Nature of the subject

The TOK course, a flagship element in the Diploma Programme, encourages critical thinking about knowledge itself, to try to help young people make sense of what they encounter. Its core content is questions like these: What counts as knowledge? How does it grow? What are its limits? Who owns knowledge? What is the value of knowledge? What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge?

TOK activities and discussions aim to help students discover and express their views on knowledge issues. The course encourages students to share ideas with others and to listen to and learn from what others think. In this process students’ thinking and their understanding of knowledge as a human construction are shaped, enriched and deepened. Connections may be made between knowledge encountered in different Diploma Programme subjects, in CAS experience or in extended essay research; distinctions between different kinds of knowledge may be clarified.

Aims

The aims of the TOK course are to:

  • develop a fascination with the richness of knowledge as a human endeavour
  • develop an awareness of how knowledge is constructed, critically examined, evaluated and renewed, by communities and individuals
  • encourage students to reflect on their experiences as learners, in everyday life and in the Diploma Programme
  • encourage an interest in the diversity of ways of thinking and ways of living of individuals and communities, and an awareness of personal and ideological assumptions
  • encourage consideration of the responsibilities originating from the relationship between knowledge, the community and the individual as citizen of the world.

Objectives

Having followed the TOK course, students should be able to:

  • analyse critically knowledge claims, their underlying assumptions and their implications
  • generate questions, explanations, conjectures, hypotheses, alternative ideas and possible solutions in response to knowledge issues concerning areas of knowledge, ways of knowing and students’ own experience as learners
  • demonstrate an understanding of different perspectives on knowledge issues
  • draw links and make effective comparisons between different approaches to knowledge issues that derive from areas of knowledge, ways of knowing, theoretical positions and cultural values
  • demonstrate an ability to give a personal, self-aware response to a knowledge issue
  • formulate and communicate ideas clearly with due regard for accuracy and academic honesty.

Exam

The assessment model in theory of knowledge (TOK) comprises two components, both of which should be completed within the 100 hours designated for the course.

Part 1 External assessment (40 points)

Essay on a prescribed title (1,200–1,600 words)
 One essay on a title chosen from a list of ten titles prescribed by the IBO for each examination session.

Part 2 Internal assessment (20 points)

The presentation (approximately 10 minutes per student) One presentation to the class.