{"id":6364,"date":"2023-04-12T22:20:56","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T02:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/?p=6364"},"modified":"2023-04-12T22:20:56","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T02:20:56","slug":"why-should-we-learn-to-ask-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/2023\/04\/12\/why-should-we-learn-to-ask-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Why should We Learn to Ask Why?"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-6364\" data-postid=\"6364\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-6364 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_fjcm209 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col-full tb_n4e9210 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module box -->\n<div  class=\"module module-box tb_8vo0698 \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"module-box-content ui  black\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tb_text_wrap\"><p>When I was researching the elite school Sankofa International College in Ghana, I found that they use the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) for teaching instead of following the National Curriculum in Ghana. Giving up using the national curriculum means that Sankofa International College gives up the opportunity for their students to enter higher education in Ghana, even though they are a high school located in Ghana. As a result, I am curious about what are the benefits for Sankofa International College to choose the IBDP curriculum.\u00a0<\/p><p>According to Ghana\u2019s national curriculum, high school students require to take \u201ca Core curriculum consisting of English Language, Integrated Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies\u201d and \u201cthree or four Elective subjects\u201d from \u201cSciences, Arts (social sciences and humanities), Vocational (visual arts or home economics), Technical, Business, or Agriculture\u201d (U.S. EMBASSY IN GHANA, 2017). According to International Baccalaureate Organization, the IBDP curriculum includes three higher-level courses and three lower-level courses in Languages, Mathematics, Social Science, Natural Science, and Arts, the \u201cDP core, comprising theory of knowledge (TOK), creativity, activity, service (CAS) and the extended essay\u201d(IBO, 2023). Comparing the curriculum design differences between Ghana&#8217;s national curriculum and IBDP, the course TOK stands out to me.\u00a0<\/p><p>TOK is a course that is \u201ccomposed almost entirely of questions\u201d, emphasizing \u201cdifferent ways of knowing\u201d and \u201cdifferent kinds of knowledge\u201d(IBO, 2023). From the interviews with the students and alumni from Sankofa International College, almost every one of them mentioned TOK at some point during the interview, showing the big influence of TOK on those elite students. I selected some common ideas around TOK from the interviews and identified main goals for TOK as follows.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module box -->\n<!-- module box -->\n<div  class=\"module module-box tb_3me5472 \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"module-box-content ui  tb_default_color\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tb_text_wrap\"><ul><li>Critical Thinking<\/li><\/ul><p><div class=\"more-text\" style=\"display: none\"><\/p><p>In both of the alumni interviews, Akosua Frimpong and Kofi Yeboah said IB prepared them for college so well. Akosua Frimpong mentioned that the \u201cliberal arts stuff like your first-year seminar\u201d in college is very similar to TOK so she was very prepared for college. From their answer, I believe TOK builds a very solid foundation of critical thinking skills for their college experience. It is very interesting that the national curriculum rubric in Ghana also has a criterion of critical thinking that focuses on \u201cbeing able to think independently and creatively\u201d while TOK aims for not only thinking \u201cindependently\u201d, but also thinking from different perspectives and ways(National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2018).\u00a0<\/p><\/div><a href=\"#\" class=\"module-text-more\">More <\/a><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module box -->\n<!-- module box -->\n<div  class=\"module module-box tb_15cd805 \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"module-box-content ui  black\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tb_text_wrap\"><ul><li>Global Citizenship<\/li><\/ul><p><div class=\"more-text\" style=\"display: none\"><\/p><p>Although several students think TOK is just \u201clike the philosophy\u201d, including Yaa Bawuah and Abena Obeng, it actually shapes students\u2019 global citizen identity without being noticed. According to Smith and Morgan, TOK is not only teaching critical thinking but also is a \u201cpolitical implication\u201d that \u201cworks towards internationalism and globalization.\u201d In TOK, students are retried to learn from materials that are \u201cspecifically international, not restricted to one nation-state\u201d(Smith, 2010). In contrast, the idea of global citizenship in the national curriculum teaches students to \u201cput country and service first\u201d (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2018). Thinking from a more international way instead of from a strong cultural identity may lead to the result that those elite students choose to go to college in other countries and work in other countries.\u00a0<\/p><\/div><a href=\"#\" class=\"module-text-more\">More <\/a><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module box -->\n<!-- module box -->\n<div  class=\"module module-box tb_kh20260 \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"module-box-content ui  tb_default_color\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tb_text_wrap\"><p>In conclusion, we can see there is a clear difference between TOK and the national curriculum even though they use the same term \u201ccritical thinking\u201d and \u201cglobal citizenship.\u201d The TOK impacts those elite students by giving them a more international identity with more diverse and various perspectives. Those skills help them to connect with the larger world and get resources from the larger world to maintain their elite status.\u00a0<\/p><p>Work Cited:<\/p><p><div class=\"more-text\" style=\"display: none\"><\/p><p>Educational system of Ghana. U.S. Embassy in Ghana. (2017, April 19). Retrieved March 16, 2023, https:\/\/gh.usembassy.gov\/education-culture\/educationusa-center\/educational-system-ghana\/\u00a0<\/p><p>Iborganization. (n.d.). Diploma Programme (DP). International Baccalaureate\u00ae. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https:\/\/www.ibo.org\/programmes\/diploma-programme\/\u00a0<\/p><p>Iborganization. (n.d.). What is the theory of knowledge. International Baccalaureate\u00ae. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibo.org\/programmes\/diploma-programme\/curriculum\/\">https:\/\/www.ibo.org\/programmes\/diploma-programme\/curriculum\/ <\/a>theory-of-knowledge\/what-is-tok\/\u00a0<\/p><p>National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, National Pre-tertiary Education Curriculum Framework, Ministry of Education, Republic of Ghana, May 2018<\/p><p>Smith, N., &amp; Morgan, M. (2010). Politics and pedagogy: discursive constructions in the IB\u00a0 Theory of knowledge &#8211; Guide. Curriculum Journal, 21(3), 299\u2013312.