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How my thoughts have grown and changed: 

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How my thoughts have grown and changed: 

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-       How have your thoughts about student-centered classroom assessment changed over this course?

My thoughts about student-centered classroom assessment have changed over this course, because I know understand how to actually create assessments that are student based and especially how to track these assessments. Previously, I thought that as a classroom teacher, I would just formatively assess students by checking in with them and having conversations throughout the day. I did not think about all of the strategies to formatively assess my students that can give me a more well-rounded view of their learning. More importantly, I learned how to actually track student progress in a way that I can follow their progress and what they are struggling with. This is something that I wasn’t quite sure how to do previously. I learned that I think I would like to keep a binder of messy sheets to track student progress and data I am observing. I hadn’t previously thought of adding a section on my messy sheet to jot down a “next step” for students which will keep me always in a growth mindset for my student’s learning. I also learned to note students who need enrichment and intervention. My mindset on small groups has changed, I used to think I should do ability groups, but now I believe I should do skill-based groups.

-       How have you grown in the area of classroom assessment?
I had not previously thought that thinking routines could be so impactful as a form of assessment for students. Now I think this would be a great thing to do with elementary students so I can check their learning, and I believe these thinking routines are helpful for them as well to really reflect on what they have just learned and organize their thoughts because I think that can be hard to do for most elementary students.
I have grown a lot in my knowledge of how to track student progress. I learned how to track what their goals are, what they are struggling with, what their next step should be, by using things such as messy sheets, google sheets, or google forms. I learned that if you keep this information digitally it is instant and easily organized, and it already looks professional for when your need to show your assessment observations to parents in a conference. This is also helpful to keep track of which students you have and have not met with.

I learned a lot about how to create tests that apply to all the different levels of thinking. I now know the different types of questions I can create to get students to think differently and the importance of requiring students to use all levels of thinking, not just high levels, and not just low levels.
The concept of validity and reliability of assessments was brand new to me, and I think this was very valuable information for me to learn. I did not ever think much about how a test that I create needs to be valid, and also have reliable information, especially so that I can report student learning to administration and parents.
Before this class I had never had to create a rubric or a grading policy, and I think these are both skills that I will need to have and use often in my own classroom. I now understand what goes into a grading policy and how to best communicate it to parents. I now also understand how to create a rubric for a student project and what to look for in students’ work that should be worth more or less points.
Something else that I believe that was really valuable that I learned in this class was how to break down standards into more measurable learning goals. I will most likely use this skill daily in my classroom when planning lessons and assessments for my students. It is important to break down the standards so that my students can fully grasp the content instead of trying to teach the whole thing at once, which may overwhelm students and cause them to check out or shut down. I will always remember the metaphor for learning objectives and learning goals; learning objectives are like rungs of a ladder that help you reach the big learning goal (standard). This is necessary to break down learning for students.

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Chapter 7 in Educational Assessment of Students textbook - Diagnostic Assessment 

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Chapter 7 in Educational Assessment of Students textbook - Diagnostic Assessment 

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What is course alignment

When a course is being designed, it is important to ensure that ensure that these three components of your course are aligned. In order to align various components of the course module, we must clearly define alignment itself. Alignment is when there is consistency across the program with precise connections between evaluations, course goals and learning tasks. It is important to align learning objectives with instructional strategies and assessments to ensure that everyone involved is aware of the expectations. Both instructors and students should have a consistent understanding of what is going to be taught and how it will be evaluated.

Alignment in teaching stems from the idea of ' backwards planning,' or beginning with the end goal and working backwards from there. First, instructors outline learning goals for the program and then create assessments based on the learning objectives. Skills and knowledge are demonstrated at the end with criteria that was established at the beginning. Both students and teachers will experience greater success in the program if they know where they are headed.

Evaluations are used in a course to measure whether students have achieved the learning objectives. It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that students have thorough understanding of the material taught, which can be gauged by those evaluations. The success criteria and teaching strategies need to be aligned with those assessments in order for the teacher to accurately evaluate the knowledge of the students.

