OBJECTIVES: I CAN UNDERSTAND THE REQUIREMENTS AND

EXPECTATIONS OF THE IB DIPLOMA PROGRAM.

11 DP TOK I WILL ESTABLISH AND UNDERSTAND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE

COURSE.

Week 1 I WILL CREATE SMART GOALS FOR THE COMING SCHOOL

YEAR AND IDENTIFY ACTION ITEMS TO COMPLETE IN ORDER
TO ACHIEVE THEM.
 What is your
name and what
are you most
grateful for this
past school year?
Have you heard of
TOK before?
The Core of the DP Program
Theory of knowledge (TOK) is a course that is fundamentally about critical thinking and
inquiry into the process of knowing rather than about learning a specific body of
knowledge.

Creativity, activity, service (CAS) is at the heart of the Diploma Programme. The
emphasis in CAS is on helping students to develop their own identities, in accordance with
the ethical principles embodied in the IB mission statement and the IB learner profile.

The extended essay, including the world studies extended essay, offers the opportunity
for IB students to investigate a topic of special interest, in the form of a 4,000-word piece
of independent research. The area of research undertaken is chosen from one of the
students’ six Diploma Programme subjects, or in the case of the inter-disciplinary world
studies essay, two subjects.
I. Course descriptions
and aims
INFORMATION TAKEN FROM THE TOK SUBJECT BRIEF
I. Course description
The theory of knowledge (TOK) course plays a special role in the DP by providing
an opportunity for students to reflect on the nature, scope and limitations of
knowledge and the process of knowing.

In this way, the main focus of TOK is not on students acquiring new knowledge
but on helping students to reflect on, and put into perspective, what they already
know. TOK underpins and helps to unite the subjects that students encounter in
the rest of their DP studies.

It engages students in explicit reflection on how knowledge is arrived at in

different disciplines and areas of knowledge, on what these areas have in
common and the differences between them.
 I. Course aims
The aims of the TOK course are:

• to encourage students to reflect on the central question, “How do we know that?”, and to recognize the value of
asking that question

• to expose students to ambiguity, uncertainty and questions with multiple plausible answers

• to equip students to effectively navigate and make sense of the world, and help prepare them to encounter novel
and complex situations

• to encourage students to be more aware of their own perspectives and to reflect critically on their own beliefs and
assumptions

• to engage students with multiple perspectives, foster open-mindedness and develop intercultural understanding

• to encourage students to make connections between academic disciplines by exploring underlying concepts and by
identifying similarities and differences in the methods of inquiry used in different areas of knowledge

• to prompt students to consider the importance of values, responsibilities and ethical concerns relating to the
production, acquisition, application and communication of knowledge.
II. Curriculum model
overview
INFORMATION TAKEN FROM THE TOK SUBJECT BRIEF
Course elements Minimum
teaching
hours
Core theme: Knowledge and the knower 32
This theme provides an opportunity for students to reflect on themselves
as knowers and thinkers, and on the different communities of knowers to
which we belong.
Optional themes
Students are required to study two optional themes from the following five
options.
• Knowledge and technology
• Knowledge and language
• Knowledge and politics
• Knowledge and religion
• Knowledge and indigenous societies
Areas of knowledge 50
Students are required to study the following five areas of knowledge.
• History
• The human sciences
• The natural sciences
• The arts
• Mathematics
 Students are required to
complete two assessment
tasks for TOK.
• Theory of knowledge
exhibition
• Theory of knowledge essay
on a prescribed title

III. Assessment model

INFORMATION TAKEN FROM THE TOK SUBJECT BRIEF
 III. Assessment objectives
Having completed the TOK course, students should be able to:

• demonstrate TOK thinking through the critical examination of knowledge

questions

• identify and explore links between knowledge questions and the world around
us

• identify and explore links between knowledge questions and areas of

knowledge

• develop relevant, clear and coherent arguments

• use examples and evidence effectively to support a discussion

• demonstrate awareness and evaluation of different points of view

Type of Format of Description of assessment Hours Weightin
assessmen assessment g
t
External Theory of Students are required to write an essay 10 2/3
knowledge in response to one of the six prescribed (67%)
essay titles that are issued by the IB for each
examination session. As an external
assessment component, it is marked by
IB examiners.
Internal Theory of Students are required to create an 8 1/3
knowledge exhibition of three objects with (33%)
exhibition accompanying commentaries that
explores how TOK manifests in the
world around us. This component is
internally assessed by the teacher and
externally moderated by the IB at the
end of the course.
The external assessment will be completed your senior year.

The internal assessment will be completed by the end of this

year.
IV. Sample questions
INFORMATION TAKEN FROM THE TOK SUBJECT BRIEF
IV. Specimen essay titles
• How important are the opinions of • Are there fewer ethical constraints on
experts in the search for knowledge? the pursuit of knowledge in the arts
Answer with reference to the arts and than in the human sciences?
one other area of knowledge.
• How do our expectations impact our
• Is the division of the natural sciences interpretations? Discuss with reference
and mathematics into separate areas to history and one other area of
of knowledge artificial? knowledge.

• When historians and natural • To what extent do you agree with the
scientists say that they have explained claim that “knowledge is of no value
something, are they using the word unless you put it into practice” (Anton
“explain” in the same way? Chekhov)? Answer with reference to two
areas of knowledge.
IV. Sample exhibition
prompts
What counts as knowledge? • Should some knowledge not be sought on
ethical grounds?
On what grounds might we
doubt a claim? • What role do experts play in influencing
our consumption or acquisition of
Are some types of knowledge
knowledge?
less open to interpretation
than others? • How can we distinguish between
knowledge, belief and opinion?
Is bias inevitable in the
production of knowledge?
What questions do
you have?
 Academic Honesty & Acknowledging the
ideas or work of another person
Academic honesty in the Diploma Programme is a set of values and behaviours informed by
the attributes of the learner profile.

All coursework—including work submitted for assessment—is to be authentic, based on the

student’s individual and original ideas, with the ideas and work of others fully acknowledged.

Diploma Programme candidates submit work for assessment in a variety of media that may
include audiovisual material, text, graphs, images and/or data published in print or electronic
sources. If a candidate uses the work or ideas of another person, the candidate must
acknowledge the source using a standard style of referencing in a consistent manner. A
candidate’s failure to acknowledge a source will be investigated by the IB as a potential
breach of regulations that may result in a penalty imposed by the IB final award committee.
 Essential Agreements
Together we will create our list of essential agreements
for the learning environment.
◦ Think "What do we need to do in order to succeed this
year?"
◦ You will write it on the board and I will type it out and
put it up in class. We will revisit it as necessary.
 S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Now we will create S.M.A.R.T. Goals for the year
ahead. Let's review:
Which of the following is a S.M.A.R.T. Goal?
#1. I'm going to study for this Friday's math
test.

#2. I'm going to study every day and then

meet with a tutor on Wednesday to prepare for
Friday's test.
 S.M.A.R.T. Goals for Year 1
For the rest of the lesson, we will look at our S.M.A.R.T. goal setting
worksheet.

The goal for this year is linked to the following TOK course aim:

to make connections between academic disciplines by

exploring underlying concepts and by identifying similarities and
differences in the methods of inquiry used in different areas of knowledge

In the end you should have two completed S.M.A.R.T. goals- one personal
and one academic.

These completed S.M.A.R.T. goals need to be completed before next week's

lesson.
Have a great
day!
NEXT WEEK WE WILL BEGIN OUR FIRST UNIT OF STUDY.

HW: FINISH YOUR S.M.A.R.T. GOALS BEFORE NEXT CL ASS.