Written on October 27th, 2008 by Oliver Kim
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The TOK Presentation: A second possible approach for planning the presentation.
For some of you my previous recommendation on the TOK Presentation (“The TOK Presentation – Possibility 1”) may be a bit formal and rigid. Not all of you may find it easy to identify a (good) knowledge issue from a real life situation. I would like to therefore introduce to you an alternative approach.
- Step 1: Start off by trying to find a knowledge issue / problem of knowledge right from the start. Knowledge issues often start with the words: “How do we know that….” or “How can we know that…..”, but it is not limited to this. Make sure that your knowledge issue is directly TOK related. This is not a good knowledge issue: “How do we know if nuclear power is safe?” If you choose an issue like this, then many students will make a nuclear power presnetation and not a TOK presentation. Better: “How do we know where to draw the line between a short-term advantage and a possible long-term risk?”
- Step 2: Identify at least two real-life situations (this includes the so-called related area of Assessment Criterion D) where this knowledge issue comes into play.
- Step 3: Apply TOK theory and critical reflection to answer the question of the knowledge issue using the real life situation as an example. Attempt to give a clear answer to the question (this is not necessarilly a simple either/or answer). Take care that your arguments are TOK based and that you do not spend too much time explaining the background of the real-life issue and the related areas themselves.