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Vlog

Last updated

8 April 2026

zip, 65.27 KB
zip, 65.27 KB

This fully scripted 60-minute IB DP Theory of Knowledge (TOK) lesson explores misinformation, disinformation, and post-truth in the digital age. It asks why false claims spread so effectively, why correction is often not enough, and what makes the current information environment different from older forms of rumour or propaganda.

The lesson begins with a simple misattributed quote and uses it to show that false information is not new. It then introduces four features that make the current moment different: speed, scale, targeting, and automation. From there, students are guided through the distinction between misinformation (false regardless of intent), disinformation (false and deliberately spread), and post-truth (a condition in which emotional appeal and identity become more persuasive than evidence).

The first main task is Activity 1: Anatomy of a Viral Case. Students work on one of three real cases: 5G and COVID-19, the “stolen election” claim in the USA, or MMR and autism. They analyse what was claimed, what was true, what was false, why the case spread so quickly, and what the example shows about the relationship between evidence and belief.

The second main task is The Fact-Check Exercise. Students apply a four-step method to claims of varying difficulty and examine not only whether a claim is true or false, but whether it is technically true yet misleading. This helps students see why fact-checking is necessary, but not sufficient, in a post-truth environment.

The lesson also includes a structured debate on expert authority versus democratic knowledge, asking whether deference to experts is epistemically justified or whether democratic scepticism of expert institutions can sometimes be legitimate. This helps students examine the tension between expertise, trust, evidence, and public decision-making.

The resource includes a full teacher walkthrough, viral-case analysis activity, fact-checking task, debate sheet, TOK knowledge questions, and an exit ticket. It is useful for TOK lessons on technology, politics, evidence, credibility, expertise, social media, and how digital environments shape what people are willing to believe. It can also support TOK Exhibition planning and essay discussion.

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A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

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IB DP Theory of Knowledge (TOK): 19 Lesson Bundle - Part 2 - 2026

This bundle contains another 19 lessons covering the Areas of Knowledge and optional themes of the IB DP Theory of Knowledge course. There are multiple valid ways to sequence and teach these topics. This is not an exhaustive curriculum. These are just some ready-made lessons and activities for any teacher who needs something to use with their students, whether you follow this order or pick and choose what fits your context. Possible sequence and rationale This bundle picks up where the first 20 lessons left off, completing the Natural Sciences AOK before moving through Mathematics, History, Human Sciences, Ethics, Technology, Politics, the Arts, and Religious and Indigenous Knowledge Systems. The AOKs are ordered to build on each other: Natural Sciences and Mathematics sit together because both deal with formal knowledge and certainty, making comparison straightforward. History and Human Sciences follow because they raise similar questions about method, objectivity, and bias but in messier, more contested territory. Ethics comes next because the Human Sciences lessons, particularly the conformity material, lead naturally into questions of moral knowledge. The Technology and Politics optional themes close the AOK sequence because students are by then equipped to apply everything they have learned to the most current and contested knowledge contexts. The Arts and Religious and Indigenous Knowledge Systems sit last as a deliberate broadening; they challenge students to question the assumptions about knowledge they have built up across the rest of the course. What is included Paradigm Shifts Science Ethics and Values The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge Is Mathematics Invented or Discovered Mathematics Beauty and Intuition How Historians Know What They Know Perspective Bias and Revisionism in History History Language and Narrative Methods in the Human Sciences Ethics and Human Sciences Ethics and Conformity Moral Frameworks Applied Ethics and Knowledge Algorithms and the Architecture of Information AI and Knowledge Production Misinformation and the Digital Age Political Knowledge and Ideology Knowledge Through the Arts Religious and Indigenous Knowledge Systems Each lesson includes scripted teacher notes, student-facing materials, discussion questions, and at least one activity. Suitable for Grade 11 and 12 students in the IB DP TOK course. Aligns with the current IB TOK guide for 2026

£68.00

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