The ESS Movie: If Your IB ESS Exam Was a Film… How Would You Write the Script?

01 Nov The ESS Movie: If Your IB ESS Exam Was a Film… How Would You Write the Script?

Lights. Sustainability. Climate

When you study environmental systems and societies (ESS) you understand that ESS is not just another subject. It is the entire biome of ecological knowledge. The subject itself teaches you how to understand the world around you with its complex energy flows, population demographics, environmental law and politics. In your ESS exam you will be tested on your comprehension of natural systems and movement of energy throught the trophic levels.

However, what will happen if your ESS exam was not just a test, but a movie?

Let’s have a movie night: grab your popcorn and enjoy the movie of sustainability, climate change and rainforest.

Act 1: Here comes the Case study

The opening scene shows your ESS classroom with highlighters, pens, papers and ESS textbook. You are the main actor in this movie and you take a deep breath. You have been revising biogiochemical cycles, bioaccumulation, biomagnification and food webs for months. And you are ready for this… for your final ESS exam.

Than the ESS exam starts and you read the first question.

“Describe the role of climate in maintaining stability in rainforest biomes such as Amazon.”

Here comes the feel good music and you realize that you know the answer. You remember everything that tropical rainforests are acting as carbon sinks and they take in the CO2 from the atmosphere as it is a greenhouse gas. You start sketching the positive and negative feedback loops like a movie character. The feel good music continues and you felt like you have the correct answer and you score it all. You are deep in the Amazon biome right now.

Act 2: The rise of the Systems 

There is not a good movie without a plot twist and here comes the ESS case study in Paper 1. It is a realistic case study that combines the aspects of natural systems and demographics- human systems. The case study describes and island life with balancing tourism, island species and sustainability.

You select the represented data from the resource booklet and you calculate the ecological footprint, the island birth rate and natural increasing rate. You dig into the tables and pictures to find correct information about the island biodiversity.

Here comes the moment of relief. You actually revised this question: “Evaluate the strengths and limitations of the ecological footprint as a measure of sustainability.”

You start on writing disadvantages first and later on move to advantages. At last, something that feels great and you realize that you got an answer. All in all, you have the perfect script form in your answer.

But the time goes fast and you need to keep up with the questions. There are more questions that demand answers. The music builds in. You are racing with time as the climate change depends on you.

Act 3: ESS Exam- essay

The last part of ESS exam follows- the longest and hardes question- ESS essays. This is your moment of truth. Can you inteconnect everything you have learned so far in your ESS classes?

The ESS essay appears:

“To what extent can environmental value systems (EVS) impact responses to global challenges such as climate change?”

Right here you start with the introduction of the different environmental value systems (EVS philosophies). Techocentrism, ecocentrism and anthropocentrism…This is not just about your ESS grade anymore, it is about meaning and climate change. It is about sustainability and what we left for the future generations.

You move your pen fast…The ideas are flowing and you are writing the climate change script as you should.

Ultimately, the way our species continues with climate change challenges reflects not just our scientific ideas, but our ethical values as global citizens of the world.

It is your moment only. The pen falls on your script. And just like that you have the perfect essay.

What the ESS exam teaches students?

Majority of good movies have a message including your ESS movie. Every student got a message from ESS class.

1. Scenes are connected. This means that all of your ESS chapters and topics are connected and there is no separation. One topic influences another. For example, energy flows in the ecosystems throught different trophic levels. however, it is impossible to understand this without learning about the Laws of Thermodinamics before.
2. Preparation is requested. In order for you to master ESS exam you should prepare in advance because great essays dont just happen. You have to work hard on them.
3. Sustainability is important. The ESS exam comes and goes, but good things such as sustainability lasts. It is important that even after passing your exam you continue to care about the environment and the Earth. As indeed, the Earth is the only planet that we have.