Core · Knowledge, evidence and exhibition planning

IB Diploma Programme Theory of Knowledge 知识论 (TOK; first assessed in 2022). TOK is part of the core of the Diploma: every student takes it. It does not teach new facts; it asks how we know what we claim to know, in every subject. The course has a core theme (knowledge and the knower), two optional themes 选修主题 chosen from five, and five areas of knowledge 知识领域. It is assessed by an essay on one of six prescribed titles (two thirds of the grade) and an exhibition 展览 of three objects (one third).

Until August 2006, every school textbook said the Solar System had nine planets. Then the International Astronomical Union voted on a new definition of "planet": it must clear its orbit of other objects. Pluto does not, so overnight it became a "dwarf planet". Pluto itself did not change at all. What changed was a definition agreed by a community of experts. Was the old knowledge wrong, or just different? Who decides? These are TOK questions.

Must-know for TOK:

A knowledge question 知识问题 is a question about knowledge itself, not about the subject matter.

A good knowledge question is open (more than one reasonable answer), general (about knowledge, not one fact) and uses TOK words: know, evidence, certainty, interpretation, bias, expert, method.

Everyone knows from somewhere. Your language, culture, education and interests are your perspective 视角. They help you see some things and hide others. A common trap is confirmation bias 确认偏误: noticing the evidence that supports what we already believe and ignoring the rest. Knowledge is also shared by communities of knowers 知识共同体, such as scientists, historians, or a village with its own traditions, which decide together what counts as good evidence.

The best TOK thinking compares areas: does "evidence", "proof" or "explain" mean the same in history as in the natural sciences?

Each exam session, the IB publishes six prescribed titles 规定题目; you write an essay of up to 1,600 words on one of them. It is marked by IB examiners and is worth two thirds of the TOK grade.

1. Unpack the title: define its key terms and say what is being asked.
2. Argue: develop a claim, with a real, specific example from one area of knowledge.
3. Counterclaim 反主张: give the strongest point against it, with an example.
4. Second area: compare how the same question works in another area.
5. Implications: what follows from your conclusion? Why does it matter?

Worked plan. A specimen title from the IB: How important are the opinions of experts in the search for knowledge? Answer with reference to the arts and one other area of knowledge.

• Unpack: an expert is a person with training who is trusted by a community; "important" can mean useful, or necessary.
• Natural sciences: peer review by experts catches mistakes before results are accepted.
• Counterclaim: experts rejected Marshall's evidence for years; in the end the evidence, not the experts' opinion, decided.
• The arts: here experts (critics, museums) partly make the knowledge: Fountain is famous art because the art world accepted it.
• Implication: in the sciences, expert opinion is a strong but correctable guide; in the arts, it helps decide what counts as knowledge at all.

The exhibition is your internal assessment (one third of the grade). You choose one of the IB's 35 prompts, such as What role do experts play in influencing our consumption or acquisition of knowledge?, and three real objects 物品 that show how that prompt appears in the world. For each object you write a commentary; the three together are up to 950 words. Your teacher marks it, and the IB moderates the marks.

• Each object must be real and specific: this weather app on your phone, not "weather apps" in general.
• Each commentary explains the object's real-world context, links it clearly to the prompt, and gives reasons with evidence.
• The three objects should show three different links to the prompt.

• Knowledge questions: open, general, about knowing; the Pluto example.
• The knower: perspective, confirmation bias, communities of knowers.
• The five areas of knowledge, their methods and one real example each.
• The essay: six titles, up to 1,600 words, two thirds; five moves; the worked plan on experts.
• The exhibition: 35 prompts, three objects, up to 950 words, one third.