Diploma Programme course outline—TOK

School name Westlake High School School code 050328

Time distribution Starting date of TOK course in year 1 of the Diploma Programme

Ending date of TOK course in year 2 of the Diploma Programme

January 2017 December 2018

Name of the teacher who completed this outline Heckstall, Shaun Date of IB training Summer 2015

Date when outline was completed January 2015

Name of workshop(indicate name of subject and workshop category)

Theory of Knowledge (Category 1)

1. Course outline

– Use the following table to organize the topics to be taught in the course. Add as many rows as you need.

– This document should not be a day-by-day accounting of each unit. It is an outline showing how you will distribute the topics and the time to ensure that students are prepared to comply with the requirements of the course.

– This outline should show how you will develop the teaching of the course. It should reflect the individual nature of the course in your classroom and should not just be a “copy and paste” from the TOK guide.

General TOK resources (relevant to all units):

Print: 101 Philosophy Problems by Martin Cohen; Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma by Richard van de Lagemaat; Theory of Knowledge Course Companion by Dombrowski, Rotenberg, and Bick; The Story of Philosophy by Bryan Magee; Man Is the Measure by Reuben Abel; The Need to Question by Malcolm Clark; About Philosophy by Robert Paul Wolff; Introductory Readings in Philosophy by Marcus G. Singer and Robert A. Ammerman; Psychology Today

On-line: The Skeptic's Dictionary – website; www.inthinking.co.uk - resource for IB teachers (all subject areas); NPR archives; www.ted.com (talks on various topics of global interest by noted speakers)

Topic/unit

(as identified in the IB guide)

State the topics/units in the order you are planning to

teach them.

Contents

Allocated time

Assessment instruments to be

used

ResourcesList the main resources to be used, including information technology if

applicable.

One class is

In one week there are

90 minutes.

2-3classes.

Introduction – The Ways of Knowing

Definitions of knowledge (Plato, Descartes, William James)

Ten potential ways of knowing (sense perception, language, reason, emotion, intuition, memory, authority, group consensus, empirical evidence, divine revelation)

Classical and contemporary views of epistemology; “alternative” epistemologies (e.s.p., artificial intelligence, etc.)

3 types of certainty (emotional, judicial, philosophical)

Analytic-synthetic distinction

Distinctions in the value of knowledge

Potential fieldtrip to Atlanta’s Dialog in the Dark

Students generate personal profile (analyze background and bias)

After viewing excerpts from the film Knowing, students are given selected items of imaginary “knowledge” and challenged to explore how they might make use of that information (for example, knowing a tsunami will strike California in two days, knowing the cure for leukemia, knowing “the one true religion,” etc.)

2 weeks Knowledge Log/Field Journal (weekly entries will reflect topics in each unit as well as individual application and extension of students’ understanding of knowledge issues)

In-class, TOK-style essay précis/outline based on previously released TOK essay topic focused on ways of knowing

Students prepare a description of a category of “real” knowledge (For example, What is a tour of “the real Atlanta”? What is a “real Christian”? What is the “real hip-hop”?)

Concept web for imaginary “knowledge” detailing “knowing” issues and consequences

Specific Resources for Ways of Knowing-

Print: Enduring Issues in Philosophy "Chapter 1: What Can We Know"?; About Philosophy by Robert Paul Wolff; Inerrancy by Norman Geisler (Chapter: "The Problem of Certainty"); One Two Three…Infinity: Facts and Speculations of Science by George Gamow

Video: excerpts from Knowing (2009)

On-line: illusion.kitt.net (sensory illusions); TED Talk: "Julian Treasure: 5 Ways to Listen Better"

African American Philosophy and scholastic roots

Ethics and the Ways of Knowing

Identify, analyse western philosophical and scholastic ethos as express through late 19th century and early 20th century thought, and pedagogical leaders

Comparative ethical systems (secular and religious)

Basic logic (inductive and deductive)

Absolute vs. relative ethical systems

Means vs. ends

Mutually exclusive claims vs. convergent claims

3 week

4 weeks

Knowledge Log/Field Journal (weekly entries will reflect topics in each unit as well as individual application and extension of students’ understanding of knowledge issues)

In-class, TOK-style essay précis/outline based on previously released TOK essay topic focused on ways of knowing

Students prepare a description of a category

Du Bois, W. E. B. The Souls of Black Folk. 1994 pgs. 2-35

They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America (Journal of African Civilizations)by Ivan Van Sertima Chapter 1, 3 and 5

The Wretched of the Earthby Frantz Fanon

Dr. Asa Hilliard - Free Your Mind (Return To The Source - African Origins) Pt.1

Specific Resources for Ethics-

2. Links with Diploma Programme teachers

As the TOK guide indicates, it is an IB requirement that all Diploma Programme teachers are familiar with TOK as they have to make connections with TOK questions in their own courses. They can also suggest some theoretical concerns that could be taken further in the TOK classroom. Within this context, how do you plan to work with your colleagues to ensure that TOK becomes a real link among all of them?

