The time has come to begin work on the final ToK essay.
The deadline for this is February 23rd and you will submit it in an electronic format. More on that later.
For now, check out the attachments below.
The Thinker is a bronze and marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin. Musée Rodin, Paris,France
by drakegoodman
Prussians gather for a photo in a firing trench.
The firing trench was accessed by a series of communication trenches, or ‘saps’, whose job it was to afford the troops some protection on their way to battle stations.
Click here for the sources on WW1
Wenninger 72
Answer ONE of the following questions on Maths in 300-400 words.
“Mathematics possesses not only truth, but also supreme beauty” (Bertrand Russell)
To what extent does this quotation reflect the characteristics of mathematics as an area of knowledge?
or
“A mathematician is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat which isn’t there “ (Charles Darwin)
To what extent does this quotation reflect the characteristics of mathematics as an area of knowledge?
Four prize winners in an annual beauty show, Washington Bathing Beach – Washington, D.C., circa 1922. by What Makes the Pie Shop Tick
Is beauty in the eye of the beholder or can we judge beauty in a more objective manner?
For those of you who are Andrew Wiles fans and/or are a Maths genius, Fermat’s.Last.Theorem.for.Amateurs is the proof to Fermat’s Last Theorum. When you have a spare half hour it makes for interesting reading!
The countdown to ToK Presentations has begun.
Bill Clinton, 2001 By LSE Library
It’s almost time for Final Presentations!
The dates are September 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th and the venue is the Little Theatre.
Check the links below for further info and keep an eye on the blog for more detailed info over the next few weeks.
The link below gives you some important details about the dates and requirements.
Presentation information
Here is the rough schedule which tells you which day your ToK class is presenting.
This link is an article written by Nicholas Alchin. In it he gives some excellent advice on how to approach your presentation.
Nine tips on good TOK presentations by Nicholas Alchin
Here is a link to the markscheme for presentations.
Markscheme
Here is the link for the IB form which must be filled out by each student after the presentation.
Here are a few helpful links for the Human Sciences unit.
1. Methods commonly used by Human Scientists
What are the main methods used by Human
2. Problems commonly encountered by Human Scientists
Problems
Margaret Mead Stamp by runningafterantelope
Margaret Mead was a very famous American Anthropologist. Perhaps her most famous work was Coming of Age in Samoa which explored the effect of culture on adolsecence. But were Mead’s methods appropriate and were her conclusions valid?
Click on the attachment for a link to a documentary and worksheet.
1. “As a matter of historical fact, the history of science is, by and large, a history of progress” (Karl Popper) Discuss and evaluate this claim
2. “Theory guides. Experiment decides”. Discuss and evaluate this claim.
(An old saying in science, seen attributed to many different persons.)
3. “Truth in science can be defined as the working hypothesis best suited to open the way to the next better one”. Discuss and evaluate this claim. (Konrad Lorenz, Austrian Ethologist.)
Welcome back. Below is the course hand out for IB2 ToK.
making his voice heard
from jmtimages
Before exams you will be taking part in a practice presentation for ToK. See below for information.
Choose one of the following questions and write a 300-400 word response on the ToK group forum.
Colourful and visually stunning – but also important in our understanding of scientific advances
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12538048
Art gallery preview: in pictures
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/7723579/Art-gallery-preview-in-pictures.html
How to view a Manet
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/artvideo/8427374/How-to-view-a-Manet.html
Philosophy Joke Graduation Card by calaggies’ photostream
It is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. No, not Graduation but writing your practice ToK essay!
Here are several documents that you must read in order to make the most of this opportunity.
Talk Like a Pirate Day (Bloody Version) by TopTechWriter(US)
Here are some interesting articles on language which may help you with the reflection and with the practice essay.
Adam and Eve - London Slang
New language for divided Cameroon
R U Getting It (Text language)
Respond to ONE of the following questions in 300-400 words. Please post your response on your ToK teacher’s group forum.
Either
Would you agree that conclusion arrived at through deductive reasoning provide more certainty than those arrived at by inductive reasoning?
Or
What factors often lead to the our acceptance of fallacious arguments?
Respond to ONE of the following questions in 300-400 words. Please post your response on your ToK teacher’s group forum.
Either;
To what extent do emotions help or hinder us in our search for knowledge?
Or;
In what ways could it be said that emotions control all human actions?
Multiple Intelligence Test:
http://www.businessballs.com/freematerialsinexcel/free_multiple_intelligences_test.xls
Emotional Intelligence Test:
http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idRegTest=1121
http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_studies_the_brain_in_love.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_tells_us_why_we_love_cheat.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html
http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/bl_eq_quiz.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/happiness_formula/4785402.stm
https://www.bbc.co.uk/labuk/experiments/webbehaviour/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/labuk/experiments/personality/
http://www.dectech.org/BBC/Faces.html
My Grade 11 TOK students from Block C should click here to sign up for the blog.
My Grade 11 TOK students from Block A should click here to sign up for the blog.
Each time we complete a unit in ToK you will be asked to complete a unit reflection. Lesson time will be given for this.
The unit reflection for Perception is;
Respond to ONE of the following quotes in 300-400 words.
