In short
- A mini IA is a short version of the DP Math internal assessment that students finish in one or two lessons. Lara assigns one after each major topic, so students learn the IA criteria long before their real exploration.
- She uses a Gemini Gem: a saved assistant with its own instructions. You set it up once with a role, context, task and format, and attach the IA criteria.
- After that, you type a topic, like sinusoidal functions, and get one or two ready-to-plan mini IA ideas.
- Each idea comes with a lesson plan, a data source and a criteria focus checklist that links every step to the IA criteria.
Watch Lara set up her Gem and create two mini IAs on sinusoidal functions.
Why mini IAs?
The Math IA is a big project, and the criteria can feel abstract until students have used them. Lara's DP students do a mini IA after each major topic. Each one is a scaled-down exploration they can finish in one or two lessons, about two hours of work. By the time they choose a topic for their real IA, they already know what personal engagement, mathematical communication and reflection look like in their own work.
Writing a new investigation after every topic takes time. That's where the Gem comes in.
Set up your Gem
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Create a new Gem
In Gemini, click Gems, then New Gem. Give it a name and a short description. A Gem is a saved assistant: you write the instructions once, and they're used every time you open it.
Lara's GemName: Mini Math IA Description: Generating Mini Math IA Ideas
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Write detailed instructions
This is where the work happens. Lara's instructions have four parts:
Role"You are a highly encouraging IB Diploma examiner and experienced teacher" who is excellent at breaking down complex mathematical investigations.ContextHer DP students are selecting topics for their IAs, and mini IAs will help them understand the requirements first.Task"Whenever I give you a general mathematical topic, generate one or two mini IA project ideas that I can assign to my students."FormatHow each idea is laid out. Set this up the way you like.The criteria focus sectionLara's favourite part of the format. It breaks each task down against the IA criteria, so students really learn what to do for each criterion.Gem instructions to paste and adaptRole You are a highly encouraging IB Diploma Programme examiner and experienced mathematics teacher. You have a deep understanding of the DP Mathematics curriculum (both Analysis and Approaches and Applications and Interpretation) and the internal assessment criteria. You are excellent at breaking down complex, rigorous mathematical investigations into manageable, engaging and structured steps for high school students. Context My DP Mathematics students are preparing for their internal assessment (the mathematical exploration). Before they commit to a full project, they will complete "mini IAs": scaled-down explorations designed to be completed in 1 to 2 lessons. The goal is for them to practise each IA criterion on a smaller scale, so they know exactly what is expected when they start their final exploration. Task Whenever I give you a general mathematical topic or theme (e.g. "Cryptography", "Optimising a soda can" or "Probability in board games"), generate 1 to 2 distinct mini IA project ideas that I can assign to my students. If applicable, suggest websites where students can collect secondary data. For each idea, map the activity directly to the IA criteria (provided in your knowledge) so students understand how their actions earn marks. Each idea must be realistic to complete within 2 class periods (about 2 hours of work). Format Present each mini IA idea in this structure: Title: A catchy, clear title for the mini exploration. The hook (Criterion C: Personal engagement): Why the topic is interesting and how the student can show a personal connection or curiosity. The math (Criterion E: Use of mathematics): The specific mathematical concepts and syllabus content they will use. Suggested data source: Where students can find the data, if needed. Lesson plan / action steps: A clear, bulleted roadmap of what the student does in their 1 to 2 lessons (e.g. Step 1: Collect data, Step 2: Apply formula, Step 3: Graph results). Criteria focus: A brief checklist showing how this mini IA targets each IA criterion (e.g. Criterion B: Mathematical communication: define all variables and label the axes on your graph).
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Attach the IA criteria and save
Under Knowledge, upload the internal assessment criteria for DP Mathematics as a PDF. You'll find them in the DP Mathematics subject guide on the IB Programme Resource Centre. Then save the Gem, and that's it.
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Type a topic and send it
Open the Gem, type a topic and send it. It creates two mini IA ideas. Lara uses Pro, the most advanced model, so it takes a little longer to answer.
Lara's messageSinusoidal functions
What the Gem gives you
For sinusoidal functions, Lara's Gem came back with two ideas. Each one follows the format in the instructions:
- A catchy title
- The hook: how students can make it personal
- The math: the model and syllabus content
- A suggested data source
- A lesson plan for one or two lessons
- A criteria focus checklist
Idea 1
Chasing the Sun: Modelling Daylight Hours in My Favourite City
Illustration: monthly data (dots) and a sine model (line)
- Hook
- Pick a city that means something to you, explain why, and predict its longest and shortest days.
- Math
- Model daylight over 12 months with y = A sin(B(x − C)) + D, finding each parameter by hand.
- Data
- TimeAndDate.com: daylight on the 21st of each month
- Time
- 5 steps, about 2 hours
Idea 2
Surf's Up: Predicting Tides with Trigonometry
- Hook
- Choose a coastal place you care about. Find the safest time to launch a boat, or the best time to catch a high tide.
- Math
- Model tide height over 48 hours with h(t) = A cos(B(t − C)) + D, then compare it with a sine regression from technology.
- Data
- NOAA Tides & Currents, or a local port authority's hourly tide charts
- Good for
- Students into marine biology, surfing, sailing or coastal geography
You can assign both tasks, or let your students choose.