There are three questions that can be used in an effort to ensure that all components of your course align:

What are the learning goals? What objectives do I want students to be able to reach by the end of this course?

What kind of assessments will there be? How will I ensure that my students can demonstrate the learning goals that I have outlined?

What strategies can I implement to support student understanding? What activities can the students perform to prepare them for evaluations?

What if the elements of a module do not align?

Consistent expectations and clear outlines are imperative in order to build trust and motivate your students. Inconsistency between criteria and assessments leads to frustration and lack of engagement. For example:

One learning goal for a course is to be able to apply analytical skills. Students practice this skill but, on the evaluation, only factual recall is measured. Students are not happy.

An evaluation asks students to compare two viewpoints but the teacher has only ever taught the students to summarize different ones. Both the instructor and the students are not happy: the teacher is frustrated that the students do not possess the skills and the students have never had the opportunity to practice a comparison.

If learning strategies are consistent with skills demonstrated on a test, students will more easily reach the learning goals. Tasks and activities serve as opportunities to practice skills taught in preparation to demonstrate it on an evaluation. Clear objectives and criteria help students focus on the important skills and not get distracted from the overarching objective. Without alignment, it is also challenging to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies themselves.

Practicing skills for an evaluation is an important factor in program success. Students who are required to provide supporting evidence for an idea should not be practicing using a multiple-choice quiz online. Alignment between activities and assessments helps minimize wasted time as students are able to focus on skills geared towards the learning objectives.

Instructors can ensure that the course objectives are clearly defined at the beginning of the program by providing a table for the module. Connections between learning goals, tasks, and assessments should be clearly outlined.

See also: Flipped Classroom

The benefits of course alignment

There are many benefits of aligning learning goals and assessment. They include:

Students are able to focus on the learning objective and demonstrate the specific skill required during evaluations.

Feedback given to students is directly related to the success criteria associated with the specific learning goal, which propels them in the right direction to succeed.

You can plan tasks and activities based specifically on the learning objectives and weigh them according to their relevancy.

The alignment framework can be used not only to develop success criteria for the learning objectives, but also to engage a discussion on the effectiveness of the program as a whole.

The consistent evaluation of courses at a program level allows continual growth, benefitting larger groups of students, employers and professional bodies.

A sample course alignment map

Module 1 (chapter, week or month):

Course Objective: Summarize the relationship that exist between intelligence and learning.

Module Objectives: (1) identify and define different intelligence types (2) Recognize examples of how different how each intelligence type affects learning.

Resources: Read chapter 4, listen to podcast, watch the module video.

Assessment / Assignments: Create a table that lists major intelligence types, define and describe each area, lists 3 specific ways this area affects learning.

See also: Concept Maps and How To Use Them

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How Can We Align Learning Objectives, Instructional Strategies, and Assessments? - Educational Technology

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What is course alignment When a course is being designed, it is important to ensure that ensure that these three components of your course are aligned. In

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- Why I chose these artifacts for this section:
I chose the article about Using universal design to create better assessments for this section because I think creating assessments that are fair and reliable for all students is extremely important for us to pay attention to as educators when creating our assessments. We want our assessments to be accurate and concise in order to get a clear and reliable measure of all students thinking.
I chose the article that speaks about Differentiated Assessment Strategies for this section because I think that framing assessments differently for different levels of students can more accurately show me student growth. Teachers can strategically select an appropriate assessment tool for each learning situation by using the data that has been gathered, in order for students to most effectively demonstrate their progress.
Lastly I chose an article called "How Can We Align Learning Objectives, Instructional Strategies, and Assessments?". I chose this for this section because I think when considering how to frame an assessment, you must keep your learning goals and objectives at the forefront of your mind, to make sure that you frame your assessment in a way in which you are making sure that your students are connecting their learning to the specific goals and standards in the design on your questions.

