My name is Izaak MacMullin, ive been teaching at the Canadian International School of Hefei (CISH) in Anhui China for 3 years. My subject load is Glo Pol, MYP I & S grade 10 and TOK. Looking for info on how to to support other subject teachers with TOK and to learn more about how the IB wants TOK to be integrated with other subjects. Also looking forward to making connections with other teachers and exploring the city as this is my first time outside China in Asia :)

I'm hoping to gather practical strategies for how I can better integrate the specific knowledge frameworks and real-world examples from other DP subjects into my TOK classes, making the course more concrete and interconnected for our students. And also, to learn how to help my fellow DP subject teachers see the vital relevance of TOK from their unique disciplinary perspectives.

Looking forward to connecting with all of you during this workshop!

"The artistic value of a work is determined by its popularity and the number of people who appreciate it."

"A scientific theory is just an unproven guess or a hunch."

"Scientific knowledge is inherently provisional and subject to revision in the face of new evidence."

"Mathematics is a purely objective discipline, completely free from the influence of human culture, creativity, or bias."

"A mathematical proof, once logically verified, provides a level of certainty that is unattainable in the empirical sciences."

"Language is not merely a passive tool for describing the world, but actively shapes and structures our perception of it."

"If a concept or experience cannot be expressed in language, it cannot be known or shared."

"The main goal of history is to learn from the past to avoid repeating the same mistakes."

"Historical knowledge is based on the interpretation of evidence that is fragmentary and incomplete."

to Mars with a goal of populating it with interstellar emigrants from earth. A group of astronauts,

engineers, food specialists, and others who can provide the infrastructure has been selected, but

there is one seat left on the spacecraft. The seat is going to go to a representative of one of the IB

subjects in order to preserve knowledge which is deemed essential to the well-being of society. As aLast updated: 20 April 2020 15

small group, your job is to prepare an argument as to why your subject is the most valuable one and

must be preserved. Write a statement of no more than four minutes in length. Choose a spokesperson

to make the argument to the whole group.

Allow 20 minutes (more if necessary) for the preparation of the statement, then have each group

share the argument with all the others. As speakers give the arguments, jot down the main points on

poster paper. Hang the posters when the activity is done, so that they are visible throughout the rest

of the workshop.

A strong understanding of economics and the efficient management of scarce resources will also be necessary to ensure that the limited resources of the settlement are being allocated where they are most needed. Once production of resources is up and running in the settlement this will also need to be arranged and distributed using organizational skills and logistical skills (business studies).

·        Monitoring changes in physiology and evaluating their effects & possible mitigation

·        Establishing and implementing sustainability principles so we don’t destroy another planet

·        Biology interprets chemistry, and drives applications in technology to increase fitness and survival

·        Bioethics will become extra important in the light of likely genetic engineering, human enhancement

Look around you now—everything you see once began in someone’s imagination. Language and Literature is a key subject that enables people to dream of the future. Think back to your childhood, when you were surrounded by stories told by your parents and friends. Those stories nurtured your imagination and shaped your vision of who you wanted to become and what you hoped to do.

The modern technologies we enjoy today once seemed impossible. They existed only in novels and films, born from the imagination of writers and storytellers. Those epic plots and visions were first written or spoken by others, and from them came the seeds of innovation.

So if we really want to develop a new and better world, we need a Language and literature teacher who enhances such imagination.

My knowledge of language and its power can help us capture the beauty of this transformative mission by helping us achieve our cultural memory. Much like the philosophical greats of ancient Greece, we can maintain and preserve our knowledge through conversation and dialect, discussing and debating what our new utopia may look like. Additionally, through the use of literature and oral storytelling, we can teach empathy, a skill imperative to a new culture as our collaboration will be necessary to problem solve and maintain peace and order. Without a conscious effort to carry forward our language, myths, and stories, humanity risks becoming a society of mechanics with no memory of why we exist.

Very cool idea to break down the TOK Essay questions with other DP subject teachers

Wondering

Is it a good idea to encourage students to contrast the perspective of different thinkers within their chosen AOK's (for the essay)

How to develop the ability of students to be more specific in their writing?

Part 2 of this is that I want to see the TOK teachers more as a tool (similar to the librarian) that I can use to improve our curriculum and make connections between TOK and English.

Another valuable aspect was gaining a clearer understanding of scope as one of the four key elements in framing knowledge questions. 

1) The complexity of TOK languages is a big barrier for students, so by introducing/guiding the subject teachers into using these terms, students can be more familiar with using them in context for each AOK

2) I've always wanted to find a way to simplify TOK for both students and teachers without losing its richness and depth. I think the "reliability" and "validity" can be a key focus/start point for tackling this issue.

3) Some of the practical strategies I think can be really useful. E.g. helping students unpack the essay titles with the help of subject teachers, holding regular TOK meetings with the subject teachers, etc.

five and consider how to answer the question in the scenario from politics. The question is: should

our (hypothetical) nation send troops to Nation X to help provide for that country’s national security?

The perspectives are:

• An immigrant from Nation X who fled a tyrannical dictator

• A wealthy investor who has invested large sums in mines in Nation X

• The mother of a soldier who has already served three tours abroad

• A general who is concerned with the ultimate security of his nation

• A health care worker worried about people who need medical insurance and other

domestic healthcare issues

Each person in the group takes on one of the roles and the group discusses what each person might

feel is the right answer to the question. As part of the discussion, participants should explain how

that character came to hold his or her opinion on the question. They must identify, in other words, the source of their belief. They should consider where our perspectives come from, including such

influencing forces as culture, family, religion, education, and so on.

Following the group activity, the whole group should reflect on what the activity reveals about how

different perspectives influence the development of knowledge (or beliefs).

use the handout for session 6 to reflect on what constitutes ethical practice in your subject areas and how that practice is related to knowledge. This requires you to locate a formal professional code of ethics pertaining to your subject area. work with ethical issues which are integral to the knowledge in the subject, rather than simply matters of plagiarism, which are certainly ethical problems, but which apply everywhere and so are not particularly

revealing about any individual subject area.

The point about examples being as specific as possible (the finches) is something I can take back to my students as an illustration of what i am talking about when I call their commentary "too general"

~

TOK vs IM

?