Formulating Knowledge Questions

 Formulating Knowledge Questions

This document gives students comprehensive advice on how to formulate Knowledge Questions, which is central to the Theory of Knowledge course and is the centre of both of the assessment components.

Formulating knowledge questions is a part of the course that students can often find challenging. This document takes advice from the IBO`s Theory of Knowledge Guide and a Prezi from Barbara Ostrowska.

I have used the document at the start of the TOK course and refer to it regulatory thereafter. It is important to give students as much practice as possible in creating knowledge questions as it is fundamental to their success in the subject.

The document is full of sentence starters to help students, including weaker ones who benefit from scaffolding, make a start on forming their knowledge questions. It includes a range of concepts that can be included in knowledge questions, as well as examples of good and bad knowledge questions and the knowledge questions that are in the TOK guide.

This document works well with getting students to peer and self assess knowledge questions, checking that they are following the guidelines set out in the Theory of Knowledge subject guide. It can also be used as a document to form a quiz on knowledge questions, which makes a fun and informative activity in class.

This document works well in conjunction with the TOK passport starter activity, helping students to form knowledge questions that they can use in it.

The document includes:

1. What is a Knowledge question?
2. How can I start a knowledge question?
3. What should go into a Knowledge Question?

   a)    Areas of knowledge

   b)   Ways of knowing

   c)    Knowledge framework

   d)   TOK concepts

4. Examples of good and bad knowledge questions.
5. Knowledge questions from the TOK guide.