Hello!
I hope you all are having a great summer so far! This week’s lesson is all about vocabulary…in the TOK world it is very important that we all are on the same page when it comes to how we define certain terms and ideas. Below you will find a list of TOK vocabulary (some will look familiar if you have already done assignment #1) and the definitions that we will launch together using. Please take some time to read over the vocab/definitions and get familiar with it all. Keep in mind that we will be regularly returning to this language and may decide to adapt or edit some of our definitions…this is just our jumping off point!
***Your assignment has two parts…
make sure you go all the way to the end so that you catch part 2!***
Part 1 - Vocabulary:
Personal knowledge: depends on an individual’s experience. It includes self-knowledge (e.g., how a person is feeling or what a person is thinking), procedural knowledge (what a person knows how to do), what a person knows through life experience, and has learned through education. Personal knowledge includes mental models of how the world operates and our place in it. Certain types of personal knowledge may be hard to communicate directly with others.
Shared knowledge: “highly structured...and systematic in nature” (SG, p. 17). Bound more or less into specific disciplines (IB subjects, TOK Areas of Knowledge, etc.), it depends on skills, methods, and standards of judgment that are developed over time and endorsed by a community of similarly qualified practitioners and experts.
Areas of knowledge (AOK): specific branches of knowledge, each of which can be seen to have a distinct nature and different methods of gaining knowledge. TOK distinguishes between eight areas of knowledge. They are mathematics, the natural sciences, the human sciences, the arts, history, ethics, religious knowledge systems, and indigenous knowledge systems. (SG, p. 8)
Ways of knowing (WOK): There are two central purposes to the WOKs in TOK. On the one hand, they are the tools that answer the question “how do we know?” and on the other hand they help us answer the question “how do I know?”
Real-life situation (RLS): an actual event/occurrence from the real world (NOT hypothetical nor theoretical) that comes from personal experience, or from an outside source (news, YouTube, etc.). Should be complex, nuanced and offer opportunities for analysis in TOK.
Knowledge claim: the assertion that “I/we know X” or “I/we know how to Y”, or a statement about knowledge. In TOK there are two types of knowledge claims.
Knowledge question (KQ): an open question about knowledge; Instead of focusing on specific content, they focus on how knowledge is constructed and evaluated. In this sense, knowledge questions are a little different from many of the questions dealt with in the subject classrooms. In this way, they are considered second-order questions in TOK. They are meant to have many plausible answers and are framed in general terms, rather than subject specific terms. (SG, p. 8, 20)
Knowledge concept: general terms that express aspects of the way knowledge is sought, constructed, evaluated, etc.
Evidence: The specific details used to support a knowledge claim. Evidence that can be detected by our senses and quantified is called “empirical.” We also sometimes call such evidence “data.” Evidence can take other forms as well, and various disciplines have their preferred forms.
Justification: In simplest terms, a justification is an explanation. Justification provides “sufficient grounds” for a claim; it explains how the evidence and reasons given support a claim. As with evidence itself, justification can take many forms. We can think of the Ways of Knowing as providing a basic foundation for justification: If asked how you know something, you might reply like this: “Because I was told” (language), “Because I saw it” (sensory perception), “Because it fits the facts” (reason), or “Because it feels right” (emotion or intuition), or “Because my sacred text tells me so” (faith).
Perspective and Bias: In its simplest sense, perspective means “point of view.” Everyone has a point of view. Each person’s perspective is informed by a myriad of factors: age, gender, personality, socioeconomic status, religious background, culture, etc. (See “paradigms and worldviews” below.) The question is whether we are so locked into our own perspective that it prevents us from seeing the possible merits of other perspectives. If we are, then the term “bias” applies.
Validity: 1. A valid argument is one in which the conclusion follows logically from the premises. Notice, though, that you can have a valid argument which is not in fact true. For instance: All panthers are pink. Stalin is a panther. Stalin is pink. 2. We can also talk about validity in terms of measurement. A valid test is one which actually does measure what you want it to.
