TOK+Syllabus

Course Description TOK is a year long course that is required for all senior IB diploma candidates and is a recommended course for all seniors at Henry High School, regardless of their program.

According to the official IB description, “This course examines the origins and validity of various ways of knowing. The content is the various subject areas of a student’s education as well as personal beliefs acquired in or out of school. The process of the course is to reflect critically upon what the student claims to know and what is professed as knowledge by others.” (In other words, we will focus on how you know, rather than on what you know!) In TOK, we focus on some of the underlying ideas in our lives that we often take for granted.

The goals of this course are to gain an understanding of what it means to know something as a scientist, an artist, a mathematician, a philosopher, etc.; how the forms of knowledge relate to one another, and how to think critically. (In other words, we will examine how “it’s all connected.”) TOK is a course that asks you to take on new perspectives. In TOK, we learn that there are standards for judgment and defenses of knowledge claims. You must always back up what you say.

AIMS According to the International Baccalaureate Organization, the aims of TOK are to engage students in reflection on, and questioning of, the bases of knowledge so that they will:

•        Develop a habit of intellectual honesty and a concern for truthfulness, by learning to claim only that which is warranted given what they know (intellectual rigor);

•        Become aware of the interpretive nature of human knowledge (including personal and ideological biases);

•        Understand human knowledge as a social construct; and

•        Consider that knowing may place obligations or responsibilities on the knower;

•        Understand why critically examining knowledge claims is important;

•        Make interdisciplinary connections;

•        Understand the strengths and limitations of individual and cultural perspectives.

OBJECTIVES Through a variety of activities, students should be able to:

•        Demonstrate an understanding of the strengths and limitation of the various Ways of Knowing and the methods used in the different Areas of Knowledge

•        Demonstrate a capacity to reason critically

•        Make connections between and across Ways of Knowing and Areas of Knowledge

•        Make connections between personal experiences and different Ways of Knowing and Areas of Knowledge (CAS and your “real life).

•        Demonstrate an understanding of knowledge at work in the world

•        Identify values underlying judgments and knowledge claims pertinent to local and global issues

•        Demonstrate an understanding that personal views, judgments and beliefs may influence their own knowledge claims and those of others

•        Use oral and written language to formulate and communicate ideas clearly.

EXPECTATIONS

•        Read and/or complete the assigned work before coming to class.

•        Turn in all assignments on or before the due date.

•        Be prepared to discuss the material being studied. Raise questions on your own and be involved. Take notes.

•        Thoroughly and thoughtfully complete the in-class writing and reflections.

•        Be a motivated and accountable group member.

GRADING/ASSESSMENT •        Two major essays of 1200 to 1600 words as well as three shorter written commentaries of 300-500 words are required this year. It is essential that you upload your essays to turnitin.com as part of your  electronic TOK Portfolio. Diploma candidates submit one of their two essays for external assessment.

•        Students are also expected to write every day  about ideas, connections, and disconnections they find that relate to the course. These will probably be your most important and valuable TOK activity. Due to the spirit of TOK, you will encounter several references to what we’re seeing in class (or have seen or will see) within your own life and surroundings.

•        Presentations: You will make two ten-minute presentations to the class. If you are a diploma candidate, the evaluation from one of these presentations will be submitted as an internal assessment.

ASSIGNMENTS AND POINTS:

•         All written work will be assessed in terms of the official IB descriptors. We will be working with these in detail throughout the year. •         Grades will be calculated on the basis of: coursework, participation, daily assignments, and major assessments (your Essays on Prescribed Titles and Presentations). •         Grading Scale: 	94-100	A 90-93.9	A- 88-89.9 B+			84 – 87.9 B			80-83.9 B-			78-79.9 C+			74-77.9 C			69.8-73.9 C-			68-69.9  D+			64-67.9 D			60-63.9 D-			59.9 and below F

•        Categories: Daily Homework Commentaries/Essays Discussion/Participation Presentations

LATE WORK:

Unless there is a prior agreement with the instructor, all class work is due at the beginning of class on the scheduled due date. Assignments submitted later that day will receive and automatic 25% deduction; those submitted the following day will receive an automatic 50% deduction. No assignments will be accepted more than two days late. Students who will be absent for foreseen reasons (meetings, field trips, etc.) must turn in assigned work before their absence. Students who turn in late work due to an excused absence (illness, family emergency, etc.) must attach a signed note from home that includes the reason for absence and the parent or guardian’s daytime telephone number. Chronic missing work is a disciplinary issue as well as an academic issue.

CLASSROOM CLIMATE:

•        Imagine yourself in a university classroom. Likewise, an atmosphere of courtesy, maturity, and mutual respect is required. Rudeness isn’t just bad manners---it shuts people and ideas down. Courtesy and mutual respect also mean being positive and prepared for each other. Students who do not contribute to this expectation will be dealt with in a variety of different ways: parental contact/conference, referral to the AP.

•        You are responsible for your own choices. Please refer to the Student Responsibilities section in your planner.

•        No devices with batteries are allowed in TOK. Our world consists of ideas, not outside distractions. We talk to each other.

