IB Theory of Knowledge (ToK)
Description
The Theory of Knowledge (ToK) program is central to the educational philosophy of the International Baccalaureate. It encourages critical thinking about knowledge itself, to try to help young people develop a deeper understanding of the knowledge they encounter in their studies and in their own lives.
The core content contains 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 - an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of knowledge. 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 will be made between knowledge encountered in different Diploma Program subjects; through Creativity, Action Service (CAS) experience or in Extended Essay (EE) 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, and an understanding of the empowerment that follows from reflecting upon it;
- 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 Program, and to make connections between academic disciplines and between thoughts, feelings and actions;
- 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, including the student's own; and
- encourage consideration of the responsibilities originating from the relationship between knowledge, the community and the individual as a citizen of the world.
Objectives
Having followed the ToK course, students should be able to:
- analyse knowledge claims critically, 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; and
- formulate and communicate ideas clearly with due regard for accuracy and academic honesty.
The traditional TOK diagram
Because the course is centred on student reflection and questioning, the diagram places the Knower(s), as individuals and as groups, at the centre.
Surrounding the Knower(s), four Ways of Knowing are identified which are the basis of our exploration and interpretation of the world: the receipt of sensory stimuli through sense perception, affected, perhaps, by a personal emotional and spiritual dimension labelled as 'emotion', formulated and expressed through 'language', and shaped by attempts, through 'reason', to seek order and clarity.
Within the perimeter, Areas of Knowledge are identified, which represent a classification of knowledge into subject areas, many of which the student pursues in the IB Diploma Program. Six such subject areas are included:
- mathematics
- natural sciences
- human sciences
- history
- the arts
- ethics
No solid barrier, however, separates the Ways of Knowing and the Areas of Knowledge, because it can be maintained that the questions 'How do I know?' (pertaining to the Ways of Knowing) and 'What do I know?' (pertaining to the Areas of Knowledge) interact.
These three elements of the diagram correspond to three of the major divisions of the guide which follow: Knowers and Knowing, Ways of Knowing and Areas of Knowledge.
Syllabus outline
Unit 1: Knowledge Issues, Knowers and Knowing
- knowledge issues
- nature of knowing
- knowledge communities
- knowers and sources of knowledge
- justification of knowledge claims
- linking questions
Unit 2: Ways of Knowing
- sense perception
- language
- reason
- emotion
Unit 3: Areas of Knowledge
- mathematics
- natural sciences
- human sciences
- history
- the arts
- ethics
Unit 4: Linking Questions
- belief
- certainty
- culture
- evidence
- experience
- explanation
- interpretation
- intuition
- technology
- truth
- values
Assessment
The assessment model in Theory of Knowledge (ToK) comprises of 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) - the title is chosen by the student from a list of ten titles prescribed by the IBO for each examination session.
Part 2
- Internal Assessment (20 points)
- One presentation (approximately 10 minutes per student) to the class about the knowledge issues embedded in a real-life situation chosen by the student
- A presentation marking form containing the student's own justified evaluation of their achievement levels for each of the four assessment criteria; and the teacher's marks with a brief justification
- A written presentation planning document containing
- the main knowledge issue embedded in the real-life situation that is the focus of the presentation
- a short description and explanation of other knowledge issues to be treated during the presentation that arise from the exploration of the different perspectives on the real-life situation.
