TOK PRACTICE ORAL PRESENTATION

KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS IN REAL LIFE SITUATIONS

DETAILS:Who: IndividualWhen: Monday December 9th, in class. You will

need to stay for up to 15 min into lunch if you go over time.

Where: In a classroom with your class group and teacher.

How long: 3-4 minutes per personAssess’t: Formative, grade between 1-10.

Semester 1 grade: 50% this assignment.

50% homework.Hand-in: A five part bullet-point template

describing the key features of your presentation.

Prep.Time: Four lessons in class, 6 hours personal time.

TASK1- choose a topicChoose a real-life situation: Of interest to you That can be looked at from several perspectives That generates knowledge questions.Sources:Your daily life, the news, personal interests, a local

or global issue, an academic area you are studying.

We will spend the next four lessons in class working through the Task process doing an example.

Some Task ideas follow:

Textbooks

Have you seen any that are “out of date”, “old-fashioned”?

What makes things go out of date? Are your current textbooks giving you the

truth, or is this just a version that is “in date”?

What kind of knowledge do you have about this in an Area of Knowledge?

How do you know (WoK) what you know? What different perspectives are there? What sources feed into your knowledge?

MothersYour friend’s mother has a very different

attitude and view from your own mother about the pollution levels in Beijing and what to do about them privately and publicly.

How is it that they have such different points of view?

Again: What kind of knowledge do you have about

this in an Area of Knowledge? How do you know (WoK) what you know? What different perspectives are there? What sources feed into your knowledge?

Going outA friend of yours hesitates to go to a party

because of what was said in her horoscope. Why does she believe and you don’t?

Are there some interesting questions about justifications for belief and confirmation bias hidden in this possible topic?

What is confirmation bias?Again: What kind of knowledge do you have about this

in an Area of Knowledge? How do you know (WoK) what you know? What different perspectives are there? What sources feed into your knowledge?

The News

What are people talking about? Check newspaper editorials, opinion

columns, blogs associated with news sites.

What is current about science, nutrition, medicine, technology, the environment?

Deliberately read news from sources that comment from different viewpoints. Sometimes accounts of events are startlingly different. This can provoke interesting questions of knowledge.

Personal Interests- hot topics? Sports – are there ethical issues surrounding

performance enhancing drugs? Photography/digital representation – are there

issues about the representation of reality on which you might have some insight?

Social media – are there issues about how identities are presented online?

Again: What kind of knowledge do you have about

this in an Area of Knowledge? How do you know (WoK) what you know? What different perspectives are there? What sources feed into your knowledge?

Group Subjects

Biology – is there a current breakthrough that illustrates the characteristics of science?

History – are there current topics involving apologies for the past, replacement of monuments, re-writing of history, truth and reconciliation commissions?

Art – are there representations being currently made that express concerns about political issues? How do personal interpretations affect what you know?

Your best EE idea?

Again:

•What kind of knowledge do you have about this in an Area of Knowledge?

•How do you know (WoK) what you know?

•What different perspectives are there?

•What sources feed into your knowledge?

Your presentation will be: About knowledge About the enquiry you make about how

you have the knowledge you have about the topic

Your presentation will not be: A report about your topic A description of your real-life situation Information about your real-life situation.

5 Step Planning. We will follow this process by doing examples in

class

1. Make a brief description of your real-life situation.

Just a preamble – give essential features only, so that the audience will understand.2. State your central knowledge question.

Many knowledge questions will arise as you brainstorm knowledge around your topic, but you must extract a single central one as your primary focus. Put it clearly into words and keep it in front of you as you do the rest of your planning.

3.Explain the connection between your real-life situation and your knowledge question.

This will help your own sense of control. You are now thinking at a high level of generality for your knowledge question, but at an applied and particular level for your real-life situation, which acts as an example for your analysis.

4. Outline your analysis of the knowledge issues with examples from your real-life situation - bullet points only:

• Identify the perspectives you will explore that are relevant to the KQ

• Outline the main arguments you will make• Indicate any secondary KQ that will come up

in the development of your ideas.

5. Show how your conclusions have significance for your real-life situation and beyond.

• How does your analysis in 4. above applies to your real-life situation.

• How could your analysis be relevant to other real-life situations?

Hand In Materials

The five points you have made in your planning should be tidied up and presented to be handed in.

You will be given one grade between 1-10 on:

1. Your Understanding of the Knowledge Question

2. The quality of your analysis.

THE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA WILL BE HANDED OUT YOU THIS LESSON.

Task 2: Knowledge Questions and your topic

Are there definitions and classifications involved in your topic? If so, what are the implications of the definitions and classifications?

Are there symbols such as language, photographs, maps, or statistics that can be used persuasively/factually?

Are there cultural or religious perspectives at play?

Are there life experiences we know from different perspectives?

We will do several examples in class to prepare you for this process.

Task 3

Do your investigation by enquiring into the ways of knowing in the areas of knowledge that are relevant to your real-life situation and you knowledge question.

Put the “meat” on the “bones” of your plan as you go.

Complete your hand in document. Do your presentation.

Good luck. This is a PRACTICE! Six hours work ONLY please.

Example 1

In October 2012, a court in Italy found a group of scientists guilty of failing to give adequate warning to the people of Aquila of a devastating earthquake in 2009, and sentenced them to six years in prison

Knowledge question: To what extent can we predict with

confidence in the sciences? Or are scientific experts ethically responsible for warning the public of possible dangers?

Example 2

A video by Invisible Children went viral on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter in March 2012 and raised widespread support for bringing to justice Joseph Kony, wanted for war crimes for his exploration of child soldiers in Uganda. Called “Kony 2012”, it stirred up support but also major criticism for its representation of a complex issue.

Knowledge question: What is the impact of new media on

knowledge? Or how do we judge when we have enough knowledge to act responsibly?

Example 3

In May 2012, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity in the U.S recommended censoring scientific studies on bird flu virus (avian H5H1 influenza virus) because the information could be used by bioterrorists.

Knowledge question: Are ethical restrictions on the sharing of

scientific knowledge ever justified? If so, on what grounds? If not, why not?

Example 4

In 2010, the last speaker of the Bo language died at the age of 85, on an island east of India.

Knowledge question: To what extent does the knowledge of a

culture depend on its language? Or in what ways does the immense variety of languages affect knowledge?

Example 5

In France in 2012, the findings of a study on rats linked large tumors with their being fed genetically modified food. It seemed to be revealing health problems concealed by GM industries and created enormous public concern.

Knowledge question: To what extent is it important to

understand the methodology of science in order to evaluate scientific knowledge claims presented in the media? Or how can the line be drawn between sensationalistic reporting and responsible “whistleblowing” journalism?

Example 6

In December 2011, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)/Doctors without Borders announced in its regular newsletter two projects to convey important social issues: the multimedia Urban Survivors and a fundraising music album Positive Generation, songs about living with HIV/AIDS.

Knowledge question: What is the role of the arts in giving us knowledge and understanding of social issues? Or what ways of knowing can the arts use to give us understanding beyond just facts? Or in what ways can the arts give understanding of ethical responsibility?