How the criteria focus works
The criteria focus shows students exactly which details to work on. Here's what it said for the daylight hours idea.
| Criterion | What the student is told to do |
|---|---|
| APresentation | Make it a coherent exploration with an introduction, an aim and a conclusion. |
| BMathematical communication | State what the variables represent: let x be the month of the year and y the hours of daylight. |
| CPersonal engagement | Explain why you chose this city and make a prediction about its daylight extremes. |
| DReflection | Don't just say the graph looks nice. Consider a limitation of using a perfect sine wave to model planetary orbits. |
| EUse of mathematics | Calculate the amplitude, period, phase shift and vertical shift by hand and show the reasoning, since substituting into a formula alone doesn't show understanding. |
Criteria names from the DP Mathematics guide (IBO). Criterion C and E rows are summarised from the hook and the math sections of the same idea.
Before you assign it
- Check the mathematics. Make sure the model, the syllabus content and the steps are right for your course and level.
- Open the data source. Check the website exists and the data is easy for students to find.
- Read the criteria focus. Check each point matches the IA criteria, and that the criterion names are correct.
- Check the timing. Adjust the lesson plan so it fits one or two of your lessons.
A quick note: the Gem is a planning tool, not a finished task. We can't control what an AI chatbot will produce, so please use your professional judgement before you assign a mini IA. Mini IAs are practice only: students' final explorations must be their own work.
Questions teachers ask
What is a mini IA?
A mini IA is a short, scaled-down version of the DP Mathematics internal assessment (the mathematical exploration). Students complete it in one or two lessons after a major topic, so they practise each IA criterion on a small scale before their real exploration.
Do I need a paid Gemini account to make a Gem?
No. You can create Gems in the free version of Gemini, and many schools have Gemini through Google Workspace, as Lara does. Lara uses the Pro model because it gives the most detailed ideas, but it takes a little longer to answer.
Can I do this with ChatGPT or Claude instead?
Yes. A custom GPT in ChatGPT or a Project in Claude works the same way: paste the same instructions, upload the IA criteria and type a topic.
Can students use the Gem themselves?
The Gem is written for teachers: it plans tasks you assign. Students then complete the mini IA themselves, using the criteria focus checklist to see what each criterion asks of them.
Are the mini IA ideas ready to give to students?
Treat them as a strong first draft. Check the mathematics, the data source and the criteria links, and adjust the timing for your class before you assign them.
Read the video transcript
Hi everyone, I'm Lara from MYP Math Tutor, and today I will show you how I use Gemini Gems with my DP students to practice for their internal assessments. After each major topic, I assign mini IAs so then they become familiar with the criteria.
To set it up, click Gems, then New Gem. I already created mine so let me walk you through the details. First, write a short description, then give very detailed instructions. For the role, I wrote "You are a highly encouraging IB Diploma examiner and experienced teacher. You have a deep understanding of the curriculum and are excellent at breaking down complex mathematical investigations." So for context, I explained that my DP students are currently selecting topics for their internal assessments and I gave all the details. For the task, I wrote "Whenever I give you a general mathematical topic, generate one or two mini IA project ideas that I can assign to my students." And then I described the format, which really depends on how you want to do that, but I wanted to include the criteria focus section that breaks each task down against IA criteria so then they really learn what to do in each criteria. Finally, I attach the internal assessment criteria, save the Gem and that's it.
To use it, open the Gem and type a topic, for example, sinusoidal functions, and send it. It will create two mini IA ideas. I'm using Pro mode, the most advanced model, so it takes a little longer, that's why I've prepared one in advance.
And Idea 1 is about modeling daylight hours. It includes a lesson plan and the students can complete it in one or two lessons. The criteria focus shows them exactly which details to work on. And Idea 2 is about predicting tides with trigonometry. It even recommends websites where students can collect data. You can assign both tasks or let your students choose.
I hope you find this helpful and thanks for watching. See you next time!
To close, we'd love to share a little bit more about who we are. Here at MYP Math Tutor, we're thrilled to be able to support over 150 students from more than 75 IB schools spanning over 40 countries worldwide. We work with students who attend some of the top IB schools in the world. We offer personalized support for MYP and DP mathematics through one-to-one virtual sessions. All of our tutors are experienced IB teachers with classroom expertise and a deep passion for IB education. They personalize each session to the students' needs, helping them build confidence, strengthen understanding, and improve achievement in mathematics. If you'd like more info about who we are, please reach out to [email protected] or visit our website at www.mypmathtutor.com.
Lara Delimelkonoğlu
Lara Delimelkonoğlu is a mathematics educator with a Master's degree in Mathematics and 14 years of teaching experience, who teaches MYP and DP Mathematics at the International School of Bologna, lectures in first-year Calculus and Linear Algebra at the University of Bologna, and tutors MYP and DP Mathematics at MYP Math Tutor.
The MYP Math Tutor team of 25+ qualified IB teachers, including examiners, department heads and an MYP coordinator, supports 200+ students at 100+ IB World Schools in 40+ countries, including Dwight School London, Western Academy of Beijing, the International School of Paris and GEMS Academy Dubai.
This work has been developed independently from and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization.