Tok what is science

Search Our Site. View Our Schools wcpss home. Elementary ES. Middle MS. High HS. Areas of Knowledge Areas of knowledge are specific branches of knowledge, each of which can be seen to have a distinct nature and different methods of gaining knowledge.

TOK Pages. For each AOK the following can be examined: scope, motivation and applications specific terminology and concepts methods used to produce knowledge key historical developments interaction with personal knowledge. Knowledge framework. Essential Questions: What is the area of knowledge about? What practical problems can be solved through applying this knowledge?

What makes this area of knowledge important? What are the current open questions in this area—important questions that are currently unanswered? Are there ethical considerations that limit the scope of inquiry? If so, what are they? For example: in physics key concepts include those of causation, energy and its conservation principle, field, charge and so on in visual arts we might be concerned with the color palette, texture, composition, movement, symbolism and technique in music the central concepts might be melody, rhythm, harmony, tension, relaxation, texture and color.

Essential Questions What role does language play in the accumulation of knowledge in this area? What are the roles of the key concepts and key terms that provide the building blocks for knowledge in this area? What metaphors are appropriate to this area of knowledge?

What is the role of convention in this area? For example: in history, an explanation might consist of an overarching theory giving plausible motivations to the various historical actors that joins up the isolated historical documents in literature, the explanation of text might involve examination of its themes, motives and characterization through the literary devices employed.

Essential Questions What are the methods or procedures used in this area and what is it about these methods that generates knowledge?

What are the assumptions underlying these methods? What counts as a fact in this area of knowledge? What role do models play in this area of knowledge? What ethical thinking constrains the methods used to gain knowledge?

Historical development. For example: consider a Swedish school textbook in history from it is quite different in its idea of history from those used today; a physics textbook from seems to have much the same idea about physics but the content is likely to be different an artwork might derive much of its meaning from the historical context in which it is produced and might even reference other earlier works.

Essential Questions What is the significance of the key points in the historical development of this area of knowledge? How has the history of this area led to its current form?

Links to personal knowledge. Essential Questions Why is this area significant to the individual? What is the nature of the contribution of individuals to this area? What responsibilities rest upon the individual knower by virtue of his or her knowledge in this area?

Mathematics Mathematics is founded on a set of more or less universally accepted definitions and basic assumptions. Knowledge framework: Mathematics. Natural sciences The natural sciences seek to discover laws of nature—regularities in the natural world. Knowledge framework: Human Sciences. History What is unique about the methodology of history?

Knowledge framework: History. For example, the view of history as being shaped by the action of individuals as opposed to the idea of history as the playing out of class struggles or of a zeitgeist an explanation in history is a plausible theory that explains the relevant source material and fits other accepted theories.

The arts How can the subjective viewpoint of an individual contribute to knowledge in the arts? Knowledge framework: the Arts. It is an inspiration! Thanks so much!

Thank you for your great materials. I feel the sample TOK link questions in IB biology guide are not connect directly to the subtopics comparing to the other subjects. Hi Yoshiko — thanks for the comment!

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About Biology4Good! View this document on Scribd. Share this:. Like this: Like Loading Leave a comment Comments A larger question has to do with an issue increasingly on the minds of people of all political persuasions in America. Who should have access to knowledge? Should things that are true be withheld from people for their own good?

If you cherry-pick scientific truths to serve cultural, economic, religious or political objectives, you undermine the foundations of an informed democracy. These statements can be verified by anybody, at any time, and at any place. And they are true, whether or not you believe in them. Meanwhile, personal truths are what you may hold dear, but have no real way of convincing others who disagree, except by heated argument, coercion or by force.

The quest for knowledge must begin with humility: that is, with a keen awareness of our limitations. Everything we know is known from a particular point of view. After all, a scientific hypothesis is a point of view. So we are immediately confronted with a problem of selection.

There are an infinite number of facts present in the world, and they can be described from an infinite number of perspectives. Which facts are important enough to merit our attention, and under which aspect? The dissenters can be ignored because they are outside the elect. We can also identify poor scientific processes and a lack of scientific consensus.

The video below helps summarize many important issues. This there have been many medical reversals on advice about human diet salt, fat, sugar…. These cases raise a lot of good questions about the nature of scientific knowledge and its production. It also raises good questions about how scientific process can lead to conclusions that ultimately prove to be false. Here is one article about dietary fat. Here are a bunch of articles on related dietary topics.

I start with this video and worksheet to have kids consider how to interpret a variety of scientific results about the impacts of certain foods on causing cancer.

Download Medical Study Worksheet. This is adapted from a longer quiz evaluating whether people can make informed health choices. It is a good starter for introducing ideas related to health science. Download Medical Claims Quiz. This reading also overlaps with Religious Knowledge Systems This was adapted from a larger reading discussing the nature of scientific knowledge and how it contrasts with a religious approach to knowledge. Download Evolution and Creationism.

I also like to have kids watch this video after reading the article about creationism above to ask them how they would respond to the arguments presented.