Theory of

Knowledge
Brief description of the course

Teacher
Dr. Mikayel Malkhasyan
IB Mission Statement
▪ The International Baccalaureate aims to develop
inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who
help to create a better and more peaceful world
through intercultural understanding and respect.
▪ To this end the organization works with schools,
governments and international organizations to
develop challenging programmes of international
education and rigorous assessment.
▪ These programmes encourage students across the
world to become active, compassionate and lifelong
learners who understand that other people, with their
differences, can also be right.
THE IB LEARNER PROFILE

To reach the final result that IB mission statement

is set to bring the IB students towards, IB
learners should be;
a. Inquirers – curiosity
b. Knowledgeable – exploration, in-depth
knowledge and understanding
c. Thinkers – critical thinking
d. Communicators – collaboration
e. Principled – responsibility and honesty
THE IB LEARNER PROFILE
(part 2)
To reach the final result that IB mission statement
is set to bring the IB students towards, IB
learners should be;
f. Open-minded – open to a range of points of
view
g. Caring – act to make a positive difference
h. Risk-takers – spirit to approach unfamiliar
decisions
i. Balanced – intellectual, physical, and
emotional balance (within society)
j. Reflection – self-assessment towards
planning personal development
 ACADEMIC HONESTY
PRINCIPLES
1. Use footnotes and bibliography
2. Avoid malpractice (both malpractice for
your own and collusion for others)
What is TOK?
▪ In essence, TOK is an IB DP subject
which is very similar to epistemology
course in universities.

▪ Epistemology is a branch of Philosophy

which explores the nature and scope of
knowledge, therefore;
1. What knowledge is,
2. How it can be acquired and then used,
So as to clear up the truth, belief, and
justification.
What is the IB DP TOK?
 TOK is an IB DP subject
which main goal is
the development of an awareness of
how knowledge is constructed,
critically examined and renewed
by communities
and individuals.
 The nature of TOK
according to TOK Curriculum Review:
Report for Teachers (2017)

▪ View 1: TOK should be primarily about the individual, about

critical thinking, and should have a strong focus on the ways
of knowing.
▪ View 2: The focus should be more on exploring human
knowledge as a whole, with the key focus being on
areas of knowledge.
▪ View 3: TOK should incorporate elements of both of the
above approaches, but there is disagreement over what the
balance between the approaches should be.
▪ The relationship between TOK, philosophy, and critical
thinking is also important.
▪ TOK must help students “fight” misinformation, taking into
account issues around the access to knowledge.
What are the aims of the
course?
The aims of the TOK
course are for students to:
▪ Make connections between a critical approach to the
construction of knowledge, the academic disciplines and
the wider world
▪ Develop an awareness of how individuals and
communities construct knowledge and how this is critically
examined
▪ Develop an interest in the diversity and richness of
cultural perspectives and an awareness of personal and
ideological assumptions
▪ Critically reflect on their own beliefs and assumptions,
leading to more thoughtful, responsible and purposeful
lives
▪ Understand that knowledge brings responsibility which
leads to commitment and action.
What is expected that by the
end of the course learners
will be able to do?
It is expected that by the end of the
TOK course students will be able to:
▪ Identify and analyse the various kinds of justifications
used to support knowledge claims
▪ Formulate, evaluate and attempt to answer knowledge
questions
▪ Examine how academic disciplines/areas of knowledge
generate and shape knowledge
▪ Understand the roles played by themes in the
interpretation of knowledge
▪ Explore links between knowledge claims, knowledge
questions, and areas of knowledge
▪ Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of
different perspectives and be able to relate these to one’s
own perspective
▪ Explore real-life/contemporary issues from a TOK
perspective.
 What should students
focus on throughout the
TOK course?
The course focuses on:

▪ A driving question “How do we know?”

▪ The contestable nature of knowledge
▪ Raising awareness of the students’ own
perspectives, beliefs and assumptions,
along with the others’ perspectives. (TOK
Curriculum Review, p. 4)
So, what is knowledge?
Euler Diagram (Classical
Definition of Knowledge)
How long do we need to
complete the TOK course?
▪ According to the IB TOK guide, TOK
course covers at least 100 hours (60
minutes per hour) or 6000 minutes
 What are the main
materials in the TOK
course?
 TOK official materials

▪ TOK guide 2022

▪ TOK course companion
▪ TOK subject reports
▪ TOK examiner preparation notes from
previous examination sessions
▪ Other materials published in My IB
registration-based web-source
What are the assessment
components in TOK?
 TOK assessment
components
▪ External (the essay marked by external
IB examiners)
▪ Internal (the exhibition marked by the
teacher and then moderated by IB
examiners)
Is there any official course
outline of the subject?
 TOK course

