Webb’s
Depth of
Knowledge
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.
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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 by
Norman Webb
•DOK is NOT just
about the verb!
DOK LEVEL REVIEW
LEVEL ONE - RECALL
Recall of a fact, information, or
procedure
LEVEL TWO – SKILL/CONCEPT
Use information or conceptual
knowledge
LEVEL THREE – STRATEGIC THINKING
Reasoning, developing a plan, more
complex and abstract, students must
justify responses
LEVEL FOUR – EXTENDED THINKING
Requires an investigation, collection of
data and analysis of results; often
occurs over an extended period of
time
A. Requires complex reasoning,
planning, and thinking (generally over
extended periods of time) for the
investigation. B. Assessment activities
have multiple steps with extended time
provided. C. Students may be asked to
relate concepts within the content area
and among other content areas.
D.Students make real-world applications
in new situations.
A. Focus is on reasoning & planning
in order to respond (e.g., write an
essay, apply in new/novel situation).
B.Complex and abstract thinking is
required. C. Often need to provide
support for reasoning or conclusions
drawn. D. More than one “correct”
response or approach is often possible.
A. Focus is on specific facts, definitions,
details, or using routine procedures (measure,
divide, follow recipe, etc.) B. Explaining “that…”
C. Can be “difficult” without requiring “deep”
content knowledge to respond to item (memorize
a complex theory without being able to explain its
meaning or apply it to a real work situation)
D. Combination of level ones does NOT = level 2.
E. One right answer
Modified with permission from a Pam Lowe poster by Debbie Perkins
Whoa
A. Focus is on applying skills and
concepts (in a familiar/typical situation),
relationships (compare, cause-effect),
main ideas. B. Requires deeper knowledge
than definition
C. Explaining how or why D. Making
decisions E. Estimating, interpreting in
order to respond F. One right answer
Clip art from Discovery School's Clip Art Gallery- created by Mark A. Hicks, illustrator.
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 Standards
All 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.
Perform routine procedures like
measuring length or using
punctuation marks correctly.
Identify patterns in events or
behavior.
Use context cues to identify the
meaning of unfamiliar words.
Organize, represent and interpret
data.
Develop a scientific model for a
complex situation.
Determine the author’s purpose
and describe how it affects the
interpretation of a reading
selection.
Design a mathematical model
to inform and solve a practical
or abstract situation.
DOK Level 4
Extended 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
English Language Arts
Level 1
Requires 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
Depth of Knowledge
Level 2
Level 3
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
Level 4
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.