TOK Presentation: Here How to Structure It Like a Pro

January 9, 2024

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With IB, ToK presentations are compulsory. They are intended to gauge your understanding of TOK as it relates to a real-life situation (RLS).

A TOK presentation is performed individually, in twos, or even in groups of three. It is a requirement that the theory of knowledge presentation is delivered in a language that all members of the class can understand.

If you are presenting in groups or with another person, each presenter is given a maximum of 10 minutes, meaning that the longest time any group presentation can take is 30 minutes.

How to Get Started with a TOK Presentation

Starting your presentation can seem like a monumental task.

Where do you begin?

The best advice we can give you is to start with an RLS, or a real-life-situation, that interests you. It comes down to choosing something that captures your attention.

Before you settle on one RLS, make a point to brainstorm as many of them as possible. A good example is, to begin with a knowledge issue.

Struggling with ToK essay and don't know what to do?Get help from our IB experts. 

How to Structure Your TOK Presentation

Here are the tips to make an A-grade oral TOK presentation:

1. Get Your Knowledge Question Right

Even the best presentations can go bad if you poorly formulate the knowledge question, often abbreviated as KQ. Your knowledge question must be primarily about knowledge.

Questions that pose an ethical dilemma, those about the psychological process of learning, or the ones that deal with ways of knowing aren’t knowledge questions.

Your main focus ought to be about the nature of knowledge or the construction of it.

Make sure you discuss this with your teacher early on to know what they think about your KQ.

This presentation is often too short and would be suicidal to start on the wrong foot and then hope that you will come back on track. The moderators can easily see your knowledge question, so make sure it’s a good one.

2. Select a Good Real Life Situation

real life situation TOK

A good RLS is concrete and one that is genuinely of interest to you.

A relevant RLS example is to investigate something you came across during your essay research.

Another thing to inspire you could be something you got from an internal assessment.

You can even think of something related to what you are studying at university. You just need to ensure that it is a good question about how experts in a given discipline construct knowledge.

3. Turn Off PowerPoint

You shouldn’t start worrying about slides before you make certain crucial decisions.

Before you even start thinking about how you will present your TOK, know the contents of your presentation.

In other words, it’s not yet time to turn on that PowerPoint.

First, spend your time working out your KQ.

Create your arguments and think about the significance and complications of your positions. After developing your ideas, begin thinking about how to present them.

The skills that you need to successfully develop your ideas and those you need for presenting them effectively are quite distinct.

4. Understand That An AOK Isn’t Necessarily TOK

The characteristic of many poorly done presentations is that they take an issue and then explain what an area of knowledge would say concerning it.

But you need to remember that just because you’re using an AOK doesn’t equate to doing a TOK.

When you explain how the AOK may approach an issue, you are merely giving a first-rate explanation about what an area of knowledge would say about one situation or another.

The only time it becomes TOK is when you compare the approaches used by the AOK in constructing knowledge.

You may want to consult the knowledge framework as your comparative tool to assist you in structuring your analysis.

5. Teach The Audience Something

You need to understand that your theory of knowledge presentation forms a part of TOK learning for everybody else.

In most cases, students present to fellow members of their class. This means that those audience members are looking upon your presentation to teach them something.

You need to think of your presentation as a lesson to other students in the class. That way, you’ll take full responsibility for it and in turn ensure to give it your best shot.

6. You Are The Presentation

The worst thing that can happen during any TOK presentation is to let fellow students look at the back of your head as you turn to check the slides.

Also, students mistakenly think that they are on a ride during presentations.

You must be in control of your material and resort to any slides to back up the things you want to talk about in the material.

Not using the slides is another option that you may want to think of. There have been excellent presentations that didn’t use any visuals at all.

A good example of a presentation is the instance in which students take turns to construct a mind map and then record their main ideas on a whiteboard. The class still has an amazing visual at the end of the presentation.

The only thing you can’t do is read an essay. However, make sure you do not get gimmicky.

You need to ensure that you offer your ideas convincingly and clearly. 

Your teacher must be able to understand you; otherwise he won’t give you good grades.

7. Research Effective Presentations

The worst mistake you make is to assume that you will be able to keep your audience enthralled by using your charm alone.

There are tons of books, TED talks, and websites that teach you about how to give presentations.

Check out these resources and get as many points about the presentation as possible.

Many of them are from the business world and they’ll often advise you on how to be effective, motivating, and concise.

8. Practice Makes Perfect

It’s common for students to be ill prepared for a presentation, but this can turn out to be the worst mistake they make.

After figuring out how you will be presenting, you have to take time to practice.

You can stand in front of your mirror or even your cat and practice. Also, record a video of it, watch your performance, and see if it’s satisfying.

You can even present to your neighbors or parents and hear what they have to say about it.

If they cannot understand what your presentation is all about, then your message is not getting through. Remember that your presentation is not successful unless your audience learns something about TOK.

