Theory of Knowledge (TOK)

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Theory of Knowledge is a course unique to the International Baccalaureate. The course is required of all IB Diploma candidates and at AIS Lagos High School, each diploma candidate is exposed to TOK concepts during their juniors year and sits in the course their senior year. A description of TOK from the IB Guide follows:

The Theory of Knowledge (TOK) programme is central to the educational philosophy of the International Baccalaureate. It challenges students and their teachers to reflect critically on diverse ways of knowing and areas of knowledge, and to consider the role which knowledge plays in a global society. It encourages students to become aware of themselves as thinkers, to become aware of the complexity of knowledge, and to recognize the need to act responsibly in an increasingly interconnected world.

As a thoughtful and purposeful enquiry into different ways of knowing, and into different kinds of knowledge, the TOK programme is composed almost entirely of questions. The most central of these questions is “How do I, or how do we, know that a given assertion is true, or a given judgement is well grounded?” Assertions or judgements of this sort are termed “knowledge claims”, while the difficulties that arise in addressing these questions are the broad areas known as “problems of knowledge”. The programme entails the application of this central question to many different, yet interrelated, topics.

Questions are the very essence of TOK, both ageless questions on which thinkers have been reflecting for centuries and new ones, often challenging to accepted belief, which are posed by contemporary life. Engaging with students in a critical examination of knowledge, teachers will foster an appreciation of the quest for knowledge, in particular its importance, its complexities, and its human implications. A teacher may hope to bring alive the questions in this guide for a new generation of knowers, and to encourage them to gain and apply their own knowledge with greater awareness and responsibility.

TOK is a valuable course for each diploma candidate by encouraging thinking and reflection across the curriculum.