Welcome to TOK!

Sean Coleman

2025-09-04

Welcome!

  • Sit in any chair at a desk where you can see the screen
  • Ideally next to someone you don’t know well
  • Start with your desk clear and your mind open!
  • We will use computers later, but not right away.

Introduction

Nice to meet you!

  • My name is Mr. Coleman.
  • I also teach IB Music and serve as the IB Librarian.
  • This is my third year at BNDS.

Mr. Coleman

  • American
  • Michigan / Washington
  • This is my third year in Beijing
  • I taught for eight years in the US

My Teaching Style

  • I will present and guide you with information.
  • It is you who turns it into knowledge.

This will require:

  • Lots of discussion
  • Working together
  • Getting to know each other

Activity: Introducing Each Other

Instructions

  • Find a partner
  • Perhaps the person next to you
  • It might be even better if you don’t know this person well

Ask your partner three questions:

  • Name
  • Hobbies
  • Favorite food

Then, you will introduce your partner to the class.

Course Overview

What is TOK?

TOK is a class that asks you to ask yourself:

“How do I know what I know?”

We will:

  • Examine the nature of knowledge in several academic subjects
  • Critically think about those subjects in ways that you do not think about them in your regular classes

TOK Assessments

In TOK, there are two major assessments:
1. TOK Exhibition
2. TOK Essay

TOK Exhibition

  • Beginning of DP2
  • You will choose three objects to make an exhibition or ‘project’ about
  • Your task: show how those objects reflect knowledge
  • 950 words total
  • Worth 33% of your final score

TOK Essay

  • Starts in October of DP2
  • A 1,600 word essay
  • IB releases 6 essay questions; you choose one
  • Worth 66% of your final score

This Year’s Themes

DP1 Semester One: TOK Themes

  • Knowledge and the Knower
  • Knowledge and Language
  • Knowledge and Technology

DP1 Semester Two: Areas of Knowledge

  • The Arts
  • History
  • Human Sciences
  • Natural Sciences
  • Mathematics

Your Class Scores

  • 66.67% Major Assignments
  • 33.33% Minor Assignments

We will have:

  • MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS at the end of each theme/AOK
  • Minor assignments = classwork and homework

Syllabus

  • Posted on ManageBac
  • We’ll discuss soon

Activity: Categorizing Knowledge

Instructions

  • Create groups of 4
  • You will review 20 statements (called knowledge claims)
  • Create a system of classification to group the claims
  • Each class must have at least two claims
  • Write down your criteria and the claims in each group
  • Be ready to share with the class

All group members:

  • Discuss
  • Take notes
  • Speak to describe their system to the class

The Claims

  1. I know my closest friends.
  2. I know how to solve problems between my friends.
  3. I know that Brazil’s economy is stronger than Argentina’s.
  4. I know that God created the world.
  5. I know my home city of Buenos Aires really well.
  6. I know that my girlfriend Maria is very, very beautiful.
  7. I know how to play football, or soccer as some call it.
  8. I know how to solve problems at my level in mathematics.
  9. I know this feeling I get when I see Maria, as if the whole world is suddenly coming awake.
  10. I know that Argentina was discovered by a Spanish explorer in the early sixteenth century.
  11. I know that Spain won the FIFA World Cup in 2010.
  12. I know that I cannot fully explain my love of playing football.
  13. I know that a right triangle has a 90º angle.
  14. I know that atoms have protons and electrons.
  15. I know that tomorrow morning the sun will rise.
  16. I know that I’m going to die someday.
  17. I know that if I tease my sister her cheeks will turn red.
  18. I know that empanadas are delicious.
  19. I know that I am wearing a blue shirt and holding a cup of hot coffee.
  20. I know when to stop arguing about something.

Follow-Up

Compare classification schemes in class:

  • What criteria did others use?
  • How are their systems similar or different?

Also consider:

  • English isn’t the only language you speak
  • Does Chinese use the word “know” differently?
  • Would that affect your classification system?