TOK n. abbreviation "Theory of Knowledge"

Theory of knowledge is an IB class. IB is International Baccalaureate, the international equivalent of the AP program. IB is an advanced studies program for high school students. There are IB schools in the US and all over the world. One basically takes these more advanced courses, and gains college credit for them. Many students choose to get an IB diploma, which is an advanced alternative to a regular highschool diploma. Some students choose to take IB classes in what they enjoy most, and get a certificate for each course taken.

TOK is a required element of the IB diploma. It is a pseudo philosophy course covering the history and application of knowledge. The class is structured to distill knowledge down into easy to digest chunks.

There are four supposed ways of knowing, emotion, reason, perception, and language. There are many areas of knowledge that are covered and related to the ways of knowing. These are History, natural science, mathematics, human science, art and ethics.

10 essays are written thoughout the year, the best 3 are sent off to be graded. An oral presentation must also be completed. The class primarily consists of discussion and reading. Reading materials include everything from Dante to Ann Landers. The main function of the teacher is to promote discussion and thought outside the box. The students are supposed to lead the discussions, in order to aid in writing the essays.

The IB site www.ibo.org has quite a bit of information, as will a google search.