IB Theory of Knowledge I, II
Grade 11 & 12, 1 credit
Prerequisite: IB Diploma Candidate Status
IB Theory of Knowledge is a required course for all IB Diploma Candidates. Students enrolled in the class take part one during the spring semester of their junior year and part two the fall of their senior year.
The class examines the origins and validity of the various ways of knowing and characteristics of various forms of knowledge. Theory of Knowledge involves two stages of inquiry:
1. Students examine ways of knowing (perception, language, and forms of thought) and forms of knowledge (their belief systems and subject areas).
2. By a process of critical reflection, students explore these content areas seeking to come to conclusions about what they claim to know or what is professed as knowledge by others.
The course emphasizes critical thinking development through regular journal writing and student discussion of these issues. Essay assignments ask students to evaluate knowledge systems, to evaluate the strengths and limitations of various ways of knowing, and to explore the implications of knowledge claims we make as individuals and societies. The goal of this course is to provide students with philosophical perspective of their academic, social and personal knowledge and beliefs.