So the focus of TOK is not on extensive new content, but on raising a new awareness of knowledge issues. This term refers to the issues that intersect and interact in claims of knowledge and the methods of arriving at these claims. Phrased in questions, some of these issues can be: In arriving at this knowledge, what have we assumed regarding our sensory perception, emotion, language, or reasoning? How are we using our senses, our emotions, our language, or reason? What method was used to gain this knowledge? What are the limits of this knowledge? What responsibility do we have because we have this knowledge?
As we move forward in the course, this focus on knowledge issues must remain sharp.
ACTIVITY
IB Mission Statement
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
Question:
Earlier in the semester we reflected on the IB Mission Statement, and in the intervening weeks we have examined four Ways of Knowing: Sensory Perception, Emotion, Language, and Reason. Please reread the Mission Statement and reflect on how these four Ways on Knowing are present there.
Please post your answer of 600 words minimum on the blog by 21 December, 2010.
To achieve what the IB works towards, which is creating programmes which encourage students to become active learners who understand that they are not always right, every student uses the four ways of knowing. The IB puts students in a position where they have to think for themselves, treating them like adults. Making them have a taste of the real world, because in the real world the ways of knowing are needed even if they are not used consciously. This is why, as stated in the second line of the IB mission Statement, the IB is considered a challenging programme. The IB knows that these are the students that are soon going to be running the world, and to make the world peaceful and intercultural they have to start in the schools. The four ways of knowing are not seen directly in this mission statement but are need to create what the IB wants and asks for.
ReplyDeleteThe first out of the four ways of knowing is Sensory Perception, this is fundamental in an education system. Sensory meaning having to do with the five senses and perception is the taking in of information. A student to be able to live up to the mission statement has to have the ability to listen. This might seem very simple but isn’t. When one truly listens the information stays in their minds, whereas when one only appears to be listening the information doesn’t. This connects with the saying “In one ear and out the other.” The IB according to its statement tries to develop a programme that makes the student listen to their educator. This is done by letting the students choose their classes, giving them the chance to choose what they are interested in, and thus making them willing to listen. Sensory Perception, however, also incorporates the idea of listening to one’s elders, which goes back to one of the inherent characteristics of an IB student, respect. An IB student needs to respect their teachers to be able to have a good relationship which would lead to a good educational ambiance.
To be truly able to connect with the courses both the teachers and the students need to show passion, this is where emotions become part of the Statement. When there is a teacher who has been doing the same job for years, just sitting back, repeating the lesson plans that they planned 20 years ago, it is evident to the student. This leads to the student not participating in class because they might feel that it isn’t worth it. A teacher has to demonstrate passion for the subject and be able to transmit that passion to the students. Even if there is a student who has hated the subject for years the teacher has to be able to transmit the knowledge, and be able to make the student if not like the subject appreciate it. But it isn’t only the teacher’s responsibility the student has to be willing to accept the knowledge given, and when they have, the student needs to learn how to deal with the emotions that school brings on. A student only worries about grades when they care about the class.
A world without Language would be hard to imagine, that is why it is a fundamental part of the IB Statement. It isn’t because students learn languages in school, because then math, sciences and arts would be in there too, it is because of expression. A student needs to be able to expresses their thoughts clearly, and be able to speak and write what they think in an eloquent manner. This would help every student in the future because no matter what direction they choose they will daily encounter situations where they need to express themselves.
Introducing children in to an adult world, is hard because they have to make choices and to make theses choices they have to reason. Reasoning is seen throughout the whole IB programme from day one choosing what classes to take, to reasoning about the best way to study for the final exams. Everyone needs to reason before making a choice, and that is how one can make the right choice.
It is often thought that knowledge is acquired only through Memorization and Studying. Though both are extremely important ways of learning, they are also aided through what is known by the IB as the Four Ways of Knowing: Sensory Perception, Emotion, Language, and Reason. The Four Ways of Knowing can all be found in the IB Mission Statement.
ReplyDeleteSensory Perception is the First Way of Knowing. To be a true learner, one's senses must be open; oftentimes what we see or hear draws us into a subject. The exterior World makes us "inquiring" about something, and is the steppingstone to finding out why what we perceive is occurring. Though many philosophers say that what we see only goes on in our mind, the physical World is still a very present force in our lives. Though those berries may only be red because we perceive them to be red, the fact their color is an interpretation does not mean that they are not dangerous; Sensory Perception is an aid to discovering things faster; We could have no perception about the berries, but it's better to immediately know they're poisonous by looking at their color than trying one and getting sick; therefore, it is reasonable that the IB encourages Sensory Perception in the Mission Statement. The exterior world is very important in our lives.
