How to makea great TOK Presentation

Pavel Ivanov, PhD

Internal Assessment

• Presentation is the TOK IA component

• Contributes 33% of the final grade• 10 marks for TOK presentation is a

maximum

Presentation LogicYour presentation should focus on a particular

Knowledge Question (KQ). BUT…•Start with a Real-Life Situation (RLS)•Extract a ‘good’ Knowledge Question from RLS•Map your KQ to 2 to 4 different areas/aspects•Explore each area/aspect from a TOK perspective

• Provide a Conclusion• Make a loop from Conclusion to RLS• Generalize to other RLSs

Real-Life Situation (RLS)

• Can be anything from your own experience, including something happened in the past

• Can be something happened with somebody else or in the world (not with you) some time ago and discussed extensively in the society, media or your community– but not from Ancient World, Medieval Ages, etc.

Hint: RLS should enable you to generalize to put a TOK-style

Knowledge Question

What is a ‘good’ Knowledge Question

KQ should …•Be of general nature•Be a TOK-style question•Relate to various RLSs rather than only to the one you have chosen•Allow further development with references to several WoK and AoK

Knowledge Question: examples

• Should Internet be censored?• Is « love » only an emotion?• Can parents decide what gender to assign a

newborn with an intersex condition?• Do religions promote terrorism?• Bermuda Triangle or how to explain unexplained

phenomena?• Is global warming a conspiracy?• Is religion the only basis for ethical principles? • Is it ethical for celebrities to look and act the

way they do when they know the impact of their image on today’s youth?

Further development of KQ

Map your KQ to 2 to 4 different areas/aspects using the following scheme:

•Put a claim•Briefly explain what you mean•Support your claim with examples, facts, evidence, etc. to prove it•Put counterclaim whenever possible

• Make a link to your KQProvide a balance between shared

and personal knowledge

Conclusion and back loop

• You should provide a solution/answer to your KQ

• Base it on what you have learned from the development of KQ

• Interpret the original RLS using the new knowledge you’ve got or provide a new insight

• Exemplify with other RLSs that your KQ has a broader context

Presentation Logic Diagram

• Claim• Explanation• Support (by

facts, examples, evidence)

• Counterclaim• Link to KQ

For each of 2 to 4 areas you should provide

Planning TOK Presentation

Planning the TOK Presentation

Planning TOK Presentation

TOK Presentation formats• TOK Presentations may take many forms– lectures, interviews, debates– you are allowed to use multimedia, costumes, or

props to support the presentation– pre-recorded inserts within a presentation are

permissible• However, the presentation cannot be an essay

read aloud to the class• The presentation itself must be a live experience

and not a recording of the presentation• You present to the audience• The presentations are usually video recorded

Four Assessment CriteriaDo(es) the presenter(s) succeed in showing how TOK concepts

can have practical application?Specifically, has the student:1.described clearly the Real-Life Situation that forms the launching point for the presentation?2.extracted and clearly formulated a single Knowledge Question from the Real-Life Situation?3.identified and explored various perspectives in relation to the Knowledge Question, and deployed examples and arguments in the service of this exploration?4.related the findings of and insights from the analysis back to the chosen Real-Life Situation and showed how they might be relevant to other Real-Life Situations?

Presentation Planning Document

Presentation Planning Document

• EVERY student must complete and submit a presentation planning and marking document (TK/PPD)

• You complete pages 1 and 2 only– use skeleton or bullet point form– type in a standard 12 font– do not exceed 500 words– include diagrams but even if they are

clearly related to the text• You should give the teacher a hard

copy of the TK/PPD before you start presenting

TOK Presentations on YouTube (1/3)• Cloning

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52xfbIuuK68

• Euthanasia = Good Policy?– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL6tCVr3tbw&feature=related

• Do men and women think in the same way and should this affect their lives and careers?– www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU3CRdW5_v4&feature=related

• Common sense– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsN_N6gAiJU

• Do video games promote violence?– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kSv5FLwugc

• To What Extend is the Language of Persuasion Ethical?– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlUIB_hEH5M

• Can feelings get in the way of our learnings?– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2dN9SEQyNI

TOK Presentations on YouTube (2/3)• Ethics of Religion

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxb7xPEbTp8

• Emotions and Mathematics– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZSu-ENcHb4

• Animal Testing– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS_hF_7k7eE

• Not all examples from YouTube deserve high grades !– assess them critically– reveal their strengths and weaknesses

• A short video on how to make TOK Presentation– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJYvNDrbGBU

General Remarks• Presentations can be made individually or by groups

of no more than 3 students– each member of a group will get the same mark– not every student need speak for the same amount of

time…– … but it should be evident that all members of the group

participate actively and make comparable contributions–approximately 10 minutes per presenter should be allowed (maximum of approx. 30 min per group)

General Remarks (cont.)

• KQs and RLSs should be unique in each presentation

• Group presentation provides much more time for KQ development– do not ignore such a possibility !!

• Audience participation is allowed during the presentation, not just in follow-up discussion

THANK YOU !

pavel.s.smart@gmail.com