Depth-of-Knowledge
Levels: What Are They &
Why Should I Care?
CASAS Summer Conference
June, 2014
1
Depth of Knowledge (DOK)
Consistency

One of 4 criteria of Webb’s alignment
system – the Web Alignment Tool (2005)

Related to Bloom’s Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives – Knowledge,
Understanding, Application, Analysis,
Synthesis, Evaluation (1956)
2
Depth of Knowledge (DOK)
Levels

Dr. Norman Webb (Univ. of Wisconsin),
defines four DOK levels:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Recall, Reproduction, Recitation
Application of Skills / Concepts
Strategic Thinking
Extended Thinking
Levels of cognitive processing, not difficulty
3
Summary of the Four DOK Levels
LEVEL ONE – RECALL & REPRODUCTION
Recall of a fact, information, or procedure
LEVEL TWO – SKILLS & CONCEPTS
Use information or conceptual knowledge
LEVEL THREE – STRATEGIC THINKING
Reasoning, developing a plan
LEVEL FOUR – EXTENDED THINKING
Requires an investigation, collection of data and
analysis of results
4
Contrasting “Bloom” to “DOK”
• Bloom’s taxonomy level of difficulty
is determined by the verb.
• DOK’s level of cognitive demand is
determined by the context of how the verb
is used and the depth of thinking required.
• What comes after the verb is more
important that the verb itself.
5
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
WEBB’S DOK
KNOWLEDGE
“The recall of specifics and universals, involving
little more than bringing to mind the appropriate
material”
COMPREHENSION
“Ability to process knowledge on a low level such
that the knowledge can be reproduced or
communicated without a verbatim repetition.”
APPLICATION
“The use of abstractions in concrete situations.”
ANALYSIS
“The breakdown of a situation into its component
parts.”
SYNTHESIS AND EVALUATION
“Putting together elements & parts to form a
whole, then making value judgments about
the method.”
RECALL
Recall of a fact, information, or procedure (e.g.,
What are 3 critical skill cues for the overhand
throw?)
SKILLS / CONCEPTS
Use of information, conceptual knowledge,
procedures, two or more steps, etc.
STRATEGIC THINKING
Requires reasoning, developing a plan or
sequence of steps; has some complexity; more
than one possible answer
EXTENDED THINKING
Requires an investigation; time to think and
process multiple conditions of the problem or task.
How Does DOK Look in the
Classroom?
Level Four (Extended Thinking) - Analyze the
strategies and effectiveness of George H. W.
Bush’s war strategies in the Persian Gulf with
the war strategies of George W. Bush in Iraq.
8
How Does DOK Look in the
Classroom?
Level Three (Strategic Thinking) –
Hypothesize how President Dwight D.
Eisenhower would react to
today’s political situation in the Middle
East.
9
How Does DOK Look in the
Classroom?
Level Two (Skill/Concept) – Use the right
and left political spectrum to categorize
the U.S. presidents of
the 20th and 21st
century according to
to
their political standing.
10
What Does DOK Look Like in the
Classroom?
Level One (Recall) –
Name the first 16
presidents of the
United States in order.
Who was President of the
United States during the
War between the States?
11
12
Beginning at the Beginning:
 What
DOK is can best be explained
by saying what DOK is NOT.
DOK is not a verb.
 DOK is not about the “difficulty” of the
task.
 DOK is not a grade-level indicator.

13
Depth of Knowledge (DOK)
Consistency
Why are DOKs important to your work?


The thinking required for each performance task
must correspond to the cognitive complexity
levels of the underlying content standard. Tasks
and content standards should reflect about the
same levels of thinking.
The new College and Career Readiness
Standards and the Common Core State
Standards in language arts and mathematics
reflect higher-order thinking.
14
DOK 1
Recall, Reproduction, Recitation







Right-there questions
Recall information
Identification/recitation of simple facts
Use simple skills/abilities
Follow a well-known procedure
Perform a routine algorithm
Apply a simple formula
15
DOK 1
Recall, Reproduction, Recitation







Describe physical features of an area.
Locate points on a grid or number on a number
line.
Solve a one-step problem.
Calculate, measure, apply a rule.
Identify elements of a painting using artistic
terminology.
Retrieve information from a table to answer a
question.
Define terms (e.g., forms of government,
geographical features).
16

Final Jeopardy is always a DOK 1!!!
17
DOK 2
Application of Skills / Concepts








Some mental processing beyond a habitual
response and/or
Actions require more than one cognitive step.
Inter-sentence, think-&-search questions
Observe/collect data
Classify/organize/compare data
Display data in tables, graphs, charts
Summarize & infer from information
Determine fact/opinion
18
DOK 2
Application of Skills / Concepts









Demonstrate understanding & use of reference
materials.
Take notes, outline, summarize.
Identify central ideas/supporting details in text.
Explain how nutritional choices affect our health.
Compare sources of information about a product.
Explain the cause-effect of historical events.
Describe various styles of music.
Make inferences or logical predictions from data.
Retrieve information from a table, & use it to solve
a multi-step problem.
19
DOK 3
Strategic Thinking








Deep understanding, reasoning, planning, using
evidence
Complex, abstract cognitive demands
Explanations, generalizations, beyond-text
questions
Draw & justify conclusions from observations
Make inferences across entire passage
Make connections between texts
Develop logical arguments
Compositions of multiple paragraphs
demonstrating focus, development, voice,
complex sentence structure, etc.
20
DOK 3
Strategic Thinking







