Webb’s Depth of

Knowledge

No Child Left Behind requires

assessments to “measure the

depth and breadth of the state

academic content standards

for a given grade level” ( US

Department of Education,

2003, p.12)

Webb’s Depth of Knowledge

• The Depth-of-Knowledge (DOK) was created by Norman Webb from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research.

• http://wat.wceruw.org/index.aspx

Depth of Knowledge

• …measures the degree to which the knowledge elicited from students on the assessment is as complex as what students are expected to know and do as stated in the standards.

Depth of Knowledge is NOT.....

• ….about verbs. Verbs are not always used appropriately.

• …about "difficulty"

• …about the student or level of difficulty for the student - it requires looking at the assessment item not student work in order to determine the level.

Depth of Knowledge is…

• …about what FOLLOWS the verb. What comes after the verb is more important than the verb itself.

• …about the complexity of mental processing that must occur to answer a question.

Why is DOK Important?

• Teachers can no longer rely on "tell-me-what-I told-you" assessments; new assessments must be created requiring students to demonstrate and apply what they have learned.

Should DOK Change the Way I Teach?

• Instruction, assignments, and classroom assessment must incorporate the same expectations. DOK levels for a targeted objective must mirror the DOK level for the assessment.

Teachers need to examine if their required student work and activities are keeping students engaged in activity or engaged in learning. Not all activities help students learn.

DOK- What it is and what it is not?• A common language for

discussing knowledge complexity

• A tool for alignment• A way to “tune” common

assessments• A conversation starter about

content• A part of reflective teaching• Most state/national tests will

have DOKs 1 & 2 with few DOK 3; however, the PARCC test in 2014-2015 will have DOK 4.

• A state mandate• A silver bullet• Based on verbs• A taxonomy• A wheel• DOK is not an exact

science. • DOK is not about difficulty

but more about the cognitive demand needed to meet the standard.

The Depth of Knowledge is NOT determined by the verb, but the context in which the verb is used and the depth of

thinking required.

•Not sanctioned or authorized byNorman Webb

•DOK is NOT just about the verb!

DOK LEVEL REVIEW

LEVEL ONE - RECALLRecall of a fact, information, or procedure

LEVEL TWO – SKILL/CONCEPTUse information or conceptual knowledge

LEVEL THREE – STRATEGIC THINKINGReasoning, developing a plan, more complex and abstract, students must justify responses

LEVEL FOUR – EXTENDED THINKINGRequires an investigation, collection of data and analysis of results; often occurs over an extended period of time

Language Arts Examples• Describe the characteristics of a short story.

• Describe the difference between a short story and a novel.

• Describe how the author of a short story must be cognizant of how much space he actually has to develop the elements of the story because he is confined by that space.

Social Studies Standards

SSUSH1 The student will describe European settlement in North America during the 17th century.

SSUSH9 e. Describe the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation

SSUSH9 b. Describe President Lincoln’s efforts to preserve the Union as seen in his second inaugural address and the Gettysburg speech and in his use of emergency powers, such as his decision to suspend habeas corpus.

Science StandardsAll standards use the verb “Explain”

• SB1d: Explain the impact of water on life processes (i.e. osmosis, diffusion).

• SB1b: Explain how enzymes function as catalysts in living cells.

• SB1a: Explain the role of cell organelles for both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, including the cell membrane, in maintaining homeostasis and cell reproduction

DOK Level 1 Examples List animals that survive by eating other animals Locate or recall facts found in text Describe physical features of places Determine the perimeter or area of rectangles

given a drawing or labels Identify elements of music using musical

terminology Identify basic rules for participating in simple

games and activities

DOK Level 2 Examples Compare desert and tropical environments Identify and summarize the major events,

problem, solution conflicts in literary text Explain the cause-effect of historical events Predict a logical outcome based on information

in a reading selection Explain how good work habits are important at

home, school and on the job. Classify plane and three dimensional figures Describe various styles of music

DOK Level 3 Examples Compare consumer actions and analyze how these

actions impact the environment Analyze or evaluate the effectiveness of literary

elements ( e.g. characterization, setting, point of view, conflict and resolution)

Solve a multiple-step problem and provide support with a mathematical explanation that justifies the answer

Develop a scientific model for a complex idea Propose and evaluate solutions for an economic

problem Create a dance that represents the characteristics of a

culture

DOK Level 4 Examples Gather, analyze, organize, and interpret

information from multiple sources to draft a reasoned report

Analyzing author’s craft (e.g. style, bias, literary techniques, point of view)

Create an exercise plan applying the FITT Principle(frequency, intensity time and type)

Analyze and explain multiple perspectives or issues within or across time periods, events or cultures

Write and produce an original play

DOK TASKS• As a table group, you will DOK tasks. You’ll need a set of task

cards.

