Shared knowledge is organized into Areas Of Knowledge. AOKs are broad systems of knowledge that possess similar methodologies and subject matter. In the new TOK course, there are eight AOKs identified:
the natural sciences
the human sciences
the arts
mathematics
history
Each of these can be broken down into a number of subject disciplines. The teacher will help students explore the AOKs and encourage them to use subject-specific examples if applicable. Some subjects studied by students do not neatly fit into the AOK classification. Students might find it interesting to discuss if and how IB subjects such as social and cultural anthropology, philosophy, world religions, literature and languages fit into the TOK classification of AOKs and how ethical considerations are built into many of the subjects offered by the IB Diploma Programme.
The knowledge framework
The basic idea is simple. Each AOK and theme can be characterized by considering questions related to four different elements (Scope, Methodology and Tools, Perspectives, Ethics. Over the TOK course, the student would compare responses to these questions in different AOKs. This tool gives the possibility of:
vertical integration—the extraction of abstract elements that different AOKs have in common, allowing us, therefore, to compare and contrast the AOKs in terms of the knowledge framework
horizontal integration—showing how these elements work together within an area to produce knowledge.
Practically speaking, these questions have a variety of uses in the classroom. They can be used as a framework to explore deeper TOK comparisons. They can be used as a guide to important knowledge questions. Finally, they can be used to generate a stock of examples available for the student to use in exploring these knowledge questions in class as well as in the TOK essay and presentation assessment tasks.