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Knowledge Production Pipeline

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About This MicroSim

This interactive MicroSim helps students trace the stages of knowledge production from initial inquiry through validation and dissemination.. It supports the learning objectives in Chapter: Skepticism, Intellectual Virtues, and Knowledge Production.

How to Use

Use the interactive controls below the drawing area to explore the visualization. Hover over elements for additional information and click to see detailed descriptions.

Iframe Embed Code

You can add this MicroSim to any web page by adding this to your HTML:

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<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/theory-of-knowledge/sims/knowledge-production-pipeline/main.html"
        height="450px"
        width="100%"
        scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Grade Level

9-12 (High School / IB TOK)

Duration

15-20 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Understanding of what constitutes a knowledge claim versus an opinion or belief
  • Familiarity with at least two Areas of Knowledge (e.g., Natural Sciences and History)
  • Basic awareness that knowledge is produced through systematic processes, not discovered ready-made

Learning Objectives

  • Trace the stages of knowledge production from observation through dissemination, identifying the role of each stage
  • Compare how the knowledge production pipeline differs between AOKs such as the Natural Sciences and History

Activities

  1. Exploration (5 min): Step through the horizontal pipeline from left to right, reading the description of each stage of knowledge production (observation, hypothesis/question formation, methodology, evidence gathering, analysis, peer review, dissemination). Notice how each stage builds on the previous one. Consider: what happens if one stage is skipped?
  2. Guided Practice (10 min): Switch between the Natural Sciences and History examples in the sim. For each AOK, trace a specific knowledge claim through the pipeline. For Natural Sciences, follow how a hypothesis about a drug's effectiveness moves through clinical trials, statistical analysis, peer review, and publication. For History, follow how a historian's question about a historical event moves through archival research, source analysis, interpretation, and scholarly publication. Create a comparison chart noting where the two pipelines converge and diverge.
  3. Assessment (5 min): Choose a knowledge claim from a third AOK (e.g., Ethics or The Arts). Sketch out what the production pipeline would look like for that claim. Identify which stages are present, which are modified, and which might be absent entirely. Write 2-3 sentences explaining what this reveals about how that AOK produces knowledge differently.

Assessment

  • Correctly sequences the stages of knowledge production and explains the purpose of each
  • Identifies specific, substantive differences in how at least two AOKs move through the pipeline
  • Demonstrates understanding that skipping or altering stages affects the reliability of the resulting knowledge

Quiz

Test your understanding with this review question.

1. In the knowledge production pipeline, why is peer review considered a critical stage before dissemination?

  1. It ensures that only popular ideas are published
  2. It provides independent expert scrutiny of methodology and conclusions before knowledge claims are shared widely
  3. It guarantees that the knowledge claim is absolutely true
  4. It replaces the need for evidence gathering by relying on expert opinion instead
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Peer review serves as a quality control mechanism where independent experts evaluate the methodology, reasoning, and conclusions of a knowledge claim before it enters wider circulation. It does not guarantee truth (C) or filter for popularity (A), and it complements rather than replaces evidence gathering (D).

Concept Tested: The role of peer review in knowledge production

References

  1. Ziman, J. (2000). Real Science: What It Is and What It Means. Cambridge University Press.
  2. Shapin, S. (1994). A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England. University of Chicago Press.
  3. Longino, H. E. (1990). Science as Social Knowledge. Princeton University Press.