Theory of Knowledge (Course Overview)

In order to encourage and support students in making comparisons and connections across different elements of the course, the knowledge questions suggested for each theme and area of knowledge are organized into a -

• knowledge question

• knowledge claim

• knowledge framework

• knowledge assessment

Good knowledge questions are

• about the world, open-ended, use TOK vocab

• about knowledge, open-ended, use AOK vocab

• about the world, close-ended, use TOK vocab

• about knowledge, open-ended, use TOK vocab

Questions about life or areas of knowledge are coined as

• knowledge claims

• first-order question

• second-order question

• third order-question

TOK aims to make students aware of the interpretative nature of knowledge, including personal ideological biases – whether these biases are retained, revised or rejected.

• True

• False

"What is William Carlos Williams’ poem ‘The Red Wheelbarrow’ really about?" is a _________.

• first-order question

• second-order question

• third-order question

• fourth-order question

TOK highlights that sometimes there really are no simple answers, and “that tensions between conflicting points of view have to be lived with, argued about and frequently left unresolved”

• True

• False

"How can my interpretation of poetry be as reliable as a

university professor’s?" is a first-order question.

• True

• False

TOK gives students and teachers the opportunity to consider the role and nature of knowledge in their own culture only so as to avoid prejudices.

• True

• False

The TOK curriculum centers around asnwering questions about the world.

• True

• False

Shared knowledge includes unique knowledge that you have constructed as a result of a detailed exploration into an aspect of an existing Area of Knowledge.

• True

• False