Greetings, we previously unpacked the English A: Language and Literature guide (2021), this time around we are searching for clues into ways we can connect learning in both areas. To sum up, our last read-a-long, we got a glimpse into the exploraty areas of the guide (time and space and intertextuality), these areas of the guide provide some food for thought regarding the inclusion of TOK in subject specific classrooms.
This time around, we begin our journey in this document through the exploration of knowledge questions as presented on page 5, these are,
"key tool for both teachers and students. These are contestable questions about knowledge itself, such as: “What counts as good evidence for a claim?”, “Are some types of knowledge less open to interpretation than others?”, or “What constraints should there be on the pursuit of knowledge?”. While these questions may initially seem slightly intimidating, they become"
(p.5 2021)
It is really important to understand the development of this course in order to understand how it functions,
"The TOK curriculum is made up of three deeply interconnected parts.
• The core theme—Knowledge and the knower: This theme encourages students to reflect on themselves as knowers and thinkers, and to consider the different communities of knowers to which we belong.
• Optional themes: This element provides an opportunity to take a more in-depth look at two themes of particular interest to teachers and students. The given themes all have a significant impact on the world today and play a key role in shaping people’s perspectives and identities. Teachers select two optional themes from a choice of five: knowledge and technology; knowledge and language; knowledge and politics; knowledge and religion; and knowledge and indigenous societies.
• Areas of knowledge: The areas of knowledge (AOK) are specific branches of knowledge, each of which can be seen to have a distinct nature and sometimes use different methods of gaining knowledge. In TOK, students explore five compulsory areas of knowledge: history; the human sciences; the natural sciences; mathematics; and the arts."
(p.5, 2021)
After understanding that this course essentially is a high school level epistemology course for students with emphasis on their specialized learning experiences, the teacher should note the following,
"There are two assessment tasks in the TOK course.
• The TOK exhibition assesses the ability of the student to show how TOK manifests in the world around us. The exhibition is an internal assessment component; it is marked by the teacher and is externally moderated by the IB.
• The TOK essay engages students in a more formal and sustained piece of writing in response to a title focused on the areas of knowledge. The essay is an external assessment component; it is marked by IB examiners. The essay must be a maximum of 1,600 words and must be on one of the six prescribed titles issued by the IB for each examination session."
(p.5, 2021)
These two assessments are often seemingly emphasized in the workplace/school as assessments that are deeply connected the learning experiences of the student. The first asssessment as you can see, is an internal assessment (in case you forget, this means it is marked by the teacher), but externally moderated by an IB assessor; whereas the later is an external asssessment.
As discussed in the previous guide, "Nature of the subject", will give us a key insight, mroe or less, with regards to our "Big Ideas" that we will observe next under the heading, "Aims".
"The following 12 concepts have particular prominence within, and thread throughout, the TOK course: evidence, certainty, truth, interpretation, power, justification, explanation, objectivity, perspective, culture, values and responsibility. Exploration of the relationship between knowledge and these concepts can help students to deepen their understanding, as well as facilitating the transfer of their learning to new and different contexts."
(p.7, 2021)
After we get our fill of keywords to incorporate into the course and assessments, (in some cases, we might call these, HOT's-Higher Order Thinking Skills), we have the Aims, as previously mentioned,
"The aims of the TOK course are:
• to encourage students to reflect on the central question, “How do we know that?”, and to recognize the value of asking that question
• to expose students to ambiguity, uncertainty and questions with multiple plausible answers
• to equip students to effectively navigate and make sense of the world, and help prepare them to encounter novel and complex situations
• to encourage students to be more aware of their own perspectives and to reflect critically on their own beliefs and assumptions
• to engage students with multiple perspectives, foster open-mindedness and develop intercultural understanding
• to encourage students to make connections between academic disciplines by exploring underlying concepts and by identifying similarities and differences in the methods of inquiry used in different areas of knowledge
• to prompt students to consider the importance of values, responsibilities and ethical concerns relating to the production, acquisition, application and communication of knowledge."
(p.8, 2021)
As mentioned in the guide read-a-long before, the aims portion of the guide, personally, gives me a "Big Idea" to the course guide.
It is interesting to see the much shorter portion of text dedicated to "Assessment objectives", in comparison to academic subjects,
"Having completed the TOK course, students should be able to:
• demonstrate TOK thinking through the critical examination of knowledge questions
• identify and explore links between knowledge questions and the world around us
• identify and explore links between knowledge questions and areas of knowledge
• develop relevant, clear and coherent arguments
• use examples and evidence effectively to support a discussion
• demonstrate awareness and evaluation of different points of view
• consider the implications of arguments and conclusions."
(p.9, 2021)
Page 10 to 11 reflect a course outline and summary of what the students are trying to understand in the way of knowledge. However, come page 12, there is a chart presented with "Examples of knwledge questions",
Fig.1 (p.12, 2021)
"Knowledge questions play a crucial role in helping students to move beyond subject specific questions or specific real-life situations into TOK discussions that are focused explicitly on knowledge..Throughout this guide, examples of knowledge questions are suggested for each of the themes and areas of knowledge. In order to encourage and support students in making comparisons and connections across different elements of the course, the knowledge questions suggested for each theme and area of knowledge are organized into a “knowledge framework” consisting of four common elements: scope, perspectives, methods and tools, and ethics."
(p.12, 2021)
from the table of "Examples of knowledge questions" as presented by the guide on pages 14-15,
Scope:
• What criteria can we use to distinguish between knowledge, belief and opinion?