- How I expect to use these items as a classroom teacher:
I expect to use the article about Using universal design to create better assessments in my class when I am creating my formative and summative assessments. I will use this article to make sure that in my assessments I am using nonbiased topics or ideas that are familiar to all students, literal language so that students understand the meaning of my phrases, make sure I'm not making questions that require background knowledge that some students may not have, and I will make sure to avoid using topics in assessments that can be triggering for some students.
I can use the article that speaks about Differentiated Assessment Strategies when I am looking for different kinds of assessments I can give to my students in order to differntiate. I think that it is only fair to differentiate a child's assessment if their instruction has been differentiated. This article gives many great different assessment strategies that I can use to differentiate my students assessment. I will use this when I am thinking how to frame each student's assessment.
I can use this article as a classroom teacher when I am framing my assessments. This article can show me how I can make sure that I am aligning my learning objectives/goals to my assessment questions so that I know I am specifically assessing my students on the standard we have been learning about, and not getting off on a tangent that may be connected to the topic, but is not specifically the learning goal that is being assessed.

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Tapping into elements of Universal Design for Learning may help teachers create fairer and more reliable tests.

Marmaduke St. John / Alamy Stock Photo

Teachers should always strive for clarity in formulating assessments. One way to achieve that is through the use of elements of Universal Design for Learning. By ensuring that assessment items are clear and concise, educators will be able to accurately measure intended objectives and performance while lessening cognitive load for students. By following the elements of universal design listed here, teachers can create more reliable, valid, and fair assessments.

Universally designed assessments are grounded on the principle that every student should be included in the target population to be tested. Placing students' needs and perspectives at the center of decision making in test development helps create accessible tests that eliminate cognitive, sensory, emotional, and physical barriers.

Creating Universally Designed Assessments

Language skills: Students have a wide range of literacy and language skills. Creating universally designed assessments with nonbiased topics or ideas that are familiar to all students helps make the information fair to everyone taking the test.

When developing assessment items, teachers should analyze whether the language or context of an item might be viewed as offensive, insensitive, stereotypical, or biased against any particular group of students due to cultural, language, geographical, gender, disability, or other demographic characteristics.

Idiomatic language: The use of idiomatic language in assessment items can lead to inaccurate test results for students with different language abilities. When idiomatic expressions are used in a test item, they can introduce cultural bias for students who may get lost in the literal interpretation. For example, phrases like "think outside the box," "brainstorm ideas," and "come up with [an answer]" can cause confusion for someone who has not been explicitly taught the meaning of these phrases.

Socioeconomic and cultural issues with language use: Some customs and products may not be familiar to students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. For example, the custom of tipping is not commonplace in countries outside the United States. An assessment item asking students to solve a gratuity math problem could make the calculation more difficult for those unfamiliar with the context. Additionally, references to items such as "backyard swimming pools" or "garbage disposals" or concepts such as "day care for dogs" could be unrelatable for some students.

When creating inference items, students shouldn't need to rely on background knowledge or cultural information that is outside of what is presented in a reading passage. For example, if students have limited knowledge about the historical development of the United States, they may be unable to make the right inference on an item requiring that background.

Topics to avoid: Students often have extremely diverse life experiences. References to addictive or harmful behaviors such as drug abuse or upsetting topics like homelessness, terminal illness, and violence could have a negative impact on students, especially if these topics affect their lives personally. The same is true for catastrophic weather events such as hurricanes and earthquakes or controversial political issues.

If you need to discuss or teach about a sensitive topic, prepare your students by letting them know the topic and making sure that a school counselor or administrator is aware of your teaching topic. Additionally, some students may not celebrate or be familiar with U.S. holidays, cultural events, and celebrations (such as Halloween, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving). These topics are distractions that can skew test data.

False cognates: False cognates are word pairs or phrases that appear to have the same meaning in two or more languages but, in fact, do not. Consider the Spanish language, where Spanish and English share thousands of cognates. Some of these cognates are false. So even though the word looks the same, it has a different meaning, which can confuse students and alter the skills being assessed by a test item.

Take, for instance, the English word deception. The word that has the same meaning in Spanish is "engaño," not "decepción," which means "disappointment." Teachers should be aware that false cognates exist, and when a student learning English is confused, look to see if the use of false cognates is to blame.

Proper names: To minimize confusion, it is important to use universal names, such as David and Marie, that have the middle ground of being both culturally diverse and common across cultures in contexts that will be familiar to all students. These names should not necessarily be stereotypical but rather should be culturally diverse high-frequency names that are most likely to be recognized as names.

Teachers can also use names represented by the cultures in their classroom, being cautious to keep track so that all cultures and students are represented. Proper names in test items that refer to people, such as Xanthe, Joaquin, and Siobhan, even though they are unique and beautiful names, can be problematic, especially when they are not phonetic. Students may become distracted or confused: Could this new word be a scientific, mathematical, or technical term?

Irrelevant material: Often, students can get sidetracked by irrelevant information. Adding unnecessary or unrelated images, graphics, or language can distract from the relevant material to be tested and measured. If the skill that is being assessed is interpreting the given information in the question, then the use of additional defining information is acceptable; however, if the construct is only testing to see if a student can solve an equation, then extraneous information should be eliminated.

Universal Design for Learning is an important consideration in developing tests that are reliable, valid, and fair for all individuals. When designing tests, keep in mind that assessments should be presented in a way in which all students are able to interact, navigate, and respond to the material without potentially confusing, unrelated information. This will ensure that students receive high-quality assessments and educators receive accurate information about student understanding, performance, achievement, and progress.

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Using Universal Design to Create Better Assessments

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Tapping into elements of Universal Design for Learning may help teachers create fairer and more reliable tests. Marmaduke St. John / Alamy Stock Photo Teachers should always strive for clarity in formulating assessments. One way to achieve that is through the use of elements of Universal Design for Learning.

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- Why I chose these artifacts for this section:
I chose the website for Ohio's state standards for this section because I believe that there is no better place to go when you have any sort of question about the different content areas in each grade, and what is being taught in each content area. It gives you the specific standards you will be teaching.
I chose the website that has the K-8 Ohio Learning Progression for Math. I chose that for this section because this website will be very helpful when I am planning my assessments for my math content area. It shows me what each grade is learning and the order they learn it in, and shows me in red what makes each standard different from the next grade.
I chose the Mississippi English Language Arts K-12 Progression of the standards for many of the same reasons that I chose the math progression website. Ohio does not have an English Language Arts Progression, but my math teacher this semester who introduced this website to me, told me that Mississippi's standards and Ohio's standards closely align so it can still be used.

- How I expect to use these items as a classroom teacher:
I will use the standards website most likely daily when I am teaching. It will allow me to see what standards I need to teach my students in reading, writing, phonics, math, and even more. Once I know what my students need to know I will know how to assess their learning and what I may need to reteach them from a prior grade if they are not understanding a grade level concept because I can go back to their prior grade to see which standard they may be lagging on.
I will use the K-8 Ohio Learning Progression for Math very often when teaching math to my students as a classroom teacher. I can use it to easily check what my students were learning previously, what specific parts of the standards are new to them now, and I can check what specific things will be new in the standards for them next year so I can try my best to prepare the for those as well. I can also more easily pinpoint what standard my students might be struggling with and what I need to reteach them from the grade before by looking at the step by step progression of standards.
I will use the Mississippi English Language Arts K-12 Progression of the standards for many of the same reasons I will use the math standard progression. I can check to see what specifically my students may need retaught if there are misconceptions, and I can make sure I am specifically teaching the new part of every standard for the year by checking what is highlighted in the progression.