Reliability: We’ll use this term in several contexts, all of which will have to do with dependability and consistency. A reliable claim is one which is consistently justifiable.
Authority and Credibility: Much of what we believe and know comes to us from sources other than our own direct experience. We look things up online, we read books, we listen to parents and teachers. Experts, it seems, are everywhere. But how do we know whether to trust the various authorities that come our way? Which sources should we take as credible? Is an anonymous source ever credible? Does a Ph.D. guarantee credibility? What role does reputation play? How do we respond when authoritative sources disagree? Some disciplines establish credibility through the peer-review process for publishing.
Paradigms and Worldviews: At perhaps the most abstract levels of knowledge reside these concepts, which we will sometimes interchangeably. You may think of a paradigm as a mega-lens through which you see the world. A paradigm is a core value system that influences what we believe. There are many types of paradigms, and they are sometimes presented in dichotomous pairs: political (liberalism vs. conservatism), economic (capitalism vs. socialism), spiritual (Christian vs. atheist), etc. Paradigms are often difficult to dislodge, and many of humanity’s key conflicts are, at their heart, clashes between paradigms much more than disputes about facts.
Part 2 – Practice:
Using one of the following 2 websites, create a set of flashcards to help you study the vocabulary. You will need to make sure of the following:
1. Your definitions need to be in YOUR OWN WORDS! Please do not just copy my definitions!
2. You need to share your flashcards with me so that I can make sure that you have actually done the assignment. Both sites below offer you the opportunity to share, so do it!
3. Please add to your vocabulary for the flashcards the Ways of knowing from Assignment #1 (Language, Emotion, etc.) with your own definitions.
This will give you a total of 23 flashcards to make and study.
Websites:
www.cram.com
http://www.flashcardmachine.com/
***You will want to make sure you study as there is
a vocabulary quiz in your future! 😊 ***
I hope you all are having a great summer so far! This week’s lesson is all about vocabulary…in the TOK world it is very important that we all are on the same page when it comes to how we define certain terms and ideas. Below you will find a list of TOK vocabulary (some will look familiar if you have already done assignment #1) and the definitions that we will launch together using. Please take some time to read over the vocab/definitions and get familiar with it all. Keep in mind that we will be regularly returning to this language and may decide to adapt or edit some of our definitions…this is just our jumping off point!
***Your assignment has two parts…
make sure you go all the way to the end so that you catch part 2!***
Part 1 - Vocabulary:
Personal knowledge: depends on an individual’s experience. It includes self-knowledge (e.g., how a person is feeling or what a person is thinking), procedural knowledge (what a person knows how to do), what a person knows through life experience, and has learned through education. Personal knowledge includes mental models of how the world operates and our place in it. Certain types of personal knowledge may be hard to communicate directly with others.
Shared knowledge: “highly structured...and systematic in nature” (SG, p. 17). Bound more or less into specific disciplines (IB subjects, TOK Areas of Knowledge, etc.), it depends on skills, methods, and standards of judgment that are developed over time and endorsed by a community of similarly qualified practitioners and experts.
Areas of knowledge (AOK): specific branches of knowledge, each of which can be seen to have a distinct nature and different methods of gaining knowledge. TOK distinguishes between eight areas of knowledge. They are mathematics, the natural sciences, the human sciences, the arts, history, ethics, religious knowledge systems, and indigenous knowledge systems. (SG, p. 8)
Ways of knowing (WOK): There are two central purposes to the WOKs in TOK. On the one hand, they are the tools that answer the question “how do we know?” and on the other hand they help us answer the question “how do I know?”
Real-life situation (RLS): an actual event/occurrence from the real world (NOT hypothetical nor theoretical) that comes from personal experience, or from an outside source (news, YouTube, etc.). Should be complex, nuanced and offer opportunities for analysis in TOK.
Knowledge claim: the assertion that “I/we know X” or “I/we know how to Y”, or a statement about knowledge. In TOK there are two types of knowledge claims.
