Perspective, Power & Responsibility
This is a lesson designed to teach students the ToK Concepts of Perspective, Power and Responsibility. You can watch the video of this blog at this link, or below.
The lesson materials are linked here, reading the blog below will help ToK Teachers to tailor the materials so that they work for your students, and context.
We can think of these 3 concepts (perspective, power and responsibility) as being mutually inclusive, a change in any one of the concepts leads to changes in the other 2.
These three concepts are central to many areas of the course. They provide a good framework for knowledge & the knower, they underpin all five optional themes, and are super useful concepts for linking the systemic & structured nature of AoKs with the more individual and contextual characteristics of knowledge producers and knowers.
Polysemous Concepts
These 3 concepts not only provide a bridge between the knower & Areas of Knowledge, but they are also polysemous - they have more than one meaning:
Power can be both individual and systemic, or structural at the same time. Power can be explored in the production, acquisition or pursuit of knowledge. It could also be looked at in terms of access to, and application of, knowledge.
Responsibility often comes up in ToK Essay Prescribed Titles. Responsibility can apply to both the knowledge producer and the knower in different ways. It obviously provides us with an excellent route to the ethical section of the knowledge framework.
And last, but certainly not least, perspective could arguably be the most important concept in the ToK course. The challenge for ToK teachers is to help students to develop an appreciation of perspective without them sinking into the morass of relativism.
"This lesson's too basic !"
I know that some ToK teachers are concerned that the materials shared here are "too basic". My aim is to produce resources that are accessible and effective for all ToK learners. Therefore, the lesson has to be accessible to the student that finds ToK highly challenging. The tasks are purposefully very open ended, therefore the complexity and challenge can be increased by the teacher depending upon the needs of the students.
The aims of the lesson:
Students have the opportunity to explore the interconnectedness of the 3 concepts, and begin to understand that change in one of the concepts is likely to change in the other 2.
Students have the opportunity to see that not only are the concepts polysemous, but they can also have different meanings in different contexts at the same time.
The structure of the lesson:
The lesson presents 6 case studies, and students are asked 2 questions about each case study. The questions are firstly To whom, or to what, does this knowledge have power ?, and secondly to whom, or what, is the knowledge producer responsible?
By asking the questions in this way the students will have to form their own definitions of “power” and “responsibility”, just as they have to in the ToK Exhibition and Essay. The differing definitions that students develop, and the different consequences that flow from these various definitions, are the opportunity for the teacher to develop the concept of ‘perspective’ in the subsequent discussions.
As a teacher you know how best to structure the lesson for your students and classroom. Personally I would put students in groups, have each group look at 2 of the case studies, have each group lead feedback on 1 case study, and then ask students to write a reflection piece after the lesson.
The lesson comes out of the work that I have been doing on developing a skills framework for ToK, if you want to know more, or are interested in contributing to the ToK Skills Framework - click here.
Stay ToKtastic my friends.
Daniel, Lisbon May 2024
3 easy ways to teach critical thinking in ToK
In Theory of Knowledge (ToK) critical thinking is not just a buzzword but a foundational skill that can significantly impact students' understanding and their ability to score well in ToK. But what exactly does it mean to "teach critical thinking"? Many of the teachers that I work with have asked for more help with this.
Understanding Critical Thinking in ToK
Critical thinking in ToK can be distilled into two primary elements:
Evaluation of Arguments: This involves identifying the strengths and weaknesses of an argument. It's about scrutinising the evidence, reasoning, and conclusions presented.
Development of Alternative Explanations: Beyond just critiquing, critical thinking also encompasses the ability to propose different explanations or viewpoints.
While there are numerous facets to critical thinking, focusing on these two skills can significantly aid students in excelling in ToK.
Teaching Critical Thinking Through Knowledge Issues
One of the most effective ways to cultivate these critical thinking skills is by engaging with knowledge issues. A knowledge issue refers to any factor that might influence knowledge - be it in its acquisition, development, production, or evaluation. Key knowledge issues relevant to ToK include reliability, validity, selectivity, predictability, hierarchy, inference, misrepresentation, and various biases.
These issues are intrinsically linked to the 12 core ToK concepts, with each concept potentially serving as a category under which specific knowledge issues can be grouped. For instance, the concept of culture could encompass knowledge issues like misrepresentation, inference, and confirmation bias.
Practical Approaches to Teaching Knowledge Issues
Here are three effective strategies for teaching knowledge issues in the ToK classroom:
Grouping Knowledge Issues Under ToK Concepts: Start by having students categorize knowledge issues under the 12 core ToK concepts. Provide them with a list to get started, and encourage them to add their own. This activity boosts familiarity with ToK concepts and deepens understanding of knowledge issues as students discuss and justify their categorizations. For lesson materials that could be used for this activity click here.
Applying Knowledge Issues to Real-World Examples: Introduce students to a selection of knowledge issues, then present a real-world case study. Ask students to identify relevant knowledge issues and explain their relevance. This approach helps develop key ToK skills necessary for both the Exhibition and the Essay. For lesson materials that could be used for this activity click here.
Using Edward DeBono’s Six Thinking Hats: Adapt this cognitive framework to encourage alternative thinking. Assign each student or group a "hat" that represents a specific way of thinking (e.g., "Facts" for the White hat, "New Ideas" for the Green hat). Present a real-world problem for analysis through the lens of their assigned thinking direction. This activity fosters an understanding of perspective, context, and the intentions of knowledge producers and knowers.
For more in depth thoughts, and further learning materials, on teaching critical thinking in ToK click here
Conclusion
Teaching critical thinking in ToK doesn't require endless watching of TED videos, nor extensive texts. By focusing on ToK skills and creating engaging, activity-based learning experiences, teachers can effectively impart critical thinking skills. For more ideas and resources, feel free to explore further or reach out with suggestions and inquiries.
If you have any content suggestions or questions, don't hesitate to contact us at Daniel@ToKToday.com.
Daniel, Lisbon, Feb 2024
ToK Games as Lesson Activities
I love using ToK games and drama when teaching ToK. In this blog I give you 5 ToK game suggestions, and a bit of the thinking ("pedagogical justification") behind the use of games.
