TOK Conference November 3-5 November 2012
Eyüboğlu High School, Istanbul, Turkey
Conference Schedule
Friday Nov. 2, 2012
Participants arrive, greeted at the airport. Home-stay students meet the host families at school.
Saturday Nov. 3, 2012
09:00-09:30 Registration
09:30-09:45 Conference Opening & Welcome
09:45-11:00 Opening programme (Visiting schools’ cultural presentations)
11:00-11:30 Refreshments+Photo11:30-12:15Session 1 (Concurrent Teacher Presentations)
12:15-13:30 Lunch Break
13:30-14:15 Session 2 (Discussion Questions)
14:15-14:30 Refreshments14:30-15:15Session 3 (Feedback on Discussion Q. Session)
15:15-15:45 Turkish Cultural Workshop
16:00 End of Day 1/Departure from school
16:30-21:00Bosphorus cruise and dinner (Dress warmly!)
Sunday Nov. 4, 2012
09:30-10:00 Session 4 (Student Presentations)
10:00-10:15 Refreshments
10:15-10:45 Session 5 (Student Presentations)
10:45-11:00 Refreshments11:00-11:30Session 6 (Student Presentations)
11:30-12:30 Conference Closing
13:00-13:30 Lunch
13.30-17.00 Cultural trip to Polonezköy (Adampol)
End of Day 2
Monday Nov. 5, 2012
Full-day cultural itinerary. Conference participants will enjoy a guided tour of Istanbul‘s most significant sights: The Blue Mosque, The Topkapı Palace, The Cistern Basilica and the Covered Bazaar. Free-time for shopping at the Covered Bazaar will be included.
Evening and dinner will be together with the host families. Teachers will be invited to an informal dinner at a restaurant.
Tuesday Nov. 6, 2012
Participants returning home abroad seen off at airport.
Conference Content
a. Cultural Presentation: After the opening on Saturday morning, school groups are invited to make a short cultural presentation. Such presentations could take any form- a song or dance, poetry reading, acted skit, PowerPoint, anything that gives the conference a little flavor of what your culture is. For example a school from Luxembourg might describe the Luxembourgish Language; or a school from Sweden might describe the cultural differences among Scandinavian countries that outsiders often lump together. Such presentations would be maximum 5 minutes each. Please e-mail the title and a short summary of your cultural presentation to [email protected].
b. Discussion Questions: Participants choose one of following the questions in preparation for intensive discussion on them at the conference.
1.Discuss to what extent learning a second/third language influences one‘s own perception of the world in cultural issues.
2.Gender issues differ from culture to culture. Discuss the various perspectives referred in regard with practicing gender issues.
3.Can cyber culture (internet culture) help individuals create a new cultural identity through computer-mediated networks or do we need direct physical interaction to create cultural identity?
4.Does international-mindedness pose a threat on local cultures and practices? Discuss.
5.What, if any, should be the limits of cultural tolerance? Should the lines of tolerance be drawn?
6.How strong is the influence of the culture we grow in on the way we see and judge things?
7.Can culture be classified such as high, low, popular, etc.? What are the implications and problems that may emerge from such classifications?
8.Every person is the product of their own culture, learning and experiences in life. Discuss.
9.“Ours is the age of substitutes: instead of language, we have jargon; instead of principles, we have slogans; and instead of genuine ideas, we have bright ideas.” (Eric Bentley). Evaluate and discuss this claim.
10.Popular culture and the mass media have a symbiotic relationship: each depends on the other in an intimate collaboration." (K. Turner -1984) Discuss.
In session 2, students will be divided into groups in separate classrooms according to the questions for which they have prepared. These groups—moderated by students on voluntary basis—will discuss and debate the issues which arise from their particular questions for forty five minutes. At the beginning of the session the moderators choose the spokesperson for that discussion question to provide feedback in session 3. In session 3, all participants will be brought together and the conclusions drawn in session 2 will be summarized by the spokespeople.
c. Student Presentation: Sessions 4, 5 & 6 (day 2) are reserved for student presentations. All participating schools must provide at least one student presentation. Schools with a large student body are expected to make more presentations. The only restriction is that presentations should not squarely address any of the discussion questions listed below in section b. All presentation sessions are limited to 30 minutes. (Presentation: 20 minutes; question & answer: 10 minutes)
Friday Nov. 2, 2012
Participants arrive, greeted at the airport. Home-stay students meet the host families at school.
