Blog post #6: Intuition, Ethics, and Biases

Due date:  Tuesday, March 3rd for periods B, C, and E.  [75 points total]


Resources for this unit:
Textbook chapter on intuition as a WOK (pp. 193-205)
Intuition article
Intuition PPT
Cognitive bias song
Pickled ethics


Directions:  Create a blog post and title it "Intuition, Ethics, and Biases."  After reading the chapter on intuition in your textbook (and reviewing any other resources), please do the following:

Part A:  Choose one of the first nine cognitive biases listed on pp. 200-203.  (If you know of others, you may use a different one.)  Watch out for it in your own thinking and try to notice its effect on what you see and hear around you.  Also pay attention to whether other people and companies (media, advertisements, etc.) appeal to the bias.  Write about any examples of that bias that you have noticed during the week.  Be specific please!  Use real examples only.  [25 points summative]

Part B:  Write a short response to answer the following question:  How might intuition act as both a lens (helps you see the truth) and as a filter (prevent you from seeing the truth) in making moral and ethical decisions?  In your response, please refer to a real, moral dilemma that you have encountered (recently or in the past).  You may include multiple examples if needed to illustrate your point.  [25 points formative]

Part C:  Please respond to the following statement, "The possession of knowledge carries an ethical responsibility."  This is a former IB essay prompt in which students had to write 1600 words evaluating this claim.  In your own response, please use at least one specific, real example to support your response. [25 points summative]

Post #5 - TOK Presentation Feedback

Please read the feedback given on both the presentation and TKPPD.  You can also review the IB rubric for the presentation.  Create a new blog post and title it "TOK Presentation Feedback."

Due date:  Thursday, January 29, 2015 by 3:10 PM for periods B, C, and E [20 points formative]


#1:  Please show me that you understand at least one piece of feedback by explaining how you could improve your presentation and/or TKPPD after reading the feedback.  What exactly would you do differently and why?  Reference your presentation and/or TKPPD specifically.

#2:  What questions do you have for me regarding the feedback?  If you don't have any questions, please write "I don't have any questions regarding the feedback."

Post #4: Indigenous Group

Nov 25 - Dec 4, 2014

Each student will research a different indigenous group and complete a blog about that group.  Your classmates will be viewing this particular blog post so keep that in mind.

Each class will have one class period to work on this blog:
E block:  Tuesday, November 25th
B block:  Tuesday, December 2nd
C block:  Monday, December 1st
**Please use this time in class wisely.  The personal engagement/class participation grade for this post is 20 points (completed on time and time used wisely in class).

Due date:
B block: Thursday, December 4th
C block: Friday, December 5th
E block: Wednesday, December 3rd

Part A (40 points):
1.  Choose an indigenous group and sign up on this document so there is no overlap.
2.  Spend some time researching.  Take notes on the following:  geographic location, language(s) spoken, population, spiritual practices/religion, schooling/education, ethics, values, practices, scientific knowledge, etc.
3.  Create a blog post and title it "Indigenous group."
4.  Include at least 3 pictures in the post, briefly explaining each picture.
5.  Write at least 300 words describing the indigenous group.  This can be in paragraph form, bullet points, short blurbs, etc.  Aim to teach us something new about this group/culture.  "Wow" us; impress us.  Make us think!

Part B (40 points):
6.  Choose one WOK other than language or faith (you can mention language and faith, just choose a different WOK to be the focus) to research in regards to the indigenous group/culture you chose.
7.  Define the WOK using your own words.  Avoid dictionary definitions (or other people's definitions!) here.
8.  Illustrate how the chosen WOK plays a role in that culture/group.  Be specific here.  How is it similar or different to our culture?  You can include videos/media here if you'd like  (like we reviewed in class about the Himba tribe not distinguishing between green and blue the same way we do or about the Moken people who intuitively knew the 2004 tsunami was approaching because the cicadas were silent and the sea was receding  - see p. 380 in textbook for more examples)
9.  Identify at least two knowledge questions that can be discussed in relation to the content of your post.

Post #3: Culture

November 3-7, 2014


Resources (some used in class but others to be viewed outside of class):

• Hofstede's culture survey
• East vs. West PPT
• Photos from abroad 
• China emails
• Iceberg concept of culture

Homework:  Create a blog post titled "Culture."

Due dates:
B Block:  Wednesday morning, 11/12.
E and C Blocks:  Friday morning, 11/14.

Part A.  After viewing the East vs. West PPT, create your own slide depicting contrasting cultures.  If you are not familiar with Chinese culture (which I'm assuming most of you aren't!), please use any two cultures you are familiar with.  Describe your slide in 1-2 sentences.   [10 points formative]

Part B.  In the same blog post, respond to the following questions [30 points formative, 10 points per section].  Please use specific, not hypothetical, examples to support your statements.