- How my thoughts about student-centered classroom assessment changed over this course:
My thoughts on student-centered classroom assessment related to content areas has changed over the course of this semester because I have learned how to create different assessments and higher level questions for each content area I am required to teach in my license. I have learned that any type of content question can be of higher order thinking and there are many ways of formatively assessing students in the different content areas. Before, I thought it would be hard to define student learning in math unless you had a physical test to look at, but now I understand I can always be formatively assessing my students thinking and strategies and keeping track of these observations in an organized way.

- How I have grown in this area of classroom assessment:
I have grown in my knowledge of content areas because I now know that when I create assessments for the standards in these different content areas I can break down the standard into separate learning objectives in order to make it easier for students to learn that specific content standard. I learned that this is how I can scaffold my students' learning of an individual standards that may be daunting to them, especially if it is in a content area, such as math, that many children may shy away from.

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Identify what students should know and be able to do

Learning standards explain the knowledge and skills Ohio students should know and be able to do in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Ohio's Learning Standards instill life-long learning by providing essential knowledge and skills-qualities most sought by today's employers. By teaching our students to apply these skills to what they are learning in school, we can make sure they are on track to graduate from high school and enjoy success in college, careers and life.

Ohio measures the performance of its schools based on how well students are progressing in gaining the knowledge and skills within the learning standards. We do this partly by measuring student performance on annual state tests based on the standards.

ORC 3301.079(B)(3):​ All school districts, community schools, and STEM schools may utilize the state standards and the model curriculum.

Learning Standards By Grade Level

Learning Standards by Content Area

Standards Revision

The State Board of Education has adopted learning standards in many areas: mathematics, English language arts, science, social studies, world languages, fine arts, technology, physical education and financial literacy. In 2016, the Ohio Department of Education started a process of updating all the standards over time.

Thus far, educators statewide helped the Department update the computer science, English language arts, financial literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, technology and world languages and cultures standards. Currently, we also are updating the fine arts standards. Learn more on the Standards Revision page.

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Learning standards explain the knowledge and skills Ohio students should know and be able to do in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Ohio's Learning Standards instill life-long learning by providing essential knowledge and skills-qualities most sought by today's employers.

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Overview

The concept of Depth of Knowledge was first introduced in the year 1997 by a Mathematician named Norman Webb. In essence, his theory was all about increasing a student's depth of knowledge. It also indicates how each student must hold a deep awareness to attain and explain answers. Moreover, it also shows how well students can translate academic learning into the real world.

Although Norman started his research in 1997, the documentation did not publish till 2002, almost five years later. Ever since then, it is not uncommon to hear the phrase in teaching. One of the reasons for that is due to the shift from rote learning to career-oriented studies. Teachers are keen to implement this method since it helps in making a class effective.

Even though Norman's depth of knowledge theory is popular, it is not without its shortcomings. Usually, teachers find it hard to understand fully since it's quite complex and requires thorough knowledge before implementation. Without further ado, let's find out more about the depth of knowledge and how it can help make a classroom more effective.

What is Webb's Depth of Knowledge?

Webb's depth of knowledge refers to a framework that categorizes knowledge into four levels of rigor. Each level represents different difficulties, working mechanisms, and methods. Usually, the first level is easier than the next and as the level increases, so does the complexity of the tasks. A common example includes learning a fact at level one and solving a complex real-life scenario in level four.

All of these levels are unique for different age groups and demographics. They largely depend on age and the nature of the subject. Don't let the levels confuse you. They are in place to create a course or plan. Therefore, it is not necessary for a student to master one level to move on to another.

As a teacher, you can easily prepare students for each level of Webb's depth of knowledge framework. You can use worksheets, assignments, activities, and tests for better efficiency. It offers the teacher a chance to categorize each with respect to their nature of complexity. It is one of the best ways a teacher can develop a thorough and deep working environment.

There are also underlying misconceptions and misunderstandings that hinder the technique from increasing efficacy. Most of it relates to a lack of understanding of the depth of the knowledge wheel. Another common misconception is that the rigor only indicates how much work the student has to do and how difficult the task is. These aspects can undermine the use of Webb's depth of knowledge and may have certain consequences.

Altogether there are four key levels to the framework. These include:

Recall

Knowledge Application

Strategic Thinking

Extended Thinking

Explaining the Levels of Webb's Depth of Knowledge

One question that's always on a teacher's mind is how they can create a nurturing environment for each student. The answer is simple; Webb's depth of knowledge. Whenever a teacher refers to the DOK and benefits from it, they can enable a collaborative classroom. By categorizing each stage, teachers can develop tasks that comply with requirements.

Let's take a look at all the levels of Depth of knowledge and how teachers can use them to engage students.

DOK Level 1: Recall

Level 1 of DOK is also known as recollection and reproduction. This level concerns basic information involved in studies such as facts, definitions, and different formulas. Some of the teachers also refer it as remembering a recipe for a delicious meal. These are rote applications and basic information that every student should know by heart.

This level is important since it offers students an opportunity to learn the knowledge that acts as a foundation for further development. After completing level 1, students are able to think more critically and base their solutions on firm concepts.

Students don't need advanced cognitive skills to answer questions at level 1. Ultimately, it's a good method for teachers to assess students' basics before moving forward.

DOK Level 2: Knowledge Application

The second stage of is about applying the knowledge that students learned at level 1. Teachers will ask them to develop their answers and make well-informed decisions. Problem-solving is the main judging element in this stage, which helps a teacher know how far they have come from the former level.

Students usually use their prior knowledge outside the academic context - things they experienced in real-life. Teachers can enable students to think collaboratively and outside the context of just academics.

For instance, teachers can make use of an engaging activity that offers a collaborative environment. It will not only help provide better understanding but also bring out new ideas and deepen understanding.

Unlike tasks at level 1, students will focus on more than just a single mental step. They may focus on thinking about different concepts such as comparing, organizing, and developing at the same time.

DOK Level 3: Strategic Thinking

At this level, things become more complex and need more attention. This is the stage where students start using reasoning, planning, and evidence to support their statements and propositions. This way, they are more able to explain what they are thinking and formulate thoughts in a coherent manner. Compared to previous levels, this level is more abstract and involves complexity. It demands that students use their skills and knowledge outside the academic context.

After mastering this level, a student develops and slowly masters the concepts they learned in earlier levels. Teachers can leverage testing methods that encourage students to solve non-routine problems and give reasons for their choice.

Essays on a topic can prove helpful since it leads students to follow their own thoughts and imagination. Ultimately, everyone's piece is unique and has a different conclusion.

DOK Level 4: Extended Thinking

This is the most advanced stage of the depth of knowledge framework and involves students making a significant cognitive effort. It encourages students to gather information from multiple resources to solve a specific problem. It also motivates them to know the "How" and "Why" of things. Typically, a teacher should give students thought-provoking questions that require critical thinking. Often, these tasks take time since they require avid thinking.

Students will answer questions with help of their own thinking and abilities. And if we look at the creative side of things, it can help them make something entirely unique. For instance, an art work, poetry or a story.

Potential Activities of Each Level

There are numerous activities that a teacher can conduct with the help of a depth of knowledge framework. Below are a few potential activities that teachers can use:

Level 1 Activities

Developing a mind map and describing a topic to the students

Get students to learn interesting facts and figures

Preparing a flow chart to show and describe the events step by step

Writing a summary report

Outlining the summary for the students

Tasks involving one step at a time including addition, subtraction, and other basic practices

Tasks on punctuation, syntax, and, spellings. It will help in forming a student's skills and prevent such errors

Basic measurements and using tools such as rulers and calculators.

Possible Products

Quizzes and short tests

Worksheets and lists

Labels and collections

Outlines

Browsing and searching the internet

Social networking

All these ideas help a teacher implement level 1 inside a classroom. But more importantly, it also enables to make it more effective and rewarding.