Saturday Nov. 3, 2012
09:00-09:30 Registration
09:30-09:45 Conference Opening & Welcome
09:45-11:00 Opening programme (Visiting schools’ cultural presentations)
11:00-11:30 Refreshments+Photo11:30-12:15Session 1 (Concurrent Teacher Presentations)
12:15-13:30 Lunch Break
13:30-14:15 Session 2 (Discussion Questions)
14:15-14:30 Refreshments14:30-15:15Session 3 (Feedback on Discussion Q. Session)
15:15-15:45 Turkish Cultural Workshop
16:00 End of Day 1/Departure from school
16:30-21:00Bosphorus cruise and dinner (Dress warmly!)
Sunday Nov. 4, 2012
09:30-10:00 Session 4 (Student Presentations)
10:00-10:15 Refreshments
10:15-10:45 Session 5 (Student Presentations)
10:45-11:00 Refreshments11:00-11:30Session 6 (Student Presentations)
11:30-12:30 Conference Closing
13:00-13:30 Lunch
13.30-17.00 Cultural trip to Polonezköy (Adampol)
End of Day 2
Monday Nov. 5, 2012
Full-day cultural itinerary. Conference participants will enjoy a guided tour of Istanbul‘s most significant sights: The Blue Mosque, The Topkapı Palace, The Cistern Basilica and the Covered Bazaar. Free-time for shopping at the Covered Bazaar will be included.
Evening and dinner will be together with the host families. Teachers will be invited to an informal dinner at a restaurant.
Tuesday Nov. 6, 2012
Participants returning home abroad seen off at airport.
Conference Content
a. Cultural Presentation: After the opening on Saturday morning, school groups are invited to make a short cultural presentation. Such presentations could take any form- a song or dance, poetry reading, acted skit, PowerPoint, anything that gives the conference a little flavor of what your culture is. For example a school from Luxembourg might describe the Luxembourgish Language; or a school from Sweden might describe the cultural differences among Scandinavian countries that outsiders often lump together. Such presentations would be maximum 5 minutes each. Please e-mail the title and a short summary of your cultural presentation to [email protected].
b. Discussion Questions: Participants choose one of following the questions in preparation for intensive discussion on them at the conference.
1.Discuss to what extent learning a second/third language influences one‘s own perception of the world in cultural issues.
2.Gender issues differ from culture to culture. Discuss the various perspectives referred in regard with practicing gender issues.
3.Can cyber culture (internet culture) help individuals create a new cultural identity through computer-mediated networks or do we need direct physical interaction to create cultural identity?
4.Does international-mindedness pose a threat on local cultures and practices? Discuss.
5.What, if any, should be the limits of cultural tolerance? Should the lines of tolerance be drawn?
6.How strong is the influence of the culture we grow in on the way we see and judge things?
7.Can culture be classified such as high, low, popular, etc.? What are the implications and problems that may emerge from such classifications?
8.Every person is the product of their own culture, learning and experiences in life. Discuss.
9.“Ours is the age of substitutes: instead of language, we have jargon; instead of principles, we have slogans; and instead of genuine ideas, we have bright ideas.” (Eric Bentley). Evaluate and discuss this claim.
10.Popular culture and the mass media have a symbiotic relationship: each depends on the other in an intimate collaboration." (K. Turner -1984) Discuss.
In session 2, students will be divided into groups in separate classrooms according to the questions for which they have prepared. These groups—moderated by students on voluntary basis—will discuss and debate the issues which arise from their particular questions for forty five minutes. At the beginning of the session the moderators choose the spokesperson for that discussion question to provide feedback in session 3. In session 3, all participants will be brought together and the conclusions drawn in session 2 will be summarized by the spokespeople.
c. Student Presentation: Sessions 4, 5 & 6 (day 2) are reserved for student presentations. All participating schools must provide at least one student presentation. Schools with a large student body are expected to make more presentations. The only restriction is that presentations should not squarely address any of the discussion questions listed below in section b. All presentation sessions are limited to 30 minutes. (Presentation: 20 minutes; question & answer: 10 minutes)