As educators, we attempt to instill important pondering abilities in our college students. These abilities are essential for problem-solving, making knowledgeable choices, and navigating our more and more advanced world. In an age of Generative AI (ChatGPT, Bard, and so on…) analyze and critique grow to be way more helpful. One instrument that helps us categorize and improve these abilities is the Depth of Data (DOK) framework. DOK is measured on a scale of 1 to 4, though I like to incorporate DOK 0 for duties akin to “copying” that don’t require any recall. On this article I’ll discover “What’s DOK 2?”

Depth of Data (DOK)

DOK, or Depth of Data, was developed by Dr. Norman Webb as a framework to categorize duties in response to the complexity of pondering required. DOK ranges vary from 1 (Recall and Replica) to 4 (Prolonged Considering).

My fast and soiled for DOK:

DOK will not be how onerous a process is, however moderately how a lot advanced reasoning there may be.

Robert Kaplinsky describes in his weblog how constructing a rocket to the moon is tough, however there’s a information on the right way to construct it and if you happen to comply with the instructions it ought to work. Complicated is elevating a baby. What works with one youngster doesn’t essentially work with one other. 

What’s DOK 2

DOK 2, additionally termed “Ability/Idea,” includes:

1. Understanding Ideas: Going past mere recall, college students at DOK 2 have interaction with content material, understanding the relationships between concepts.

2. Making use of Expertise and Ideas: At this stage, college students can use a talent or idea in a scenario that requires resolution making, reasoning, or each.

3. Processing Info: College students usually must categorize, manage, evaluate, or distinction info to finish DOK 2 duties.

Examples of DOK 2 duties embody:

Arithmetic:

1. Given a sequence, college students predict the following few numbers based mostly on the sample.

2. College students classify triangles based mostly on aspect lengths and angles.

3. Deciphering info from a graph or chart.

4. Fixing phrase issues that require a single operation.

5. Drawing conclusions from information in a desk.

English Language Arts:

6. Evaluating and contrasting characters inside or between texts.

7. Making predictions a few story’s end result based mostly on textual proof.

8. Figuring out the primary concept of a passage.

9. Deciphering the which means of a metaphor or simile.

10. Summarizing the plot of a narrative with out copying the textual content.

Science:

11. Designing an experiment to check the results of daylight on plant development.

12. Classifying animals based mostly on their traits.

13. Predicting the end result of a easy chemical response.

14. Drawing a meals chain based mostly on given info.

15. Deciphering outcomes from a fundamental lab experiment.

Social Research:

16. Evaluating two historic occasions or figures.

17. Deciphering info from a historic map.

18. Figuring out the primary concept of a major supply doc.

19. Predicting the following occasion in a historic timeline.

20. Classifying varieties of authorities based mostly on given traits.

Bodily Training:

21. Demonstrating the right approach for a fundamental volleyball serve.

22. Evaluating the foundations of two totally different video games or sports activities.

23. Deciphering the advantages of standard train from a chart.

24. Designing a fundamental health routine based mostly on particular objectives.

25. Predicting outcomes of sports activities occasions based mostly on crew statistics.

Music:

26. Evaluating two items of music from totally different genres.

27. Deciphering the temper of a bit based mostly on musical components.

28. Figuring out patterns in a musical piece.

29. Predicting the following word in a melody based mostly on a sample.

30. Summarizing the theme of a tune’s lyrics.

Artwork:

31. Evaluating and contrasting two artwork items from totally different durations.

32. Deciphering the temper of a portray based mostly on coloration selections.

33. Designing a bit impressed by a well-known artist.

34. Predicting traits in artwork based mostly on previous actions.

35. Summarizing the primary concept of an artwork piece with out copying it.

Overseas Language:

36. Evaluating and contrasting cultural customs from two totally different international locations.

37. Predicting the following line in a dialog based mostly on context.

38. Classifying verbs based mostly on conjugation patterns.

39. Deciphering the primary concept of a brief passage in a overseas language.

40. Designing a dialogue utilizing particular vocabulary phrases.

Well being:

41. Evaluating dietary details between two meals merchandise.

42. Deciphering a meals label to establish wholesome substances.

43. Designing a balanced meal plan for a day.

44. Predicting the well being results of a sure behavior or habits.

45. Summarizing the steps of a primary support process.

Expertise:

46. Evaluating two totally different software program based mostly on their options.

47. Predicting the following pattern in expertise based mostly on present occasions.

48. Deciphering information from a digital analytics report.

49. Designing a fundamental webpage structure.

50. Summarizing the features of a specific digital instrument or utility.

Essential Considering is At Least DOK 2

After we speak about important pondering it means elevating duties previous merely recalling details or info. Following an algorithm or set of instructions, even onerous ones, are nonetheless DOK 1. DOK 1: “Establish the discriminant for a quadratic equation that isn’t introduced in its customary format.” This requires the scholar to do a number of steps and could be difficult. Nonetheless, if the scholars follows the steps of their notes fastidiously they are often profitable. There is no such thing as a stage of resolution making on this query.

Beware the DOK Wheel

For those who Google search DOK absolutely you’ll come throughout the dreaded DOK wheel. As Erik Francis factors out, the wheel is inaccurate. It actually requires your individual advanced evaluation of the duty to ask “how advanced is the scholars stage of reasoning?”

Did the scholars should determine something out? Justify their reasoning? Be aware that “present your work” will not be justifying reasoning. It’s figuring out the steps of an algorithm that was adopted.

Whenever you straight present college students the right way to full a process, they usually comply with your steps to do this process, the DOK stage of the duty is decreased to recall. Are the scholars figuring out the patterns or are we telling them the patterns? This makes a giant distinction on the subject of how college students method a process on their very own.