I will conduct an in-service with all IB teachers to familiarize them with the TOK concept. Once all of the outlines are returned and refined, I will review them myself and conduct interviews with subject-area teachers to determine key “knowing” issues in their fields of expertise. I can then refine my own course outline. If approved by my IB coordinator, I would like to schedule regular meetings to maintain ongoing coordination between TOK and the subject areas. I will expect my own students to reflect on and explore knowledge issues in their other subjects in the Knowledge Log/Field Journal which is an ongoing requirement for my class. If possible, I would like to work with the subject-area teachers to include TOK issues occasionally on their classroom assessments. I plan to release the prescribed titles to the subject area teachers and discuss ways in which their courses may help to build a relevant knowledge base for the students.

3. TOK assessment components

Briefly explain how and when you will work on them. Include the date when you will first introduce the assessment components to your students. Explain the different stages, the timeline and how students will be prepared to undertake both.

Essay: Distribute past prescribed titles in week 4 of year 1; practice essay outlines and conduct formal discussions 1-2 times per unit; outside of class, students complete and turn in outlines on 3 titles from one of the past lists for feedback only; one in-class TOK-style essay précis/outline based on previously released TOK essay topic relevant to each unit; 1 full practice essay topic relevant to each unit; distribute lists of past prescribed titles to subject area teachers – require explicit integration in at least one of their units; final essay due in week 12 of year 2

Presentation: Distribute guidelines in week 4 of year 1; require proposal for hypothetical presentation based on Knowledge Log/Field Journal (submit for feedback only) in weeks 6 and 12 in year 1, “Synthesis” presentation in week 12 of year 1 will help to familiarize students with the requirements; proposal for final TOK presentation due in week 17 of year 1; optional full TOK presentation for feedback only due in week 8 of year 2 for feedback only; final TOK presentation due in week 14 of year 2 for submission to IB

4. International mindedness

Every IB course should contribute to the development of international mindedness in students. As an example of how you would do this, choose one topic from your outline that would allow your students to analyse it from different cultural perspectives. Briefly explain the reason for your choice and what resources you will use to achieve this goal.

Topic Contribution to the development of international mindedness (including resources you will use)

Ethics and the Ways of Knowing

Discussing ethical systems based on major world religions will give students a chance to discuss multiple ethical perspectives and make connections to social and historical factors that influence the development of various cultures’ values. This topic will give students experience with the sacred texts from multiple cultures (Christian, Muslim, Taoist, etc.) as well as secular texts that oppose those world views. Within that same unit, students explore how literature is both a repository and source of moral knowledge. Examining myths and fables from more than one culture will allow them to see how a number of archetypes can reveal commonalities between disparate cultures (Favorite Folktales from Around the World by Jane Yolen; The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell). The practice of having students rewrite one story from the point of view of another culture will also give them an increased awareness of how differing perspectives may be reconciled.

5. Development of the IB learner profile

Through the course it is also expected that students will develop the attributes of the IB learner profile. As an example of how you would do this, choose one topic from your course outline and explain how the contents and related skills would pursue the development of any attribute(s) of the IB learner profile that you will identify.

Topic Contribution to the development of the attribute(s) of the IB learner profile

Human Sciences and the Ways of Knowing

In our exploration of the nature vs. nurture controversy, we will examine a video report on the nature of perceived gender differences. Prior to viewing the program, I will be asking students to make “observations” about gender roles in their Field Journals. They will discuss these observations and generate a series of questions that they believe are raised by the inevitably conflicting claims that will arise. This process of inquiry will establish a learning set with which to direct our study. All of this will provide them with a basis for reflection after we complete our research. The report itself will make students more knowledgeable about the topic so that they may formulate more authoritative opinions. In addition to analyzing the biological and psychological claims presented in the report. I will be training students to develop critical viewing habits. We will focus on sequencing, tone, body language, imagery, background sound, and omissions to more rigorously scrutinize the content of the program. Since many Americans read less and receive more information through the visual media, such thinking skills are crucial. After studying the visual report, we will explore counterpoints and criticisms of the report from FAIR.org. These criticisms will encourage students to approach the central issue with a more balanced perspective. One significant claim in the report is that the investigator’s opponents are not willing to consider data that conflict with their position. This situation, together with the parallel claim presented in the counterpoint, gives me a prime opportunity to stress the importance of an open mind in facing any empirical challenge. Since the primary conclusion of the visual report concerns how scientific “truths” can and should affect public policy, learners inevitably must consider how knowledge may be used in a principled manner. Given the generally sensitive nature of the topic, I will have to promote a classroom environment that promotes risk-taking. Once we have studied the topic from both sides, students will be asked to write a

reflection concerning how their opinions may or may not have changed, as well as how their conception of what may be considered factual was affected by the delivery of the information.