1 Cognitive Demand in Problems  Cognitive demand is a measure of what the instructional question (a question posed during class) or test item requires.  Cognitive demand requires looking at the instructional question or test item in order to determine the level. It is about the problem, not the student.  When examining a test item, you must consider the stimulus, stem (question) and the answer choices --not just a look at which verb was used.  The level of cognitive demand is not affected by a student’s prior knowledge or his/her individual abilities-- You do need to consider the student’s prior experience with the content according to the standards.

2 Depth of Knowledge (DOK) A Four Level System  Level 1 Recall  Level 2 Skill/Concept  Level 3 Strategic Thinking  Level 4 Extended Thinking

3 Recall Level 1  DOK 1 requires recall of information, such as a fact, definition, term, or performance of a simple process or procedure.  Answering a Level 1 item can involve following a simple, well-known procedure or formula. Simple skills and abilities or recall characterize DOK 1.  This does not necessarily mean the question is simple. For instance, in math, fractions, decimals, percents, and models can occur in these question types.

4 Skills/Concepts Level 2  DOK 2 includes the engagement of some mental processing beyond recalling or reproducing a response. Items require students to make some decisions as to how to approach the question or problem.  Often requires interpreting.  These actions imply more than one mental or cognitive process/step (this is different than “multi-step” questions).

5 Strategic Thinking Level 3  DOK 3 requires deep understanding as exhibited through planning, using evidence, and more demanding cognitive reasoning. The cognitive demands at Level 3 are complex and abstract.  An assessment item that requires students to justify the response they give would most likely be a Level 3. That justification needs to be strategic.

6 Extended Thinking Level 4  DOK 4 requires high cognitive demand and is very complex. Students are expected to make connections and relate ideas within the content or among content areas—and have to select or devise one approach among many alternatives on how the situation can be solved.  These are often non-routine problems.  Due to the complexity of cognitive demand, DOK 4 often requires an extended period of time to answer.  These are level 3’s that cross content or strands. Connections must be explicitly required.

7 Level 1: Recall Focus is on specific facts, definitions, details, or using routine procedures Can be ‘difficult’ without requiring ‘deep’ content knowledge “You know it or you don’t” Level 2: Skill/Concept Focus is on applying skills and concepts, relationships (compare, cause-effect) Making decisions Interpreting Level 3: Strategic Reasoning Focus is on reasoning Complex and abstract thinking is required Justification May need to experiment to find the solution Level 4: Extended Reasoning Requires complex reasoning, planning, and thinking Relate concepts among other content areas or within that content area Make real-world applications in new situations

What DOK is it? Guiding Questions  DOK 1: Is it naked content? Does it cue a standard algorithm/procedure?  DOK 2: Does it require interpretation? Does it have many pathways? Is a decision made? Does it require multiple mental/cognitive steps?  DOK 3: Does it require justification, rationale, proof, explanation, or experimentation? Is it strategic?  DOK 4: Is it at least a Level 3? Does it require connections? 8

Language Arts Guiding Questions  Can you find the answer directly in the passage/text? Or does this require recall of types of language/terms/word meanings?=DOK1  Does it require finding/using cues in the context? Is this a summary, prediction (based on the text), comparison, interpreting (fact from fiction, bias from unbiased, etc.)?=DOK2  Is it inference? Is it a critique? Does the analysis require an explanation? Does it require considering alternate perspectives on the same piece?=DOK3  Does it ask about common themes across sources, analysis of multiple sources, or explaining alternate perspectives across sources (key words…MULTIPLE sources)?=DOK4 Adapted from Norman L. Webb & Nevada Department of Education (2002)

What DOK might look like in the classroom… Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4 HS Music Name several composers from the Baroque and Classical Periods. Describe differences between Baroque and Classical Periods. Critique, compare, and contrast pieces of music from Baroque and Classical Periods. Explain the influence of the government and politics of the time period on Baroque and Classical music and how that contributes to the different elements of each. Agriculture Crop Science Name 2 crops that are commonly grown in Missouri. Make a graph showing the annual production of the 5 largest crops grown in Missouri. Develop a logical argument for planting a particular crop in your area, taking into account soils, weather,and other variables. Design a 3 year crop rotation system for a farm of 360 acres, using as little chemical fertilizer as possible. Justify your system. Project the expected costs and revenues. U.S. History Name the presidents of the U.S. in order. Using the left and right political continuum, categorize the presidents of the 20 th and 21 st centuries according to their political standing. Hypothesize how Dwight D. Eisenhower would react to today’s political situation. Analyze the strategies and effectiveness of George Bush’s war strategies in the Persian Gulf with the war strategies of George W. Bush in Iraq. 4 th Grade Interdisciplinary List the ingredients of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Collect the ingredients and write the recipe. Investigate how many people are coming to dinner and formulate the appropriate amounts of ingredients for those people. Explain the connections between the amounts of ingredients, number of guests, nutritional intake, and kinetic and potential energy for your dinner. Adapted from