TOK Talk

歷史是什麼？我們多大程度上可以探尋到歷史的真項？如果歷史真相難以證實,這是否意味著有關該歷史事件的各種版本都具有同樣的可接受性?哪些因素會影響你接受對歷史事件的解釋？帶著這些問題，我們特意邀請了張瓊老師、苗曉龍老師、李曉熙老師參與了這一期的知識論清談。期間老師們胸懷大志、腹有良謀、指點江山，有包藏宇宙之機，有吞吐天地之志，慾知如何，敬請收聽。能夠完成這一話題的討論與後期製作，離不開Ms OSANN、苗曉龍老...

Recently I met with Naomi Chevannes who teaches Design Technology here in Hong Kong. We discussed TOK Exhibition Prompt 15: What constraints are there on the pursuit of knowledge? Breaking this down we discussed constraints such as access, tools, time, language, personal experience, motivation, perspectives, funding… We found possible divisions of these constraints such as inner and outer constrai...

This is the first of a series of Bilingual TOK Talk Podcasts! Today I met with four Chinese speaking colleagues to discuss the question: 具有不同文化及語言背景的人們是否生活在不同的世界中? “Do people with different cultural or language backgrounds live in different worlds?” 這一期的話題參與者來自中文組的三位同儕：劉宇老師、張瓊老師和白鷺老師。三位老師結合各自的親身經驗從多個角度分享了自己對於這一...

Today I’m joined for another session by Ms. Virginia Voigt, Psychology teacher and we discussed TOK Exhibition Prompt 12: Is Bias inevitable in the production of knowledge? Since we’re human (and we're biased even when we try to be aware of our own biases), and knowledge is made by and for humans, the logical deduction here would be that yes, bias is inevitable. We don’t stop with this though, we...

Prompt 9: Are some types of knowledge less open to interpretation than others? In this episode, I met with one of my favourite teachers here in HK, Anastasia Stitch. She is a DP History teacher & examiner, and she holds a Masters of International and Public Affairs from University of Hong Kong, and was a DP History student herself. Looking through a Historical lens, I was really interested to hear...

After we finished the last episode, Kevin Hoye and I kept our conversation going about each of the titles, and I decided to keep the mic on to capture our conversation in the form of a quick little bonus episode to point out some things to watch out for and some interesting bits about each of the 6 titles. Class of 2023 TOK students… listen up! Again, thank you random musicians… speaking of which,...

Today I enjoyed tea and Talked some TOK with Kevin Hoye (IB English Literature and TOK Teacher) about 2023 TOK Essay Title 5: Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics. We talked a lot about different ways into understanding this question.. Links to several examples discussed can be found on www. TOKTal...

In this episode, I sat down with Donna Gee (IB Design Technology Teacher) and Michael Stewart (IB Psychology and TOK Teacher) to unpack and wrestle with 2023 TOK Essay Title 1: Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge. We had a rich discussion which I hope you’ll find insightful into the role and relevance of replicability in diffe...

In this episode, I talked to Ian Galley (IBDP English Language & Literature) Nicole Mamphey (Science and Applied Ethics) about TOK Essay Title 3: Does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in “bubbles” where some information and voices are excluded? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge. We had a rich discussion about “bubbles'' as they exist in social media networks and int...

In this episode, I met with Dr. PS Yuen and Janka Steenkamp (both IB English teachers to talk about Essay Title 4: Do you agree that it is “astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power” (Bertrand Russell)? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge. Hope you find this episode as interesting as we did! If you’re looking for the TOK Essay Title P...

Today I had a really insightful discussion with IB Theatre teacher, Alex Campion. We talked about May 2023 TOK Essay Title 6: To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use? Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge. Of course we talked about the Arts, attempting to give light to artistic methods in contrast with "the scientific method". I...

Today I had a coffee with Bill Kyzner and Bob Scheer and we unpacked the 2023 May Title 2: For artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained? Discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences. Questions that arose included: When does one become an “artist” or “scientist”? What does it mean to “explain”? Important for the artist...

Today I met with Dr. Rachel Oser, (Science Teacher) & 孫秀東 Xiudong Sun, (Chinese Literature and TOK Teacher) to talk about Exhibition Prompt 8: To what extent is certainty attainable? 在何種程度上確定性是可以達到的？This was a really interesting episode for me firstly, because we begin by contrasting the idea of certainty in Religious knowledge and Science… This is something I find very delicate...