ToK learning should be:
active rather than passive.
fun and engaging.
low stakes and low risk.
often done standing up.
short frequent changing activities.
Generally it should avoid:
reading lengthy passages of text.
watching long videos (10 mins+)
intellectual snobbery & exclusion.
Photo by kat wilcox on Pexels.com
To try to make the above happen in my ToK classroom I love using games and drama to teach ToK. I have some simple guidelines for my ToK classroom:
Every ToK lesson starts with students standing up doing an activity, usually in a circle.
No whole class activity should last more than 15 minutes.
Groupwork* increases the learning capacity of the group.
No ToK homework is required other than writing Exhibition / Essay.
*balance/combine with individual & pairwork.
2 simple ToK learning activities to use in your classroom tomorrow.
Activity 1: What am I (concepts) ?
This is a ToK version of the classic "Who am I ?" game.
Objective:
(i) To increase familiarity with ToK Concepts.
(ii) To increase understanding of ToK Concepts.
Resources: Post it notes, pens/pencils, ToK Concepts.
Process:
a) students work in pairs.
b) Each student writes a ToK concept on a Post-it note without their partner seeing what they've written.
c) Each student sticks the Post-it on their partner's forehead.
d) Each student asks their partner 5 questions to guess which concept is written on the Post-it on their forehead. (They are not allowed to use the concepts in their questions at this stage).
After 5 questions the student can have 2 guesses at which concept they are.
Eg:
Q1: "am I a concept about predicting?",
Q2: "am I a concept about variability?",
Q3: "without me would you be unsure about the future?"
etc , etc.
Guess: " Am I CERTAINTY ?"
Activity 2: ToK Knowledge Production Circle Game.
This is a ToK version of the "My mother went to market" memory circle time game. It's a sequence memory game.
Objectives:
(i) To learn the AoK.
(ii) To learn the methods of production used in an AoK, and the products of those methods of production.
Resources: none.
Process.
a) Students are in a standing, or sitting, circle.
b) The first student in the circle has to name an Area of Knowledge.
c) The next student has to remember bothe the AoK named by the first student, and they have to add to it either a method of production of that AoK, or the outcome of knowledge production of that Area of Knowledge.
d) The third student has remember the AoK of the first student, the method of production of that AoK named by the second student, and they have to add a new AoK.
e) And so the cycle continues. The first student who does not remember / misremembers an earlier step will be out.
e.g:
Student 1: "AoK Human Sciences"
Student 2: "AoK Human Sciences uses a Survey".
Student 3: "AoK Human Sciences uses a Survey, adding AoK History".
Student 4:"AoK Human Sciences uses a Survey, AoK History uses historical statistical data".
etc etc.
Obviously this game depends upon the number of students that you have in the circle etc etc.
A few closing thoughts:
The more I taught ToK the more effective I found games & drama to be as the central teaching process (far more effective than reading, writing and watching videos). More on this approach at this link.
The effectiveness of the game depends upon the ToK teacher's ability to spot the learning opportunities, and to draw out the learning from those opportunities.
The more your students play the ToK games the better they will become at them, meaning they'll learn more.
The more your students associate ToK with low risk, high fun, games the more they'll enjoy ToK...,
These games / starter activities can easily take up a lot more time than expected.
For more games:
If you're a ToK teacher, and you find these useful please feel free to let me know in the comments, and to pass them on to other ToK teachers.
Stay Toktastic my friends,
Daniel, Lisbon, Nov 2023
Priest's religious knowledge - do they believe in God?
Today's post can be used as an RLS for The Core Theme Knowledge & The Knower, and as RLS for AoK Human Sciences, and the Optional Theme Knowledge and Religion. It's about Priests who don't believe in God, and was the most popular post on my old ToK Blog (ToKTrump). There are obvious links with the role of Religious Knowledge in this research.
The Core Theme: Knowledge and The Knower is a very broad unit encompassing a wide range of knowledge questions. It can be a little unwieldy if not focussed onto some key knowledge questions, or a set of themes. I have slowly developed a sense that my student's most illuminating learning in this unit is firstly that knowledge is constructed rather than give, secondly that that process of construction is highly contextualised, and finally that it is not experienced as contextualised by the knower.
It's difficult to find the original study today, however I did find:
A review in The Atheist's Quarterly on JSTOR linked.
A summary on the website Why Evolution is True linked.
The world view of the knower is not experienced as contextualised, but is their "known world". We can draw upon Husserl's view of "Lebenswelt" or lived world here.
Why is The Priests who don't believe in God pertinent to ToK ?
Unstructured interviews of 5 non-believing priests carried out by Dennett & LaScola (2010) are a fascinating, and rare, insight into people who hold one set of beliefs, and yet live their lives by another set of beliefs. This dissonant state gives rise to a compelling set of insights for ToK. Whilst this example may not be 'typical' for most knowers, arguably it is in this somewhat extreme, contrast that we can uncover some of the processes of knowing that are experienced by all of us as knowers. Some of these implications include:
We can hold contradictory knowledge (and beliefs) at the same time.
Performativity of knowledge is both evidential and significant ( a behavioural element of knowledge).
Internal ethical justification of knowledge occurs when the knower is presented with contradictory or inimical knowledge/beliefs/values.
Even deeply held beliefs and values can change when the knower is challenged with opposing arguments/beliefs/values.
When deeply held beliefs/values are changed the knower may not change their public behaviours according to the newly held beliefs.
Beliefs & values (as forms of knowledge) can be known in many different ways by different knowers.
How to use this in ToK:
Core Theme: Knowledge & The Knower.
A quick skim through the KQs of the Core theme Knowledge & The Knower we can immediately see links to many KQs, particularly those dealing with the knower's knowledge in relation to others through interactions. I have allocated KQs to groups of students and asked them to use the research to explore their allocated KQ.
AoK Human Sciences.
The study can be relevant to all of the Hum Sci Knowledge Framework. Of particular interest to me is the link to perspectives and research methods. Specifically the validity vs reliability debate, and the value of extrapolation from a small (& we assume unrepresentative) sample.
