The Thinking Hub story starts in 2009, when we set up theoryofknowledge.net for schools delivering the IB Diploma theory of knowledge (TOK) course. Since then, the site has helped thousands of teachers and students to enjoy a brilliant learning experience.
It always seemed a shame to us that TOK was only available to a small selection of global schools. We decided to adapt our revolutionary resources so they could be used by any school to develop the 4Cs – and you are looking at the result!
Michael Dunn, MA, PGCE
Michael attended high school in Cambridge, did his undergraduate degree at Edinburgh, and a PGCE at Exeter University. He worked in his first school in 1999, before moving from London to Bogotá, and working in a series of international schools for the next two decades.
In 2009, working as head of TOK at Markham College, he realized the limitations of textbooks, and decided to create a resource to provide a more authentic, engaging, and meaningful experience for students. theoryofknowledge.net has revolutionized the delivery of TOK, and now has members from well over 100 different countries.
Over the years, he has collaborated with a range of big educational organizations, such as Cambridge University Press, ManageBac (for whom he wrote the Theory of knowledge Coordinator’s Guide), and The Financial Times. He has delivered workshops to schools all over the world to help them develop their critical thinking, which you can read more about here.
“…every school should have access to this wonderful course!”
During his work to develop and innovate TOK, he realized two things. First of all, every school – regardless of the educational programme they offer – should have access to this wonderful course. Because of the ideas and thinkers it introduces to students, how it brings together all the different subjects via a exploration of the nature and purpose of knowledge, and the way it challenges the assumptions of students and educators, it is the ultimate educational experience.
Second, the theory of knowledge course aligns perfectly with the ‘4Cs’ of education, the skills identified by business, political, and academic leaders as being essential to the success of both individuals and societies. The 4Cs are: critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration, and they are exactly what students consolidate during the Critivicate course.
In 2020, Michael began working on developing a new website based on these two principles. Thinking Hub was born at the beginning of 2021, giving any school anywhere in the world access to the huge range of resources that theoryofknowledge.net offers. Now anyone can offer the world’s best critical thinking course, and hone the four most valued skills by employers and university leaders.
“…living in the most famous centre of learning is an inspiring place to be for anyone involved in education”
Michael is now based in Cambridge, UK, and runs both theoryofknowledge.net and thinkinghub.org. Living and working in the most famous centre of learning in the world is an inspiring place to be for anyone involved in education, which perhaps helps explain why the educational resources he creates are so innovative and successful. He is available for visits to schools in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and other locations around the world throughout the year, and will help you to turn your school into a genuine hub of critical thinking.
Carolina Vasquez Sandoval
Carolina is in charge of Thinking Hub memberships, advises on design and usability, makes Spanish translations, and ensures that emails and cries for help from students and teachers receive a response.
Carolina was born and brought up in Lima, attending Carmelitas School, and studying at Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, and Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas. She has extensive experience of working with children, both as a mother of three, and as a teaching assistant at the Anglo-Colombiano in Bogotá. She also has the dubious honour of being Michael’s wife.