9. Fill in the TOK PPD Properly

The PPD or presentation planning document can be of immense use. The different parts of the document will require you to identify key aspects of the ideas you want to present.

Start with identifying the RLS and KQ, and then explain the relationship between them.

After that, use your outline to explain the key arguments that you want to make.

The outline must be made of genuine content and not just empty phrases without speaking about what your discussion entails.

Finally, the ‘show’ section should explain clearly how what you have argued relates to your original RLS.

Since the presentation document is also used by examiners to ensure that the marks your teacher gave are deserved, it’s important to fill it fully.

10. Get Your PowerPoint Presentation Right 

You already know by now that PowerPoint offers the simplest way of making your presentation. However, make sure you stick to these rules while using it:

  • Avoid putting too much wording on individual slides. Few things are more off putting in a classroom than seeing huge blocks of texts on the projector screen. Your slides only need to offer a summary of your arguments and not everything you want to say.
  • Make sure your presentation has many properly designed visuals on the slides.
  • Use embedded videos, animations, or even still photos. Have them varied and don’t make them utterly obvious. It helps to keep the audience on the edge.
  • Avoid reading from the slides. By the time you are presenting, you need to have memorized your points. Facing the wall to read the slides while you present is the surest indicator yet that you didn’t fully prepare.

ToK Presentation PPT Structure/Outline and Sample 

Slide 1: Title Slide 

  • The first slide of the presentation contains the title of the presentation and the name of the presenter (group members). 
  • Narration
  • From this slide, an explanation of tour thought about your RLS is narrated followed by its significance.
Slide 1

Slide 2: De-contextualization 

  • An explanation of some of the questions or thoughts about the RLS is stated in this slide.
  • The situation should be explained using TOK key words learned from the course.

Narration 

  • During the narration, give a detailed explanation of a few aspects that are related to your RLS.
  • Do not forget to include limits on the extent to which your RLS should be known to the audience.
  • You should give an outline of your thought-steps by from the Real Life Situation to how the Knowledge Question is developed.

Slide 3: Knowledge Question 

  • List your Knowledge question (KQ), Areas of knowledge (AOK) and Ways of Knowing (WOK). Relate the listed AOKs and WOKs to the KQ.

Narration 

  • Mention the main knowledge question and 2 other knowledge questions for the identified AOKs.
  • Give an explanation on how the Knowledge Questions will aid in understanding the Real Life Situation must be offered.
  • A preview of how the stated AOK and WOK will be used to understand the KQ should also be part of the narration.
  • Any assumption (s) made concerning the KQ provided should be explained during the narration.
  • Any of the key terms contained in the knowledge statement/knowledge question is explained in this section. 

Slide 4: Development #1

  • Briefly state your claim for the first AOK/WOK. State how the claim is explained by evidence
  • Briefly state your counterclaim for the first AOK/WOK
  • Include a mini-conclusion for the first AOK/WOK

Narration 

  • Give a detailed explanation of the claim provided and how it contributes towards answering the Knowledge Question
  • Give a detailed explanation of the counterclaim using supporting evidence. Give a clear narration on how the counterclaim answers the KQ differently from the claim.
  • Provide an explanation of your conclusion for the first AOK/WOK. Do not forget to explain how the claim and counterclaims provided link to the KQ.

Slide 5: Development #2

  • Briefly state your claim for the second AOK/WOK. State how the claim is explained by evidence
  • Briefly state your counterclaim for the second AOK/WOK
  • Include a mini-conclusion for the second AOK/WOK

Narration 

  • Describe the claim for the second AOK/WOK and state its contribution in answering the KQ
  • Describe the counterclaim to the second AOK/WOK and state how it links to the KQ. The explanation should indicate how the counterclaim link is different from the claim link.
  • Provide a conclusion that links the claim and the counterclaim

Slide 6: Conclusion 

  • State your conclusion
  • Indicate any likely flaws in the presentation

Narration 

  • Explain your conclusion
  • Explain how it has been supported by the insights drawn through the mini-conclusions.
  • Explain any weaknesses that might have been experienced in the conclusion
  • Provide an example of a different person from a varied perspective who might not support the conclusion attained.

Slide 7: Link back to the RLS 

  • Indicate how your conclusion can be applied in the RLS
  • State your conclusion based on the discussions made previously
  • State your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with the RLS

Narration 

  • Clarify how your conclusion links to the RLS
  • Explain how the conclusion can be applied in explaining two other RLS

Slide 8: Bibliography 

Include a list of any references used

Conclusion

A TOK presentation is compulsory just like the TOK essay.

You will generally need to present to your fellow class members and you can do this individually, in pairs, or even in a group of three.

 Whatever mode of presentation you are told, make sure you prepare thoroughly and teach your audience something about TOK.

Also, it is important to ensure that you are clear and concise in your presentation. Practice before your parents or neighbors and let them tell you how you did. 

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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