Downloading the Official TOK Essay Planning Form

When students submit their TOK essays to the IB, they are also required to submit an official Essay Planning Form. Students complete this digital interactive adobe pdf file as they work on the essay. They are required to list three interactions that they had with their instructor in the process of preparing their essay. The teacher is required to fill in a portion of each student's form describing their interactions with the student. This form will be submitted along with the essay during the month of January.

Unfortunately, Adobe and Google cannot get along with each other when it comes to handling interactive pdf forms, so students will need to follow these steps for downloading the interactive pdf and saving it to their computer (or USB key).

browser image of interactive pdf download

download

1. Click on the following link: Essay Planning Form.
2. The file will open in your browser and look like the image above.
3. Click on the download button
4. Save the file to your computer.
5. Open the file with adobe reader.

Theory of Knowledge - The first month

The first four weeks of Theory of Knowledge (TOK) classes have been very busy and the students have gained valuable insight into "how we know." Among the things we have done in the class, the IB students have

• explored maps (mercator and other projections) as metaphors for the mental maps (worldview); 
• considered how our perspective is shaped by the culture (or micro-culture) to which we belong;
• examined how the biases of the team to which we belong binds us together and can blind us to the truth;
• critically evaluated knowledge as true justified belief;
• written think pieces examining themselves as knowers;
• discussed when it it is appropriate to doubt, and when it is not;
• considered three different checks for knowledge claims: coherence to what we already know, correspondence to the way things are, and pragmatic usefulness;
• formulated broader questions about knowledge after looking at various real life situations;
• examined the strengths and limitations of sense perception through the examination of optical illusions, amnesia, phantom limbs, and synaesthesia;
• examines the strength and limitations of memory through the examination of eye witness testimony;
• written a second think piece using eye witness testimony as we to examine the reliability of these two ways of knowing;
• examined several forms of reasoning: informal, deductive, and inductive;
• analyzed logical arguments to determine whether they were truthful and valid;
• practiced our powers of deduction;
• research and presented various common fallacies of reasoning, including strawman, ad hominem, and poisoning the well to name a few;
• viewed a video on system one and system two thinking (intuition vs reasoning) to discover their strengths and limitations;
• left TOK with the task of writing a think piece on how some of the things we have discussed in the class are evident in the subjects they are learning in the IB Diploma Programme.
  

Classes start Tuesday September 8th

Welcome students to the new year, particularly those students who have registered in one of my courses. This blog contains general information about the courses, particularly Theory of Knowledge. I will be sharing reminders and general comments on what students are doing in class. Students should go to the google classroom for details on assignments and due dates. Course outlines for each course can be found in the google classroom and on the appropriate menu at the top of the page on this blog. The first year Theory of Knowledge students will be spending the fall talking about knowledge and the various ways we come to know. Second year students will be primarily focused on their two required assessments: an essay due by Christmas break and a presentation to be completed prior to the end of first semester. Digital Technology students this semester will either be getting an introduction to computer programming using the Python programming language or be learning a variety of digital technology tools that could be used for running a business: office applications, desktop publishing, graphic design, and website creation.

May 2016 Prescribed Titles for the Theory of Knowledge Essay

At the beginning of September the prescribed titles for students completing the IB Diploma in May of 2016 were released.  They are as follows:

1. “In gaining knowledge, each area of knowledge uses a network of ways of knowing.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of Knowledge.
2. “Knowledge within a discipline develops according to the principles of natural selection.” How useful is this metaphor?
3. “The knower’s perspective is essential in the pursuit of knowledge.” To what extent do you agree?
4. “Without application in the world, the value of knowledge is greatly diminished.” Consider this claim with respect to two areas of knowledge.
5. To what extent do the concepts that we use shape the conclusions that we reach?
6. “In knowledge there is always a trade-off between accuracy and simplicity.” Evaluate this statement in relation to two areas of knowledge.

Students are advised to read through the titles and pick two that they are interested in and put down some initial thoughts including ways of knowing that you feel are connected and areas of knowledge that are relevant to the prescribed title.  We will be taking these titles up when we meet in October, but I am available to dialog with you on a one to one basis before then.  Just drop me an email and we can set up a time.