1. In what ways are our perceptions of the world filtered?
2. Can we ever perceive reality?
To add your reflection for the Perception unit to the blog follow these instructions;
1. Scroll down to the blogroll and click on your teachers name eg Marshall ToK.
2. You will then link to your teachers Group. Click on the Join Group button
3. Add your reflection by clicking on the Add New Topic button. You can paste your reflection into the box.
4. Title should be your first name and Perception
5. Tag should be Perception and WoK.
Any problems? See your teacher.
Here are a couple of handouts which focus on the main concepts we have discussed this week.
Welcome to your first semster of ToK!
Below you will find
1. Course Handout Jan 2011 final
2. TOK TIMELINE Jan to May 2011
3. CONDUCT_FOR_TOK_STUDENTS[1]
Watch out for interesting and useful articles and handouts on this blog.
This article discusses the release of evidence showing that Stalin was indeed culpable in the Katyn massacre. While historians have previously used inductive logic to argue that he was responsible, this evidence provides a direct link.
This article talks about scientific diagrams.
This 4-page guide IBO Guide To Knowledge Issues was recently published by the IBO to try and demystify the concept of knowledge issues. If you are struggling to identify the appropriate knowledge issues for your essay, it might help.
This article could be useful for the ‘doubt’ essay or for any other essay using Natural Sciences as an AoK.
This article might give you some ideas for the essay on the truth behind the lies in the Arts.
An interesting article about happiness and ethics……..
……..well these scientists did. Read on and consider what motivated them to study this fascinating phenomena!
This article on Bush’s recently published Memoirs makes some interesting points on the distortion of history
Make sure you keep an eye on the blog in the next few weeks. We will be posting useful articles which you can use for your essays. If you come across anything interesting in your research please email the link to your teacher so it can be posted on the blog.
Here are a couple of articles you may find useful.
The first may help for the essay on models.
Here is the ToK Essay Rubric at a glance – use it wiselyTOK Essay Rubric at a glance
Use this checklist to make sure you cover all the baeses in your ToK Essay!Six steps to a ToK essay 2
I would like my A block and B block classes to try and choose an essay title over the weekend so that we can get straight down to work on Monday morning. Happy Learning!
The discoverer of fractals died this week. Here is the BBC article reporting his death and giving an introduction to his work.
Here are a couple of readings on problems in Maths.
Euclid’s 5th Axiom is concerned with the axiomatic foundations of Maths and non-Euclidean geometry
The second is an article about misleading statistics.
The unit reflection is;
Respond to ONE of the following quotes in 300-400 words.
Either,
‘A mathematician is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat which isn’t there’ (Charles Darwin)
or,
“Mathematics possesses not only truth, but also supreme beauty” (Anon)
To add your reflection for the Maths unit to the blog follow these instructions;
1. Scroll down to the blogroll and click on your teachers name eg Marshal ToK.
2. Add your reflection by clicking on the Add New Topic button. You can paste your reflection into the box.
3. Title should be your surname and Maths
5. Tag should be Maths and AoK.
For those of you who don’t believe that maths is beautiful check out this link and this one from the BBC
Congratulations to all Grade 12 ToK students who took part in the ToK presentations last week. The presentations were of a very high standard and have already illicited many complimentary remarks from teachers, administrators and parents. All students had clearly worked very hard and were well prepared for the task.
Here are some of our students in action in the Little Theatre last week.
Click Presentations schedule 2010-11 for the presentation schedule.
Please make sure you are on time, changed into office attire and ready to go.
Also make sure your teachers know if you need to leave class early or will be late or absent from their class.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=5Xb8_2bpUPPsVVAlBvmFyizQ_3d_3d
This very famous quote is attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, a nineteenth century British Prime minister. It tells us something of the nature and limits of the uses of statistics in the Human Sciences. Check out the links below for examples and comment on the misuse of statistics.
1. Examples of statistical abuse
Please respond to ONE of the following questions in 300-400 words.
Remember to use your group forum, start a new comment and put your FIRST NAME in the title box.
How does the use of numbers, statistics, graphs and other quantitative
instruments affect the way knowledge claims in the human sciences are valued?
or
“The only possible conclusion the social sciences can draw is: some do, some don’t.” Ernest Rutherford
Do you agree with this statement regarding the Human Sciences?
This question came up in class last week. Take a look at this documentary for the evidence on the subject.
The unit reflection is;
Respond to ONE of the following quotes in 300-400 words.
“Theory guides. Experiment decides”.
An old saying in science, seen attributed to many different persons.
“Truth in science can be defined as the working hypothesis best suited to open the way to the next better one”.
Konrad (Zacharias) Lorenz (1903-89) Austrian ethologist. [Nobel prize for medicine, 1973]
To add your reflection for the Natural Sciences unit to the blog follow these instructions;
1. Scroll down to the blogroll and click on your teachers name eg Marshal ToK.
2. You will then link to your teachers Group. Click on the Join Group button
3. Add your reflection by clicking on the Add New Topic button. You can paste your reflection into the box.
4. Title should be your surname and Natural Sciences
5. Tag should be Natural Sciences and AoK.
Any problems? See your teacher.
Welcome back to your second semester of ToK.
Its going to be busy but fun, we hope!
Click on the following links for 1st day handout, semester timeline and conduct for ToK students.
Enjoy.
Course Handout August 2010
TOK TIMELINE Aug to Dec 2010
CONDUCT FOR TOK STUDENTS
Fred’s feed
Dylan Marshall
Mr. Atkinson
Mr. Neil Woods
Wendy Gifford
David Birchenall
Mike Relf