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TOK via TED

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 ★.

To access the TOK via TED resource, and draw on more than 100 brilliant TED talks to deliver the course, become a full access member of theoryofknowledge.net. If you need any help in this process, let us know, and we’ll provide swift support.

Develop your students’ authentic critical thinking

Our in-school & online workshops are engaging, inspiring, and jargon-free, and leave TOK and non-TOK teachers with practical takeaways that they can implement easily in their classrooms.

We can help you with a wide range of issues and topics related to the TOK course, and help you turn your students into authentic critical thinkers who make sense of the world in a nuanced and objective way. Find out more and book a session here.