tok essay on visual representation

Visual Representations: 2023 TOK Essay Title 5 TOK Talk

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.TOKTalk.org Thank you to the random street Shanghai musician, once again for the music bringing us in and out of this track. Guest: Kevin Hoye

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May 2023 TOK essay prescribed title #5 – key terms

Published by author on september 27, 2022 september 27, 2022.

Once you get the set of prescribed titles for your cohort, the first step is going through each one and analyzing the key terms.

5. Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics.

“ Are visual representations always helpful ” – Make sure that your essay clearly answers this question.  Your investigation of different AOKs and different specific examples throughout your answer may lead to multiple answers to the question which is perfectly fine.  Your essay does not have to have one definitive answer to this question – in fact an essay that has one definitive answer to this question is likely flawed.

“ visual representations ” – charts, diagrams, models of the atom, maps, a painting of a WWI battle are a few examples of visual representations. Models of the atom, for example, can be helpful in explaining some characteristics of the atom but the model may simply or exclude key aspects of the atom.  A painting of the battle of the Somme in WWI may provide some information about it, but what if the painter was not at the battle or did not even fight in WWI?  Even if the painter had been in the battle, his or her depiction of the situation might be affected by bias, limited information, patriotism, etc.

“ always ” – there may be nothing in TOK that you could argue is “always” anything.  Successful essays avoid one-sided arguments and should look at a situation and a prescribed title from a variety of angles / perspectives.

“ helpful ” – if you choose May 2023 TOK prescribed title #5 you could view “helpful” in a number of different ways.  However, all of these ways should be directly connected to knowledge . Look closely at specific examples where visual representations are helpful or are not helpful in the production or acquisition of knowledge.   

“ communication of knowledge ” – there are many different ways in which knowledge can be communicated. Analyze specific examples where visual representations play a role in communicating knowledge and look at the precise way knowledge is communicated. Make sure you can evaluate whether or not it is helpful.

TOK prescribed titles frequently use phrases such as the “sharing of knowledge” and the “acquisition of knowledge” but May 2023 prescribed title #5 may be the first time that the phrase “communication of knowledge” has been used.  “Communication of knowledge” can include both “sharing” and “acquisition” though. 

May 2023 TOK essay #5 should only discuss the AOK(s) mentioned in the prescribed title.

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May 2023 tok essay prescribed title #3 specific example – indigenous people of northern japan.

Article: “Japan’s forgotten indigenous people” http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200519-japans-forgotten-indigenous-people In the Japanese school curriculum (set by the central government in Tokyo) there is very little time and space spent on the Ainu, an indigenous group that has almost Read more…

May 2023 TOK essay prescribed title #1 specific example – Japanese myth on the birth of Japan.

The extract below is a translated Japanese creation myth in an ancient text named Kojiki. The original text is written in an type of writing that the vast majority of modern Japanese people cannot read. Read more…

May 2023 TOK essay prescribed title #4 specific example – photo of an execution during the Vietnam War.

Eddie Adams’ iconic Vietnam War photo: What happened next https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42864421 Consider the different aspects where is there “a little knowledge” regarding the photo and the actual incident. Then look into the larger question that is Read more…

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Essay Topics 2023

Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics.
• 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.

In this blog post David Bramsay discusses replicability concerns regarding the following books which we have in the library:

Other books on this topic

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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.

Echo Chambers and Epistemic Bubbles

Evaluating Google as an Epistemic Tool

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TOK ESSAY TITLE MAY 2023

Tok essay title 5, are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics..

Title 5 of the May 2023 TOK essay prompt holds excitement for visual learners, as they may find a strong personal connection to it.

The key word to pay attention to in the title is “always.” It highlights the unidirectional nature of knowledge production and reception, while acknowledging that communication is a bidirectional concept.

The essay provides an opportunity to delve into areas where statistical data serves different purposes in production compared to interpretation. This raises questions about the reliability of such data in predictive analysis.

To excel in the May 2023 TOK essay and achieve a perfect score, it is recommended to begin early and seek guidance from TOK experts who can provide supervised support throughout the essay writing process.

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2022 Titles

1. Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to  two areas of knowledge.

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.

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.

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.

5. Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the  human sciences and mathematics.

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.

Unpacking the prescribed Titles

General Resources for Examples/Ideas

The world’s leading publisher of research-based news and analysis, but easy to read.

PBS show that examines the connections between pop culture, technology and art.

