Choosing Objects for the Exhibition: The big debate.
Should students choose their objects before the prompt, or should they choose the prompt before their objects, in the IB ToK Exhibition ?
Quote from many IB ToK Teachers !
IB has been quite clear that students should choose their objects before they choose the prompt for their ToK exhibition. However, I have always argued that students should choose the prompt, and write knowledge arguments, before they choose their object. In this blog post I will run through IB’s argument, explain my concerns with it. I will then explain why I recommend choosing the prompt before the object.
IB’s recommended approach.
IB have always recommended that students choose their objects before they choose the prompt for their ToK Exhibition. The reason for this recommendation is the driving question of the ToK exhibition, namely that students ‘reflect upon how ToK manifests itself in the world’ around them. In theory, I totally agree with this approach. Of course, I hope that my students can identify knowledge issues, knowledge arguments, and knowledge problems arising from the physical world around them. If students see knowledge issues arising from the objects around them ,and use this for their ToK exhibition, they will develop more informed and holistic Tok discussions. As such, in theory, I am entirely in agreement with the IB’s recommendation. However, as we shall see later, even the IB acknowledges that there are problems with this approach.
Prompt & Knowledge arguments BEFORE objects.
I recommend that students both choose a prompt, and write three knowledge arguments, before they choose objects for their ToK Exhibition. My recommendation is the exact opposite of the IB’s recommendation, and is born from the experience of doing the exhibition with students in the past couple of years. My experience of letting students choose objects first is that when they come to write their commentary they often find that the objects don't fully link to, nor illustrate, the prompt and knowledge arguments. They then have to go back and change their objects to more appropriate ones. Now, of course, this could be a deficiency in my teaching, I'm clearly not able to develop the desired reflective capacity of my students. therefore, if you are in anyway like me, and wish to find the most effective way to optimise teaching time for Theory of Knowledge, then you may also want to front-end the process by fitting knowledge arguments to objects, as I do.
In order to access the higher marks in the ToK Exhibition students have to justify the inclusion of each specific object in the exhibition. The May 23 subject report says that this is a “stronger and more detailed explanation of the link between the object and the prompt” (pg 11). In reality this is a specific knowledge argument linking that specific object to the prompt. Therefore, a shortcut to getting into the higher Mark range is for students to identify these knowledge arguments at the beginning of the exhibition process. This is why I advocate writing knowledge arguments before choosing objects.
Specificity is the real issue.
On page 15 of the May 2023 subject report IB do recognize that choosing the prompt first can also lead to valid and high scoring marks. they say students may start with a prompt which they find particularly interesting and have ideas about the objects that they will choose. entry points are equally valid what matters is the thinking that goes with them.
On reading successive subject reports and notes for examiners we find that the important issue to do with the objects chosen for the Tok exhibition is specificity. The IB are recommending choosing objects first because they think that if students choose the prompt first they are more likely to choose generic objects and write generic commentaries. In the last few Subject Reports they have explained in some detail the difference between a generic use of an object and a specific use of an object. Just search for the words Family Bible in the May 2023 subject report to find this example, or click on this blog post for a full explanation of what is meant by a specific object.
Summary.
If your students can easily see the ToK issues manifest in the world around them ask them to choose objects before a prompt to write object specific commentaries.
If your students find it challenging to see the ToK issues manifest in the world around them, ask them to choose prompts and write knowledge arguments before choosing specific objects to write specific commentaries.
The specifically important point is the specificity of the specific objects specific to the specific prompt.
Stay specific my friends,
Daniel, Lisbon, Feb 24