Claims that are made within particular areas of knowledge or by individual knowers about the world. It is the job of TOK to examine the basis for these first-order claims.- Claims that are made about knowledge. These are the second-order claims made in TOK that are justified using the tools of TOK which usually involve an examination of the nature of knowledge. (SG, p. 8, 20)
Knowledge question (KQ): an open question about knowledge; Instead of focusing on specific content, they focus on how knowledge is constructed and evaluated. In this sense, knowledge questions are a little different from many of the questions dealt with in the subject classrooms. In this way, they are considered second-order questions in TOK. They are meant to have many plausible answers and are framed in general terms, rather than subject specific terms. (SG, p. 8, 20)
Knowledge concept: general terms that express aspects of the way knowledge is sought, constructed, evaluated, etc.
Evidence: The specific details used to support a knowledge claim. Evidence that can be detected by our senses and quantified is called “empirical.” We also sometimes call such evidence “data.” Evidence can take other forms as well, and various disciplines have their preferred forms.
Justification: In simplest terms, a justification is an explanation. Justification provides “sufficient grounds” for a claim; it explains how the evidence and reasons given support a claim. As with evidence itself, justification can take many forms. We can think of the Ways of Knowing as providing a basic foundation for justification: If asked how you know something, you might reply like this: “Because I was told” (language), “Because I saw it” (sensory perception), “Because it fits the facts” (reason), or “Because it feels right” (emotion or intuition), or “Because my sacred text tells me so” (faith).
Perspective and Bias: In its simplest sense, perspective means “point of view.” Everyone has a point of view. Each person’s perspective is informed by a myriad of factors: age, gender, personality, socioeconomic status, religious background, culture, etc. (See “paradigms and worldviews” below.) The question is whether we are so locked into our own perspective that it prevents us from seeing the possible merits of other perspectives. If we are, then the term “bias” applies.
Validity: 1. A valid argument is one in which the conclusion follows logically from the premises. Notice, though, that you can have a valid argument which is not in fact true. For instance: All panthers are pink. Stalin is a panther. Stalin is pink. 2. We can also talk about validity in terms of measurement. A valid test is one which actually does measure what you want it to.
Reliability: We’ll use this term in several contexts, all of which will have to do with dependability and consistency. A reliable claim is one which is consistently justifiable.
Authority and Credibility: Much of what we believe and know comes to us from sources other than our own direct experience. We look things up online, we read books, we listen to parents and teachers. Experts, it seems, are everywhere. But how do we know whether to trust the various authorities that come our way? Which sources should we take as credible? Is an anonymous source ever credible? Does a Ph.D. guarantee credibility? What role does reputation play? How do we respond when authoritative sources disagree? Some disciplines establish credibility through the peer-review process for publishing.
Paradigms and Worldviews: At perhaps the most abstract levels of knowledge reside these concepts, which we will sometimes interchangeably. You may think of a paradigm as a mega-lens through which you see the world. A paradigm is a core value system that influences what we believe. There are many types of paradigms, and they are sometimes presented in dichotomous pairs: political (liberalism vs. conservatism), economic (capitalism vs. socialism), spiritual (Christian vs. atheist), etc. Paradigms are often difficult to dislodge, and many of humanity’s key conflicts are, at their heart, clashes between paradigms much more than disputes about facts.
Part 2 – Practice:
Using one of the following 2 websites, create a set of flashcards to help you study the vocabulary. You will need to make sure of the following:
1. Your definitions need to be in YOUR OWN WORDS! Please do not just copy my definitions!
2. You need to share your flashcards with me so that I can make sure that you have actually done the assignment. Both sites below offer you the opportunity to share, so do it!
3. Please add to your vocabulary for the flashcards the Ways of knowing from Assignment #1 (Language, Emotion, etc.) with your own definitions.
This will give you a total of 23 flashcards to make and study.
Websites:
www.cram.com
http://www.flashcardmachine.com/
***You will want to make sure you study as there is
a vocabulary quiz in your future! 😊 ***