Optional Theme - Knowledge & Religion.
Obviously there are a range of interesting KQs which could be explored using the Dennett & La Scola study. Of particular interest is the link between faith & religious beliefs, the role of culture's influence on religious beliefs, the relationship between reason and religious beliefs, etc.
For more ToK Lesson content for Knowledge and the Knower try this link.
For more ToK Lesson content on AoK Human Sciences try this link.
Conclusion.
The Dennett & LaScola research focuses on an atypical and unusual situation in knowledge. However, maybe it is in the strong contrasts found in the unusual cases that we can better understanding the framework and underlying processes of the knowledge held in all other cases.
If you would like more content like this (focussing on useful RLS), or have suggestions for further content please don't hesitate to contact me - Daniel@TokToday.com
Wishing you a great day!
Daniel, Lisbon, Jan 2023
Bibliography & References.
“Atheists Anonymous.” The Wilson Quarterly (1976-), vol. 34, no. 3, 2010, pp. 77–78. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41000971. Accessed 11 Jan. 2023.
whyevolutionistrue. “Dennett and LaScola Study of Nonbelieving Clergy.” Why Evolution Is True, 18 Mar. 2010, whyevolutionistrue.com/2010/03/18/dennett-and-lascola-study-on-nonbelieving-clergy/. Accessed 11 Jan. 2023.
Value Judgments in AoK History
Is it unfair to judge people & actions of the past by the standards of today?
I put together this lesson both because making value judgments in AoK History is a 'hot topic' in the current political zeitgeist sweeping academia and campuses, but also (and mainly) because some of my ToK students have been discussing it in their History class. I wanted to show how we could approach answering the question using Knowledge Arguments (or "perspectives").
This is the second lesson in the unit on AoK History. The first lesson can be found here.
This lesson focuses on two key ToK Skills:
Using knowledge arguments to explore a knowledge claim.
Identify the possible implications of a knowledge argument in terms of a knowledge claim.
ToK Skills Diagram Click here.
Lesson Structure.
Upfront teaching (Using the Presentation linked).
I've gone for some 'upfront' teaching at this point for 2 reasons:
My DP1 ToK class have requested more upfront direct instruction - I guess everyone has their fill of constructionism at some point !
I need to start bringing together some of their (burgeoning) ToK knowledge to show how it can be structured into an answer.
The presentation starts with a Mentimeter Poll - I find this is a great way to get engagement, and to give some RLS to form the basis of the ToK discussions.
Student active learning on historical judgments
Student Group Work.
Students form groups around the perspectives on the 'fairness' of historical judgements that they agree with.
Each group is to answer 3 questions:
Why did you choose this perspective rather than the other 2 perspectives ?
Explain one implication for Historical Knowledge of your perspective (using historical RLS).
Explain one implication for historical knowledge of one of the other perspectives (using historical RLS).
The challenge of the group work will probably be to keep the students focussed on the knowledge issues rather than the historical examples. The wording of the KQ from the ToK Study guide uses the word "unfair" which could be easily interpreted as a call to emotion. However practising the skill of extrapolating knowledge points from RLS will be of great benefit when the students do the ToK Exhibition and Essay.
Implications of knowledge arguments.
The group work also requires the students to consider the implications of knowledge arguments. This is a skill which I have found student's are particularly challenged by. Again, we're trying to build this for later assessments, as it is key to accessing the higher mark bands in the ToK Essay.
Closing Thoughts.
This lesson requires the students to exercise their "Historical Imagination" (to a degree), and then to transpose that into the ToK environment. We try to find a shortcut to that process by providing them with the ToK arguments at the beginning of the lesson. This is one of the ways of trying to build higher level skills in a restricted period of time. Obviously, this is only done because the students will have spent sustained time in more constructivist learning engagements earlier in the course.
There's more on ways to develop ToK understanding in the limited time available in the post linked here.
If you have any suggestions for teaching AoK History please do not hesitate to get in touch Daniel@TokToday.com. Wishing you a great day,
Daniel, Lisbon, Jan 2023
Bibliography
Little, Vivienne. “What Is Historical Imagination?” Teaching History, no. 36, 1983, pp. 27–32. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43254801. Accessed 16 Jan. 2023.
Historical "Truth" - AoK History
Today's lesson explores the issues surrounding the reliability and validity of knowledge in AoK History. The lesson allows students to draw upon a wide range of ToK Concepts, and is purposefully open ended. The lesson allows students to explore the idea of a "historical Truth" (and hopefully to problematise such a term). As such it should be equally accessible for students who don't study History as it is for those who do. A
Students can draw upon the range of ToK concepts, maybe with particular reference to Objectivity, Perspective, Interpretation, Evidence and..., TRUTH
The lesson.
President George W. Bush at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota County, Florida, September 11th 2001 as he was informed of the 9-11 attacks on The World Trade Centre.
What's wrong with this photo?
A few interesting sources:
Student collaborative thinking:
Working in Groups brainstorm some answers to the following questions. Add your answers to the Presentation for feedback to the whole group:
Can you establish the Historical Truth of this photo ? (All groups)
If a range of sources disagree how do we establish objective facts ? (Grp 1)
What counts as a fact in history? (grp 2)
Is a history which is internally consistent necessarily true ? (grp 2)
Could more than one version of the past, even contradictory ones, be internally consistent ? (Grp 3)
Is a fact always the truth ? (& vice versa: is the truth always factually accurate ?) (Grp 4)
Is it important to establish historical objectivity, and if so why ? (Grp 5)
Is it unfair to judge people and actions in the past by the standards of today? (grp 6)
Should terms such as “atrocity” or “hero” be used when writing about history, or should value judgments be avoided? (Grp 7)
Other TokToday content that ToK Teachers may find useful:
A whole unit of Natural Science Lessons (Free).
AoK Human Science Lesson on Cargo Cults of Melanesia (also use for Indigenous Knowledge) Free.
