About the new series

This series takes your students on a journey to explore ’what is

knowledge?’ and ‘how do we know what we know?’. It helps students
flourish as knowers by leading them to make connections across

Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma

areas of knowledge and themes, as well as helping them understand
how TOK manifests in day-to-day life.

The series includes a course guide with a wealth of ‘Real-life situations’,

‘Linking’ questions to illustrate connections across themes and areas
of knowledge, and two dedicated assessment chapters to refine the
skills needed to excel in the essay and exhibition. The Decoding
for examination from 2022
Theory of Knowledge resource helps your students to develop their
critical-thinking skills and encourages them to make connections. A

What you need to know

brand-new teacher’s resource includes tried and tested activities
that arm you with lesson planning ideas, advice on common
misconceptions, worksheets, assessment support and more.

Find out more and view samples online at cambridge.org/education

Brighter Thinking, Better Learning

Brighter Thinking drives our approach to IB:
a solid foundation of research from leading
educational thinkers, expert authors and IB teachers
in Cambridge and around the world underpins the
resources we publish to support students’ learning.
Through a flexible suite of resources,
designed to meet a wide range of needs in
the classroom, Better Learning is possible.
Students can accelerate their learning and
develop skills for life.

Contact your local Cambridge University Press representative:

cambridge.org/education/find-your-sales-consultant
We’ve created new resources ready for the Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma
syllabus, for examination from 2022. This brochure explains how our resources will help
you. Full syllabus details can be found on the International Baccalaureate website
www.ibo.org
Key changes
New core theme introduced:
• Knowledge and the knower
New optional themes introduced:
• Knowledge and technology
• Knowledge and politics
Content
There will now be five compulsory areas of
knowledge: history, human sciences, natural sciences,
mathematics, the arts
‘Ways of Knowing’ is no longer listed as a separate
entity – suggested questions related to elements have
been built into the suggested knowledge questions for
each theme and area of knowledge.
Ethics will now be compulsory
Key changes
The assessments
Assessment
TOK exhibition
New internal assessment task added.
TOK essay
Essay titles will now be presented as knowledge
questions.
What this means for you
Students will need to reflect on themselves more as
knowers and thinkers, which will help make the course
more engaging and relevant for this age range. They
will need to engage with questions such as ‘where
do my values come from?’, ‘what factors influence my
perspective?’ and ‘how do the communities I belong
to shape what I know?’.
You and your students will need to pick two optional
themes from five possibilities – knowledge and
technology, politics, religion, indigenous societies,
language. The new themes will provide you with more
time to focus on topical issues such as social media,
big data, artificial intelligence, and contemporary
political issues.
There will be an increased focus on connections and
comparisons across these compulsory areas.
Students will be encouraged to have discussions
where they are most relevant in a theme or area of
knowledge, rather than in a separate context. Part
of the knowledge framework, ‘Tools and methods’,
enables students to explore the way that knowledge
is acquired and gained.
Ethics will no longer be an optional area and will
be a requirement within every part of the course. It
is included in the four elements of the knowledge
framework.
What this means for you
Both assessment tasks require students to respond to
a prescribed knowledge question or prompt. The
focus is on students’ analysis of these questions.
Students will need to create an exhibition showcasing
three objects and demonstrate how TOK manifests in
the real world. Students choose one of 35 possible
knowledge prompts.
This will help simplify and avoid any confusion around
expectations for this task.
There is a focus on the analysis and evaluation of
knowledge questions.
To develop this new series, we undertook extensive research with IB teachers around
the world and sought insight from our community of teachers, the Cambridge Panel.
In addition, our authors are expert teachers and examiners who fully understand the
challenges you face in the classroom. With our new series, your students will be set for
exam success and ready for their journey ahead.
How we support you
Within the ‘Knowers and Knowing’ section in our new course guide we have four chapters, including two new chapters dedicated to
‘Who is the knower?’ and ‘The problem of knowledge’. These focus on the new core theme. The knower focus is not limited to these
chapters, it is embedded through each chapter in the guide. Students are prompted to develop their personal perspectives with the
‘Reflection’ feature, which encourages them to reflect on TOK in their own lives, as well as the main TOK question ‘How do you know?’.
The Decoding Theory of Knowledge book and teacher’s resource also provide further support for this new core theme.
Two new chapters have been introduced to the course guide and Decoding Theory of Knowledge that focus on these new optional
themes. In ‘Knowledge and technology’ students will explore topics, such as the impact of technology on the knower, big
data, virtual and augmented reality, and AI. ‘Knowledge and politics’ explores numerous political ideas, including power and
authority, political systems and perspectives, and social justice. The concepts in the chapter will help to provide a framework for
understanding and discussing contemporary political issues that arise during the teaching of the course. Further support to teach
the optional themes can be found in the teacher’s resource.
The five compulsory areas of knowledge are found within the course guide and Decoding Theory of Knowledge, where a chapter is
dedicated to each area. The course guide will give students a solid grounding in many of the knowledge questions relating to these
compulsory areas of knowledge. There are also linking questions to help make comparisons with other areas of knowledge and
optional themes.
A deep engagement with the knowledge framework for the analysis of knowledge is embedded throughout each chapter (areas
of knowledge and optional themes): scope, perspectives, tools and methods, and ethics.
There is a focus on the knowledge framework throughout the course guide. In particular, ethics is explicitly explored in relation
to each area of knowledge and each optional theme. This ensures that students are comfortable talking about ethics in different
contexts and can make comparisons across the different areas and themes. Questions such as ‘what impact do my values have
on my pursuit of knowledge?’, ‘what are my responsibilities as a knower?’, and ‘should ethical considerations influence the
production, use and sharing of knowledge?’ help to embed ethics fully into the subject.
How we support you
These TOK concepts are embedded throughout the book, enabling students to develop their insight and analysis. Some of
the exercises in the book help students prepare for the assessment tasks by encouraging them to plan how they would tackle
assessment-style questions in the different areas of knowledge and optional themes. Furthermore, developing analytical skills is a
theme throughout the book and a particular focus in the assessment chapters.
A dedicated assessment chapter in the course guide and Decoding Theory of Knowledge book includes information on selecting
and justifying choices, as well as how to produce a TOK exhibition. These will support students to excel in this assessment. The
teacher’s resource also supports you in assisting your students with this new task.
The assessment chapter in the course guide and Decoding Theory of Knowledge book focuses on the skills students need for
essay success. It includes advice on planning, getting started, how to write an essay, how to evaluate a knowledge question,
arguments and counter-arguments, etc. The teacher’s resource also helps you to provide assistance to your students while they
develop and shape their essay.