TOK Exhibition (IA)

What is the TOK Exhibition (IA)?

The TOK exhibition explores how TOK manifests in the world around us. For this reason it is strongly recommended that students base their exhibition on one of the TOK themes (either the core theme or one of the optional themes).

The TOK exhibition is an internal assessment component—it is marked by the teacher and is externally moderated by the IB. Internal assessment is an integral part of all DP courses. It enables students to demonstrate the application of their skills and knowledge, and to pursue their personal interests.

For this task, students are required to create an exhibition of three objects that connect to one of the 35 “IA prompts” provided in the “IA prompts” section of this guide. Students must select just one IA prompt on which to base their exhibition, and all three objects must be linked to the same IA prompt.

Students are required to create an exhibition comprising three objects, or images of objects, and an accompanying written commentary on each object. To enable their exhibition to be marked by their TOK teacher and for samples of student work to be submitted to the IB for moderation, students are required to produce a single file containing:

• a title clearly indicating their selected IA prompt

• images of their three objects

• a typed commentary on each object that identifies each object and its specific real-world context, justifies its inclusion in the exhibition and links to the IA prompt (maximum 950 words)

• appropriate citations and references.

Each student must create an individual exhibition. Group work may not be undertaken by students. Multiple students in the same TOK class are permitted to create exhibitions on the same IA prompt. However, students in the same class are not permitted to use any of the same objects.

The TOK exhibition task has been explicitly designed to be completed during the first year of the DP. To support DP students, it is important that schools have a clear overall schedule of internal deadlines for the completion of the internal assessment tasks for the different subjects. Within this schedule, teachers are strongly encouraged to complete the TOK exhibition in the first year of the programme.

This page has been adapted from the IBO materials.

The IA prompts are a set of 35 high-level knowledge questions. 

Students must select one of the following IA prompts on which to base their exhibition, and all three objects must be linked to the same prompt. These IA prompts apply for all examination sessions—they do not change from session to session.

Students are required to create an exhibition of three objects that connect to one of the following IA prompts:

1. What counts as knowledge?

2. Are some types of knowledge more useful than others?

3. What features of knowledge have an impact on its reliability?

4. On what grounds might we doubt a claim?

5. What counts as good evidence for a claim?

6. How does the way that we organize or classify knowledge affect what we know?

7. What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge?

8. To what extent is certainty attainable?

9. Are some types of knowledge less open to interpretation than others?

10. What challenges are raised by the dissemination and/or communication of knowledge?

11. Can new knowledge change established values or beliefs?

12. Is bias inevitable in the production of knowledge?

13. How can we know that current knowledge is an improvement upon past knowledge?

14. Does some knowledge belong only to particular communities of knowers?

15. What constraints are there on the pursuit of knowledge?

16. Should some knowledge not be sought on ethical grounds?

17. Why do we seek knowledge?

18. Are some things unknowable?

19. What counts as a good justification for a claim?

20. What is the relationship between personal experience and knowledge?

21. What is the relationship between knowledge and culture?

22. What role do experts play in influencing our consumption or acquisition of knowledge?

23. How important are material tools in the production or acquisition of knowledge?

24. How might the context in which knowledge is presented influence whether it is accepted or rejected?

25. How can we distinguish between knowledge, belief and opinion?

26. Does our knowledge depend on our interactions with other knowers?

27. Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it?

28. To what extent is objectivity possible in the production or acquisition of knowledge?

29. Who owns knowledge?

30. What role does imagination play in producing knowledge about the world?

31. How can we judge when evidence is adequate?

32. What makes a good explanation?

33. How is current knowledge shaped by its historical development?

34. In what ways do our values affect our acquisition of knowledge?

35. In what ways do values affect the production of knowledge?

The chosen IA prompt must be used exactly as given; it must not be altered in any way.

• If the IA prompt has been modified but it is still clear which IA prompt the student is referring to, the TOK exhibition should be marked as using the original IA prompt. Any lack of relevance in the student’s response arising from this modification will be reflected in the score awarded.

• If it is clear that the TOK Exhibition is not based on one of the IA prompts listed, the TOK exhibition should be awarded a score of zero, in accordance with the TOK Exhibition assessment instrument.

This page has been adapted from the IBO materials.

An extremely wide variety of different types of objects are suitable for use in a TOK exhibition. Students are encouraged to choose objects that are of personal interest and that they have come across in their academic studies and/or their lives beyond the classroom.

It is strongly recommended that students base their exhibition on one of the themes (the core theme or one of the optional themes). This can be an extremely useful way to help students narrow down their choice of objects and give a focus to their exhibition.

Digital or physical objects

The objects may be digital rather than physical objects. For example, students could include a photograph of an object, such as a historical treaty, where it would not be practical/possible for them to exhibit the physical object. Students may also use digital objects such as a tweet by a political leader. However, they must be specific objects that have a specific real-world context—objects that exist in a particular time and place (including virtual spaces). They may be objects that the student has created themselves, but they must be pre-existing objects rather than objects created specifically for the purposes of the exhibition.

Context of an object

The specific real-world context of each object is extremely important to the task. It is, therefore, important that students identify specific objects to discuss rather than using generic objects and generic images from the internet. For example, a discussion and photograph of a student’s baby brother is an example of an object that has a specific real-world context, whereas a generic image of “a baby” from an internet image search is not.

Examples of the diverse kinds of objects students could select include the following.

• A tweet from the President of the United States

• An image of the painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso

• The student’s own extended essay (EE)

• A basketball used by the student during their physical education lessons

• The graphic novel The Colour of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa

• A painting that the student created in their DP visual arts course

• A refillable water bottle provided to each student in a school as part of a sustainability initiative

• A news article from the popular website Buzzfeed

• A photograph of the student playing in an orchestra

Further guidance on the role of objects in the exhibition and examples of student exhibitions can be found in the Theory of knowledge teacher support material.

Images of objects

The image of each object used in the exhibition must be appropriately referenced. If an object is the student’s own original work (for example, a painting that they created in a visual arts class) then this should be identified and acknowledged to ensure that teachers and moderators are clear about the origins of the object.

This page has been adapted from the IBO materials.

The maximum overall word count for the TOK exhibition is 950 words. This word count includes the written commentaries on each of the three objects. It does not include:

• any text contained on/within the objects themselves

• acknowledgments, references (whether given in footnotes, endnotes or in-text) or bibliography.

If an exhibition exceeds the word limit, then examiners are instructed to stop reading after 950 words and to base their assessment on only the first 950 words. Extended footnotes or appendices are not appropriate to a TOK exhibition.

This page has been adapted from the IBO materials.

How is the TOK exhibition (IA) assessed?

The TOK exhibition (IA) is assessed using a rubric out of 10.

Prior to assessment, DAA CORE teachers calibrate their marking criteria. During the assessment process, DAA CORE teachers moderate to ensure that all teachers aligned.

Despite the IA title "exhibition", the IA is assessed based on the written commentary form produced. For individuals familiar with the old course's IA (the presentation), this is a notable difference.

IA grades are submitted to the IB and the IB moderates the student work to ensure that the school's assessment matches their own expectations. If a school is found to be too strict or too lenient in marking, the IB will adjust all students' scores at the school. DAA's assessment has been found accurate in TOK assessments for over 6 years, and we have not been moderated. 

Due to the current pandemic situation, the "exhibition" element of the IA will occur digitally through reflection videos that will be shared electronically as well as displayed around the school.

This page has been adapted from the IBO materials.