1+1=2

IF SOMETHING WAS
DROPPED, THEN IT FELL
ON THE GROUND.
 EARTH IS FLAT!
BECAUSE ANYWHERE YOU
STAND (EXCEPT HILLS AND
MOUNTAINS) IT’S
COMPLETELY PLAIN.
STARS ARE SMALLER
THAN BALLS. (BECAUSE
I CAN SEE THEM AT
NIGHT AS TINY DOTS)
KNOWLEDGE DEPENDS ON
WHAT I ALREADY
KNEW…

WHEN DO KNOWLEDGE
BECOME FALSE?
 DO YOU BELIEVE
THAT THERE EXISTS
AN ABSOLUTE
TRUTH?
THE UNIVERSE IS
INFINITE.
ALIENS EXIST.
 NON-
FOUNDATIONAL
THEORIES OF
KNOWLEDGE
IT TALKS ABOUT OUR
STATE OF MIND THAT
DETERMINES OUR BELIEF
ABOUT THE EXTERNAL
WORLD.
AN EPISTEMOLOGY
AND EDUCATION
Non-Foundational Theories
of Knowledge
EPISTEMOLOGY IS A BRANCH OF
PHILOSOPHY THAT INVESTIGATES
THE ORIGIN, NATURE, METHODS,
AND LIMITS OF HUMAN
KNOWLEDGE. (HOFER &
PINTRICH)
• WHAT IS EPISTEMOLOGY?

EPISTEMOLOGY IS THE
INVESTIGATION INTO THE
GROUNDS AND NATURE OF
KNOWLEDGE ITSELF. THE STUDY
OF EPISTEMOLOGY FOCUSES ON
OUR MEANS FOR ACQUIRING
KNOWLEDGE AND HOW WE CAN
DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN
TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD.
 WHY IS EPISTEMOLOGY
IMPORTANT?

EPISTEMOLOGY IS IMPORTANT
BECAUSE IT IS FUNDAMENTAL TO
HOW WE THINK. WITHOUT SOME
MEANS OF UNDERSTANDING HOW WE
ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE, HOW WE
RELY UPON OUR SENSES, AND HOW
WE DEVELOP CONCEPTS IN OUR
MINDS, WE HAVE NO COHERENT
PATH FOR OUR THINKING.
 Questions Asked in
Epistemology:
1. What can we know?
2. How can we know it?
3. Why do we know some things, but
not others?
4. How do we acquire knowledge?
5. Is knowledge possible?
6. Can knowledge be certain?
7. Why do we believe certain claims
and not others?
 Epistemology and Education...
 Role of teacher needs to be:

1. Carefully analyzing, understanding and reflecting

on the materials you’ll be teaching.
2. Consider their truthfulness or validity.
3. Do your own research on subjects and evaluate it.
4. In endorsing the teaching of acceptable material,
we may be leaving a large part of the story,
certain truths or a different perspective.
5. Learn about pedagogy- research different teaching
methods, student-centered approaches to
learning, etc…
6. Analyze the recommendations by educational
researchers.
7. Evaluate your own approach to teaching, are you
authoritarian or other?