NORMAN WEBB’S DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE (DOK)

 Depth of Knowledge is another type of framework used to identify the level of rigor for an assessment.
The creation of the DoK stemmed from the alignment of standards to assessments. Standardized
assessments measured how students think about a content and the procedures learned but did not
measure how deeply students must understand and be aware of a learning so they can explain
answers and provide solutions, as well as transfer what was learned in real world contexts (Francis,
2017).

 Depth of Knowledge (DoK) categorizes tasks according to the complexity of thinking required to
successfully complete them. The goal is to establish the context—the scenario, the setting, or the
situation—in which students express the depth and extent of the learning.

 DoK is better used in measuring the actual assessment itself. In other words, Bloom’s provides the
instructional framework, while DoK analyzes the specifics of the assignments. Also, Bloom’s Taxonomy
requires that students master the lower levels of cognition before moving onto the next. In DoK, when
measuring the assessments, students are moving fluidly through all the levels.

 The objective’s verb does not define the level. Instead, consider the cognitive effort that a student will
use to complete the task. Developers must also consider the complexity of the task and/or information,
conventional levels of prior knowledge for students at the grade level, and the mental processes used
to satisfy the requirements set forth in the objective

 The DOK level should reflect the complexity of the cognitive processes demanded by the task outlined
by the objective, rather than its difficulty. Ultimately the DOK level describes the kind of thinking
required by a task, not whether or not the task is “difficult”.

 The objective’s central verb(s) alone is/are not sufficient information to assign a DOK level.
 Level 1 (Acquired Knowledge) - Recall and Reproduction: Tasks require recall of facts or
rote application of simple procedures. The task does not require any cognitive effort beyond
remembering the right response or formula. Copying, computing, defining, and recognizing
are typical Level 1 tasks.

 Level 2 (Knowledge Application) - Skills and Concepts: At this level, students use
learned concepts to answer questions. Tasks with more than one mental step, such as
comparing, organizing, summarizing, predicting, and estimating, are usually Level 2.

 Level 3 (Analysis) - Strategic Thinking: At this level of complexity, students must use
planning and evidence, and reasoning is more abstract. A task with multiple valid responses,
where students must justify their choices, would be Level 3. Students are required to explain
how concepts and procedures can be used to provide results. Examples include solving non-
routine problems, designing an experiment, or analyzing characteristics of a genre.
  Level 4 (Augmentation) Extended Thinking: Level 4 tasks require the most complex
cognitive effort. Students synthesize information from multiple sources, often over an
extended period of time, or transfer knowledge from one domain to solve problems in
another. This requires going beyond the standard learning and asking, how else can the
learning be used in real world contexts. Designing a survey and interpreting the results,
analyzing multiple texts by to extract themes, or writing an original myth in an ancient style
would all be examples of Level 4

 Extended time by itself does not make a task Level 4. Lower-level tasks that are merely repeated
over a period of time are still lower level.

LEVEL 1: Potential activities

LEVEL 3: Potential activities

Items falling into this category demand a short-term use of higher order thinking processes, such as
analysis and evaluation, to solve real-world problems with predictable outcomes. Stating one’s reasoning is
a key marker of tasks that fall into this particular category. The expectation established for tasks at this
level tends to require coordination of knowledge and skill from multiple subject-matter areas to carry out
processes and reach a solution in a project-based setting. Key processes that often denote this particular
level include: analyze, explain and support with evidence, generalize, and create.
LEVEL 4: Potential activities
Curricular elements assigned to this level demand extended use of higher order thinking processes such as
synthesis, reflection, assessment and adjustment of plans over time. Students are engaged in conducting
investigations to solve real-world problems with unpredictable outcomes. Employing and sustaining
strategic thinking processes over a longer period of time to solve the problem is a key feature of curricular
objectives that are assigned to this level. Key strategic thinking processes that denote this particular level
include: synthesize, reflect, conduct, and manage.
 Sources

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Francis, E. (2016). What exactly is depth of knowledge. Retrieved from http://edge.ascd.org/blogpost/what-

exactly-is-depth-of-knowledge-hint-its-not-a-wheel

Game, P. (n.d.). Depth of knowledge: 4 DOK Levels & Proven Strategies to increase rigor. Prodigy

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