Prince Alfred College

IB Theory of Knowledge
Oral Presentation Guide

R.Bruford, 2008
 What is the Oral Presentation?

The Oral Presentation is a key component of the ToK course. It is worth 20 of the 60 points
available for the completion of the course.

The TOK presentation requires students to identify and explore the knowledge issues
raised by a knowledge claim from a substantive real-life situation that is of interest to them.
Aided by their teachers (see below), students can select the situation they will tackle from
a more limited domain of personal, school, or community relevance, or from a wider one of
national, international or global scope.

Knowledge Claims, which are those statements, arguments and beliefs that are often
presented as being a 'fact' and true, valid and well grounded.

Knowledge Issues refers to all of the 'doubts' raised by the critical investigation of the
validity of the arguments and methods used to justify a Knowledge Claim in its final
presentation as a 'fact'.

It is important that the situation that is selected is sufficiently circumscribed, so as to allow

an effective treatment of knowledge issues. For this reason, it is wise to avoid topics so
unfamiliar to the class that a great deal of explanation is needed before the underlying
knowledge issues can be appreciated and
explored.

The Oral Presentation at PAC?

Students have two opportunities to undertake their Oral Presentation. The best mark of the
two presentations will be used to contribute, along with the essay, to the overall mark for
Theory of Knowledge.

R.Bruford, 2008
 The structure and guidelines for the Oral Presentation

The oral presentation may take many forms, such as lectures, skits, simulations,
games, dramatized readings, interviews or debates. Students may use supporting material
such as videos, MS PowerPoint presentations, overhead projections, posters,
questionnaires, recordings of songs or interviews, costumes, or props.

Under no circumstances, however, should the presentation be simply an essay read

aloud to the class.

Each presentation will have two stages:

• an introduction, briefly describing the real-life situation and linking it to one or more
relevant knowledge issue

• a treatment of the knowledge issue(s) that explores their nature and responses to them,
and shows how these relate to the chosen situation.

A good presentation will demonstrate the presenterʼs personal involvement in the topic and
show both why the topic is important and how it relates to other areas (see assessment
criteria for more details).

Approximately 10 minutes per presenter should be allowed, up to a maximum in most

cases of 30 minutes per group. Presentations should be scheduled to allow time for class
discussion afterwards. You can present individually or in a group (max four people).

Interaction and audience participation are allowed during the presentation, not just in
follow-up discussion, but there must be an identifiable substantial input from the
presenter(s) that is assessable.

Before the presentation, the individual or group must give the teacher a copy of the
presentation planning document. The document is not to be handed out to the
audience.

R.Bruford, 2008
 Possible Presentation Topics

On the following two pages are examples of knowledge issues that can be explored. Donʼt
forget that a knowledge claim must be identified in relation to the issue explored that gives
it a real-life situation and context.

* Is it reasonable to believe in God?

* Are American civil rights and due process being threatened currently?
* How should we live? What is the good life? (Great for role-playing)
* Should gay marriage be allowed?
* How similar are we to animals?
* Should factory-styled agricultural practices be banned?
* How free are we to choose our actions and our characters?
* Does life have a purpose?
* What is art? How can we know which art is good?
* What is the connection between the mind and body?
* Does madness exist and how can it be determined?
* Is the death sentence just?
* Should euthanasia be a crime?
* Do dreams mean?
* Should animal testing be allowed?
* What is artificial intelligence?
* Is homosexuality a choice?
* Is there any evidence for an afterlife/reincarnation?
* Can atheism be a moral choice?
* Does the soul exist?
* What is the evidence for extraterrestrial life?
* Are all religions one?
* What problems surface when translating and attaching truth to various religious texts?
* What are the major differences between the East and the West?
* Have women made significant social, economic, and legal gains in the last century?
* What should be the limits of science?
* Which form of government is best?
* How far should genetic engineering go?
* Are there real differences between the sexes?
* Can dance communicate? (Consider dance performance as a visual)

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ToK Presentation topics continued...

* Do creationism and evolution clash?