Applying The Scientific Method
Over the years I have found that if students have a good understanding of The Scientific Method in ToK it helps them in many ways across all Areas of Knowledge, and in both The Exhibition and The ToK Essay. The Scientific Method gives students an understanding of the tensions between reliability and validity of knowledge, and therefore more useful ways to discuss accuracy, reality, and even 'truth'.
Most crucially teaching the scientific method gives students key foundational knowledge for both AoK Natural Sciences and AoK Human Sciences (which saves precious teaching time). I recently started AoK The Natural Sciences with my DP1 ToK class, and therefore started by teaching The Scientific Method.
The Scientific Method Lesson.
I started with a simple card sort: Sort the cards into the correct order of the Scientific Method. Many students have already studied the scientific method, so this is just revision of previous knowledge.
The Card Sort Resource is included at the end of this blog.
Chalk & Talk !
I know that it's very naughty in our new constructionist age, but I do think that there's still a place for a bit of chalk n talk every now & then. So, I followed up the card sort activity with a quick run through of the Presentation linked here. We can look at this as an introduction to the main task...,
The Task
The task is designed to actively engage the students in applying the Scientific Method. I love using drama in the ToK classroom - I think that drama really brings the subject alive for students who either find ToK challenging, or tbh just don't see the point of it (if you have never had either of these groups of students you are fortunate). By using drama the students don't have to risk "getting things wrong" - it is merely a role that is "getting it wrong".
The task itself is fairly self explanatory, I ask the class to play the role of "Funding Committee" when they hear the presentations, this moves them from passive observers to active engagers.
The task sheet is included as a PDF at the end of this blog.
End thoughts
My approach to teaching ToK is directed more towards the students who find the subject difficult, or have little interest in the subject. This doesn't mean that the interested & engaged can't get a lot out of the lesson - I simply think that "a rising tide lifts all boats". As such I try to design lessons which maximise engagement, games and fun (despite this one having some chalk n talk in it). I really don't think that reading long articles, or watching TED videos is either a necessary nor optimal way to learn ToK. - I have used my "Drama + Games" approach for many years, and my students have always achieved excellent results...,
I hope that you found today's resources useful. If you have suggestions or requests for further topics / resources please don't hesitate to let me know.
Wishing you a great weekend,
Daniel,
Lisbon, Jan 2023
The Sorting Activity Resource is linked below, just print & cut out.
Scientific Method Sorting Activity
The Task Sheet.
AoK Natural Sciences: A whole Unit of ToK (Free)!
I'm currently writing a new set of lessons for teaching AoK Natural Sciences, and I came across this set of lessons from my old teaching website that I used when I was teaching in Bangkok. There are a lot of resources linked into these lessons, and it's beautifully presented - so I thought I'd offer it out there to the TokToday community (for free).
The focus of the unit is on the organisation of knowledge in AoK Natural Sciences
I think I was having fun with the presentation when I put this together!
My teaching pace and focus with my current ToK students is a bit different to the classes that I put this module together for, so I prefer to rewrite the unit than just use this old unit. However, there's a lot in here - so it may be of use to ToK Teachers reading this blog. If you're pushed for time, and need something ASAP it may be something that you can just pick up and use.
I will publish my new lessons on AoK Natural Sciences in the next week or so, I am focussing on a more active and accessible set of activities.
Other resources which may be of use are:
Jahn & scientific anomalies (a useful RLS).
A presentation about Natural sciences.
If you found these lessons useful, or have suggestions for upcoming content that you would find useful, I would love to read your comments below.
Have a great day!
Daniel,
Lisbon, Jan 2023
AoK Natural Sciences - bits n bobs
Whilst preparing a "Christmas lesson" on AoK Natural Sciences I was digging through some of my resources and came across a long series of activities that I previously used for AoK Nat Sci.
I link them below as you may find some of them useful..., it's free & downloadable at this link.
The Christmas Lesson will be coming on Monday next week.
Cargo Cults of Melanesia (Free Lesson)
The Cargo Cults of Melanesia make a fascinating case study (RLS) for AoK Human Sciences, Knowledge & Technology, and Knowledge & Indigenous Societies.
I've been using this case study for a few years, and I've found that it really helps to give the students a sense of the reality of knowledge construction.
Obviously the use of this case study has the potential to produce concerns of 'othering' - the treatment of apparent difference as the central defining feature of a person / group of people. I think that the best way to ward against this is to discuss the danger of othering with the students, that is to raise the awareness of normalisation of self and treating those beyond our perceived in-group as other.
I have always felt a little uneasy about the inclusion of "Indigenous Societies" on the ToK Syllabus. However, I can see the benefits of studying non-industrial societies in order to improve our own understanding of knowledge construction.
(free) Lesson Resources !
A link to resources & activities is here: https://sites.google.com/.../the.../cargo-cults-polynesia
More on the Cargo Cults can be found in this Scientific American article, and this article from The Guardian.
Balloon Game - Ethics & ToK version starter activity.
Most DP Students will have played the Balloon Game / Shipwreck Game by the time they reach DP. I think it's a great icebreaker, and pastoral activity to play with students of all ages.
In this starter activity we 'up-cycle' it so that it has a ToK twist, we use it as a game to introduce students to the 3 main ethical schools (Virtue Ethics, Deontology and Utilitarianism).
Why introduce ethics in this way ?
Ethics are a subset of the Knowledge Framework for all Areas of Knowledge ( a welcome change from the previous version of the ToK Syllabus). ToK students don't have to know the details of ethical schools, nor be able to explain ethical thought in any detailed way. They only need to know what the ethical issues are that could pertain to any of the Areas of Knowledge. However, rather than teaching the specific ethical issues arising from each area of knowledge it makes far more sense to give students a basic grounding in the main schools of ethics so that they can apply them to the AoKs.
The Balloon Game - Ethics in ToK version.
The Ethics in ToK Balloon Game Handout
The game is pretty straight forward. I put the students into groups, and allocate a school of Ethics to each group to make their decisions.
The PDF version of the file can be downloaded here.
