Knowledge Questions

question-mark-1751308_640 In the presentation, students need to state ONE knowledge question (KQ).

KQ is a question about the construction of knowledge or the nature of knowledge. Knowledge question must be open, general and about knowledge.

Knowledge questions are second-order questions (which means they are not subject-specific questions). They ask about the process of producing, verifying or acquiring knowledge. Questions such as ‘what ethical considerations justify the possession of firearms?’ or ‘to what extent is it ethical to prevent immigration by refugees from troubled areas?’ are not second-order questions because they focus on ethics, not on knowledge. (Theory of knowledge Subject report, May 2016). They can be created using the Ladder of abstraction activity (see Understanding Knowledge Issues publication by the IBO).

KQ should not be so broad that they are unanswerable (e.g. ‘what is art?’). It should be also couched in TOK terms and concepts.

This is the knowledge question which was extracted from the real-life situation:

On the basis of what knowledge and evidence do we form our cultural beliefs?

Here are some resources explaining how to create a good KQ: