Previous knowledge
The challenge of this course is such that careful screening is absolutely essential for those that show an interest in starting it. A suitable starting point would be a minimum grade A in Mathematics at GCSE. Even with these pre-requisites, students may have to spend the summer preparing for the start of the IB HL course in order to ensure they have a solid grounding in the presumed knowledge. Please see Revision Resources - Mathematics for more detailed revision advice.

Mathematics HL
The main focus of all IB Diploma Mathematics courses at JESS is to enable students to become inquiring independent learners. Students that have chosen to take HL Mathematics recognise the rigours and demands that this course brings. The intellectual challenge added to the sheer volume of syllabus material marks HL Mathematics out as a course only accessible to a select number of students. Most of the participants in this course will go on to study a Mathematics related course at university such as Engineering, Physics or Mathematics with or without a combined other subject. A few talented students will be studying HL Mathematics for the sheer challenge it brings, but these students will undoubtedly have excelled in Mathematics lower down the school. One of the fundamental objectives of this course is to encourage effective communication at all levels and in all forms. At the IB Diploma level all students will be expected to make full and proper use of technology as a tool to explore familiar and new topics and as a tool to communicate their ideas. This technology will include general skills applicable to other curriculum areas, such as Excel, PowerPoint, and also Mathematics specific with the use of Autograph, graphing calculators and appropriate geometry software. The fundamental teaching and learning philosophy will be one that mirrors the existing philosophy established throughout JESS. Students will experience a wide range of learning and teaching styles as a means to refine old ideas and acquire new ones. At Higher Level students will also experience lecture style lessons where they will be expected to take their own notes according to their own needs. This is a necessary preparation for life at university and a transferable skill that students need to master.

Students at JESS will follow an enriched HL Mathematics course that will weave in cultural and historical aspects in an attempt to explore the international aspect of Mathematics and the contribution that various cultures have made to the development of Mathematics. Thus, early in the course, students will undertake a research project to answer the provocative question, “Most of the influential Mathematics used today was developed by male western Europeans. Discuss.” Development of the Arabic Number system and the influence on today’s western base 10 number system will be a natural point of discussion within this sphere and this will set the tone for the rest of the course where fundamental concepts will be introduced in their historical and cultural context. As a further example, when meeting the topic on complex numbers, students will be expected to research the introduction of the imaginary. This research essay will analyse the interwoven lives of three Renaissance mathematicians and the nature of proof and ownership of ideas.

Students are expected to start this course with detailed knowledge and the expectations of all students will be that of independent learners, capable of pursuing mathematical ideas and concepts beyond the confines of the syllabus in an attempt to further strengthen their own ideas and understandings.

The nature of proof and its evolution through history will also be a strong feature of the course. Most topics will introduce new or existing ideas to students in a variety of modes, whether through investigation or self research, lecture style delivery or interactive whole class teaching. However, such concepts will always be backed up with a formal proof, the nature of which may well be beyond the current level of understanding of some students on the course.

The Internal Assessment offers students the opportunity to pursue their independent research skills to the utmost with minimal guidance offered by the teacher. As well as the titles offered by the IB, students at JESS will also be able to tackle a variety of modelling situations based on local attractions such as Ski Dubai and the Burj Al Arab.

Towards the end of the first year all HL students will participate in a cross-curricular project based on sustainable growth in the Middle East with Dubai the main focus. Here students will combine their mathematical growth modelling skills with their environmental and ecological awareness to produce an analysis on the future prospects for growth in Dubai.

Our aims, therefore, are to encourage all students to communicate their ideas about Mathematics in an effective manner set within an appropriate cultural and historical context.

Assessment
All students will be formally examined at the end of the two-year course. They will sit two papers: one with a graphical calculator and one without any calculator. All students will also be required to undertake two Internal Assessment portfolios. The Internal Assessment offers students the opportunity to pursue their independent research skills to the utmost with minimal guidance offered by the teacher.