Theory of Knowledge: From Perception to Action

Audience: Diploma Programme
Session: Block 3: Friday 3:45 to 5:00, Room: Pacific J

This presentation demonstrates the nature, purpose, and application of Theory of Knowledge using a model classroom activity. Participants will explore how people and societies perceive and shape history. Visual imagery will draw participants into group discussion as we consider the difficulties inherent in the evaluation of historical relevance. This session will further offer an authentic look at the student experience in TOK using video interviews with Diploma Programme students from a magnet IB high school. It concludes with an assessment of how TOK develops 21st century skills, enhances critical thinking, and fosters international mindedness and action.


Kirsten Justice, Senior Administrator of IB for Wake County Schools, Wake County Public Schools

Kirsten Justice is the Senior Administrator of IB programmes for Wake County Public Schools. A graduate of Carleton College, she continued her postgraduate work at DePaul University and the Sorbonne, University of Paris. She began her teaching career on Roanoke Island in North Carolina before moving to Raleigh in 2001, where she both taught and led the Middle Years Programme at Broughton High School, a magnet school implementing the Diploma Programme and the MYP as a school redesign initiative. Ms Justice is a member of the MYP Schools Committee and is an IB workshop leader, site visitor, and consultant.


Organization website: http://www.wcpss.net

Loren Baron, Theory of Knowledge Teacher, Broughton High School

Loren Baron has been teaching Theory of Knowledge and Economics in the Diploma Programme for 14 years. He has a master's in Education from Harvard University and a B.A. in Philosophy from Brandeis University. Mr Baron began teaching in the Diploma Programme at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland. Currently serving as a workshop leader for IB North America in Theory of Knowledge and Economics, he has also served as an assistant examiner for HL Economics. Since joining the IB faculty at Broughton High School in 2004, Mr Baron has implemented a very popular semester elective on the Civil War and American History, which he currently teaches.

Roger Regan, Senior Administrator for Magnet Research and Evaluation,

Dr Roger Regan received his Ph.D. from George Washington University in Public Policy. He has worked for Wake County Public School System in Raleigh, North Carolina for six years. In his current position, Dr Regan analyzes data for magnet program administration and planning, evaluates grant-funded magnet schools, and conducts research to support the 35 magnet schools in his district, including 9 IB World Schools.