Emotion is by far the most present Way of Knowing in the IB Mission Statement. "Caring" and "compassionate" are both words used in it. By presenting students with different subjects, ideas, and points of view, the IB's aim is to expand students' thinking. By expanding their minds, IB students can become more caring and compassionate. The IB wants its students to "understand" other people and be open to their ideas, so the World can be "peaceful". As seen with the 'S' in CAS, Service is important for the IB. It wants to make a point that learning in school is good, but that caring for others is just as important.
The IB also wants to integrate the element of emotional involvement in a subject. It doesn't want students to just memorize and be detached from what they're learning. They present the matter and want the student to react.
Language is a very important Way of Knowing. It is present in the IB Mission Statement because the IB wants to "work" with different organizations to make itself better. It also wants to make the World more peaceful through "intercultural understanding and respect". What better way to understand and respect each other around the World than through communicating and sharing?
The final Way of Knowing, Reason, is also found in the IB Mission Statement. Reason can be seen in the entire structure of the IB. By making students take a variety of subjects, it allows them to still explore other options. By creating CAS, it encourages students to pursue new activities so they can grow as a person. By making students write the Extended Essay, they are making them practice for university. There is a logic behind everything in the IB. "Challenging programmes" are obviously built on reason. The IB wants students to engage both emotionally and rationally in a subject. Of course, reason will be present in some subjects more than others, but it will always be present in every subject to some degree. Reasoning is important for a student, because it allows him or her to understand things for himself or herself, instead of simply accepting something.
In conclusion, the Four Ways of Knowing are present in the IB Mission Statement. Sensory Perception, Emotion, Language, and Reason all work together with Memorization and Studying to help students become knowledgeable. The IB understands that knowledge cannot be reached by just one path. Many paths are needed to gain knowledge.
Acknowledging the fact that the focus of TOK is to raise new awareness of knowledge issues throughout the world, distributing such information towards avid learners and giving learners the possibility to have an intercultural understanding in a topic, shows that the knowledge issues follow up with the IB mission statement. The four ways of knowing are; sensory perception, emotion, language, and reason, which all reflect on the IB mission statement.
ReplyDeleteThe first way of knowing, being sensory perception, shows how one’s ability to use their senses and to get a better grasp of an intercultural understanding of our environment and the people that are surrounding us, can help the community and help the world become a better and peaceful place. It shows the ability of a learner to use its senses when learning new material or studying for a subject. As doing so, it makes people inquire about such information and makes people question why they are how they are. Sensory perception mainly states what people naturally know about facts and their environment, and the ability to assume conclusions or assume facts. This coincides with the IB mission statement because people would not be able to be “inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people” if we did not have our sensory perception.
The second way of knowing is emotion, which gives the IB statement support by stating that people are encouraged to be “active, compassionate and lifelong learners”. Mainly stating that it’s one’s own determination for the wanting to accomplish goals for themselves or for others. By giving students the ability to live up to their expectations, gives them a better perspective on how to accomplish and to experience other new and fascinating things in life. By doing so, the IB mission statement wants “inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people to help create a better and more peaceful world”, through international differences and intercultural understanding and respect of others. The IB aims for the understanding of a certain topic or subject, for the student to learn the new material and understand what they’re talking about.
The third way of knowing is language, this being very important on the reflection of the IB Mission Statement. If language did not revolve around us, we would not be able to communicate to one another. Students, nor people would be able to have the possibility of understanding the world we live in, and how things came out to be the way they are. By working with schools, governments and international organizations, gives the IB a possibility to “develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment”. Language gives the student the possibility to form its own thoughts in words to express to the world, and to do so, we communicate with one another.
The last way of knowing is reason, which gives the learner a possibility to explore what there is to see. To give the learner the possibility to engage in new subjects that they’ve never heard of and perhaps having a talent in understanding some facts within that subject quicker than other students. It gives the student a wider range of material and to choose what kind of material fits them personally, and interests them specifically. This coincides with the last sentence of the IB Mission Statement by stating that other people have different thoughts and opinions on specific topics and acknowledging the fact that they can “also be right”, and understand that people “with their differences” can give lifelong learners the understanding of other lifelong learners that are in their surroundings.
Therefore, the four ways of knowing is reflected by the IB Mission Statement in various ways, and it gives us a clear understanding of how our world works and how it has the determination to accomplish its goals in making our world a better and peaceful place.
The IB statement can easily reflect the four ways of knowing we've been studying these four months : sensory perception, emotion, language and reason. The IB's mission is to provide us with the different opinions, thoughts and reasonings people we are in contact with have to offer us.Each one of the ways of knowing we discussed in class can reflect it in many different ways.
