IB Theory of Knowledge

Discipline

Copyright

2024

Delivery Method

Blended (Print & Digital)

Published in collaboration with the IB, our Theory of Knowledge textbook for first teaching in 2020, provides learners with comprehensive coverage of the knowledge framework and engages them through an inclusive and international approach.

The extremely experienced authoring team includes examiners, curriculum reviewers and workshop leaders Sue Bastian, Julian Kitching and Ric Sim.
Updated in 2024 with new technological and cultural examples to better reflect and represent global learners, with clear language to improve accessibility for EAL students.
Teaches learners how to prepare and evaluate their work, including support for the essay and the new exhibition assessment, designed to develop lifelong academic skills beyond what’s needed to pass exams.
Provides full coverage of the 2020 Subject Guide including the Core, Optional themes, and Areas of Knowledge. 
Structured to match the knowledge framework. 
Includes examples of knowledge questions to help students recognise and decipher them.

TOK Exhibition Game

Only game available that supports TOK assessment in English, French and Spanish.

Game overview

The aim of the Exhibition Game is simple: students work in small teams and create an Exhibition by picking three Objects from a gallery of Object cards that relate to an IB Prompt, aka a Knowledge Question.

The Objects should ‘exhibit’ how TOK manifests in the World by highlighting the knowledge issues in each of the three Objects.

The challenge and complexity come from the requirement to effectively link each Object with the Prompt and to justify its inclusion in the Exhibition.

Each team presents their Exhibition to the other teams, who score them with reference to the Scoresheet.

Download the TOK Game User Guide

Authors

Sue Bastian

Sue Bastian has been involved with the IB for three decades and is widely known as one of the architects of the current Theory of Knowledge (TOK) programme. Sue has been Deputy Chief Examiner and Chief Examiner for ToK and is currently an IB Assistant Assessor, consultant, and workshop leader.

Julian Kitching

Julian Kitching has more than 25 years experience with the IB diploma - in Germany and Ghana, teaching mainly Biology and ToK, and serving as a programme coordinator. He has been deeply involved in every aspect of the development of ToK throughout that time.

Ric Sims

Ric Sims has taught ToK for nearly 25 years in a number of European schools in combination with Maths, Music, Philosophy, and Economics. He has extensive experience of curriculum development and he is a leading teacher trainer in ToK, having led more than 70 workshops over the last fifteen years. He teaches at Katedralskolan in Uppsala, Sweden.

Virtual Samples

International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge

Print Samples

Knowledge and the knower 1.1

Knowledge and technology 2.2

Assessment: Exhibition 3

History 4.5

Free Lesson Plan 1

Free Lesson Plan 2

Free Lesson Plan 3

Free Lesson Plan 4

FAQs

Discover how to effectively prepare your learners for the IB TOK Internal Assessment (IA) and learn how the Pearson TOK Exhibition Game can provide valuable support. Get all your questions answered here!

General

The three most important differences are:

The IA task is an individual task, but in the Exhibition Game, students work together in teams.

The Objects chosen for the IA should be Objects with authentic real-world contexts that exist in a time and place (physical or digital). The “real-world context” in the Exhibition Game is hypothetical.

The IA is assessed according to the TOK Exhibition Assessment Instrument, using global impression marking, out of 10 points. The Exhibition Game is scored according to a Scorecard which identifies three aspects worth 10 points each, with a possible total score of 30 points.

By playing The Exhibition Game, and scoring according to the Scorecard (by peers or by themselves), students can check if they think their links between the Prompt and their Objects are coherent. Using the Scorecard will get students more used to thinking in those terms, making it easier for them to read the rubric (which they might find scarier than a Scorecard).

The IA Guide and the TSM is very clear that there isn’t a right answer to this question. Sometimes you get a student that already has an Object in mind. They can start from the Object and look at the Prompts. In my personal experience, students start from the Prompt, but it is fine either way. The Game Instructions start from the Prompt, but there is flexibility.

The earlier the better; it is never too early.

Objects

Not in the experience of The Exhibition Game’s creators.

The more practice the better. For example, telling stories in the classroom about things that have happened that have made you think about TOK, or students bringing in e.g., news stories. Students are then constantly making connections between TOK and the real world. Then the Exhibition Game is just that in physical form.

We want students to be constantly asking questions about things in their world, then the more ready they will be to take on the IA task.

Yes, in the Exhibition Game. It is not a requirement of the final IA. Sometimes using a personal connection makes the link more authentic, but authentic links can be made without a personal connection.

There are three kinds of Objects to be aware of:

Keys: this would be fine for the Prompt ‘Are some types of knowledge more useful than others?’ (for example) if I talk about getting my driver’s license and suddenly these are my keys as this gives them a real-life context, they exist in the world. But, keys wouldn’t be valid as symbolising keys to knowledge. Metaphors should be avoided.

Photograph of an astronaut on the moon: if a student were to choose this, they would have to make it clear that the Object they are talking about is e.g., the backpack the astronaut is wearing, or the person themselves, or the image (which is quite controversial – were men really walking on the moon?). They need to be clear.

iPhone: a phone itself will not fulfil the criteria, but an online course a student is taking on their phone would be acceptable as an Object.

Saying that, for example, this is a picture of Pi that was in my 5th Grade Maths textbook, which was my introduction to the concept, would give it a real-world context.

Fewer steps is better. In the IA itself, there is a word limit, so everything written needs to be relevant. But in the Exhibition Game, there is more flexibility.

Game mechanics

The TOK concepts are incorporated into the 35 Prompts (the same as the Prompts students will choose from for their IA). The concepts are not included in the Scorecard, but you can encourage students to consider them when you introduce the Exhibition Game.

Any object that you photograph and put on a card can seem generic. We tried to get a good mix of Objects that were culturally specific and significant, and Objects that were connected to the TOK Optional Themes.

A lot of students chose the Bible, but that doesn’t mean that they can't write excellent commentaries about it.

Not in the experience of the Exhibition Game creators.

No, but we love that idea!

Teachers should use their professional judgement.

3-4 students is a good group size. One box of the Exhibition Game can accommodate about 5 groups of this size.

There are 52 Object cards (including 2 Sample Context cards and 1 blank card), 35 Prompt cards and a Scoresheet card.

Assessment

If you have more than one TOK teacher at your school, I would recommend departmental moderation. You could partner up with another school to moderate each other. There tends to be samples from the IB that you can look at, do some blind-marking, and then look at the examiner commentary and marks for comparison with your own.

Marking twice and blind-marking are a good idea, also marking – leaving it a couple of days – and coming back to it. The more you mark, the better you get at doing it. The most important thing is to keep returning to the criteria/rubric.