Every TED-Ed Animation represents a creative collaboration between experts. Such experts may include educators, designers, animators, screenwriters, directors, science writers, historians, journalists and editors.

Similar to TED talks, but shorter. Usually more focused on a specific idea.

We ask the big questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on science, philosophy, society and the arts

We expose people to information and ideas from all sides of the political spectrum so they can better understand the world

Excellent, thoughtful and nuanced. It's like TOK every day. Use the Search box and the drop down menu to search by subject.

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5 (more) essential tips for marking the ToK Essay Draft.

• January 9, 2023
• Teacher Support , ToK Essay

This post comes in response to feedback from a video that I made on marking the ToK Draft Essay (we’re all starting in different places on this ToK journey) – those a little further on their ToK Journey as I focus more on the actual assessment of the content of the essay.

Now, I can’t replicate an IB Cat 2 workshop, neither would you want me to, so what I will do is run through 5 big checks that I make of the content of the essay when I’m marking the Draft.

1. Is the focus of the essay on knowledge arguments or on RLS ?

Most Draft Essays that I have seen have far too much RLS content, they’re overly descriptive of the examples used, and dedicate far too many words to the RLS. This is entirely understandable – DP students have probably spent most of their educational career being assessed on the accuracy of their understanding of content. In ToK we’re asking them to do something a little different – we’re asking them to look at the construction of that content – this is a leap that many students find difficult to make. We can use the rough 80-20 rule here: 80% knowledge to 20% RLS description.

I usually ask students to highlight knowledge & RLS content in different colours on their Draft essays to help them to have a visual representation of the difference.

2. Are definitions consistent throughout the essay ?

Most students realise that the definition of concepts and terms is key to being able to write the ToK Essay. However, students will often change their definitions, or even forget about them during the writing of the essay. Changing definitions can be a strong evaluation point if they find that an earlier definition was insufficient, but this must be done explicitly, and shown to be grounded in the exploration of the PT. 

Recent examiner’s reports have advised that students define terms within each AoK rather than at the beginning of the Essay – this is a good way of reducing the risk of inconsistency in definitions within the essay.

3. Rough Band Placement. (pyramid)

The essay assessment instrument has 5 ‘bands’ or ‘levels’, IB have provided characteristics for each band. I think we can consider broadly what we will find in each essay band – I call this the assessment pyramid.

General talk through the pyramid, as shown in Canva Slides. 

Now, I know that this is just a further precis of the assessment rubric itself, but sometimes there’s a wood & trees problem –  this is my attempt to see the wood.

4. Signposting & LTQ.

Sometimes the Draft Essays can be super confusing: concepts, AoKs, Knowledge Arguments, RLS are all mixed together, sometimes contradictory, often incoherent. If they’re confusing for us as teachers imagine what they’re like for the Examiners. A simple way to start to unravel is to ask the student to signpost the key elements of the essay. I ask them to add sentences which show me where the main elements are, for example:

“My Knowledge claim in AoK ____ is…,”

“This is supported by the RLS ________”

“An evaluation of this argument is _________”

And most importantly by adding a sentence at the end of each paragraph that starts with:

“Linking back to the prescribed title this means that……,”

Signposting the main elements, and explicitly linking back to the question means that there is very little risk of the essay being assessed in the lower 2 bands. It ensures that the student has the basic elements in place to get at least 4/10, which means they’ll pass ToK. 

Signposting also helps the examiners who are serially reading essays written in a range of styles, of varying quality etc. The examiners are looking to award marks, this is much easier to do if students have signposted the content in their essay.

If the signposting is a little clunky after they have developed their essay it can always be taken out before final submission, just like stabilisers on a kid’s bike.  

5. Team Work:  

My final tip is teamwork. Assessing ToK Essays is no easy task, it’s complicated for everyone – I’ve seen senior examiners significantly disagreeing over the marks awarded to an essay. So, it’s important to remember that no ToK Teacher is in this on their own. Work with other ToK Teachers either in your school, or in your local ToK network. If you are the sole ToK teacher in your school, and there is no local ToK Network get in touch with another DP school- I have always found colleagues to be generous and welcoming.

In collaboration with other ToK teachers you can problem solve, moderate, and standardise. You can pick apart exemplars and share previously assessed essays. No one expects you to have all the answers, this is a synergistic process, and we’re all in this together. 

I hope that you found those tips useful. If you have any suggestions for further content please don’t hesitate to contact me, [email protected].

Have a great day !

Daniel, Lisbon, Jan 2023

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