"The IB program has a specific course called Theory of Knowledge. Studying this topic sounds great in
theory, but the devil is in the details, and many of the IB ToK details are messed up. First of all,
it doesn't make sense to study ToK as a separate course. In any sensible program, ToK would be
"baked into" all the courses, from Day One ... like the oatmeal in oatmeal cookies. It's not something
you can sprinkle on afterwards."
I agree completely. I have been teaching Theory of Knowledge" (TOK) for 20 years along with IB Physics. TOK is baked in my physics courses,
starting from the first lesson. The way I see TOK is that it is all about what is already at the heart of physics anyway. For instance, whenever we talk about modelling physical phenomena using empirical data, we naturally talk nature of science aka TOK. The thing is that one needs to tell the students that while this is very important in physics, it is TOK as well; otherwise they usually do not see the connection. A colleague of mine even has a TOK bell to signal that now they have an explicit link to TOK :-).
All IB syllabuses do address TOK and teachers are supposed to discuss TOK aspects in their lessons. However, I have noticed that it takes some practice to learn how to do it and even some help to see the value of doing it. At my school, we have had meeting for discussing how to incorporate TOK in all subjects. For instance, assessing possible biases in historical sources, whether primary or secondary, is a crucial skill in doing history. Realizing that this is also a very relevant TOK aspect is a step forward.
Regards,
Antti
Kuopio Lyseo HS
Finland
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