IA & EE – Portfolio of David Yeboah

IB DP Internal Assessment (IA) & Extended Essay (EE)

Guidance, supervision approach, and real Physics IA samples I have supervised.

Supervision Philosophy

My role as IA and EE supervisor is to guide students through an authentic research process while maintaining academic integrity and alignment with IB criteria. I balance appropriate support with student ownership, helping them design, refine, and evaluate their investigations.

Emphasis on clear research questions and feasible, safe methodologies.
Frequent check-ins with structured milestones and reflection prompts.
Use of exemplars and unpacking of assessment criteria.
Targeted feedback focused on conceptual understanding and scientific reasoning.

Support Structures

IA/EE launch sessions with expectations, timelines, and examples.
Scaffolded planning sheets for research question, variables, and method design.
Academic honesty guidance and support with citation tools.
Rubric walkthroughs and student self-assessment activities.

This page can be expanded with links to school-specific IA/EE handbooks and internal policies.

Selected Physics IA Topics I Have Supervised

These examples illustrate the type of focused, experimental research questions I encourage in DP Physics.

Topic Area	Research Question	Focus
Simple harmonic motion / damping	What is the relationship between the mass of the bob and the rate of decrease in amplitude of a simple (damped) pendulum?	Experimental investigation of damping and energy loss in oscillatory motion.
Energy loss in pendulums	How does the rate of loss of mechanical energy of a pendulum bob change over time?	Linking energy considerations to observed amplitude decay and modelling.
Projectile / mechanics in sport	How does the internal pressure of a basketball affect its rebound height?	Authentic sports context, investigation of elasticity and energy transfer.
Thermal physics	How does the specific volume of a sodium bicarbonate solution relate to its specific heat capacity?	Exploring relationships between solution properties and energy changes.
Waves & sound	How does temperature affect the frequency of sound produced in a given system?	Connecting macroscopic observations to particle models and wave speed.

Wording has been lightly standardised for clarity while preserving the essence of the original student questions.

Sample EE Focus Areas

Below are examples of focused EE directions that promote depth rather than breadth.

Physics EE exploring energy losses in small-scale renewable energy systems in a local context.
Chemistry EE examining the antioxidant capacity of regional herbal teas using redox titration.
Interdisciplinary science EE (where appropriate) connecting environmental measurements with modelling.

Specific examples and anonymised excerpts can be added here based on school permissions.