• How do we distinguish claims that are contestable from claims that are not?
• Are there situations where “knowing how” is more important than “knowing that”?
• Why should we care about acquiring knowledge?
• Why are the criteria for what counts as knowledge not obvious?
• Can other people know us better than we know ourselves?
• How do our interactions with the material world shape our knowledge?
Perspectives:
• What shapes my perspective as a knower?
• How much of our knowledge depends on our interactions with other knowers?
• Is the truth what the majority of people accept?
• How do empathy and imagination help us to understand other perspectives?
• Presented with the belief system of a community of knowers, how can we decide what we personally believe?
• Are there types of knowledge that are specifically linked to particular communities of knowers?
• How can we know that current knowledge is an improvement on past knowledge?
Methods and Tools:
• How do we acquire knowledge?
• What constitutes a “good reason” for us to accept a claim?
• Are intuition, evidence, reasoning, consensus and authority all equally convincing methods of justification?
• Does knowledge always require some kind of rational basis?
• How do our expectations and assumptions have an impact on how we perceive things?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of requiring that all knowledge is
verified by a group?
Ethics:
- Are there responsibilities that necessarily come with knowing something or knowing how to do something?
- As knowers, do we have a moral duty to examine our own assumptions andbiases?
- Under what circumstances, if any, do we have a moral duty to share what we know?
- In what ways do ethical judgments differ from other kinds of judgments?
- Is there knowledge that a person or society has a responsibility to acquire or not to acquire?
- If moral claims conflict, does it follow that all views are equally acceptable?
- What personal traits (such as taking seriously the knowledge of others) do we need in order to be ethical knowers?
(2021)
On what might feel like an unnecessary note, but actually, when reading more closely,
"Teachers must select two optional themes from the following five options.
• Knowledge and technology
• Knowledge and language
• Knowledge and politics
• Knowledge and religion
• Knowledge and indigenous societies"
(p.16, 2021)
The IB words the selection as "optional", however the idea is that a teacher of TOK MUST select 2 of the following themes to present in class in order to meet student interest. To be honest if it is up to the teacher, I wager the idea is that the choices are built around yes, the interest of the students but more or less the teacher's breadth in subject knowledge.
Therefore, I will sum up that pages 16, through 26 are exemplar questions for each of these "optional" themes and these questions would essentially be guides on a "curricular competency" or "big idea" level through the units.
I will go back though for a moment and observe the "Knowledge of language" (p.18) and "Knowledge of Indigenous societies" (p.24).
To begin, page 18, "Knowledge of language",
Scope:
• Can all knowledge be expressed in words or symbols?
• Is it possible to think or know without language?
• Is being able to speak a language an example of “knowing how” to do something?
• What role does language play in allowing knowledge to be shared with future generations?
• Are there differences in how knowledge itself is conceived of, or presented, in different languages?
• Is it the case that if we cannot express something, we don’t know it?
• To what extent does language allow us to make our private experiences public?
• How does language allow humans to pool resources and share knowledge?
Perspectives:
• Does the transmission of knowledge from one person or generation to another depend on language?
• What knowledge might be lost if the whole world shared one common language?
• If a language dies, does knowledge die with it?
• How do our values and assumptions influence the language in which we express our ideas?
• Is ambiguity a shortcoming of language that must be eliminated, or can it also be seen as making a positive contribution to knowledge and knowing?
• Do all people share some innate linguistic knowledge? If the categories that we use necessarily empower or marginalise, is it ever possible to produce knowledge that does not either reflect or challenge existing power structures?
Methods and Tools:
• How are metaphors used in the construction of knowledge?
• If language works according to sets of rules and conventions, how much scope do we have as individuals to break the rules or challenge these conventions?
• In what ways do values affect our representations of the world, for example, in language, maps or visual images?
• To what extent do the classification systems we use in the pursuit of knowledge affect the conclusions that we reach?
• In what ways can language be used to influence, persuade or manipulate people’s emotions?
• To what extent do the names and labels that we use help or hinder the acquisition of knowledge?
Ethics:
• Does ethical language differ in any significant way from other types of language?
• How can we know if language is intended to deceive or manipulate us?
• Do ethical statements simply convey our feelings/emotions rather than making claims?
• If ethical terms and concepts cannot be easily defined, does this mean that they are meaningless?
• Can we define words such as good and bad in terms of objective features of the world?
• Do professional interpreters
(2021)
Turning forward again to page 24, "Knowledge of language", we look at examples of questions,
Scope:
Perspectives:
• To what extent is our perspective determined by our membership of a particular culture?
• To what extent does the fact that most early literature on indigenous societies was written from a non-indigenous perspective affect its credibility?
• What values and assumptions underpin the use of the term “indigenous” knowledge?
• Does a neutral position exist from which to make judgments about competing claims from different groups with different traditions?
• As an “outsider”, can we know and speak about the knowledge held by a different cultural group?
• How might differences in their worldviews create challenges for collaboration between environmental scientists and holders of traditional environmental knowledge?
• Does the term “indigenous” knowledge” necessarily suggest power divisions between a dominant and non-dominant group?
Methods and Tools:
• How reliable are oral traditions in preserving knowledge in indigenous societies?
• What is the role of oral tradition in enabling knowledge to be handed down through generations?
• What role do objects and artifacts play in the construction and sharing of knowledge?
• Does what is seen to constitute “good evidence” vary from culture to culture?
• What is the role of folklore, rituals and songs in acquiring and sharing knowledge?
• What methods have indigenous peoples developed to support the recording, preservation and protection of their traditional knowledge?
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