Design investigation for specific purpose or
research question.
Compare multiple sources of consumer
information about a product, and recommend a
purchase.
Compare/contrast/analyze procedures or
solutions.
Formulate an original problem given a situation.
Analyze interrelationships among concepts,
issues, problems.
Interpret author’s craft to critique a text.
Create a monthly budget & analyze results to
explain ways to reduce household expenses.
21
DOK 4
Extended Thinking






Complexity of cognitive demand often requires
extended time & research
Synthesis & application to real world
Relate ideas within & among subject areas
Design/conduct/critique experimental designs &
investigations
Prepare essays & research papers to
demonstrate analysis & synthesis of complex
perspectives with fresh applications to life
Addressed in a CLASSROOM situation only!
22
DOK 4
Extended Thinking





Specify a problem, identify solution paths,
solve problem, & report results.
Write & produce an original play.
Analyze multiple perspectives within &
across time periods, events, or cultures.
Describe contributions from diverse
cultures to life in the U.S.
Identify & analyze representative art
works from different periods & cultures.
23
Not everything that counts
can be counted;
Not everything that can be
counted counts.
Albert Einstein
24
DOK Caution
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.
25
25
Same Verb – 3 DOK Levels

DOK 3- Describe a model that you might use to
represent the relationships that exist within the
rock cycle. (requires deep understanding of rock
cycle and a determination of how best to
represent it)

DOK 2- Describe the difference between
metamorphic and igneous rocks. (requires
cognitive processing to determine the
differences in the two rock types)

DOK 1- Describe three characteristics of
metamorphic rocks. (simple recall)
26
Remember…
• Depth of Knowledge (DOK) is a scale of
cognitive demand. It is not about difficulty level.
• DOK levels can be cumulative. An assessment
item/task written to DOK 3 often contains DOK 1
& DOK 2 level “sub-demands.”
• DOK requires looking at the Competency/PI &
the assessment item/task – not student work – in
order to determine the level. DOK is NOT about
the student.
• The context of the standard or test item must be
considered to determine the DOK – not just
looking at what verb was chosen.
27
“Alignment’ of Content Standards with
Assessment Exercises
When (making or) inspecting the alignment
between a set of content standards and an item
on an assessment, it is important that the DOK
level of the standard corresponds with that of the item.
• Otherwise, think about the inferences you will draw
From a student’s performance on the item.
28
DOK levels - NEDP Health
32.3 Indicator
Describe methods for reducing home
hazards that cause:
a)
falls
b)
fires
c)
electrical accidents
d)
gas leaks
e)
poisoning
29
DOK levels of NEDP Health
32.3 Item
“…, identify three areas that need improvement
in making your home safer by marking the
“Hazards” column in the Home Safety Chart.”
“…identify and describe what you will do you to
reduce these three hazards in your home.”
30
DOK levels of NEDP Health
36.3 Indicator
Use the USDA Food Pyramid to interpret
nutrition information based on a one-day
eating plan of 2,000 calories that includes
one fast food meal, and one home-cooked
meal.
31
DOK levels of NEDP Health
36.3 Item
“… fill in the blanks in the following sentences
with information found on the My Pyramid
website.”
“Three examples of foods in the grain group in
the food pyramid are _______, _______, and
______.”
32
“Practice Test” – Assigning DOKs

Try assigning a DOK to these 7 possible
classroom activities:
33
1. Paraphrase Chapter 4 of this book.
2. Write a letter to the editor concerning your view on . . .
3. Use your knowledge of different types of graphs to make and
label the results of a poll of your classmates concerning their
favorite sport.
4. Make a timeline of the key events of the U.S. involvement in
World War II
5. Think up a new snack food and write an advertisement jingle to
promote the product.
6.
Develop a menu for a new restaurant using a variety of healthy
foods.
7. Identify three literary devices used in this short story and give
an example of each.
34
Summary of the Four DOK Levels
LEVEL ONE – RECALL & REPRODUCTION
Recall of a fact, information, or procedure
LEVEL TWO – SKILLS & CONCEPTS
Use information or conceptual knowledge
LEVEL THREE – STRATEGIC THINKING
Reasoning, developing a plan
LEVEL FOUR – EXTENDED THINKING
Requires an investigation, collection of data and
analysis of results
35
“Practice Test” – Assign DOKs
Assign a DOK level to each of the following
Grades 7-8 mathematics items.

36
1. After three games, Stella’s bowling average (mean) was 105.
Her first to scores were 112 and 96. What was her third score?
2. Elizabeth dropped a ball from 50 feet off the ground. Each
time the ball bounced, it rebounded one-half the distance it
dropped. What was the height of rebound after the third bounce?
3. The equation 2x + 3y + 7 = 35 represents the total number of
points that Frank scored in last night’s game. In this equation,
x represents the number of two-point shots he made, and y equals
the number of three-point baskets he made. If he made 8 two-point
shots, how many three-point baskets did he make?
37
38
39
40
Summary of the Four DOK Levels
LEVEL ONE – RECALL & REPRODUCTION
Recall of a fact, information, or procedure
LEVEL TWO – SKILLS / CONCEPTS
Use information or conceptual knowledge
LEVEL THREE – STRATEGIC THINKING
Reasoning, developing a plan
LEVEL FOUR – EXTENDED THINKING
Requires an investigation, collection of data and
analysis of results
41
Excellent Resource
“Webb’s Depth of Knowledge: Transitioning
to the 2014 GED Test” – GED Testing Service
webinar transcript and Powerpoint slides,
2013. Available on GED website.
42
Contact:
Michael Beck
35 Guion Street
Pleasantville, NY 10570
914 – 769- 5235
[email protected]
43