IBEC TOK Integration 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student's TOK Exhibition features an object that is a scientific instrument. The prompt they chose asks about the relationship between tools and knowledge. This is a strong choice because:
- Scientific instruments are the most important objects
- The object directly connects to a TOK concept through a real-world context (Correct answer)
- The student can use technical jargon to impress the examiner
- Exhibitions must always focus on science
Correct answer: The object directly connects to a TOK concept through a real-world context
A strong TOK Exhibition demonstrates a clear, meaningful connection between a real-world object and a TOK concept or prompt.
Question 2: In TOK, the concept of 'epistemic injustice' refers to:
- Unfair grading of TOK essays
- A wrong done to someone in their capacity as a knower, e.g., their testimony being dismissed (Correct answer)
- The unequal distribution of textbooks globally
- Plagiarism in academic work
Correct answer: A wrong done to someone in their capacity as a knower, e.g., their testimony being dismissed
Epistemic injustice, coined by philosopher Miranda Fricker, describes harms done to people specifically as knowers, such as credibility deficits or gaps in interpretive resources.
Question 3: An IB Biology teacher wants to integrate TOK by asking a real TOK question. Which question is most appropriate?
- What is the mitochondria's function?
- How do scientists decide which hypotheses are worth testing? (Correct answer)
- Name three examples of osmosis.
- What are the steps of the scientific method?
Correct answer: How do scientists decide which hypotheses are worth testing?
TOK questions probe how knowledge is constructed and validated, not what the content knowledge is.
Question 4: The TOK concept of 'interpretation' is most relevant when a student is:
- Calculating the result of a math equation
- Deciding which color to use in an art project
- Analyzing the possible meanings of a piece of literature or historical evidence (Correct answer)
- Memorizing vocabulary in a language class
Correct answer: Analyzing the possible meanings of a piece of literature or historical evidence
Interpretation — the act of making meaning from ambiguous or complex data — is central when dealing with texts, historical evidence, and artistic works.
Question 5: A TOK teacher wants students to understand 'confirmation bias' as a Way of Knowing limitation. The best classroom activity would be:
- Have students read a textbook definition of confirmation bias
- Present students with data sets and observe how they selectively cite evidence supporting their prior beliefs (Correct answer)
- Ask students to memorize examples of confirmation bias
- Show a documentary about famous scientists
Correct answer: Present students with data sets and observe how they selectively cite evidence supporting their prior beliefs
Active engagement with data that reveals students' own selective reasoning directly demonstrates confirmation bias as an experiential, reflective lesson.
Question 6: When TOK distinguishes between 'opinion' and 'justified belief', the key difference is:
- Justified beliefs are always correct; opinions are not
- Justified beliefs are supported by evidence and reasoning, while opinions may lack this support (Correct answer)
- Opinions are personal; justified beliefs are always shared
- There is no meaningful difference in TOK
Correct answer: Justified beliefs are supported by evidence and reasoning, while opinions may lack this support
In TOK, a justified belief is one backed by evidence and reasoning, distinguishing it from a mere opinion which may lack this epistemic support.
Question 7: The TOK prescribed title 'Is honesty always the best policy in the pursuit of knowledge?' is primarily asking students to explore:
- Whether lying is ever acceptable in everyday life
- The ethical dimensions of how knowledge is produced, shared, and used (Correct answer)
- Historical examples of scientific fraud
- Grammar and rhetoric in essay writing
Correct answer: The ethical dimensions of how knowledge is produced, shared, and used
TOK prescribed titles frame ethical questions about the production, dissemination, and use of knowledge, not simply about personal honesty.
IBEC TOK Integration 3
A student's TOK Exhibition features an object that is a scientific instrument.
The prompt they chose asks about the relationship between tools and knowledge.
This is a strong choice because: