The TOK exhibition is focused on one of the 35 prompts and three “objects” chosen by the students. This article could be used as an object. Consider how this article fits the prompts below.
Text: “Welsh Government to plant 86 million trees in nine years in response to climate crisis”
“In a written statement to Senedd members, deputy climate change minister Lee Waters says planting more trees will not only help avoid catastrophic climate change but will create jobs, address the nature emergency, increasing well-being, and mitigating flooding and air quality issues.
Welsh Government has already committed to a National Forest for Wales however it said this target will not be met by Welsh Government planting the trees “but by the communities, farmers and other landowners across Wales”.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/welsh-government-tree-planting-climate-21040149
The TOK exhibition is focused on one of the 35 prompts and three “objects” chosen by the students. This news article (or a poster advertising the campaign), or a research article on climate change could be used as objects. Consider how this article fits prompts #1-5.
1. What counts as knowledge?
There is overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change but there are still come who doubt the research. Why do these kinds of skeptics not count the scientific research on climate change as accepted “knowledge”?
2. Are some types of knowledge more useful than others?
There are certainly groups of people that view environmental knowledge as more important than others; there are other groups that are completely dismissive of environmental knowledge.
3. What features of knowledge have an impact on its reliability?
One could look at the news article itself and discuss the elements within in that have an impact on its reliability.
4. On what grounds might we doubt a claim?
Consider the different claims that are the foundation of the tree planting campaign in Wales. Are there legitimate grounds for doubting the consensus views on climate change? Clearly there is a group of people who feel they have grounds for doubting the claims.
5. What counts as good evidence for a claim?
This prompt is in many ways the mirror opposite of #4. Consider the points made in #4 above from the opposite perspective.