Teaching TOK
Teaching theory of knowledge for the first time is a daunting task. A high proportion of TOK educators are not involved with it because they’ve chosen to teach it, and some educators even view the course as drawing the short straw.
There’s no clear examined curriculum; it’s mandatory – so students in your classroom are there because they have to be, rather than because they’ve chosen to be; the nature of TOK itself is nebulous – is it philosophy? Critical thinking? Content-based or skills-based? How should it be approached?
The opportunity of TOK
As the best TOK teachers always discover, though, the massive ask quickly becomes a massive opportunity. The fact that there’s no clear examined curriculum means you can cherry-pick an array of fascinating topics that play to both your strengths and those of your students. The fact that all students have to do it means that you have to hand a much broader range of expertise and interests to draw on. And the nature of TOK is a fantastic combination of all those things – philosophy, critical thinking, content and skills – plus a great deal more.
In fact, being given responsibility for TOK is akin to winning the lottery for a teacher. TOK is a dynamic course which you can build yourself, it’s one that tests, teases, and challenges the students, and it genuinely presents them (and you) with the opportunity to have life-changing experiences in (and out) of the classroom. The only danger is that it will take over your life, and you’ll begin to see TOK in every experience you have!
Find out more about teaching TOK
Our pioneering way of delivering the TOK course is via the BQ framework
In the era of online learning, it’s vital to plan self-guided lessons
Instead of an exam, TOK students create an essay and an exhibition
Tracking the learning of your students in TOK can be challenging
Personal research leads to deep understanding and original final products
We think students should engage directly with ideas, not via a textbook.
Follow us on social media
Depending on your social media poison, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. We post regular updates about what’s going on at theoryofknowledge.net, links to news stories that relate to different aspects of TOK, or just cool things that we’ve spotted going on in the world.
Find out more about who we are, when we set up theoryofknowledge.net, and how the site and its resources work, here. If you want to join us as a member, then follow this link. Check out what people have been saying about us here, and download a selection of free sample resources from this page.
For other enquiries, you can get in touch with us easily by using the contact forms on any page of the site, or via this page. Whatever your question, we’ll get back to you with swift support, and try to help you during your TOK journey as either a learner or educator.