Level 2 Activities

In level 2, a few activities ensure a more collaborative classroom. These include:

Classifying a series of steps

Practice the play and drama inside the classroom

Play games with the students about the related topic

Crafting a map or a model

Routine application tasks on a daily basis

More complex calculations such as divisions and divisions

Diary and blog entries

These activities can help the student stay updated with level 2 of the depth of knowledge framework. Moreover, it also helps the teachers in making the classroom more effective.

Possible Products

Diary and journals

Photography and illustrations

Presentations

Sculptures and Demonstrations

Blog commenting

Relationships and mind gaps

A teacher should ensure that students fully focus on these tasks and start developing critical thinking. With the help of collaborative techniques and interesting tasks, a teacher can help students master this level easily.

Level 3 Activities

At this level, a student begins to develop critical thinking. Potential activities for students include:

Using a Venn diagram to determine the differences and similarities between a given topic

Making a questionnaire to conduct a survey

Using flowcharts to explain a procedure

Character sketch and in-depth analysis

Writing letters that encourage action

Preparing and conducting a speech or a debate

Calculations and solving of complex problems surrounding the topic

Creating graphs, data, charts, and stats to organize information

Complex calculation of problems and seamless explanation of tasks

Tasks that require research and emphasis on research to make predictions

Making a small booklet

Preparing a case that presents the student's point of view.

These activities will significantly help in tracking the overall progress of the students. Moreover, it will also measure how effective the overall classroom progress has become.

Possible Products

Graphs and spreadsheets

Outlines

Checklists

Podcasts

Surveys

Filming and acting

Reports and Evaluations

Investigation of a topic

Since level 3 focuses on growth and sustainability of the student, it is necessary to keep certain protocols in mind before preparing activities and possible products. Make sure they add knowledge and value to a student's life.

Level 4 Activities

Level 4 is the most advanced level of depth of knowledge. Teachers need to create a thorough plan before going ahead with activities to nurture thinking.

Applying academic information to solve real-life scenario problems.

Writing and testing a hypothesis over time

Tasks that require avid collaboration and teamwork

Persuasive and descriptive writing

Selling an idea or advertising

Evaluating and studying scenarios all over the world

These activities can help foster critical thinking skills in students, helping them reach new heights. This stage of development is integral since it reflects a student's long term growth and academic prospects.

Possible Projects

All these projects require a thorough and critical plan before they are ready. Be it a song or a final year project, critical thinking and applications of level 4 are necessary.

Apply Depth of Knowledge (DOK) As Needed

As identified before, it is important to know that DOK does not require a teacher to teach with a sequence. Nor does it require the students to stay well-versed in all levels. Teachers can apply this method in all grades and developments, including kindergarten and high school.

While you can't expect young children to develop critical thinking, they should have the ability to reason according to their level. Therefore, you should always use the depth of knowledge framework as needed.

Final Thoughts

Incorporating the depth of knowledge theory in a classroom will require discipline and consistency. A teacher should always ensure that with learning, students are able to apply it in practice.

Each child will have their own pace of learning and developing skills according to levels. The most important thing for a teacher is to encourage students to think more deeply and establish the need for critical thinking.

We hope we made the concept easier for you to implement in your class. Don't forget to comment and share our guide with others.

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Using Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DOK) to Make Your Class Effective - ArgoPrep

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Webb's depth knowledge is an important framework that teachers can use to make their classes more effective. Keep reading to find how teachers may use it.