ReplyDeleteThrough the use of our five senses, we are able of communicating with other people, and percieving different opinions persons have to offer us. Hearing especially, helps us to listen and evaluate other people's knowledge, and eventually acquire or reject the new opinions projected to our minds. Sensory perception facilitates people's lives, and helps the different cultures communicate with themselves, making the world a better place.
Emotions are also very important. I personally think emotion is the most strongest way of knowing we have studied until know. Emotions often don't need words. Even without speaking and listening people are able to feel very strongly what another person perceives. Love, hate, happiness are all emotions whom cannot speak, but are louder than any word existing in our mind. They are able of expanding our knowledge without directly speaking to someone else. These travel a faster track than that of words, and leave a stronger signature in the human heart.
Language on the other hand, is at the base of our knowledge. While emotions do not need to be interpreted, language is itself an interpretation. That is why it oftens causes more miscommunication than communication. Most of the words in the English language for example, have many different meanings. Because people have different minds, and perceive words in different ways they often end up fighting without a real reason, if not that of a stupid miscommunication. The IB mission statement wants to teach us lifelong learners to be able to transform other people's interpretations in further and broader knowledge. Without miscommunciation, we wouldn't be able to achieve one of the IB mission statment goals: that to accept that we are not always right.
Through the use of reason we are able to understand wheather other people's thoughts are right or wrong. With reason we become active and compassionate. We are able to evaulate other people's opinions and determine wheather we stand in the right position or in the wrong one. That is one of the IB mission statment's goals, transform us in lifelong learners and accept the world's opinion : " lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right "Without reason the world would easily fall in chaos. Each person would follow his or her idea without having a precise reason to do so.
In conclusion, the four ways of knowing are reflected by the IB mission statment in many differnt ways. These are able to give us lifelong learners a better understanding of how our world functions, and how we can improve it by making it a better place.
The four Ways of Knowing: Sensory Perception, Emotion, Language and Reason are present in the IB Mission Statement because they’re the foundations that build the students can “create a better and more peaceful world”. character of a person. The IB prepares students for the challenges in the world, so that the
ReplyDeleteSensory Perception is present in the IB Mission Statement because it reflects the ability of applying knowledge by using the senses. Senses can both be reliable and non-reliable; to understand whether we can rely on them we have to use our reason so that we can interpret our sensory information. Our senses help us when there is no other source to rely on and in the IB Mission Statement the words “inquiring” and “active” develop the idea of sensory perception. When the senses are used a person has to be inquiring and active because it shows how being active completes curiosity. Sensory Perception helps achieve the IB Mission Statement because students involve their knowledge without using reason which can be very useful during challenging moments in life.
Also Emotions are present in the IB Mission Statement because it shows how people need feelings to interact between each other and to achieve the IB goal the students must know how to cooperate with other people to lead a peaceful world. The IB Mission Statement demonstrates through the words “caring”, “respect” and “compassionate” their feelings on the four ways of knowing for emotions. Emotions are needed to create a charismatic and caring person in society. By showing the emotions that students feel for the different subjects, people can build emotions for different topics in life and by building an opinion they can proceed in the world without being completely influenced. Emotions are needed within a student to build caring and loving people who will make a positive impact on the world.
The third Way of Knowing is Language and it’s present in the IB Mission Statement because language is necessary for students to express and communicate in the world. The IB Mission Statement specifies on language through the ideas of “intercultural”, “international” and “other people with other differences”. Language is a way of interaction between people, and it is part of the IB Mission Statement because the IB wants to involve the world and not only a culture. Language is way to spread ideas so that the whole world is involved with optimistic ideas and many point of views can be perceived through different cultures. Language is necessary in the IB Mission Statement to create an intercultural society that doesn’t only depend on native perspective.
Furthermore, Reason is another Way of Knowing present in the IB Mission Statement because reason is the way people can interpret and use knowledge. Without reason students would be lacking the technique to develop knowledge and fulfilling their own ideas by not being original. People can be knowledgeable and lifelong learners but they also need to reason to use knowledge.
In conclusion the four ways of knowing are present in the IB Mission Statement because students are the future of society and to construct a functioning world students have to pursue the four ways of knowing through their subjects.
