Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang
a range of issues, from economic andOnpolicy to teachers’ salaries andenvironmentalreform, measurable things informcurriculumdata-driven decision-making as well asbothand explicit value judgments. Withoutimplicitthere can be no data, no data-measurementgoal-setting or evaluation, and noinformedanalyses—all elements thatcost-benefit-styleexpression in the methodology of manyfindscience disciplines.humanknowledge associated with measurementThea huge effect on the world, for examplehasinform action in the world as well as totoevaluateit.is, therefore, very important to consider whatItcan and cannot measure: what gets leftweof the picture, what we assume to fill theoutand what has disproportionate influencegapbecause it is readily measurable. Thatsimplyis more measurable and quantifiablewhichas business profit, students’ grades and(suchgrowth) may be perceived to be moreeconomicor come to guide decisions and actionsimportantThe phrase “assessment drivesregardless.for instance, is widely used and heardlearning”education. It posits that students and teachersinfocus on what they are tested on, especiallywillthe consequences of assessment are significant,ifthe detriment of important things that are nottoThis is important because while contentassessed.quite easily assessed, skills and habits of mindisnot. are2005 and 2007, researchers atBetweenMedical School of the UniversityStGeorge’sLondon found that when the weightingofanatomy in the curriculum was increased,ofshowed dramatically increasedstudentsto learn anatomy; motivation wasmotivationand learning in medicine may beTeachingassessment-driven due to the highparticularlyand consequences of passing or failingdifficultyschool.medicalIB TOK teachers are known toAnecdotally,this at workshops and conferences, andlamentspeculate what would happen if their subjecttoworth more than 1.5 points out of 45.waswould be short-sighted and a cliché toItthe ills of summative assessment inexaggerateIt exists for good reason, within theeducation.context and constraints of educationparticularworldwide. Claims that “assessmentsystemskilling creativity” are sensationalistic andisbenefit from more scrutiny, and nuance.wouldit is also worth considering whatHowever,systems tend to assess, what iseducationand the implications of this forassessable,now to examples from governmentTurningconsider the Human Developmentpolicy,(HDI), a people-centred measure ofIndexdevelopment. Reflecting on theeconomicof the HDI, Nobel Laurate Amartya Senoriginsa conversation with fellow economistrecallsIII. Methods and toolsIII. Methods and toolsIII.4 What we measure matterspowerfully affected by weighting.What we measure aects what we do, and bettermeasurement will lead to better decisions, or at leastdierent decisions.(Stiglitz quoted in Gertner 2010)teaching, learning and knowledge.MahbubulHaq.231
III. Methods and toolstold Mahbub, ‘Look, you are a sophisticated enoughIto know that to capture complex reality in oneguyis just vulgar, like [gross domestic product]number… And he called me back later and said,GDP’you’re quite right. The Human Development‘Amartya,will be vulgar. I want you to help me to do anIndexwhich is just as vulgar as GDP, except it willindexfor better things’.standsingle most widely used economic policyTheof the last century, the GDP growth ratemetricembedded in a paradigm that considers longtermisgrowth in output and consumption asfor human betterment, despite thenecessaryresources of the planet. GDP as a measure offiniteoutput was conceived between the Greatnationaland the Second World War to estimateDepressionMarch 1968, Robert Kennedy took aim at what heinas idolatrous respect for GDP, which measuressawand jails but does not capture ‘the beautyadvertisingour poetry or the strength of our marriages’.of(conomist brieng 2016)aside, GDP (and its most widelyMarriagesform, GDP per capita) fails to measureusedof income, the quality of outputdistributionor the environmental impact ofproducedit, or any of the important indicatorsproducingliving standards such as healthcare,ofgender equality and politicaleducation,According to Steve Landefeld,freedom.of the Bureau of Economic Analysis,DirectorUnited States experimented with “green”themeasurements in the early 1990s, usingGDPcharges to account for naturaldepletiondepletion, but abandoned the initiativeresourcepolitical reasons after pressure fromforfirst Green GDP report in China, in 2004,thesubstantial losses caused by pollutionshowedreported in an article in the China Daily(as19 April 2007) and efforts at greennewspaper,one of the pioneers of GDP measurementIndeed,the 1930s, Simon Kuznets, specifically warnedin“the welfare of a nation can scarcely bethatfrom a measure of national income”inferredin Coyle 2014). Kuznets wanted to(quotedexpenses relating to war and financialsubtractand other things that “do notspeculationrepresent net services to