Presentation

What is it?

The TOK Presentation is one of the two assessments for TOK. It is internally assessed by your Core teacher and is marked out of 10. It is worth one third of the overall marks for TOK.

The TOK Presentation:

• shows how TOK concepts have a practical application
• is based on a Real Life Situation and a central knowledge question derived from the RLS
• may be done individually or in a group of up to three people (everyone in the group gets the same mark). The time allowed is 10 minutes per person.
• has a flexible format (but it's worth using the guidance suggested below)
• ends with Q&A

How is it structured?

The diagram indicates that a successful presentation will have several dimensions.

• The two levels in the diagram represent the students’ experiences in the TOK course (lower level) and in the world beyond it (upper level). The connections between the levels demonstrate the relevance of TOK to life beyond the TOK classroom.
• At the “real-world” level, there is the real-life situation from which a knowledge question must be extracted.
• This knowledge question, residing in the “TOK world”, must be developed using ideas and concepts from the TOK course, and in this progression it is likely that other related knowledge questions will be identified and will play a part in taking the argument forward.
• The product of this reflection can be applied back (during and/or after the development) to the real-life situation at the “real-world” level.
• In addition, the presentation should ideally aim to show how the process of application extends beyond the original situation to other real-life situations, thus demonstrating why the presentation is important and relevant in a wider sense.

(From the TOK Subject Guide)

So, in simple terms...

Examples of TOK Presentations

Exemplar 1: Stanford Prison Experiment (8/10)

Exemplar 2: Geocentrism (5/10)

Exemplar 3 (not marked - how would you assess this one?)

How is it assessed?

Selecting your RLS

"The selected real-life situation may arise from a local domain of personal, school, or community relevance, or from a wider one of national, international or global scope. Whatever situation is chosen, it must lend itself naturally to a question about knowledge." (TOK Subject Guide).

It could be:

• A local controversy whose origins are a knowledge question
• A controversial issue within an area of knowledge
• A controversial personal issue – such as the basis for decision making
• A controversial issue of global significance

General tips

• Avoid wide topics – such as ‘string theory’
• Avoid topics that are too generic – such as ‘abortion’ or ‘stem cell research’
• If in doubt try a measurement problem – ‘is it possible to measure X’ where X could be some social variable (degree of democratic accountability, emotional intelligence etc.)
• If still in doubt examine the basis for a causal claim such as ‘drinking coffee makes you twice as likely to develop stomach cancer’. Tabloid newspapers are good sources for these sort of claims.

Formulating knowledge questions for your TOK Presentation

Additional information - webinar from theoryofknowledge.net

Filling in the PPD Form

This is an essential part of the presentation is it is what IB will use to moderate the marks given. This means that your PPD must fully reflect your presentation. Remember, it is the only thing that an IB moderator will see.