The Value of the DP Core
The education provided by the IB is unique in many ways – its global perspective and its breadth and depth of subject choices - but it is the Core elements of Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and the Extended Essay (EE) that really set it apart from other post-16 curricula. I truly believe that the Core sits at the centre of the DP programme model, not just as a metaphor but as the fundamental philosophical underpinning of all learning undertaken by IB Diploma students and I am passionate believer that TOK and the EE are the most valuable aspects of an IB education.
What is Theory of Knowledge
Designed around a central question, “How do we know?”, this compulsory course encourages students to think about the nature of knowledge, to reflect on the process of learning in all the subjects they study as part of their IBDP, and to make connections across them. Students investigate how knowledge is arrived at in the various disciplines, what the disciplines have in common and the differences between them. TOK explores methods of inquiry and tries to establish what it is about these methods that makes them effective as knowledge tools.
In this sense TOK is concerned with knowing about knowing. TOK exists to coordinate the school-wide focus on critical thinking and to complement the promotion of critical thinking skills in all subjects. Ideally the outcome for students should be a better understanding of how we create, classify and assess the value of knowledge as well as a better understanding of the aims and methodologies of the areas of knowledge. This not only allows students to comment meaningfully and critically on what it means to say “I know” in their TOK assessments, but should bolster students’ conceptual understanding, and thus achievement, across all subjects.
TOK is assessed through a presentation and an essay, which is a response to one of six prescribed titles which change every examination session. Theory of knowledge is graded from A to E with an E being a failing grade for both TOK and whole Diploma Programme.
What is the Extended Essay?
The Extended Essay is a compulsory, externally assessed piece of independent research into a topic chosen by the student and presented as a formal piece of academic writing, 4,000 words (or 4,800 Chinese characters) in length. The Extended Essay is intended to promote high-level research and writing skills, intellectual discovery and creativity while engaging students in personal research. This leads to a major piece of formally presented, structured writing of up to 4,000 words in which ideas and findings are communicated in a reasoned, coherent and appropriate manner.
Students choose to do their EE in one of the subjects offered in the Diploma, usually one of students’ Higher Level subjects. Extended essays can also be undertaken in a subject called World Studies which requires students to investigate a local iteration of a global issue using knowledge and research approaches from two IB subjects.
The EE is also graded from A to E with an E being a failing grade for both the Extended Essay and whole Diploma Programme.
The TOK/EE Points Matrix
The grades that a student is awarded for TOK and the EE are used to calculate how many Core points (sometimes referred to as ‘bonus’ points) are added to their points total from their six subjects using the matrix above. 3 points in total are available and achieving an E in either component results in the Diploma not being awarded.
Example Student Results
The grades that a student is awarded for TOK and the EE are used to calculate how many Core points (sometimes referred to as ‘bonus’ points) are added to their points total from their six subjects using the matrix above. 3 points in total are available and chieving an E in either component results in the Diploma not being awarded.
How does this relate to University Applications?
The skills that are developed through TOK and the EE such as strong thinking, research, self-management and communication skills, are vital for students to become accomplished inquirers, thinkers and intellectual risk-takers. This ensures that they are well-prepared for the rigours of university life and beyond. This is reinforced to me every year when my former students write to me in their first semester at university to tell me how well they are complimented by their lecturers/professors on their ability to understand, engage in, and communicate effectively about complex ideas in the context of academic research.
Universities often explicitly look for students who have chosen interesting and challenging EE topics and have achieved highly in the TOK assessments, and this can be a point of real differentiation for students in their applications.
As an IB Core expert with years of teaching and coordinating both TOK and EE in IB World Schools, I have seen time and again that the three Core points that are available from TOK and the EE can make all the difference in a student reaching a conditional university offer or securing an unconditional offer; hence, it is vitally important that students do not neglect the importance of the Core in reaching their higher education goals.