The four Ways of Knowing: Sensory Perception, Emotion, Language and Reason are present in the IB Mission Statement because they’re the foundations that build the students can “create a better and more peaceful world”. character of a person. The IB prepares students for the challenges in the world, so that the
ReplyDeleteSensory Perception is present in the IB Mission Statement because it reflects the ability of applying knowledge by using the senses. Senses can both be reliable and non-reliable; to understand whether we can rely on them we have to use our reason so that we can interpret our sensory information. Our senses help us when there is no other source to rely on and in the IB Mission Statement the words “inquiring” and “active” develop the idea of sensory perception. When the senses are used a person has to be inquiring and active because it shows how being active completes curiosity. Sensory Perception helps achieve the IB Mission Statement because students involve their knowledge without using reason which can be very useful during challenging moments in life.
Also Emotions are present in the IB Mission Statement because it shows how people need feelings to interact between each other and to achieve the IB goal the students must know how to cooperate with other people to lead a peaceful world. The IB Mission Statement demonstrates through the words “caring”, “respect” and “compassionate” their feelings on the four ways of knowing for emotions. Emotions are needed to create a charismatic and caring person in society. By showing the emotions that students feel for the different subjects, people can build emotions for different topics in life and by building an opinion they can proceed in the world without being completely influenced. Emotions are needed within a student to build caring and loving people who will make a positive impact on the world.
The third Way of Knowing is Language and it’s present in the IB Mission Statement because language is necessary for students to express and communicate in the world. The IB Mission Statement specifies on language through the ideas of “intercultural”, “international” and “other people with other differences”. Language is a way of interaction between people, and it is part of the IB Mission Statement because the IB wants to involve the world and not only a culture. Language is way to spread ideas so that the whole world is involved with optimistic ideas and many point of views can be perceived through different cultures. Language is necessary in the IB Mission Statement to create an intercultural society that doesn’t only depend on native perspective.
Furthermore, Reason is another Way of Knowing present in the IB Mission Statement because reason is the way people can interpret and use knowledge. Without reason students would be lacking the technique to develop knowledge and fulfilling their own ideas by not being original. People can be knowledgeable and lifelong learners but they also need to reason to use knowledge.
In conclusion the four ways of knowing are present in the IB Mission Statement because students are the future of society and to construct a functioning world students have to pursue the four ways of knowing through their subjects.
Taking part in the IB program, (for the first part of this academic year) so far, has been a difficult yet incredibly fascinating challenge. The IB program is based on it's profound principles and educational expectations which sprout from it's mission statement. All IB students should comprehend and learn from the IB mission statement, during the course of their two years in the program. The mission statement encourages all students to “become active, compassionate and lifelong leaners” and enforces universal kindness towards all other students and people. In Theory of Knowledge, we have been studying and consistently learning more about the four ways of knowledge. These four ways of knowledge are composed of: Emotion, Language, Sensory Perception and Reason; and can fully connect with the teaching of the IB mission statement.
ReplyDeleteSensory Perception is an incredibly important aspect of the four sided spectrum of knowledge. It is, in fact, the first of all of the ways to become a knower. It is how one is able to feel, see, and hear, that creates a “sense”. One must be willing and able to approach a new experience and learn important information (from it) about the world. This is called “perception”. We must all be able to take what we learn and use it to help guide us in the right path in becoming a knower. As students, we take in new information that we have learned in class, and use it to become better scholars. As regular people (teenagers) we take in new information that we learn from the outside world, and combine it with what we learn in school to become true knowers. This is what the mission statement wants all scholars to achieve.
Emotion is intrinsic to the IB mission statement. The IB program wants it's students to try and create a more peaceful environment and unitive world, through being “compassionate learners”. Emotions are of the utmost importance in both the educational and social world. The program that we take part in, in our school, helps guide us into a life that will be full of knowledge and emotional experience. It prepares us for our future. As IB students, we are encouraged to open our minds and understand other peoples' perspectives. We can broaden our horizons by not only learning about things in class rooms, but actually going out into the world and learning from experiences. The IB learner must be able to fulfill the mission statement by grasping education through emotion. One way this happens in our program is with the essential part of the iB diploma, the CAS hours. CAS is extremely important for the student tecause it enhances his/her understanding about the world.
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ReplyDeleteLanguage is the third way of knowledge. It is an essential part of the IB program because it allows all of the students to participate in the lessons. Language is our number one way of communicating with one another, and it is powerful when used in the correct manner. The IB mission statement wants us to use language to manifest our knowledge and associate it with the exterior world. We must use language to learn and speak of other cultures. We must become an intercultural society and learn to respect everyone, to become united, as the IB statement teaches us.
The last way of knowing is through Reason. Reason is based on both ethics and morality. We use our “reasoning” everyday to choose what is right and what is wrong. The IB mission statement wants all of it's followers to use reason when learning new information and using it to become a knower. With reason, as students, we are able to engage with our fellow peers and with our teachers (this is also found in language). Reason helps IB student's gain tolerance, create unique perspectives, and become more knowledgeable, by doing so out of pure subconscious. Reasoning is a skill that the IB mission statement wants IB students to acquire. At the end of the program, most students do fully understand the four ways of knowledge and how to put them to use. The IB program wants it's students to live a “life long love of learning” by becoming a knower.