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- Why I chose these artifacts for this section:
I chose the section in chapter 1 called "Assessment and Educational Decisions About Students" because when I was reading this section I learned how helpful formative and summative assessments can be for planning instruction for future lessons, and to see if students are understanding the content during the actual lesson itself. I learned a lot in this chapter about how assessments can be used to make educational decisions about where to place students, whether it is a placement decision or a classification decision. I also learned how important Data Driven instruction is.
I chose to use a report that I wrote for my math class for this section. I chose this because I did 2 different interviews with a student where I designed the questions for each interview after I got to know the student. I had the student do the questions and I had to interrupt the results of the assessment by looking at the student thinking process that went into the questions and using this data from the first interview, I created a second interview working on skills that I notice my student could use some extra help on. After doing this I wrote a report on my findings of student knowledge after these interviews, interpreted what kind of instruction could further his knowledge and misconceptions, and reported my results to my Cooperating Mentor Teacher in the paper.
Lastly, I chose an article that addresses best practices to report grades to students, parents, and the school board. I chose to include this article in this section because I believe that reporting results of student assessment to these different groups is one of the biggest jobs that a teacher has.

- How I expect to use these items as a classroom teacher:
I expect to use the section in chapter 1 called "Assessment and Educational Decisions About Students" because in my future as a teacher I will inevitably have to interpret, use and report results in order to place my students into the correct class or placement in order to maximize their learning experience.
I expect to use the report that I wrote about my interpretation of my math interviews with my student and report to my teacher as a reference and guide as a classroom teacher when I need a reminder on how best to look at student work and interpret the student thinking into a measurable way so that I can come up with a plan on how best to further that particular students learning with future instruction.
I expect to use the article that speaks on best practices to report grades to students, parents, and the school board when I am actively reporting results to these different groups of people as a classroom teacher. It would be nice to read over the tips the article offers prior to reporting the results so I can do my best to report and communicate the results in the best way possible.

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- Why I chose these artifacts for this section:
I chose Harvard's Thinking Routines for this section because because I thought it was amazing how many different thinking routines it offers to teachers to utilize in the classroom with students when doing formative assessement. It provides questions to ask students, the kind of thinking that the routine activates, and application of when and where you can use the routine. It is easy to navigate and find a routine for the particular lesson or goal that you want your students to be achieving. I can implement these routines into my lessons when planning instruction.
I chose the Webb's depth of knowledge (DOK) website for this section because it reminds what each level entails, and gives activities to do with students on each level for whichever level of thinking you want your students to utilize at the time.
Lastly I chose Chapter 7 in Educational Assessment of Students textbook - Diagnostic Assessment. I chose this for this section because I think that planning diagnostic assessments at the beginning of the school year in extremely important as a teacher to get a grasp of where all of your students are at academically.

- How I expect to use these items as a classroom teacher:
I expect to use Harvard's Thinking Routines as a classroom teacher when planning my instruction. I will use the routines at the beginning and throughout my lessons in order to scaffold and support student learning. I can also use these thinking routines at the end of a lesson when I want children to reflect and come to a conclusion about what they have just learned.
I expect to use the Webb's depth of knowledge (DOK) website as a classroom teacher because I think it will be super helpful to be able to look back and remind myself what each DOK level is and what students should be thinking and doing at each level so I can bring my students to a higher level of thinking. It is also helpful because activities provided are really broad so I can apply them to many different concepts for whatever standard I am teaching.
I will use Chapter 7 in Educational Assessment of Students textbook - Diagnostic Assessment as a classroom teacher because this chapter explains to me how I can use assessments to identify prerequisite deficits, objectives not mastered, student errors, student knowledge structures, and competencies for solving word problems. It not only explains how I can design diagnostics to get this information, but this information that I will learn from the diagnostic assessments will allow me to plan and design for future assessments; formative and summative.

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Chapter 1 in Educational Assessment of Students - Section on Assessment and Educational Decisions about Students 

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Chapter 1 in Educational Assessment of Students - Section on Assessment and Educational Decisions about Students 

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PZ's Thinking Routines Toolbox | Project Zero

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The Toolbox organizes the Thinking Routines into categories that describe the types of thinking the routines help to facilitate. Some routines appear in more than one category, and some routines have different versions that offer modifications for specific age groups or more specific conceptual challenges.