An interesting aside...,
The words 'ethical' and 'ethics' are often in school's Mission/Vision/Values statements. I think they're alluding to some form of virtue ethics. As a ToK teacher I want my students to develop a more precise use of language relating to knowledge. So, I always ask my students to ask "what type of ethics are we referring to ?" when they see it in the school values statements. When we think about it a school aspiring to be deontological will do things very differently to a school aspiring to be utilitarian etc. I know it's a bit pedantic, but a spot of pedantry when it comes to how we behave towards each other may not be a bad thing !
Have a great day,
Daniel,
Lisbon, November 2022.
For more on Ethics you can check out this very clear BBC Site, and there's a lot of good content on the ToK2022 site.
ToK Exhibition Skills Builder Part 2
Today's post is the second half of a series of lessons designed to build the skills for the ToK Exhibition (thus it's a "ToK Exhibition Skills Builder")
The first lesson is linked here, if you’re yet to read that you can pop back, download the free resources etc.
FREE Lesson Resources !
The Presentation (showing the students what to do) is available at this link
All slides (student forms) as lessons resources are available for free from this link.
Lesson Aims - Building skills.
This lesson is specifically designed to help students to get higher marks on their Exhibition, it does that by developing the skills of:
Revisiting the Identification of the Personal Link to the Object
Constructing Perspectives on the prompt, and then
Linking objects to the prompt.
There is a slightly controversial alteration that we identified last year to IB’s recommendations. Rather than identify objects and then develop perspectives the ToK team that I worked with found it easier for students to develop perspectives on the prompt, and then to identify objects which exemplify those perspectives.
I have also built into the process the use of ToK Concepts (as recommended in the May 2022 Subject Report.
The Lesson Process
I have written my own prompt, the same prompt as used in the last lesson - Why does pre-existing knowledge change ? You, of course, can write your own prompt, or use one of the IB Prompts (obviously in the real Exhibition the students must use one of the prompts given by IB).
In the last lesson students linked objects to the prompt, and explained those links. In this lesson I want them to develop a Perspective (or argument) relating to the prompt - think of it as one of the ways to answer the prompt, our first aim is to get them to write 3 perspectives on the prompt.
So, here I have come up with two perspectives as examples for modelling. The first being
the pre-existing knowledge may change because the predictions made according to that knowledge have become less certain. The ToK concept here being Certainty.
The second being that
pre-existing knowledge may change because it was created at an earlier date, and is no longer justifiable in modern culture. The ToK Concepts here being Culture & Justification.
I then gave students time to write their 3 perspectives on the prompt, in groups, each perspective to include at least one ToK Concept.
Identifying Objects
We then moved on to identifying an object that demonstrated the perspective. Note again we are writing the perspective, and then identifying the object. This reversal of the orthodox order came about after my first experience of the teaching the Exhibition. In that process we identified objects, and then tried to explain the link between the object and the prompt. Doing it in that order we found that there was a lot of similarity in the links described for the 3 objects. This made it far harder for students to score in the higher mark bands for the criteria of justifying the contribution that each individual object makes to the Exhibition.The students had to go back, write unique perspectives, and then select new objects. We soon realised that we needed to reverse that process - hence the Perspectives to object order.
Linking Objects to Perspectives
Then we ask the students to explain the link between the object and the perspective. Note - at this stage we are not linking the Object to the Prompt. We're linking the object to the perspective in order to ensure that the student explains the unique contribution of that object to the Exhibition.
Personalisation of the object.
Now I re-introduce the personalisation of the object. Again, this may at first seem to be the wrong way round, common sense tells us that it would be easier to start with the personal, and work to the general. However, my experience is that it is harder to move good knowledge arguments if we start with the personal. Students find it easier to move between themselves as knowers and the knowledge world if they’ve initially spent time considering objects in the abstract, it just reduces the incidence of anecdotal description - of course, your mileage may vary.
Explanation of the object's link to the perspective back to the prompt !
The final step is to link the explanation of the object’s link to the perspective back to the prompt. Lots of links, I know, but these steps are the operationalisation of the criteria that reads “justification of the particular contribution of that individual object to the Exhibition”. It is this criteria that students need to fulfil to be scoring 7-10 marks in the Exhibition.
The whole process took about 1 hr. If we repeat this process a few times, changing the prompt each time, students will be well prepared for the ToK Exhibition.
I hope that you found this useful.
Have a great day, and stay TokTastic!
Daniel,
Lisbon, November 2022
Writing Knowledge Statements: ToK Lesson
So how does knowledge manifest itself in the real world? And how do we develop different perspectives about how it manifests itself in the real world? These are key questions in understanding ToK, and knowledge construction as a whole.
I'm interested in creating ToK resources that make the subject accessible for students who find ToK more challenging or, to be honest, may not be particularly interested in ToK.
There's a video guide to the lesson below.
Writing Knowledge Statements.
Today's lesson is designed to help students build the skill of developing alternative perspectives for things they see in the real world. And start looking at how knowledge manifests itself in that real world. Both skills are central to ToK Exhibition & ToK Essay
Lesson Resources!
The lesson resource can be downloaded from this link.
We start by looking at a few real world scenarios and I ask the students to jot down as many possible reasons for the construction of that real world phenomenon. Give limited time, the focus here is on a soft element of competition to get as many reasons written down as possible. I've put a few real-world scenarios in the lesson, obviously you can change these up for things which are more appropriate for your context or your students.
Then I do a bit of up front teaching to explain how we move from The Real World to the knowledge world showing them an example from each of the real world scenarios used earlier. This is developing the skill of writing Knowledge Statements.
Then I ask them to do the same themselves, changing the reasons that they gave earlier into "ToK World statements", or knowledge statements. And I start to introduce the Pillars of Knowledge - that is how knowledge is constructed, why knowledge is constructed, how it changes over time and the evaluation of that knowledge. I introduce this to try to extend thinking at the end of this lesson.
Purpose
The purpose of the lesson is to get your students used to identifying the knowledge characteristics of real world phenomena and the idea of using knowledge statements to explain those real world phenomena. Essential skills that we're just creating at a nascent stage at this point in the course.
This lesson also links with
This post on how to write Claims & Counterclaims.