Section 1:

• What is culture?  How easy is it to define and/or describe one's culture? 
• Think of how the East vs. West PPT depicts US culture.  Are there any slides that you think depict US culture incorrectly?  If so, which slide(s)?  Why do you think your opinion is different than the author's? 
• If you had to describe US culture in 4-5 sentences, how would you do so?  Do you think that your description applies to everyone in the US?  Why or why not? 

Section 2:  

• How might we use our memory to make sense of a place and situation foreign to us?  
• Can you think of a time when you used your memory of what's familiar to make sense of something foreign or unfamiliar?  Describe.
• How reliable is our use of memory to know something?  Are there limitations to our use of memory? 

Section 3:

• How can we use our imagination to understand and appreciate other cultures?

Post #2: Danger of a Single Story

October 24 - 31, 2014

Homework:  Watch a TED Talk and respond to the questions below in a blog post by Friday, October 31.  [20 points formative]


Requirements:

• Watch the TED Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story (18:46) either at home or during study hall.  Ask your study hall teacher for a pass to the library if you need to use a library computer. 
• Take notes on the handout I gave you but no need to hand it in.  
• Answer the following questions in a blog post titled "Perspectives." 

Questions to answer in blog post: 

1. What did you know about Nigeria before watching the TED Talk?  What did you learn about Nigeria after watching the talk? 
2. Write down at least three quotations from the TED Talk that resonated with you and explain why you chose them.  Please note the approximate time of the quotation.  You can turn on the subtitles while watching the talk which may make it easier to write down the quotations. 
3. Why might it be important to seek out additional stories and not rely on a Single Story of a people or place? 
4. Describe a time when you experienced a culture very different very different from your own (even a family's home, a city, or a religious event could count)?  What did you learn from that experience?
5. How might living abroad challenge your assumptions or result in a paradigm shift?

Post #1: Why TOK?

October 14 - 24, 2014

Classwork October 14-24:  Design a blog for reflections, assignments, and activities.

Homework:  Finish creating blog and first blog post by Friday, Oct 24 at 3:10 PM.  [30 points - 10 class participation, 20 formative]

Requirements:

• Set up your blog through Blogger which requires a gmail account.  Go into your gmail account and click on Blogger.  It will then walk you through what to do.
• Title your blog [LastnameTOK1B or LastnameTOK1C or LastnameTOK1E] depending on the class you are in.
• Email Ms. McDowell with the link to your blog (cmcdowell@sturgischarterschool.org).  
• You may create a profile under Edit Profile but avoid putting any personal info (no photos of yourself, no full name, no address, no school name, or any other identifying info).  
• Examples of the type of blog post I'm looking for can be found here: http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/file/view/blogging+rubric.pdf
• Blogging rubric can be found here.

First post assignment: 

• Title your first blog post as 'Why TOK?'

• Part A:  Find a picture, video, comic, article, etc. that helps answer the question "Why do TOK?" and post it to your blog.  Explain in at least 4-5 sentences why that piece of media was chosen and how it helps to answer the question "Why do TOK?"

• Part B:  Look at the IB Learner Profile.  Choose at least one IB learner profile trait and explain in at least 4-5 sentences how Sturgis, as a community, does not exemplify that attribute as well as it should/could.  Please avoid talking about an individual student or teacher and think about the community as a whole.  

Example of a blog post:

Why TOK? 

Part A:  

Video:  Average Person Becomes Unhinged Psychotic When Alone In His Own House (1 min 44 sec)

One reason that the IB wants students to take a course like TOK is to teach us to be critical consumers of media.  Everyday we are exposed to news reports, the results of the latest study, YouTube videos, Facebook posts, etc. and need to make decisions as to who and what to believe.  TOK helps to fine tune our critical thinking skills so that we are able to examine the source and content of a particular piece of media.  While it's not practical to be overly skeptical, it is not wise to let yourself be easily fooled.  The video that I choose comes across as a professional study, yet the content is a joke.  Someone familiar with The Onion will automatically know that it's not real but someone who is not familiar with The Onion needs to decide whether to believe what's stated in the video or not.  TOK can help us learn what questions to even ask when we are examining a source.

Part B: 

While the Sturgis community tries very hard to exemplify all of the IB Learner Profile traits, I think that we could do better in terms of the trait "Caring."  For example, almost every classroom has a box for recycling paper and a box for recycling bottles and cans yet we produce so much trash.  Much of what ends up in the trash can be recycled.  Our school, made up of over 400 students and staff, produces a lot of waste each day.  I know we can do better in terms of recycling and respect for the environment (and current and future generations!) because I have seen recyclable material in the trash cans.  I also witness students and teachers throwing away recyclable materials almost every day!  We need to be more mindful and caring of the environment if we want to make a positive difference in the world around us as the IB definition suggests.