* Are standardized tests accurate predictors of intelligence and success in college?
* Does affirmative action help or harm?
* What is real in the world of virtual reality?
* What kind of knowledge is Math?
* Does it matter whether or not our perception of reality is true?
* Schizophrenia - biolocial or psychological?
* Is it possible to think without language?
* Human Cloning and genetic manipulation - the ethical concerns raised
* Does morality necessarily involve action, or can it involve thoughts and attitude alone?
* How do we know whether we are acting in a good or moral way?
* Can man know anything about his past or his future?
* Is history a science?
* Is there an obligation on an individual to be politically aware, or even politically active?
* Without a knowledge of the past, would we have any knowledge at all?
* Should we believe in aliens?
* Do mobile phones cause brain tumours?
* Do violent video games or movies cause violent behaviour?
* Should censorship exist?
* Does giving your money away to charity make you happy?
* Is Google's Street View an invasion of privacy?
* Does mental exercise stave off Alzheimer's disease?
* Is passenger profiling a logical response to aviation security threats?
* Will daily doses of Vitamin C really help prevent a cold?
* Are nuclear reactors as bad for us as environmentalists would have us believe?
* Do science magazines undermine themselves by publishing advertisements for
pseudoscience?
* Is ethanol nature's answer to the fuel crisis?
* Is religion necessary to have a good moral centre?

R.Bruford, 2008
Assessment Criteria

The Oral Presentation is marked from an available total of 20 marks. Each of the sections
A to D is worth 5 marks.

A. Identification of a Knowledge Issue

* Did the presentation identify a relevant knowledge issue involved, implicit or
embedded in a real-life situation?

Achievement Descriptor
Level

0 Level 1 was not achieved.

1-2 The presentation referred to a knowledge issue but it was irrelevant to the real-life
situation under consideration.

3-4 The presentation identified a knowledge issue that was in some ways relevant to the
real-life situation under consideration.

5 The presentation identified a knowledge issue that was clearly relevant to the real-life
situation under consideration.

B. Treatment of Knowledge Issues

* Did the presentation show a good understanding of knowledge issues, in the context
of the real-life situation?

Achievement Descriptor
Level

0 Level 1 was not achieved.

1-2 The presentation showed some understanding of knowledge issues.

3-4 The presentation showed an adequate understanding of knowledge issues.

5 The presentation showed a good understanding of knowledge issues.

R.Bruford, 2008
C. Knower's Perspective
* Did the presentation, particularly in the use of arguments and examples, show an
individual approach and demonstrate the significance of the topic?

Achievement Descriptor
Level

0 Level 1 was not achieved.

1-2 The presentation, in its use of arguments and examples or otherwise, showed limited
personal involvement and did not demonstrate the significance of the topic.

3-4 The presentation, in its use of arguments and examples or otherwise, showed some
personal involvement and adequately demonstrated the significance of the topic.

5 The presentation, in its distinctively personal use of arguments and examples or

otherwise, showed clear personal involvement and fully demonstrated the significance
of the topic.

D. Connections
* Did the presentation give a balanced account of how the topic could be approached
from different perspectives?
* Did the presentation show how the positions taken on the knowledge issues would
have implications in related areas?
* In awarding the higher achievement levels, the emphasis should be more on the
quality of the consideration of connections than on the quantity of connections
mentioned.

Achievement Descriptor
Level

0 Level 1 was not achieved.

1-2 The presentation explored at least two different perspectives to some extent.

3-4 The presentation gave a satisfactory account of how the question could be
approached from different perspectives, and began to explore their similarities and
differences.

5 The presentation gave a clear account of how the question could be approached from
different perspectives and considered their implications in related areas.

R.Bruford, 2008
 Hints and Tips

Understanding Knowledge Claims

Knowledge claims are something that we think that we

know, ie:

A. Believe to be true
B. Want to evaluate to determine the level of validity

The aim of TOK is to ask the question:

How do we know what we know?

Possible ways of justifying knowledge claims:

intuition memory
perception authority
evidence group consensus
reasoning devine revelation
common wisdom
education

R.Bruford, 2008
Understanding Knowledge Issues

“knowledge issues are questions that directly refer

to our understanding of the world, ourselves and
others in connection with the aquisition, search
for, production, shaping and acceptance of
knowledge”
Source: TOK Guide Page 9

But what does this mean?

•Knowledge issues are the aims and objectives of the

course demonstrated in a practical way.

•They are not necessarily negative aspects of the

information in question.

•They are usually framed as questions but can be

statements.

•They are based on the knowledge claims and are used to

generate analysis and implications.

R.Bruford, 2008
But, how do I know what a knowledge issue looks like?

•The limitations of this definition / argument are.....

•If we define it differently (from another cultural / linguistic/

experiential) perspective then......

•The logical fallacy in this perspective is....

•The assumptions in this are problematic because.....

In other words, you identify a knowledge claim and find

knowledge issues with it that may include the following:

•Limitations •Problems of logic

•Assumptions •Alternative sides to an
•Bias issue
•Alternative cultural & •Differences in
linguistic perspectives perception
•Problems with •Relational questions
justification or proof •Philosophies or
•Different definitions theories

R.Bruford, 2008
R.Bruford, 2008
R.Bruford, 2008