\u00a0<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/09585176.2010.504576\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/09585176.2010.504576 <\/a><\/p><\/div><a href=\"#\" class=\"module-text-more\">More <\/a><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module box -->\n<!-- module box -->\n<div  class=\"module module-box tb_0vvs323 \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"module-box-content ui  black\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tb_text_wrap\"><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6376\" src=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>Photo from Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module box -->\n                    <\/div><!-- .tb-column-inner -->\n                            <\/div><!-- .module_column -->\n            \t    <\/div><!-- .row_inner -->\n\t<\/div><!-- .module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":11767,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"builder_content":"<p>When I was researching the elite school Sankofa International College in Ghana, I found that they use the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) for teaching instead of following the National Curriculum in Ghana. Giving up using the national curriculum means that Sankofa International College gives up the opportunity for their students to enter higher education in Ghana, even though they are a high school located in Ghana. As a result, I am curious about what are the benefits for Sankofa International College to choose the IBDP curriculum.\u00a0<\/p><p>According to Ghana\u2019s national curriculum, high school students require to take \u201ca Core curriculum consisting of English Language, Integrated Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies\u201d and \u201cthree or four Elective subjects\u201d from \u201cSciences, Arts (social sciences and humanities), Vocational (visual arts or home economics), Technical, Business, or Agriculture\u201d (U.S. EMBASSY IN GHANA, 2017). According to International Baccalaureate Organization, the IBDP curriculum includes three higher-level courses and three lower-level courses in Languages, Mathematics, Social Science, Natural Science, and Arts, the \u201cDP core, comprising theory of knowledge (TOK), creativity, activity, service (CAS) and the extended essay\u201d(IBO, 2023). Comparing the curriculum design differences between Ghana's national curriculum and IBDP, the course TOK stands out to me.\u00a0<\/p><p>TOK is a course that is \u201ccomposed almost entirely of questions\u201d, emphasizing \u201cdifferent ways of knowing\u201d and \u201cdifferent kinds of knowledge\u201d(IBO, 2023). From the interviews with the students and alumni from Sankofa International College, almost every one of them mentioned TOK at some point during the interview, showing the big influence of TOK on those elite students. I selected some common ideas around TOK from the interviews and identified main goals for TOK as follows.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul><li>Critical Thinking<\/li><\/ul><p><\/p><p>In both of the alumni interviews, Akosua Frimpong and Kofi Yeboah said IB prepared them for college so well. Akosua Frimpong mentioned that the \u201cliberal arts stuff like your first-year seminar\u201d in college is very similar to TOK so she was very prepared for college. From their answer, I believe TOK builds a very solid foundation of critical thinking skills for their college experience. It is very interesting that the national curriculum rubric in Ghana also has a criterion of critical thinking that focuses on \u201cbeing able to think independently and creatively\u201d while TOK aims for not only thinking \u201cindependently\u201d, but also thinking from different perspectives and ways(National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2018).\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul><li>Global Citizenship<\/li><\/ul><p><\/p><p>Although several students think TOK is just \u201clike the philosophy\u201d, including Yaa Bawuah and Abena Obeng, it actually shapes students\u2019 global citizen identity without being noticed. According to Smith and Morgan, TOK is not only teaching critical thinking but also is a \u201cpolitical implication\u201d that \u201cworks towards internationalism and globalization.\u201d In TOK, students are retried to learn from materials that are \u201cspecifically international, not restricted to one nation-state\u201d(Smith, 2010). In contrast, the idea of global citizenship in the national curriculum teaches students to \u201cput country and service first\u201d (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2018). Thinking from a more international way instead of from a strong cultural identity may lead to the result that those elite students choose to go to college in other countries and work in other countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, we can see there is a clear difference between TOK and the national curriculum even though they use the same term \u201ccritical thinking\u201d and \u201cglobal citizenship.\u201d The TOK impacts those elite students by giving them a more international identity with more diverse and various perspectives. Those skills help them to connect with the larger world and get resources from the larger world to maintain their elite status.\u00a0<\/p><p>Work Cited:<\/p><p><\/p><p>Educational system of Ghana. U.S. Embassy in Ghana. (2017, April 19). Retrieved March 16, 2023, https:\/\/gh.usembassy.gov\/education-culture\/educationusa-center\/educational-system-ghana\/\u00a0<\/p><p>Iborganization. (n.d.). Diploma Programme (DP). International Baccalaureate\u00ae. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https:\/\/www.ibo.org\/programmes\/diploma-programme\/\u00a0<\/p><p>Iborganization. (n.d.). What is the theory of knowledge. International Baccalaureate\u00ae. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibo.org\/programmes\/diploma-programme\/curriculum\/\">https:\/\/www.ibo.org\/programmes\/diploma-programme\/curriculum\/ <\/a>theory-of-knowledge\/what-is-tok\/\u00a0<\/p><p>National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, National Pre-tertiary Education Curriculum Framework, Ministry of Education, Republic of Ghana, May 2018<\/p><p>Smith, N., &amp; Morgan, M. (2010). Politics and pedagogy: discursive constructions in the IB\u00a0 Theory of knowledge - Guide. Curriculum Journal, 21(3), 299\u2013312.\u00a0<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/09585176.2010.504576\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/09585176.2010.504576 <\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-433333-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>Photo from Pexels<\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6364"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11767"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6364"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6378,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6364\/revisions\/6378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/global-elites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}