By installing a developed “inquiry of knowledge” through the use of TOK classes, the International Baccalaureate organization aims to create a program, able to encourage students to expand their knowledge to a wider level by means of critical thinking and thoughtful reflection on what they know, how they know it, and how this knowledge is used.
ReplyDeletePointing out to the “young people” the IBO intends to make participants all those students, who will become the primary source of the world’s future. Having students, deal with situations regarding the external world, dilemma’s that do not concern the every day class makes them more participant. The way in which the TOK classes approaches the student is perhaps the best way, as no preparation is needed, and therefore more students, who usually are not partaker join each discussion. Furthermore the fact that no answer is wrong or right “lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right,”not only gives a wider view on certain things but also pushes each student to contribute and express his\her ideas.
There are four main ways of knowing: sensory perception, emotion, language and reason. The first sensory perception is an observation of facts. With the word sensory people mean the five senses, which combine with the word perception, which is the ability to recognize and interpret body stimuli. Our sensory perception is able to help us when there is no reliable source or information. It perfectly fits in the IB requirements as it solicits information “inquiring knowledgeable..””
Emotions is expressed by the words "Caring" and "compassionate which well delineate the meaning of a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one’s mood, circumstances or relationship with others. Emotions are necessary to create strong character, which are able to confront with different situations students may encounter once approaching with the adult world.
The third way of knowing is the important element of language. As years pass by, the world becomes more and more advanced and modern. In order to have a safe and good job, students are required to have an extended familiarity of more than 2 languages. The IB wants the students to be able to interpret different ideas and meanings, and with a good basis of language they might avoid the numerous miscommunications we encounter now days.
Last but not least, there is reason; the power of the mind to think, understand and form judgments by process of logic. Reason is the key to our knowledge. Reason is what people need before taking any choice and understand whether it is right or wrong.
The IB is an extremely challenging programme which aims in developing "lifelong learners". This cannot be done without students who have a passion for learning, and especially without students knowing how thy gain their knowledge. This is why there TOK is included as a subject matter in the IB programme. Theory of knowledge doesn't teach anything new, but it opens students's minds on how they learn things and prepares them for real life, in making them see things through different perspectives. The IBO wants to open students's eyes to what things really are, and not only what they seem to be. This skill of being able to look at situations in different perspectives is fundamental in life, and the IB wants "young people" to be able to handle and face real world situations, by applying their knowledge. Throughout our study of Theory of Knowledge, we have come across four different ways of knowing: sensory perception, language, emotion,and reason. All of these are equally important in life, and all of these have a role in the IB's mission statement.
ReplyDeleteMany times students believe it is acceptable and enough to learn things by memorization. But when studying the for ways of knowing, one understands that this is not enough. The IB wants to "develop inquiring" people, and this can only be achieved throughout reason. When people discover something new, they have to be able to reason on it and develop their own idea and opinion on it. Only then have they really learned. If one doesn't apply reason to what they are tought, they will never be able to be inquiring, neither will they be "knowledgeable". The IB has "challenging programmes" for the sole reason to make the learners reason to encourage the learners to reason on what they are being told. The TOK class encourages students to reflect and reason on what they are being told, and apply divergent thinking, which implies that there are different satisfying answers for different situations, to develop their own view on life and people. The IB mission statement urges the real understanding of things, and this can be done by applying reason.
Another way of knowing that is clearly present in the IB mission statement is language. Language helps people connect and understand people from all over the world. Through language people can communicate, share ideas and opinions, and thus widen their view of things. This is clearly present in the IB mission statement, which aims towards making students prone to "intercultural understanding and respect". This can only be done throughout the use of language, which allows people to connect with people pertaining to other cultures and other nationalities, and to learn to respect them as other people as themselves. This is why the IBO also includes "international organizations", as is stated in the mission statement.
Emotion is another important facotor to consider. It is a way of knowing, and it is important because it brings humanity into what is taught. The IB aims towards "caring young people", who can "understand that other people,with their differences, can also be right". This is essentially where emotion comes into learning. It is necessary to understant how people feel to be ablo to comprehend them and what they really think. One has to really comprehend emotions before he can be "caring" for other's emotions.
The IB mission statement, as has been shown,incorporates all four of the ways of knowing that have been explored in the theory of knowledge programme. This demonstrates how important each and every one of these are, and how they will help us students in life.
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