TOK via TED
TOK via TED is our redesigned version of the TED Companion guide, which was launched back in 2014. The resource has been fully updated for the 2022 TOK syllabus, enabling you and your students to draw on these incredibly rich sources of knowledge to explore the course.
TED is almost a tailor-made resource for the theory of knowledge course, and this resource helps you to take full benefit of that.
What comes in the TOK via TED resource?
You’ll find over 100 TOK via TED documents, each one comprising the following
- An introduction to the speaker
- Reasons why the talk is worth watching
- Links to the TOK course (via the Big Questions, the AOKs/themes, and the 12 key concepts)
- Suggested questions, with timings indicated where each one is discussed
- Exemplar answers
- Further activities and research
You can use TOK via TED to improve your students’ understanding of TOK concepts during the course, to help them deepen their knowledge of the optional themes when they are designing their exhibition, or to give them access to thinkers and ideas that might help them answer their prescribed essay title.
Sample TOK via TED documents
Here’s our unpacking document for Donald Hoffman’s fantastic talk on ‘Do we see reality as it really is?’ (linking to BQ1 and Knowledge & the knower). This talk, by Hans and Ola Rosling, we look at the use of statistics in helping us understand the world (linking to BQ3 and human sciences). In this talk, Jim Al-Khalili discusses how we can use quantum physics to understand other aspects of the natural sciences (relating to BQ5 and the natural sciences). Finally, here’s Leslie Hazleton discussing the essential role of doubt in religious faith (linking to BQ6 and religion).
Access the TOK via TED documents
The TOK via TED documents are accessible only to Full Access Members of the site. For more details about joining us, or upgrading your membership, either get in touch with us using the contact form at the bottom of the page, or check out our membership page.
You can access all the TOK via TED documents via the Big Question pages, or you can access them here. We’ve arranged them by both the different elements of the course (core theme, optional themes, and areas of knowledge) and the BQ framework. We will constantly be adding to the talks, so make sure you check back on this page regularly.
We’ve identified certain talks as being essential, by virtue of the relevancy of their content, the significance of the person delivering the course, or how engaging and profound they are. The documents for these talks appear at the beginning of each folder, and are marked with a star ★.