TOK

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.

The 4 Elements of TOK

Scope

This element focuses on exploring the nature and scope of the different themes and areas of knowledge. It explores how each theme/area of knowledge fits within the totality of human knowledge, and also considers the nature of the problems that each theme/area of knowledge faces and tries to address. Examples of knowledge questions relating to scope include the following.

  • What motivates the pursuit of knowledge in these themes/areas of knowledge?

  • What practical problems can be solved through the application of knowledge from these themes/ areas of knowledge?

  • What are the key current open/unanswered questions in these themes/areas of knowledge?

  • What makes this theme/area of knowledge important?

Perspective

This element focuses on the importance and influence of perspectives and context. This includes reflection on the students’ own perspectives and what informs them, as well as how different people or groups view or approach knowledge in the different themes/areas of knowledge. It also includes reflection on historical perspectives and how knowledge changes over time. Examples of knowledge questions relating to perspectives include the following.
  • What is the significance of key historical developments within these themes/areas of knowledge?
  • What do these themes/areas of knowledge identify about knowledge that is rooted in particular social and cultural groups?
  • Are some types of knowledge less open to interpretation than others?
  • Is an understanding of the perspective of other knowers essential in the pursuit of knowledge

Methods/Tools

This element focuses on exploring the methods, tools and practices that we use to produce knowledge. This includes the building of conceptual frameworks, the establishing of traditions and practices, as well as the methodologies employed by formal disciplines. It also includes consideration of the cognitive and material tools that we have available to help us in the pursuit of knowledge, and of how these tools have changed as a result of technological developments. Examples of knowledge questions relating to methods and tools include the following.
  • What assumptions underlie the methods of inquiry used in these themes/areas of knowledge?

  • Does what is seen to constitute “good evidence” vary from discipline to discipline and culture to culture? How is knowledge produced and communicated in these themes/areas of knowledge?
  • How important are material tools in the production and acquisition of knowledge?

Ethics

This element focuses on exploring ethics and the ethical considerations that have an impact on inquiry in the different themes and areas of knowledge. This includes aspects such as the relationship between facts and values, and how ethical and epistemic values are built into the quest for knowledge. It also includes questions relating to knowledge and inequality and injustice. It is crucial that TOK discussions about ethics focus on the knowledge questions that are woven into, and implied, in the ethical issues being discussed, rather than the focus being on debating the ethical issues themselves. Examples of knowledge questions relating to ethics include the following.
  • Should the pursuit of knowledge in these themes/areas of knowledge be subject to ethical constraints?
  • What responsibilities rest on the knower as a result of their knowledge in these themes/areas of knowledge?
  • How can we know when we should act on what we know?
  • Do established values change in the face of new knowledge?

Knowledge and The arts
“The arts” is used in TOK to include a diverse range of disciplines such as visual arts, theatre, dance, music, film and literature. The forms and methods of these disciplines are often dissimilar, so the diversity within this single area of knowledge can itself be an excellent stimulus for TOK discussions.

The arts provide rich material for discussions of concepts such as interpretation. For example, students could consider how we ascribe meaning to works of art, or whether the intention of the artist is what determines meaning. During these discussions, students could be encouraged to draw on their experiences from their DP studies in language and literature classes, where they are required to understand and interpret a range of texts.

Students could also consider the role of the audience in the arts. This could include, for example, whether art requires a response from, or an emotional interaction with, an audience. It could also include the role of critics and experts, and whether everyone is an equally competent judge in the arts.

Another interesting focus for discussions could be the social character and function of the arts. This could include the way that the arts are often seen as helping to shed light on fundamental questions about the human condition, or how the arts are often regarded as having an important function as a medium for social criticism and a vehicle for social change.

Discussions of the arts could also focus on exploring whether there are, or should be, limits to what is acceptable in art. Students could consider examples of controversial works of art, such as Marco Evaristti’s Helena or Sruli Recht’s Forget Me Knot, considering whether there should be ethical constraints on the pursuit of knowledge in the arts, or whether artists or audiences have any particular ethical responsibilities.

Another focus for discussions could be the relationship between arts and culture. Students could explore art forms and art works that are strongly rooted in a particular culture or tradition, as well as reflecting on the diversity of the arts across time, cultures and contexts. Students could also explore examples of “outsider art” as a way to stimulate conversations about the potential for art to challenge established values.

Examples of knowledge questions arising from this area of knowledge are suggested below.

Knowledge and Langauge

Language is encoded. It plays an important role in communicating and sharing knowledge and has a significant impact on the way that we experience the world. However, some see language as having an even more central role, arguing that language doesn’t just describe our experiences of the world but, in fact, actually structures those experiences, limiting and shaping what we know.

This theme provides an opportunity for students to reflect on the role that language plays in our lives, and the influence it has on thought and behaviour. It also encourages students to draw on their personal experience of language-learning as part of their DP studies. For example, students could reflect on what knowledge of a language consists of, and how that is similar to, or different from, other forms of knowledge. They could also consider the extent to which how we know and what we know is dependent on, and differs according to, the language that we use.

This theme encourages students to reflect on the role of language in allowing knowledge to be shared with others. Language plays a key role in the communication and dissemination of knowledge; it also enables knowledge to be accumulated for, and passed down to, future generations. Language is also key to how claims are exposed to public scrutiny; it enables what we think to be communicated, debated, confirmed or refuted. These characteristics provide extremely rich material for TOK discussions.

One interesting focus for discussions in this theme could be language and power. For example, students could consider the role of language in sustaining relationships of authority by considering how control of written language can create or reinforce power structures, or by considering the way that we change our language depending on who we are speaking to. They could also consider the role of language in creating and reinforcing distinctions of class, ethnicity and gender.

  • Another interesting example that could be discussed in this theme is non-human communication. For example, students could explore how technological developments have affected the ways that language is used and the ways that communication takes place, or the nature and qualities of “machine language”. This could also include wider discussion of what qualities and features other forms of communication, such as animal communication, might need to have in order to be considered a language.

  • It is crucial that discussions within this optional theme stay focused explicitly on knowledge rather than consisting of general discussions about language. The following examples of knowledge questions can help to ensure this focus.