ABSENCE AND TARDY POLICY: The school policy regarding tardies, absences, and grades will be enforced. All makeup work must be completed within one week of the student’s return from an excused absence, unless there is an alternative arrangement with the instructor. Makeup work will not be accepted for unexcused absences. It is the student’s responsibility to see the instructor regarding makeup work. Quizzes, in-class writings, and tests, may not be made up during class times.

ACADEMIC SUPPORT: Your success in TOK is important to me. Do not hesitate to conference with me via home phone, school email, or appointment. I am in the building before and after school every day and during both lunches. Clear communication and asking for help are hallmarks of good thinkers and knowers. Incidentally, your daily writing is yet another way that we can “talk” about your progress. –Just “flag” the entry you would like me to read first and I’ll make it a priority.

MATERIALS/TEXTS: •        Rueben Abel, Man is the Measure •        Jeffrey Olen, Persons and Their World •        Numerous photocopied articles, brain teasers, video excerpts, etc. •         A TOK Student Guide, which you must purchase •        A notebook: you  will be expected to keep a Reader's/Writer's Notebook •        Richard van de Lagemat, Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma

OUR BUSIEST TIME OF THE YEAR: •        TOK ticks along until January  (Return from the Holidays) to mid-February (Presidents’ Day), when it becomes unavoidably hectic. Essays on prescribed titles are due and presentations will be taking place during this time. Mark your calendars and budget your time. Manage your time!

QUESTIONS TO ASK OF EACH SUBJECT AREA: •        What are the presuppositions, or first principles of this discipline? •        What material is studied? •        How is it studied? What methodologies are used? What counts as facts? What counts as evidence? What proofs are required? •        Why is studied? •        What kinds of propositions does one arrive at as a result of one’s inquiry: analytical? empirical? value judgments? •        What does it mean to know something in this field? How certain is the knowledge gained? •        What values are important in the activities of this discipline? What are the roles of creativity and emotion? •        What kind of progress is possible? •        What forms of criticism are leveled at this discipline and its methodology?

GENERAL PLAN: (Expect slight variations over the year.) September - October :Knowledge Issues and the Nature of Knowledge

•        What is knowledge? •        What is belief? •        Knowledge by acquaintance/description. •        Justified true belief. •        Claims to knowledge. •        What is truth? •        How do the theories of truth differ: correspondence, coherence, and pragmatic? •        Can we believe something without knowing it? Or know something without believing it? •        Can we ever reach the end of knowledge? •        Skepticism •        Perception •        Activities: Introductory readings in Abel and Olen, handouts, video, (“The Day the Universe Changed”), inquiry-based discussions, and quiz. •        Readings in Selected Readings and Lagemat 4-44 •        LGM ESSAY due Wednesday October 13

October: UNIT TWO – Ways of Knowing Language: •        Activities Preview: Brief reading in Abel and articles, video snippets (The Story of English and Wild Child), discussions, quiz, international signs, signing/nonverbal communication exercises. Essay: “Explain the function of language in knowing the world and how it is a limitation”. We will begin modeling good TOK essay protocol and looking closely at the descriptors. •        Lagemat 47-84

Perception: •         Lagemat 85-109

Reason: •         Lagemat 113-144

Emotion: •        Lagemat 145-185 •        UNIT THREE - SYSTEMS OF KNOWLEDGE •        December - January:  Moral and Ethical Knowledge •         Activities Preview: Simulation, Abel and Olen, handouts, discussion. •        Lagemat 363-402

November : Mathematics •        Activities Preview: Readings in Abel and articles, speaker, brain teasers, discussion. In-class exercise: “What are the chief characteristics of mathematical reasoning?” •        Lagemat 187-219

Mid-November: Natural Sciences •        Activities Preview: Readings in Olen and course guide; video excerpts from Nova and The Day the Universe Changed; The Search for Solutions; historical milestones in science; the Semmelweis case study; Stephen Hawking; discussions and quiz; possible speaker. Graded discussion: Is there a difference between scientific fact and fact in mathematics?” •        Lagemat 220-255

Early December : Human Sciences •         Activities Preview: Readings in Carr and course guide; ethnography; simulation/study, graded discussion. Choosing from the TOK prescribed essay titles and writing workshops. The TOK Presentation explained and topic selection •         Lagemat 256-299

DUE 11/11: MAJOR ASSESSMENT: 1200 - 1600 word essay from the prescribed list.

Mid-December: History •        Activities Preview: Readings in Carr and course guide; discussions; and quiz. Essay/final: “Is history a valid guide for the future?”  (Relate TOK History to Guided Coursework) •        Lagemat 300-328

UNIT FOUR - VALUE JUDGMENTS AND KNOWLEDGE

February: Aesthetic Judgment/Presentation Preparation •        Activities: Abel, possible field trip, simulation •        Lagemat 328-362

March: UNIT FIVE - WHAT CAN BE KNOWN? : Truth and Wisdom •        March 17 Diploma Candidates' Presentations for assessment

April: Student-led presentations, projects and CAS reflections

May : Interdisciplinary Senior Capstone Project Integrative Essays and Discussions, Exam and Graduation support.