TOK Exhibition Prompts: The Complete List for IB Students (2023)

As you already know, the TOK Exhibition is a new individual assignment introduced to the TOK syllabus to replace the TOK Presentation,which has been part of the program since 2015.

In this assignment, an IB student has to choose a topic from the provided TOK Exhibition prompts, find three objects, prepare a document for moderation, and showcase (or present) their exhibition project.

In this guide, we’ll give you some useful insights that you can use to choose a prompt, identify your objects, and work on your exhibition. We’ll also include all the 35 TOK Exhibition prompts in the last section so you can read all of them right from the same page.

By the time you finish reading this guide, you should be able to an Exhibition that will earn you the full marks.

About the TOK Exhibition Prompts

Before we get to the details, it’s important to note that the prompt provided in this guide are exactly as provided in the TOK Exhibitionguide.

Unlike the titles for the TOK Essay,these prompts don’t change every year and will remain the same for the duration of the specification.

Another important rule to keep in mind is that the prompt must appear on the title page exactly as it is. That means you shouldn’t alter, rewrite, or re-arrange the wordings of any of the 35 titles provided in the list.

How to Choose a TOK Exhibition Prompt

A list of 35 titles for the TOK Exhibition means you have many options to consider.

However, the list can be quite overwhelming, not to mention create a possibility for confusion as you make your selection of the topic to work on.

To avoid confusions and choose the right prompt that you can comfortably handle within the respective timeframe, it’s important to know exactly how to choose a prompt.

Choose an exhibition prompt that interests you. It can be something you easily relate with, or one that you have always wanted to explore within the Theory of Knowledge curriculum.

Also, the topic can match a concept you find interesting in the TOK course, or it can be something you have had an experience with especially outside the classroom.

The second, and perhaps the most important rule, is to make sure you can set the prompt within the context of either the optional themes or the core theme in TOK.

You can only choose one topic, even if you love more than one topic from the list of the 35 prompts. More importantly, make sure that the topic you choose relates to each of the three objects that you choose.

Exhibition Prompt and Objects: Which One Should Come First

Whether the three TOK objects or the exhibition prompt should come first depends on whether TOK teachers would like to incorporate artefacts and activities that encourage reflection on such artefacts within the Theory of Knowledge context.

If teachers decide to use artefacts instead of audio-visual or textual stimuli as knowledge questionsfor starting discussions, students should pick their objects, reflect upon them first, and then select the most appropriate prompt for the exhibition.

In such a case, the prompt you choose will fit the three objects a lot more naturally.

If teachers don’t include artefacts in teaching the Theory of Knowledge, students should choose a prompt first followed by the objects, which they can use to explore the knowledge issue within the context of the selected prompt.

Should I Use the Objects to Unpack the Prompt?

The TOK Exhibition assessment instrument gives us very clear insights on the relationship between the objects and the TOK Exhibition prompts. Students have to observe the following criteria:

• You should clearly define and explain the relationship between the IA prompt you choose and each of the three objects.
• You have to provide a strong justification of the contribution that each object you choose to explore makes to the exhibition.

The primary goal of the analysis is to highlight the key knowledge issues within the knowledge question and the understanding that it brings forth.

Should All the Objects Come Out of One IA Prompt?

There’s a likelihood to fall into the temptation of considering multiple prompts for the TOK Exhibition project.

However, that would be a completely wrong approach that automatically scores you a zero.

According to page 40 of the Theory of Knowledge Guide, students should select only one prompt (or title) on which to base their exhibition project.

Further, the guide clearly states that the three objects (or images of objects) that a student chooses must have a link to exactly the same prompt.

TOK Exhibition Themes and the IA Prompt

The IB requires that, in addition to choosing an IA prompt to investigate, you should unpack it within the context of the core theme or one of the optional themes in TOK.

In other words, in addition to choosing a prompt to explore, you should think about how the topic relates to indigenous societies, politics, religion, technology, language, and knowledge and the knower.

Doing the TOK Exhibition Project

You’ve learned a lot about the TOK Exhibition prompts so far. Before we put together a list of the prompts in the final section, we strongly believe that it’s important to give you access to resources that you can use to do the Theory of Knowledge exhibition project right.

Here’s a list of resources related to the Theory of Knowledge Exhibition project:

• A student’s complete guide to TOK Exhibition
• Tips to help you pass TOK Exhibition
• How to choose TOK Exhibition objects
• How to write a TOK Exhibition Commentary
• TOK Exhibition rubric: Understanding the assessment instrument

With these resources only a click away, we’re confident that you can complete a TOK exhibition project that will earn you the full marks after review by your Theory of Knowledge teacher.

Theory of Knowledge Exhibition Prompts

1. What counts as knowledge?
2. Are some types of knowledge more useful than others?
3. What features of knowledge have an impact on its reliability?
4. On what grounds might we doubt a claim?
5. What counts as good evidence for a claim?
6. How does the way that we organize or classify knowledge affect what we know?
7. What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge?
8. To what extent is certainty attainable?
9. Are some types of knowledge less open to interpretation than others?
10. What challenges are raised by the dissemination and/or communication of knowledge?
11. Can new knowledge change established values or beliefs?
12. Is bias inevitable in the production of knowledge?
13. How can we know that current knowledge is an improvement upon past knowledge?
14. Does some knowledge belong only to particular communities of knowers?
15. What constraints are there on the pursuit of knowledge?
16. Should some knowledge not be sought on ethical grounds?
17. Why do we seek knowledge?
18. Are some things unknowable?
19. What counts as a good justification for a claim?
20. What is the relationship between personal experience and knowledge?
21. What is the relationship between knowledge and culture?
22. What role do experts play in influencing our consumption or acquisition of knowledge?
23. How important are material tools in the production or acquisition of knowledge?
24. How might the context in which knowledge is presented influence whether it is accepted or rejected?
25. How can we distinguish between knowledge, belief and opinion?
26. Does our knowledge depend on our interactions with other knowers?
27. Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it?
28. To what extent is objectivity possible in the production or acquisition of knowledge?
29. Who owns knowledge?
30. What role does imagination play in producing knowledge about the world?
31. How can we judge when evidence is adequate?
32. What makes a good explanation?
33. How is current knowledge shaped by its historical development?
34. In what ways do our values affect our acquisition of knowledge?
35. In what ways do values affect the production of knowledge?