the individualsreallythe nation but are, from theircomprisingan evil necessary in order to beviewpoint,to make a living” (Coyle 2014). With theableof the Second World War, Kuznets lost thestartit was more important to measureargument:not wellbeing.output,its limitations, GDP has grown toDespitepolitical and economic discourse,dominatein newspapers and used by statefeaturedto define their strategy and objectives.leaderscourse, economists have worried aboutOffor almost a century, and the HDI wasthisby Haq and Sen in response to thedevelopedof GDP. As recently as 2009 a report“vulgarity”by the French governmentcommissionedwritten by Stiglitz and Sen, two Nobelandwinning economists, called for an end toprizein favour of better measures“GDPfetishism”welfare. Yet GDP continues toofhumanpolicy, and its ease of measurementdominateare a number of concerns that arise whenThereknowledge we use to act in the world, ortheguide policy objectives, is defined by whattocan measure. It is important to examine theweof measures that carry over to becomelimitationsof the knowledge based on them.limitationsmeasure fails to capture something, andEachwhich is omitted risks becoming ignored orthatA measure can miscalculate, overvalueneglected.undervalue some factors. GDP has failed toorfor the environment and depleted futureaccountstocks of natural capital, and verygenerations'8GDP were subsequently dropped.(Sen 2010)the manufacturing capacity of war-time goods.measure created when survival was at stakeAlittle notice of things such as depreciation oftookor pollution of the environment, let aloneassets,human accomplishments. In a famous speechnersurely has something to do with that.mining companies (Wagner 2004). Similarly,possibly their quality of life.232
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- Page 235 and 236: III. Methods and toolsMargaret Mead
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- Page 287 and 288: I. Scopethe historical development
a range of issues, from economic and
On
policy to teachers’ salaries and
environmental
reform, measurable things inform
curriculum
data-driven decision-making as well as
both
and explicit value judgments. Without
implicit
there can be no data, no data-
measurement
goal-setting or evaluation, and no
informed
analyses—all elements that
cost-benefit-style
expression in the methodology of many
find
science disciplines.
human
knowledge associated with measurement
The
a huge effect on the world, for example
has
inform action in the world as well as to
to
evaluateit.
is, therefore, very important to consider what
It
can and cannot measure: what gets left
we
of the picture, what we assume to fill the
out
and what has disproportionate influence
gap
because it is readily measurable. That
simply
is more measurable and quantifiable
which
as business profit, students’ grades and
(such
growth) may be perceived to be more
economic
or come to guide decisions and actions
important
The phrase “assessment drives
regardless.
for instance, is widely used and heard
learning”
education. It posits that students and teachers
in
focus on what they are tested on, especially
will
the consequences of assessment are significant,
if
the detriment of important things that are not
to
This is important because while content
assessed.
quite easily assessed, skills and habits of mind
is
not. are
2005 and 2007, researchers at
Between
Medical School of the University
StGeorge’s
London found that when the weighting
of
anatomy in the curriculum was increased,
of
showed dramatically increased
students
to learn anatomy; motivation was
motivation
and learning in medicine may be
Teaching
assessment-driven due to the high
particularly
and consequences of passing or failing
difficulty
school.
medical
IB TOK teachers are known to
Anecdotally,
this at workshops and conferences, and
lament
speculate what would happen if their subject
to
worth more than 1.5 points out of 45.
was
would be short-sighted and a cliché to
It
the ills of summative assessment in
exaggerate
It exists for good reason, within the
education.
context and constraints of education
particular
worldwide. Claims that “assessment
systems
killing creativity” are sensationalistic and
is
benefit from more scrutiny, and nuance.
would
it is also worth considering what
However,
systems tend to assess, what is
education
and the implications of this for
assessable,
now to examples from government
Turning
consider the Human Development
policy,
(HDI), a people-centred measure of
Index
development. Reflecting on the
economic
of the HDI, Nobel Laurate Amartya Sen
origins
a conversation with fellow economist
recalls
III. Methods and tools
III. Methods and tools
III.4 What we measure matters
powerfully affected by weighting.
What we measure aects what we do, and better
measurement will lead to better decisions, or at least
dierent decisions.
(Stiglitz quoted in Gertner 2010)
teaching, learning and knowledge.
MahbubulHaq.
231