TOK Core Theme Review Quiz

The core theme—Knowledge and the knower:

• This theme encourages students to reflect on

  themselves as knowers and thinkers.

• This themes encourages students to consider all that have a significant impact on the

  world today and play a key role in shaping people’s perspectives and identities

• This theme encourages studentsto consider the different communities of knowers to which we belong

• This theme encourages students to explore different subjects they study in their IBDP course

The core theme has been explicitly designed to provide rich opportunities for teachers and students to

make links to the:

• IB Approaches to Learnng (ATL)

• IB Approaches to Teaching (ATT)

• IB Learner Profiles

• Creativity, Activity and Service

Answer explanation

"The core theme has been explicitly designed to provide rich opportunities for teachers and students to make links to the IB learner profile. Students are encouraged to consider both the power and the limitations

of the tools that they have at their disposal as knowers and thinkers, and to become more aware of their own biases and assumptions. They could also consider what it really means to be open-minded or consider

the importance of caring about how knowledge is used and controlled."

Knowledge questions are:

• Questions about knowledge

• Absolute

• Contestable

• Drawn on TOK concepts

• Questions which have a unique yes/no answer.

Answer explanation

"Knowledge questions underlie much of the knowledge that we take for granted and are often the motivation for many disagreements and controversies. Exploration of knowledge questions can therefore help us to have a deeper understanding of how knowledge is constructed and evaluated in different areas,

as well as helping us to make sense of the world around us.

Knowledge questions are the key tool for teaching and learning in TOK. The two assessment tasks—the TOK exhibition and TOK essay—centre on the exploration of knowledge questions as both the Internal

Assessment (IA) prompts and the prescribed essay titles take the form of knowledge questions. It is therefore crucial that students engage with the exploration and discussion of knowledge questions throughout the TOK course."

"About how knowledge is produced, acquired,

shared and used; what it is and what it is not; who has it and who does not; and who decides the answers to

these questions. Instead of focusing on subject-specific content or specific examples, students focus on

how knowledge is constructed and evaluated. In this sense, knowledge questions are distinct from many of

the questions that students encounter in their other subjects."

• Contestable

• Knowledge Models

• Drawn on TOK concepts

• Questions about knowledge

"There are a number of plausible answers to them. Dealing

with these open questions is a key feature of TOK, although some students can find the lack of

a single “right” answer slightly disorienting. In TOK discussions, it is perfectly conceivable that answers to a

question may differ—what matters is that the analysis is thorough, accurate and effectively supported by

examples and evidence."

• Subjective

• Controversial

• Contestable

• Objective

"Rather than using subject-specific terminology or specific examples, knowledge questions draw on terminologies such as evidence, certainty, values, and interpretation, etc."

• Knowledge Claims

• Core Themes

• TOK Concepts

• AOKs

Which statement correctly distinguishes a first-order question from a second-order question in the context of the TOK course?

• A) First-order questions ask "what," while second-order questions ask "why."
  

• B) First-order questions are about specific content within an AoK, while second-order questions are about the nature of knowledge itself.
  

• C) First-order questions are always philosophical, whereas second-order questions are always practical.
  

• D) First-order questions are only applicable to the natural sciences, while second-order questions apply to all areas of knowledge.

Answer explanation

In the IBDP Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course, first-order and second-order knowledge questions focus on different levels of knowledge:

• First-order knowledge questions are about specific facts, information, or knowledge claims within a particular area of knowledge (AoK).

• 
  Second-order knowledge questions (also known as "knowledge questions" in TOK) are more abstract and philosophical, dealing with the nature, scope, and limits of knowledge itself.

Which of the following is an example of a first-order knowledge question?

• A) How does bias affect historical interpretation?

• B) To what extent can scientific knowledge be considered objective?
  

• C) What is the chemical formula for water?

• D) What role does ethics play in decision-making in medicine?

What is the primary difference between misinformation and disinformation?

• A) Misinformation is true information that is misunderstood, whereas disinformation is always false.

• B) Misinformation is always harmless, whereas disinformation is always harmful.
  

• C) Misinformation is only spread through social media, while disinformation is spread through traditional media.
  

• D) Misinformation is false information spread unintentionally, while disinformation is false information spread with the intent to deceive.

Answer explanation

"An interesting focus for discussions in this theme could be misinformation and disinformation, deliberate deception and manipulation, and how we know who/what to trust. This could include reflection on which

sources of knowledge (books, websites, personal experience, authority figures, and so on) students consider most trustworthy, and why. It could also include reflection on how advances in technology have brought these issues into sharper focus through, for example, discussion of “fake news” and its machinery."

https://www.mediadefence.org/ereader/publications/modules-on-litigating-freedom-of-expression-and-digital-rights-in-south-and-southeast-asia/module-8-false-news-misinformation-and-propaganda/misinformation-disinformation-and-mal-information/

What is the primary difference between knowledge and belief? (Scope)

• A) Knowledge is always true, while belief is always false.
  

• B) Knowledge and belief are interchangeable terms.
  

• C)A) Knowledge is always true, while belief can be false.

• D) Knowledge is purely subjective, whereas belief is objective.