Cuban Missile Crisis across all three Levels of Analysis (Individual, State/Society, and System).

I’ll have these changes rectified on the calendar by tomorrow. For those of you in the Gaddis Seminar, take this opportunity to get ahead in Gaddis. For those conducting a second Research IA, please email in the next few days me to schedule some time to sit down and discuss your progress on both your research question and your collection of primary and secondary source material.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/live-from-the-apple-tablet-latest-creation-event/?sort=newest&refresh=30

in the meantime, enjoy/comment on the new theme.

When I need KSE to get me through grading IB exams….you know its not going to be pleasant. Anyone want to explain what happened?