• Deal the DOK task cards out to members at the table.

• Lay out the 4 “DOK Example” headers on the table.

• First person places one of the task cards under the appropriate header, explaining the rationale for the placement.

• The table group confirms the placement or comes to consensus for another placement---be sure to articulate the rationale for the placement using DOK rubrics.

• Continue and repeat the process until all tasks have been DOK’ed.

DOK 1 Tasks DOK 2 Tasks DOK 3 Tasks DOK 4 Tasks

Recall elements and details of story structure, such as sequence of events, character, plot and setting.

Formulate a routine problem given data and conditions.

Support ideas with details and examples.

Conduct a project that requires specifying a problem, designing and conducting an experiment, analyzing its data, and reporting results/ solutions.

Conduct basic mathematical calculations.

Identify and summarize the major events in a narrative.

Use voice appropriate to the purpose and audience.

Apply mathematical model to illuminate a problem or situation.

Label locations on a map. Solve routine multiple-step problems.

Identify research questions and design investigations for a scientific problem.

Analyze and synthesize information from multiple sources.

Represent in words or diagrams a scientific concept or relationship.

Describe the cause/effect of a particular event.

Apply a concept in other contexts.

Describe and illustrate how common themes are found across texts from different cultures.

Describe the features of a place or people. Identify patterns in events or

behavior.Develop a scientific model for a complex situation.

Design a mathematical model to inform and solve a practical or abstract situation.

Perform routine procedures like measuring length or using punctuation marks correctly.

Use context cues to identify the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Determine the author’s purpose and describe how it affects the interpretation of a reading selection.

Organize, represent and interpret data.

DOK Level 4Extended Thinking

Time alone is not the distinguishing factor

Task Thinking

Collecting data sample over several months Recall

Organizing the data in a chart Skills/Concepts

Using this chart to make and justify prediction

Strategic Thinking

Developing a generalized model from this data and applying it to a new situation

Extended Thinking

Subject Depth of KnowledgeLevel 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

English Language ArtsRequires students to recall, observe, question or represent facts or simple skills or abilities. Requires only surface understanding of text often verbatim recall or slight paraphrasing. Use conventions of Standard English. Examples: Support ideas by

reference to specific details in text

Use dictionary to find meaning

Use punctuation marks correctly

Identify figurative language in passage

Identify correct spelling or meaning of words

Requires processing beyond recall and observation. Requires both comprehension and subsequent processing of text. Involves ordering, classifying text as well as identifying patterns, relationships and main points. Connect ideas using ideas using simple organizational structures. Requires some scrutiny of text. Examples: Use contextual clues to

identify unfamiliar words

Predict logical outcome Construct or edit

compound or complex sentences

Identify and summarize main points

Apply knowledge of conventions of standard American English

Compose accurate summaries

Requires students to go beyond text. Requires students to explain, generalize and connect ideas. Involves inference, prediction, elaboration and summary. Requires students to support positions using prior knowledge and to manipulate themes across passages. Students develop compositions with multiple paragraphs. Examples: Determine effect of

author’s purpose on text elements

Summarize information from multiple sources

Critically analyze literature

Edit writing to produce logical progression

Compose focused, organized, coherent, purposeful prose

Requires extended higher order processing. Typically requires extended time to complete task, but time spent not on repetitive tasks. Involves taking information from one text/passage and applying this information to a new task. May require generating hypotheses and performing complex analyses and connections among texts. Examples: Analyze and

synthesize information from multiple sources

Examine and explain alternative perspectives across sources

Describe and illustrate common themes across a variety of texts

Create compositions that synthesize, analyze, and evaluate

Increased Cognitive Demand

Describe

Describe

Describe

DOK and Assessments

•The level of a DOK item is determined by the task (defined by complex thinking and reasoning skills), not grade level or ability of the student.

•Therefore, the DOK of the task does not change with grade or ability of the student.

•Verbs alone do not determine the DOK’s level of an assessment task. DOK’s focus is on how deeply students need to know content for a given response.

DOK and Assessments

•Multiple-choice questions can be written at a DOK 3 or 4 level; however, to design a question in this format is difficult. An Item at DOK level 3 or 4 requires complex reasoning, strategic and extended thinking about the concepts of the content and a real world context, and especially at a level 4 that requires research, investigation and application often over an extended period of time.

•"There are six dimensions to the alignment process and depth (DOK) was only one. The U.S. Department of Education issued guidelines that include six dimensions important for making judgments about the alignment between state standards and assessments. These dimensions include comprehensiveness, content and performance match, emphasis, depth, consistency with achievement standards and clarity for users.

•DOK levels are not related to the score points.