TOK Exhibition Prompt 4: On what grounds might we doubt a claim? To unravel this question, I met with Sarah Rodgers (DP Chemistry & MYP Science Teacher) & Alice Brookes (DP Bio & MYP Science Teacher). Together, we talk about a range of reasons we might doubt claims that are made about knowledge, and conversely what might make knowledge claims more trustworthy. We touch upon a variety of criteria,...

Today I sat down with Jim Faherty, an experienced University Guidance Counsellor here in Hong Kong to exchange views on Exhibition Prompt 7 What are the implications of having or not having knowledge? Because of his background in university applications and guidance, we discussed this question in relation to how having knowledge within this realm expands and helps to refine options for future choi...

Today I’m joined by Liu Yu, aka Mr. LY, teacher of Chinese Humanities and Assistant Principal at ISF Academy in HK. We discuss Prompt 6: How does the way we organize or classify knowledge affect what we know? We explore Confucian values in China as a way of organizing knowledge (and by extension society) within Chinese culture. We also consider language and culture as ways we organize knowledge, a...

In this episode, I sat down with DP Design Teacher Donna Gee and DP Global Politics Teacher Bill Kyzner to discuss TOK Exhibition Prompt 5: What counts as good evidence for a claim. It really got me thinking about the significance of this question in my own personal knowledge about myself and the world, but also in a bigger sense about claims being made in today’s very heated political world. We s...

Prompt 11: Can new knowledge change established values and beliefs? I know this will likely bother anyone who is interested in order and logic, but I've decided to break the order of prompts so I can publish them as I record them. Turns out the most interesting topics to those around me are not necessarily in the order the IB has given them. Who knew? Anyway... Today I’m joined by Theatre Teacher,...

This is the second episode in a series exploring the TOK Exhibition Prompts. Today I’m joined by Adam Walker, expert and teacher of Theatre. We get together and discuss TOK Exhibition Prompt 2: Are some types of knowledge more useful than others? We’re both teachers of the Arts, so our conversation focuses heavily around the arts. It would be interesting to sit down with a physicist, architect, as...

This is the first in a series exploring the TOK Exhibition Prompts. In these episodes, I don't intend to answer the questions, but rather explore them and get you thinking. I hope you enjoy and find it stimulating! To explore Prompt 1: What counts of knowledge, it was helpful to think about the following Types of Knowledge: Factual Conceptual Procedural A Posteriori knowledge - from personal exper...

Today’s topic is a previous TOK Essay title: “Do good explanations have to be true?” To help me explore this question, I am joined by four fellow IB & TOK Teachers: Mr. Bill Kyzner representing Political Science, Mr. Francis Wynne, representing the Classics, including Latin Language & Greek Mythology, Mr. Jordan West-Pratt representing Natural Sciences, and today I’ll be representing the Arts. Que...

Today we delve into the world of Statistics, and unpack how it can be a tool that can both reveal and conceal. To help me with this complicated question, I’ve asked some well-informed people to help me unpack this year’s TOK Essay Title 4: “Statistics conceal as much as they reveal” Here with me today are Ms. Zehra Baig, Statistics teacher, Mr. Martin Brown, Mathematics teacher and Ms. Virginia Vo...

Joining me today are Dr. Rachel Oser: a Research Scientist & Teacher, Mr. David Fenwick: a Physics, Mathematics and Engineering Teacher, and Mr. Kevin Hoye, an English and fellow TOK Teacher. The prompt is this year’s essay Title 6: ​ “Avoiding bias seems a commendable goal but this fails to recognize the positive role that bias can play in the pursuit of knowledge” Questions we discuss: * Why mig...

In this episode, I sat down and talked with my oldest daughter, who graduated last May from an IB school in Shanghai and is now studying Art at Parsons in New York. We discussed her experience as an IB student and she shares her perspective about TOK, CAS and IB in general. She also shares some honest advice in general about getting through IB and applying for Universities, as well as her experien...

This episode I give an introduction to four main theories or perspectives on ethics: Virtue ethics, Deontological Ethics, Consequentialism and Utilitarianism, and Moral Relativism. I discuss these theories in relation to current situations such as the MeToo Movement and Self-driving cars. I love ethics... so this will be the first of several episodes looking at how ethics shapes knowledge in other...