▪ TOK course is organized according to the

principles written in the TOK guide (2022).
▪ Teachers and candidates are advised to
study 5 areas of knowledge (AoKs) and 2
optional themes out of 5.
 Quantum College Course Outline
Year 1 (34 weeks)
▪ Unit 1: Introduction to the course: knowledge and the knower (2 weeks)
▪ Unit 2: Introduction to the optional themes (1 week)
▪ Unit 3: Knowledge claims and knowledge questions (2 weeks)
▪ Unit 4: Introduction to the TOK assessment: TOK essay and exhibition
(2 weeks)
▪ Unit 5: Knowledge and technology/politics (2 weeks)
▪ Unit 6: Knowledge and language/religion/indigenous societies (2 week)
▪ Unit 7: History (4 weeks)
▪ Unit 8: The human sciences (5 weeks)
▪ Unit 9: The natural sciences (5 weeks)
▪ Practicing the TOK exhibitions (9 weeks)

Year 2 (20 weeks)

▪ Unit 10: Mathematics (4 weeks)
▪ Unit 11: The arts (5 weeks)
▪ Writing the TOK essay (10 weeks)
▪ Completing the TOK documents (1 week)
 What documents are
candidates required to
complete and submit to
the IBO?
Required documents

▪ TOK essay (from 1200 to 1600 words)

▪ TOK essay planning and progress form
(TK/PPF)
▪ TOK exhibition document (up to 950
words)
 TOK OVERALL GRADE
BOUNDARIES
According to May 2017 subject reports

A B C D E

22-30 16-21 10-15 4-9 0-3

Candidates: 80299
Essay examiners: 422
TK/PPD examiners: 58
 TOK OVERALL GRADE
BOUNDARIES
According to May 2022 subject reports

A B C D E

22-30 16-21 10-15 4-9 0-3

Candidates: 89396
 TOK GRADES
Statistics from
the May 2016 DP report

A B C D E 0

6,3 % 28,1 % 46,3 % 17,9 % 0,5 % 0,9 %

 TOK GRADES
Statistics from
the May 2022 DP report

A B C D E 0

9% 34,7 % 45 % 9,9 % 0,2 % 1,1 %

 Changes in the course
According to Theory of Knowledge Curriculum Review:
Report for Teachers (2017) and TOK guide (May 2022)

▪ Moving to an alternative organizing structure

such as “Sources of Knowledge”, “Areas of
Knowledge”, and “Perspectives on Knowledge”.
▪ Structuring the course around concepts (such as
truth, value, perspectives and power), themes
(such as “certainty and uncertainty” or
“paradigms”), case studies such as “the
disappearance of endangered languages”, or
the DP programme model to help with making
links to TOK across the curriculum.
 The course structures around 3 key areas:
“the knower”, “knowledge communities”
(Optional themes), & “Areas of Knowledge”

The student as a knower and a

thinker; My perspective, assumptions
and biases; Where do my values
The Knower
come from?; How can I navigate the
world? How can I tell when I am being
“spun”/ manipulated?
Knowledge Indigenous communities; Language
Communities communities; Digital communities;
(Optional Religious communities; Political/
Themes) ideological communities
Areas of History; The Arts; Social Sciences;
Knowledge Natural Sciences; Mathematics
Current issues with the essay task
According to Theory of Knowledge Curriculum Review:
Report for Teachers (2017)

▪ Marking reliability
▪ Academic honesty issues
▪ Help websites
▪ Alternatives previously considered: a two-hour
exam (with no possibility of copying from various
help-sites) or adaptive comparative judgement
(assessment based on comparative approach or
ranking)

▪ Decision: Keep the task but improve the titles

Issues with presentation that caused the
May 2022 examination session changes
According to Theory of Knowledge Curriculum Review:
Report for Teachers (2017)

▪ Formulating pore KQs

▪ Focusing solely on the issue itself
▪ Difficulty in getting to any underlying TOK
issues

▪ Decision: it should be replaced with a new

TOK IA task
HOMEWORK

▪ Write a 500-700-word-essay with one of

the below-mentioned topics;
1. The historical development of the human
society and the rise of early mathematics,
2. The historical development of the human
society and the rise of early physics,
3. The historical development of the human
society and the rise of early astronomy,
4. The historical development of the human
society and the rise of early arts.
Use your abilities of a knower.
LET’S GET SERIOUS!!!