Academics
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is part of the core of the IB Diploma Programme. TOK is designed to help students think about how they know what they know and to critically reflect on their own beliefs and assumptions, leading to more thoughtful, responsible and purposeful lives.
On any given day, students may be debating, theorizing, planning, and strategizing about a myriad of topics. Some days, students puzzle over a thought-provoking question, such as how do humans explain dimensions beyond what we perceive.
Other times, students engage in spirited debate about assumed facts or dissect and explore the motives of their own preconceptions. Often these activities take the form of a thought simulation activity where thinkers must engage with scenarios beyond their own personal experiences.
In addition to studying the nature of knowledge, TOK also encourages students to develop “good thinking skills,” according to Head of School Rob Short (who taught the course himself for 20 years).
Students often find that what they learn in TOK transcends and connects other academic areas. “The way you think about an experiment in biology might completely connect to the way you’re analyzing something in English,” says Felicity Davies ’19.
Read more about TOK here.
“Students are cautioned against hasty generalization, or bandwagon philosophy, ad hominem, non sequitur arguments, black/white fallacies and either/or traps,” Short says. “We’re training the mind where it ought to go –– by building a sound foundation for reasoning.”
IB Glossary
IB Diploma Candidate: A student pursuing the IB Diploma, taking at least 6 IB courses (one from each subject group) and the IB Core.
IB Course Candidate: A student taking any IB course or completing the IB Core.
IB Core: Extended Essay (EE), Theory of Knowledge (TOK), and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS)
IB Course Candidate: A student taking any IB course or completing the IB Core.
IB Core: Extended Essay (EE), Theory of Knowledge (TOK), and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS)
Trinity Episcopal School
3850 PITTAWAY DR | RICHMOND VA 23235-1099 | Phone: 804.272.5864 | Fax: 804.272.5865 Email: mail@trinityes.org
