Theory of Knowledge

THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE

MR. ELLIOT BRODIE ebrodie@ris.ae TOK Coordinator

Welcome everybody to the Theory of knowledge (TOK) edition of the DP Newsletter. If you don’t know me already, I am Mr. Elliot the Head of TOK at Raha.

With our Grade 11s we have just finished our first unit, and core theme of the TOK course ‘Knowledge and the Knower’. In this unit we hope to have given an opportunity for students to reflect on what shapes their perspective as a knower, where their values come from, and how they make sense of, and navigate, the world around

them. We have been asking questions such as ‘What shapes my perspective as a knower?’ Importantly, this theme does not focus exclusively on the individual. It also considers aspects such as the impact of the different communities of knowers to which we belong, and how knowledge is constructed, critically examined, evaluated, and renewed by communities and individuals. This includes reflection on how our interactions with others and with the material world shape our knowledge.

We hope that this has allowed students to engage with these important ideas. I know, for me personally, it has been interesting hearing students outline where they have felt some of the more important values and ideas about the world have come from. I have also had the pleasure of hearing some of my students the more left field ideas, and where these ideas originate.

In our next unit we will be shifting our focus slightly and looking at The Arts. The Arts are a diverse range of disciplines that include visual arts, theatre, dance, music, film, and literature. Although the forms and methods of these disciplines are often dissimilar, this diversity is to be celebrated and is often a factor in the questions we explore, such as; ‘What is Art?’, ‘Who decides what counts as art?’, ‘Does Art require an audience to be considered Art?’

Our study of The Arts will culminate in a trip to The Louvre. This trip will serve to allow students to explore the ideas we have studied, to ask themselves the questions we have discussed in class when surrounded by a rich collection of art and artifacts from many cultures. The trip will also serve as a stimulus platform for the upcoming work students will begin on their TOK Exhibition.

The Exhibition is an assessed piece of work that comprises 33% of students’ final grade. The Exhibition explores how TOK manifests in the world around us. In the Exhibition students choose a Knowledge Prompt to respond to - they will then need to choose three real-world objects, and use these objects as the basis of their discussion. The Grade 11s will also have the opportunity to view the Grade 12 public exhibition which will be on display in the Piazza for the Grade 12 three-way conferences (please do take a look if you get the chance).

In Grade 12 we have just finished our last unit of taught content ‘The human sciences’.The human sciences include a diverse range of disciplines, such as psychology, social and cultural anthropology, economics, political science, and geography. These disciplines share a common focus on the study of human existence and behaviour. In this unit we hope to have given an opportunity to consider some of the broad questions that underlie study in these areas, such as; ‘To what extent are the methods used in the human sciences limited by the ethical considerations involved in studying human beings?’. As well as considering questions about the use of the knowledge these field give us access too, such as ‘What are the moral implications of possessing knowledge about human behaviour?’.

The Grade 12s have been given the opportunity to be the first grade level at Raha to showcase the work they have completed in their TOK exhibition. As previously mentioned, this work will be in display in the Piazza for three-way conferences as well as giving the Grade 11s insight into the expectations for the outcomes of their first piece of assessed work. We hope this will begin a long tradition of the public display, and celebration of TOK work.

The Grade 12s will next begin work on their TOK Essay. The TOK Essay is an assessed piece of work that will comprise 66% of students’ final grade. The TOK essay is a 1600-word essay that engages students in a formal, sustained piece of writing in response to one of the six titles that are prescribed by the IB for each examination session. These titles take the form of knowledge questions and require students to use real life examples from the different areas of knowledge as evidence in their response to the titles. Students will have structured guidance to this process in class, allowing them to showcase the broad understanding they garnish, not only from TOK, but their subject classes and personal knowledge and understanding. It has been a pleasure teaching the Grade 12s and seeing them flourish, develop, and explore new ideas in TOK since the beginning of Grade 11. I know I speak for all the TOK teaching team when I say that we are excited to see the individual flair and nuance that all students bring to this final assessment.