TOK unit plan Seeking Truth

Seeking Truth DP year 1,

Course and topic Timing of unit

Unit description and texts DP assessment(s) related to unit

Students will become familiar with the problems of knowledge, Project

which are gullibility and scepticism. They will examine some
everyday cases in which those are present.
They will learn about the problem of truth, which is at the heart of
knowledge. They will learn about the three checks of truth:
coherence, correspondence and pragmatic theories of truth.
They will study the concepts of belief, and the scale of certainty
Students will explore and apply the concepts of gullibility and sceptism in
real life situations. They will look for ads in newspapers,(book activity)
which intend to convince people of non-existent benefits. They will analyse
the text and identify the elements of discourse that are being used to trick
people.
They will reflect on the role of language to persuade people and how it is
used in the world of business, specifically in ads and marketing campaigns.

INQUIRY: establishing purpose of the unit

Transfer goals
List here one to three big, overarching, long-term goals for this unit. Transfer goals are the major goals that ask students to “transfer”, or apply,
their knowledge, skills, and concepts at the end of the unit under new/different circumstances, and on their own without scaffolding from the
teacher.
  Students will learn that knowledge has two big problems: gullibility or scepticism.
 They will learn that there are some checks of truth in our quest for knowledge.
 They will learn that there is a scale of certainty, which helps us determine how close to truth we are.

Essential understandings
List here the key content/skills/concepts that students will know/develop by the end of the unit.
Students will know the following content:
Truth
Gullibility
Scepticism
The role of constructive doubt
Coherence Theory of truth
Correspondence Theory of truth
Pragmatic Theory of truth
Levels of certainty

Students will develop the following skills:

Evaluating claims using the coherence theory of truth
Evaluating claims using the correspondence theory of truth
Evaluating claims using the pragmatic theory of truth

Students will grasp the following concepts:

The problems of knowledge
Theories of truth
Believing and truth

Missed concepts/misunderstandings
List here likely misunderstandings students may have during the unit with relation to skills, content and concepts.
Content-based:
They may have problems understanding the concepts of gullibility and scepticism
Skills-based:
They may present some difficulty understanding how each theory of truth works.
Concept-based:
They may not understand that truth will never be reached, however, there are some level of certainty to approach it.

Inquiry questions
List here the understandings above written in question form, preferably as ones that inspire students to answer them. Feel free to create additional
questions that help inspire further inquiry in the unit but may not directly connect to an above essential understanding.

What is truth?
What is gullibility?
What is scepticism?
What is the role of constructive doubt in our quest for truth?
What is the Coherence Theory of truth?
What is the Correspondence Theory of truth?
What is the Pragmatic Theory of truth?
What are the levels of certainty?
How effective is the coherence theory of truth at evaluating claims?
How effective is the correspondence theory of truth at evaluating claims?
How effective is the pragmatic theory of truth at evaluating claims?
What are the problems of knowledge?
What re theories of truth and their limitations?
How are believing and truth connected?
ACTION: teaching and learning through inquiry
Key activities Assessment
Students will know the following content: Content-based:
Truth Students will reflect on the concept of truth (F)
Gullibility They will discuss why truth matters (F)
Scepticism Students will summarize the main concepts from the unit. (F)
The role of constructive doubt Students will create a comparative chart on the three theories of truth.
(F)
Coherence Theory of truth
Correspondence Theory of truth
Pragmatic Theory of truth
Levels of certainty
Skills-based:
Students will determine the advantages and the limitations that each
Students will develop the following skills:
theory of truth has. (F)
Evaluating claims using the coherence theory of truth
They will analyse some knowledge claims using the three theories of
Evaluating claims using the correspondence theory of truth truth. (F)
Evaluating claims using the pragmatic theory of truth Students will examine some cultural beliefs (prior knowledge) using
the truth checks (theories of truth). (F)

Students will grasp the following concepts: Concept-based:

The problems of knowledge Students will do a project to develop some understanding on the
problems of knowledge, which are gullibility and scepticism. They will
Theories of truth do some research and create a power point, prezi or video of their own
Believing and truth in which they explain these concepts. They will provide examples of
their own to support their argument. (S)
 Approaches to learning Connections

√ Thinking √ Reflection on content

√ Social √ Reflection on skills
√ Communication √ Reflection on concepts
√ Self-management Details:
Research Students will reflect on the problems of knowledge, especially on
gullibility and practice a healthy doubt on what they are told on the
Details:
media.
Students will develop their critical thinking skills through the
They reflect why it is not possible to speak of the truth, but of levels of
discussion and other activities in class. These will be in oral or written
certainty.
form. Most of them will be in pairs or small collaborative groups. This
technique provides students with the opportunity to learn with work
with others, be open to new ideas and develop respect and
understanding towards their peers.

Resources

Dombronski, Rotemberg and Bick, (2013). Theory of Knowledge. Course Companion, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press
Van de Lagemaat, R. (2015). Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press

REFLECTION: Considering the planning, process and impact of the inquiry

What worked well What didn’t work well

 Test for truth (Pragmatic)

Transfer goals
List the transfer goals from the beginning of this unit planner.

 Students will learn that knowledge has two big problems: gullibility or scepticism.
 They will learn that there are some checks of truth in our quest for knowledge.
 They will learn that there is a scale of certainty, which helps us determine how close to truth we are.

Transfer reflection
How successful were the students in achieving the transfer goals by the end of the unit?

The students were very successful in presenting their project on the problems of knowledge. Some even surprised me at the examples they found
from the media. One boy even found examples in fairy tales. He created a poster illustrating his findings on gullibility in three fairy tales.
Three groups of students even made a video in which they explained the dangers of gullibility in products young girls consume, such as pills to
lose weight and so on. They had a good level of analysis.
I think I have to create more learning experiences on the theories of truth. Students grasped the concept, but I feel I need to give them more.