theoryofknowledge.net is the world's number 1 website for TOK, providing complete guidance on content and assessment
Our teaching and learning resources support learners in the essay and presentation, and educate rather than inculcate students
Welcome to the May edition of the theoryofknowledge.net newsletter.
Although we're now coming to the end of the academic year in the northern hemisphere, and many students are in the midst of their final exams, we're still making big developments on the site.
We’ve redesigned our front page to give users quicker access to our most popular pages, we’ve added new content, such as how TOK can help students with university applications and our first sources page (for indigenous knowledge systems) to suggest books, documentaries, and other material to understand TOK, and we've introduced a new YouTube channel, with hours of videos on all aspects of the TOK course.
We’re also very excited to announce the launch of our new ‘premium’ newsletter. This is modelled on our standard newsletter, which of course we will continue to produce and send out for free. But the premium newsletter will have substantially more content and features, such as:
Additional real life situations and knowledge issues
Consideration of different perspectives of these stories
An assessment of their implications
A different focus each month on an area of knowledge or way of knowing, with quotes, links, and important concepts explained
Tips on the TOK essay and presentation, with advice on how to incorporate any relevant real life situations
Exclusive access to our ‘breaking newsletters’, which focus on a single important news event every three or four months (for an example of this, see our breaking newsletter on the death of Nelson Mandela)
Discounts and offers on theoryofknowledge.net resources and support services
You can subscribe to the newsletter for either one or two years, from just $1.50 per issue. We have produced the first edition for free so everyone can gain an idea of its huge potential as a TOK resource for both teachers and students. Have a sneak peak here.
AoKs/WoKs: Language, human sciences KQs: Do foreign words damage the integrity of local cultures? To what extent can we prevent language from evolving on its own? How important is language in defining a society’s identity? Description: The phenomenon of "zero translation" - English abbreviations and acronyms appearing without any translations in the press - has sparked a fierce debate in China, with the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper People's Daily the latest to join the fray. Source: BBC
AoKs/WoKs: History, the arts KQs: Can fictional movies provide us with a useful insight into the past? Can we – and should we – try to limit our acquisition of knowledge about history to sources with academic authority? Do artists have an obligation to tell the truth about what happened if their work is based on reality? Description: The story about the final hours of the Titanic has become the stuff of myth - but how much have the various film versions of the story helped to create and reinforce these legends? This article looks at various films based on this event. Source: BBC
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, the arts, emotion, human sciences KQs: To what extent should people have the right to express themselves and behave in any way they want? Who has the authority to determine how the individuals in a society should behave? Does homogenous behaviour help create a healthy society? Description: Communist MP Valery Rashkin has submitted an official request with the Russian government to pull his country out of the contest and create an alternative competition called 'The Voice of Eurasia'. "I watched the results of last Saturday's Eurovision with deep pain… Giving first place to a bearded lady is a slight on humanity and suicide!" Source: BBC
AoKs/WoKs: Emotion, reason, intuition, human sciences, technology KQs: To what extent is empathy based on emotion and intuition? How important is empathy is communications between individuals? Can we use computers to help us relate to each other more effectively? Description: Researchers have found that a computer is much better than people are at telling the difference between real and faked pain, a discovery that may lead to methods to detect children’s pain and to treat depression. Source: The New York Times
AoKs/WoKs: Human sciences KQs: To what extent can statistics provide us with knowledge about a society? What conclusions can we draw about a society based on its relationship with alcohol? Is a healthy society a drunk or sober one? Description: A World Health Organisation report provides country profiles for alcohol consumption in the 194 WHO member states, looking at the resulting impact on public health and policy responses. Source: The Independent
AoKs/WoKs: Mathematics, human sciences, emotion KQs: To what extent is mathematics innate to humans? What determines a number’s connotations? To what extent can we assign emotions to numbers? Description: Writer Alex Bellos explains how from the very first time humans ever used numbers, we’ve given them human-like qualities. From favourite numbers to numbers that we’re suspicious of, from 501 jeans to Oxy 10, our feelings may all come down to some serious, subconscious inner-math….a deeply human arithmetic buried in our heart. Source: Radiolab
AoKs/WoKs: The natural sciences KQs: To what extent is science subject to continual revision? Does the provisional nature of science indicate that its knowledge is unreliable? Is science a way of knowing, or an area of knowledge? Description: The periodic table of elements is one step closer to welcoming a new addition to its ranks after scientists independently confirmed the existence of the highly radioactive 117th element. Source: The Independent
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences KQs: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutelyâ€. Do you agree? Is luxury a privilege of leadership? Should leaders of less wealthy countries live less wealthy lives? Description: South African President Jacob Zuma's new homestead, built in one of South Africa’s poorest areas, Nkandla, in KwaZulu-Natal, covers the equivalent of eight and a half football pitches and has swallowed 246m rand (£13.7m) of taxpayers' money. "Nkandlagate" has become the defining scandal of Zuma's five-year reign and left him fighting for his political life in this week's elections. Source: The Guardian
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences KQs: Which should take precedence on the Internet privacy, or access to information? Should we have the right to remove from the Internet any information about ourselves? Whose property is information on the Internet? Who should be 'in charge' of the Internet? Description: We now know the government's Tamiflu stockpile wouldn't have done us much good in the event of a flu epidemic. But the secrecy surrounding clinical trials means there's a lot we don't know about other medicines we take. Source: Reuters
AoKs/WoKs: Human sciences, ethics, emotion KQs: What does it say about society that trusting other people too much can lead to danger? To what extent is dishonesty a necessary part of survival? Should we condition children not to trust people they have never met before? Description: Once called "cocktail personality syndrome," Williams Syndrome—particularly as it affects children—has captivated science writers for the past decade. In 2008's Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Oliver Sacks describes visiting Berkshire Hills Music Academy, where he was immediately received by unusually friendly children. Source: The Atlantic
Our teaching and learning resources
theoryofknowledge.net is now the one-stop destination for all TOK educators and learners. All our resources can be purchased securely from the site, and are emailed to you instantly.
The TOK Essay Guide
The November 2014 TOK Essay Guide is now available for download. The guide has been expanded to 47 pages, with extensive consideration of the six different prescribed titles.
The guide provides step-by-step advice on how to structure your essay, identify and develop KIs, support arguments with evidence, and add perspectives and implications. It is availble as a single-user edition for individual learners, and a multiple-user edition for teachers.
The awesome TOK Sessions Packs are now being used by hundreds of educators around the world. They provide 85 different lessons on all aspects of the new curriculum, and give instant peace of mind to anyone teaching TOK.
One TOK Coordinator of a respected international school* commented:
'Key concepts are perceptively and succinctly articulated, yet explorative, illuminating and insightful. Stimulating and accessible.'
The inspirational TED Companion Pack presents TOK-related questions on 60 different TED talks, enabling students to learn about key thinkers and ideas, be involved in the most important contemporary knowledge issues, and gather material for their essays and presentations.
16 Essential speakers are identified, and advice is provided for including the key ideas of the talks into essay and presentations.