This lesson on building skills for ToK Exhibition.
If this lesson is useful for your ToK teaching, or you just enjoyed this video, then a Like, Subscribe, Comment to Share or subscribe are greatly appreciated
Have a great day!
Daniel,
Lisbon, Nov 22
Introduction: AoK The Arts
This lesson is designed to introduce AoK The Arts, it's skills based and participatory. The lesson is designed to be given early in the ToK course, in the first term of DP1. At this stage in the course I believe that we should be focussing on student's emotional orientation to ToK. We should be designing lessons so that they experience ToK as low stakes, low threat, easily accessible and fun. In my experience this means that we need to emphasis active participation, a gentle element of competition, and very little reading / writing. It also means that we should steer clear of watching videos, I find that students who are not excited by ToK become even less excited when we give them ToK-type videos to watch.
"Where's the rigour ?"
The participatory - fun approach of the lesson doesn't mean that it's not 'rigourous' (whatever that word means). It is based on sound and solid skills identification and skills development, but it tries to do this in a light-touch way which builds on student's pre-existing knowledge and skills.
The ToK Skills Map (developed in conjunction with Thailand ToK Teacher's Network). - we've tried to identify the specific skills that students need to enjoy success in ToK. This lesson has been developed from this map.
The skills specifically identified for development in this lesson may seem abstract when written in this form, but when operationalised as individual & group learning tasks they become far more accessible.
The Lesson.
The lesson is well described in the video linked below. I will just give brief details here.
Resources needed:
Paper, colouring pens / pencils, somewhere to display drawings (eg a whiteboard), some way to attach the drawings to the display (eg Blu-Tack).
Google link to the lesson presentation / instructions here.
PDF Version of the Lesson Is shown at the end of this post.
The content areas introduced in the lesson.
Anyway, I think that the lesson is fairly self explanatory. I hope that it shows that we can teach ToK without a heavy reliance on content, and that a focus on skills development can be fun.
If you have any questions or suggestions please don't hesitate to contact me at Daniel@TokToday.com
have a great weekend!
Daniel,
Lisbon November 22.
PDF version of the Intro to AoK The Arts Lesson.
ToK Essay Activator Questions
A set of questions to help students to develop their arguments at the beginning of the ToK Essay writing process.
The ToK Essay Activators are questions that students can use at the beginning of their ToK Essay Planning Process. They are a way to start to understand the essay title. They’re the foundation of thinking.
The video explanation of this resource is linked here, and below.
The beginning of the process
The firstl stage of thinking about the ToK Prescribed Titles is foundational for success later in the process. Unfortunately, this initial stage is often an overlooked activity. Giving students individual thinking time to form their own understanding of the ToK Essay is crucial. Forming a solid personal understanding of the essay early helps when they hear other people's interpretations of the essay in the later stages of essay writing. If students who don't have a solid personal understanding of the essay they may be tempted to use other people's interpretations. Accordingly they will then, probably, find it harder to develop in terms of analysis, evaluation and implications. The higher order analysis of knowledge arguments is easier for the student to develop if the original knowledge argument has been developed by the student themselves. This is why spending individual time at the beginning of the essay process is foundational for future success.
ToK Essay Activators are a set of questions that students can use to improve their understanding of the ToK Essay.
The ToK Essay Activators are questions that students can use to guide their thinking. They are useful at the beginning of the process. The questions help to develop personal knowledge arguments relating to the prescribed title.
The ToK Essay Activators are available (for free) at:
Students who are looking for more help to write the ToK Essay check out our Student Support Page, and the Ebook "How to write the ToK Essay in 6 easy steps".
Notes on May 23 ToK Essay Titles are coming soon (Mid September), and will be available from this link.
There are also some great tips at this blog.
If there are further resources that you would like me to develop do not hesitate to get in touch. I can also help with curriculum planning: Daniel@TokToday.com.
Daniel, Lisbon,
Aug 2022
Critical Thinking - how to teach it.
Kolb's Learning Cycle is the fundamental model that I use to plan ToK Lessons. It is an effective structure for developing critical thinking skills because it builds self reflection.
Before we get into how to teach critical thinking it may be useful to tell you that this is the third blog in this series. The first looked at Knowledge Issues in ToK, the second is a starter lesson activity connecting knowledge issues and ToK Concepts. The third post proposes The ToK Mindset. You may want to jump back & read those posts to contextualise this one.
Critical Thinking - a jumping off point.
OK, I'm not going to be able to cover the whole of how to teach critical thinking in one blog post, but it's an essential topic to start to cover on these pages. Firstly, critical thinking is one of the Aims of ToK (3rd bullet point on Pg 7 in the current ToK Guide). Secondly, all of the aims implicitly rely on the student's ability to think critically. Thirdly, it's at the heart of The ToK Mindset - which is the foundation to improving grades in ToK.
The ToK Mindset is 4 domains of understanding which underpin success in ToK. These 4 domains are a good starting point for defining the type of critical thinking required by ToK students.
Reflection is not distraction.
When IB brought in the current version of the Extended Essay they gave 17% of the total marks available to Reflection. Concerned about the subjectivity of this criteria I asked the workshop leader how he recommend we teach 'Reflection', he skirted around the issue. I asked him the same question a few more times (yes, I'm THAT workshop participant), he told me that teaching reflection wasn't part of the workshop, and gave me a few other fob offs. IB hadn't defined how Reflection was to be taught in the DP, therefore I decided that I needed to define the process for my team of DP teachers.
Much of the literature places self reflection as the first stage of developing critical thinking skills. There are many different strategies for developing Self reflection, just a few are:
Journalling (keeping a ToK journal is a popular activity in many ToK classrooms).
Think - Pair- Share.
Two Stars and wish.
Reflection Breaks during the lesson.
Visible Thinking. Routines.
It's not my place to tell you which method of reflection you should use, whatever methods work best for you and your students is the way you should go. The function of this blog is to look at the role of reflection in developing critical thinking skills.
Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle.
David Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle (aka "Kolb's Learning Cycle") is based on gestalt psychology. The Learning Cycle has been demonstrated to be significantly effective under empirical testing. It has been widely used for over 30 years in inquiry and constructivist models. MY EE workshop leader (mentioned earlier) should have directed me towards Kolb's Learning Cycle. This is the basic model that I use to plan ToK Lessons. It is an effective structure for developing critical thinking skills because it builds self reflection. (You can find out more about the cycle from David's own website: Learningfromexperience.com)
Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle can be used as an effective framework for planning ToK lessons which improve personal self reflection, and therefore improve critical thinking skills.
Kolb's Learning Cycle in ToK Lessons.
We can place the 4 stages of the learning cycle into a 'typical' ToK Lesson:
Concrete Learning.
This is the challenge that we start the lesson with. It could be a Knowledge Question drawn from the syllabus, or related question we've drawn up ourselves. We give the students a concrete experience to use to start to explore this question eg: a drama activity, a card sort, analysing text, building a model from newspaper etc.
Reflective Observation
During this period we ask the students to reflect upon the processes used to solve the challenge set at the beginning of the lesson. This reflection can be both individual and group reflection. It is usually very effective when it is integral to the original challenge. For example if the original challenge is holding a round table debate the adjudicators of the debate can lead on the reflective observation. The last stage of this observation is to identify some learning principles which we will take into the next stage of learning.
Abstract Conceptualisation
This is the 'teacher inventiveness' stage. We need to find a way to show the students how the learning from the first two stages applies in the abstract and conceptual ToK World. This could take the form of modelling an application of findings from the first stage in the ToK World. Alternatively it could be done by providing the students with a heavily scaffolded task.
Active Experimentation
This is the stage when the students take the real world experience (of stage 1), and apply it in the ToK World. This is the stage when we set the "ToK World task", which is more likely to be a knowledge question from the ToK Guide. The students take the principles arising from the reflection in stage 2 and apply them in this stage.
We have to teach students to translate real world experience into the ToK World.
Kolb's Learning Cycle helps students to move from "the Real World" to "the ToK World". This is a key step on the way to developing The ToK Mindset. If Kolb's Learning Cycle is used repeatedly as the underlying model for ToK lessons more students will be able to successfully transition their knowledge from the real world to the ToK World.
In the coming months I will post lessons that follow the structure of Kolb's Learning Theory. At this stage you can see the lesson linked here on Art & History which uses the learning cycle as its framework. A video on teaching skills in ToK (a wider perspective) can be found here.
If you would like me to develop specific materials for a particular topic/AoK/theme/purpose please don't hesitate to contact me at Daniel@TokToday.com.
Daniel,
Lisbon, August 2022
Connecting ToK Concepts & Knowledge Issues- ToK lesson starter activity.
This starter activity is designed to:Help the students to learn the ToK Concepts.Help the students to develop their own definitions of the ToK Concepts.Link Hexagon Subjects with ToK.
This blog post is a development of the earlier post What no Knowledge Issues?, you may wish to read that for more context. This post describes a ToK lesson starter activity that improves student understanding of ToK concepts.
I find that my students often arrive in my ToK class with the modus operandi of other subjects, namely that they're eager to find 'right answers' and arrive at solutions. As such, I try to use starter activities which tune them into ToK ways of thinking (complexity and incongruence are allowed). My starter activities tend to be content-light rather than reading complex tracts of text.
Today's starter activity is designed to:
Help the students to learn the ToK Concepts.
Help the students to develop their own definitions of the ToK Concepts.
Link Hexagon Subjects with ToK.
Knowledge Issues.
As explained in the earlier blogpost Knowledge Issues have been replaced in the current ToK Study Guide (first exams 2022) by ToK Concepts. However, students will still be learning about problems of knowledge construction (aka "Knowledge Issues") in their Hexagon subjects. The types, and names, of these knowledge issues will vary by subject (eg in Psychology they may learn about Ecological Validity, in Language A Intertextuality, in Visual Arts Expression as Truth etc etc). The challenge for the ToK teacher is to help students to place those subject based knowledge issues under the ToK Concepts.
If we are able to place the subject based knowledge issues under the ToK Concepts we will be increasing the integration of ToK into the Hexagon Subjects, and vice versa.
Student Activity.
This graphic organiser places the ToK Concepts on the left & right borders of the page, and puts Knowledge Issues in the centre of the page.
The instructions to students are to draw lines linking the Knowledge Issues to the ToK Concepts. You could make this more specific, for example requiring each KI to be joined to at least 2 ToK Concepts etc. Or you could limit the number of connections that they can make.
Obviously, you can swap out the knowledge issues for whichever ones are most suitable for your context. You could make it specific to a particular AoK, for example if you're studying The Natural Sciences just use Knowledge Issues which are relevant to The Natural Sciences etc.
You can get a PDF copy of this graphic organiser at this link.
The learning.
The students will have to come up with working definitions of both the ToK Concepts and the Knowledge Issues as they try to link the Knowledge Issues with each concept.
Of course, the real learning comes when they explain the links they made to the rest of the class, and compare their links with other groups in the class.
Of course (2), an argument can be made to link any of the Knowledge Issues with any of the ToK Concepts - the learning is in the arguments made for the link. As students become more au fait with ToK you can ask them to bring their own knowledge issues from one (or more) of their Hexagon Subjects.
Here's an example of a 'linked up' set of ToK Concepts & Knowledge Issues. Your students should come up with something which looks like this, or is even messier than this !
You can get a PDF of this filled version here, but remember it's not 'the right answer', it's just one of many answers.
As with so many of these "Starter Activities" they can quickly expand to take up the whole lesson. I'm usually happy to let them take up the whole lesson if learning is taking place. Especially, if the students are enjoying them.
If you use this (or any other of my activities) I'd be really interested to hear how they go, and how they may be improved. You can contact me at Daniel@TokToday.com.
If you have any requests for further activities or ideas please do get in touch.
Daniel,
Lisbon, Aug 2022.
What, no Knowledge Issues? (link to ToK Concepts?)
Are Knowledge Issues still relevant in the current IB Theory of Knowledge Course ?
