Integrating TOK:

Group 3 DP subjects

I understand how TOK functions as the hub of the DP, and I can outline strategies to integrate TOK with Individuals & Societies

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© 2020 theoryofknowledge.net All Rights Reserved

Today’s webinar

1. Welcome to the webinar
2. What is TOK, anyway?
3. The TOK integration ‘problem’
4. Specific ways to integrate Group 3 with TOK
1. The 12 key TOK concepts
2. Key thinkers
3. Real-life situations
5. Framing TOK discussions
6. Our support for integrating the DP and TOK
7. School visits to promote TOK integration
8. How to join us

1 Welcome to the webinar

• Duration of the webinar
• Your host - Michael Dunn & theoryofknowledge.net
• Questions and messages about the webinar
• The debrief email

2 What is TOK, anyway?

• 100 hour ‘flagship’ course
• Asks students to consider where we get knowledge from, and what we do with it
• The course is assessed via an essay (⅔ of the final mark) and an exhibition (⅓ of the final mark)
• TOK also brings the DP programme together, by getting students to think critically about their DP courses
• The TOK course aligns perfectly with the ‘4Cs’ - critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity

3 The TOK integration ‘problem’

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• Integrating TOK is a perennial question at IB conferences
• What form should it take? What expectations should coordinators have of ‘ordinary’ DP teachers? What role should the TOK coordinator play?
• The traditional way of teaching TOK - via its different elements (AOKs, themes, etc.) shuts out most DP teachers for most of the year
• We developed a new way of delivering TOK, via ‘Big Questions’, which form our unit titles
• The BQs allow any DP teacher to get involved in TOK at any point in the school year...

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So our original 6 Big Questions...

become...

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4 Specific ways to integrate individuals & societies with TOK

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• Drawing on TOK allows Group 3 teachers to enrich students’ understanding of Individuals & Societies
• It also allows you to tap into the ‘4Cs’: critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration
• Which is all well and good, but how do you actually do this?

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4a The 12 key TOK concepts

• The 12 key concepts have been identified as ideas that are of particular significance to TOK
• They provide a great access point into TOK for other DP teachers

Certainty Culture Evidence Explanation Interpretation Justification Objectivity Perspective Power Responsibility Truth Values

4a The 12 key TOK concepts - examples

POWER: History is written by the victors. Winston Churchill

CERTAINTY: Politics is a science. You can demonstrate that you are right and that others are wrong. Jean Paul Sartre

TRUTH: Where knowledge ends, religion begins. Benjamin Disraeli

VALUES: Psychology keeps trying to vindicate human nature. History keeps undermining the effort. Mason Cooley

RESPONSIBILITY: I was brought up to believe that the only thing worth doing was to add to the sum of accurate information in the world. Margaret Mead

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4b Key thinkers

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TOK allows us to explore and consider the ideas of a fantastic range of thinkers. For example...

• Sam Richards - radical empathy. This talk truly delivers on its title – it is a radical way of trying to acquire knowledge about society, and it forces us to consider some uncomfortable truths. But it is a very useful way of gaining an insight into how we can use empathy to understand.
• Hans Rosling - best stats Rosling first achievement is to make statistics interesting. His second is to use them in such a way that it dispels many of our intuitive or hastily-made judgements about the human world.
• Taiye Selasi - local TS provides us with a brilliant perspective on that oft-asked question, “Where are you from?” This will be of interest to anyone who is lucky enough to have links to more than one country, or anyone who has an international outlook. It also makes us think about the nature of identity, and how we perceive other people.
• Lesley Hazleton - doubt We often think of faith as being somehow fanatical and unquestioning, but as Hazleton points out, doubt is a key component of this way of knowing, prompting us to question our whole understanding of the nature of faith.

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4c Real-life situations

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• Although TOK deals with a lot of concepts that seem quite abstract, we try to link the course as much as possible to the real world
• News events, issues, and the experiences of the students prompt questions about how we understand the world, and the way we use our knowledge
• For example...

4c Real-life situations

• A Massive article, arguing that first-hand fieldwork is vital to foster genuine knowledge about the natural world. For suggestions on exploring this source, click here. (Geography, ESS)
• A CNN article, analysing a UN report into levels of national happiness around the world, and how the data was generated. For suggestions on exploring this source, click here.
• A Guardian article, considering how the pandemic is affecting our susceptibility to rumour and superstition, and whether ‘evidence-based’ belief is making a come-back. For suggestions on how to further unpack this question, follow this link.
• A Smithsonian article, exploring the historical usefulness and accuracy of the film 1917. For suggestions on how to further unpack this question, follow this link.

5 Framing TOK discussions

• Any kind of discussion in which you challenge students’ opinions and assumptions work for us!
• However, we try as much as possible to frame our discussions around ‘knowledge questions’ (KQs)
• KQs can be divided into ‘first-order’ and ‘second-order’ questions. First-order KQs ask about what we know; second-order ask about how we know
• DP subjects generally focus on first-order, and in TOK we try to focus on second-order

5 Framing TOK discussions - examples

• An Independent article which reports on the reaction to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s assertion that representations of Jesus shouldn’t always be white. For suggestions on how to further unpack this question, follow this link.
• An Aeon article exploring in detail the legacy of Margaret Mead, and the reasons why she was vilified for her assertions about non-Western cultures. For suggestions on how to further unpack this question, follow this link.
• A Washington Post article about a new book - offering a new perspective - on the life and legacy of George Washington. For suggestions on how to further unpack this question, follow this link.

6 Our support for integrating the DP and TOK

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The theoryofknowledge.net website offers a lot of support for the integration of the DP via TOK.

• Our DP Integration Tool offers a folder for every DP subject, offering suggestions, media courses, quotes, and other links to help you draw on TOK easily
• The TOK newsletter hooks you up with media stories every month, and offers suggestions on how to unpack and use them
• Our Knowledge Lexicon offers around a thousand terms and ideas, that relate to all the DP subjects

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7 School visits to promote integration

• Michael has visited schools all over the world helping to improve the way TOK is delivered
• One key aspect of these workshops is helping non-TOK teachers to make use of TOK
• More information can be found on the workshop page of the website

8 How to join us

• Simple - head to our membership page
• You can get set up with membership within a few seconds
• You’ll be sent the orientation email that reminds you of the key pages and sections of the site, and how to use the members’ section
• We are always contactable - we’ll try to get back to you within a few hours to respond to any problem, issue, or question you have about using the site

Images

Images in the presentation are from Pixabay and Unsplash, royalty free stock photo & video sites.