Should Knowledge Issues have a specific role in the current ToK Course. In this short blog I argue that Knowledge Issues still serve a specific and crucial role in ToK.
The latest version of the ToK Study Guide (first exams 2022) replaced the idea of "Knowledge Issues" with 12 ToK Concepts. The concepts are fused throughout the course, and can be applied in all Areas of Knowing and Themes. The Concepts help students to develop a deeper, and more critical, understanding of knowledge construction and the issues associated with it.
However, underlying the 12 ToK Concepts there are further issues of knowledge construction. In former iterations of the ToK Guide we called these "Knowledge Issues". I think it's still useful to teach the students about some of these knowledge issues, and ideally for them to bring those knowledge issues across from their Hexagon Subjects. These knowledge issues are useful because they help students to further understand how the concepts influence the construction of knowledge, how the concepts are limitations and constraints on that construction, and to understand why we develop different types of knowledge.
On the left are a few examples of Knowledge Issues, this is by no means an exhaustive list - there are many many others. I only include this list so that you get some idea of what I'm referring to when I use the term "Knowledge Issues".
It is well note that the IB does not use the term 'Knowledge Issues' in the current Study Guide, and that there is no expectation that we teach students either the term, nor the processes indicated here referring to that term. However, the 'Knowledge Issues' can be fairly domain specific, and students will be learning about these in their Hexagon Subjects. Therefore, if we want to help students to identify the ToK aspects of their Hexagon subjects it is useful to unpack the ToK Concepts in terms of the knowledge issues inherent to those hexagon subjects.
Knowledge issues connect knowledge construction issues in the Hexagon Subjects with the 12 ToK Concepts.
Ideally, we would encourage (equip) students to identify the knowledge issues that are apparent in their Hexagon Subjects and bring those across to their ToK studies. We can help them to do this by working alongside their hexagon teachers because often students don't realise that the knowledge issues that they are learning in the hexagon are also relevant in ToK. Those hexagon based knowledge issues can then be grouped under the ToK Concepts, thus integrating ToK and the Hexagon (which is both the aim of ToK, and something that we have to find evidence for when it comes to IB / CIS Evaluation).
You may be wondering why I'm not just posting content. If so here's a quick video explaining my views on content.
In the next blogpost I will show you a simple lesson activity to connect the Hexagon Knowledge Issues with the ToK Concepts.
Daniel,
Lisbon, August 2022
Photos to Concepts - Lesson Starter Activities
the two starter activities that I present today meet the criteria of super-low cost in terms of planning, stress and brain power. Simple they may be, but they can also be very powerful in helping students to learn ToK.
I like lesson starter activities to be fairly low cost for both students and teachers alike, low cost in planning time, stress and brainpower. If I try to start a lesson with an article from an esteemed publication (like Nat Geo or The Atlantic) I find student energy can dip down pretty quickly.
My students sometimes need to be 'eased' into the ToK Mindset at the beginning of the lesson.
So, the two lesson starter activities that I present today meet the criteria of super-low cost in terms of planning, stress and brain power. Simple they may be, but they can also be very powerful in helping students to learn ToK. Their power comes in the ensuing discussion rather than in the complexity of the planning. - Take a rest ToK Teacher !
Picture - Concept Lesson Starter Activity.
This starter activity is super straightforward. You simply show the students a random photo of anything (you can use a random picture generator such as this), and ask them the question
"Which ToK Concepts are represented by this photo?"
Of course any ToK Concepts can be linked to any photo if you are able to construct a good argument, and that is the essential value of this activity. This very simple, no planning, activity has led to some of my best ToK lessons over the years.
"Which ToK Concepts are represented by this photo?"
Obviously the learning comes from how you develop the discussion about why the students chose certain concepts rather than others..
Develop discussion.
Learning:
Students become familiar with ToK Concepts.
Students learn how to link concepts to objects (exhibition)
Students learn how to use ToK Concepts in arguments
The close up Macro lesson starter.
Like the starter above, this starter activity is pretty self explanatory. You start the lesson by showing students a close up macro photograph, you ask them to guess what the object is. As you slowly reveal more and more of the photo the students write their guesses down, as the object is slowly revealed. It’s useful for them to look back, once the object has been revealed, to see how many different things they thought that object could be.
Example of super macro image on the right, and 'revealed' object on the left.
There are some great examples of the type of objects that can be used on this website.
This simple activity can be used to teach perspective, of course every student knows that if you look at things from different angles your experience of them changes, (your knowledge of them changes). This activity could be used to ask why, if we know about perspective, do so many of us cling to absolutes in many circumstances ? Perspective is a much more complex concept than it first appears. Perspective changes knowledge. This activity is just rooting the word perspective in ToK, it’s making it domain specific (a big thing in the Self Regulated Learner literature).
Perspectives are the basis for arguments - which are one of the key ways to access the higher marks on ToK Essay & Exhibition.
So, here are 2 apparently simple activities, but they have the potential to take students a long way in ToK knowledge & ToK thinking. In my experience these starters can often extend across the whole lesson. They are simple activities which have the potential to be very complex.
There's another ToK lesson starter activity for you here.
If you try either of these starter activities I'd love to know how they worked out, and how they could be improved for the future. If you have any requests for other learning resources please let me know (Daniel@TokToday.com).
Daniel,
Lisbon, August 2022.
ToK Words Graphic
a graphic of keywords that are used in ToK. These words go 'beyond' the 12 ToK Concepts.
Just a simple little post today. Whilst scrolling through my Drive today I came across this little ToK words graphic that I made last year. I used to paste this onto learning materials that I used with my class, and put it into presentations etc. It's a graphic of keywords that are used in ToK. These words go 'beyond' the 12 ToK Concepts. We also used it as a "bingo card" a few times (students had to mark each word when they heard someone use that word during a lesson, or presentation).
I thought it would be a nice little resource to share with you, you may use as you wish (link to JPEG is here).
For an activity to help students become familiar with key words try this link.
As always, if you have a request for resources, or help developing lessons / units please don't hesitate to get in touch (Daniel@TokToday.com).
Daniel.
