Science Break Out Session

New Math and Science Teacher

Dec 2008

Becky Smith

Explanations

• I can distinguish between a description and an explanation.

Describe vs. Explain

• Explore the Newton’s Cradle for 3 to 4 min.

• Then, on the paper provided complete the task that you have been given. Do this individually. (10 mins.)

• Don’t put your name on the paper.

• When finished, fold the paper once

Describe vs. Explain

• Swap your paper with another who has the same color paper. Swap 2-3 times.

• Everyone that has the same color paper should sit together.

• Read all of the answers. Then, working as a group, decide which are better and which are not so good with respect to the task and goal.

• Sort the papers into ‘good’ and ‘not so good’ piles.

• Chart the criteria you used to distinguish between the ‘good’ and ‘not so good.’

Describe vs. Explain

• Retrieve your own paper from the group and consider based on Part 1:

• Would your description or explanation have met the criteria? If not, why not?

• How would knowing the criteria beforehand have affected your description or explanation?

Describe vs. Explain

• Compare the criteria for a good description to the criteria for a good explanation.

• What are the distinguishing characteristics for each?• If your task was ‘to describe’, write a one sentence

summary of a good description and determine a symbol/icon/illustration to represent it.

• If your task was ‘to explain’, write a one sentence summary of a good explanation and determine a symbol/icon/illustration to represent it.

• Be prepared to share with the group.

DOK

Activate Prior Knowledge

• Please work individually and mark if you agree or disagree.

DOK Sort Activity

Working in groups, sort the questions based on their DOK levels (1, 2, 3, 4)

Depth of Knowledge (DOK)

Taken from the model developed by Norman Webb, University of Wisconsin, to align standards with assessments

Used by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) for assessment alignment in more than ten states

Depth of Knowledge

Focuses on the cognitive processing that is required to complete an assessment task

Descriptive, not a taxonomy

Not the same as difficulty

Why Depth of Knowledge?

Mechanism to ensure that the intent of the standard and the level of student demonstration required by that standard matches the assessment items (required under NCLB)

Provides cognitive processing ceiling for item development

Depth of Knowledge

Four levels of depth of knowledge:

Recall and Reproduction - Level 1

Skills & Concepts/Basic Reasoning - Level 2

Strategic Thinking/Complex Reasoning - Level 3

Extended Thinking/Reasoning - Level 4

What is the DOK level?

• For the following slides, chose which DOK level is appropriate.

• Justify your choice

• Share with a partner

Recall and Reproduction - Level 1

requires recall of information, such as a fact, definition, term, or performing a simple process or procedure. A student either knows the answer or doesn’t.

Answering a Level 1 item can involve following a simple, well-known procedure or formula. Simple skills and abilities or rote responses characterize DOK 1.

Recall and Reproduction Examples

List animals that survive by eating other animals.

Locate or recall facts explicitly found in text.

Describe physical features of objects.

Perform a routine procedure, such as measuring length.

Perform a simple science process or a set procedure.

Represent in words or diagrams a scientific concept.

Skills & Concepts/Basic Reasoning - Level 2

includes the engagement of some mental processing beyond recalling or reproducing a response. Items require students to make some decisions as to how to approach the question or problem.

These actions imply more than one mental or cognitive process/step.

Skills and Concepts Examples

Compare desert and tropical environmentsIdentify and summarize the major events, problem, solution, conflicts in textExplain the cause-effect of eventsPredict a logical outcome based on information in a reading selectionSelect a procedure according to specified criteria and perform it.Classify plane and three dimensional figuresCollect and display data.

Strategic Thinking/Complex Reasoning - Level 3

Requires deep knowledge as exhibited through planning, using evidence, and more demanding cognitive reasoning. The cognitive demands at Level 3 are complex and abstract.

An activity that has more than one possible answer and requires students to justify the response they give would most likely be a Level 3.

Strategic Thinking Examples

Interpret information from a complex graph.

Use reasoning, planning, or evidence.

Justify a response when more than one answer is possible.

Research and explain a scientific concept.

Form conclusions from experimental or observational data.

Explain thinking beyond a simple explanation or using a word or two.

Extended Thinking/Reasoning - Level 4

requires high cognitive demand and is very complex. Students are expected to make several connections—relate ideas within the content or among content areas—and have to select or devise one approach among many alternatives on how the situation can be solved.

Due to the complexity of cognitive demand, DOK 4 often requires an extended period of time.

However, extended time alone is not the distinguishing factor.

Task DOK Level

Collecting data samples over several months

DOK 1

Organizing the data in a chart DOK 2

Using this chart to make and justify predictions

DOK 3

Developing a generalized model from this data and applying it to a new situation

DOK 4

Extended Thinking Examples

Gather, analyze, organize, and interpret information from multiple (print and non print sources) to draft a reasoned reportConduct an investigation, from identifying the problem to designing and carrying out the experiment, to analyzing the data and forming conclusions. Relate ideas within the content area or among content areas.

DOK is not verb-dependent…

DOK 1- List two animals that survive by eating other animals. (simple recall)

DOK 2- List two reasons that desert environments do not support large carnivores. (requires conceptual understanding of how organisms interact with their environments)

DOK 3- List the data you would need to collect and the experimental steps you would take to investigate the impact of precipitation amounts on the bear population of an island. (requires deep understanding of how a scientific investigation is conducted)

Same verb—three DOK levels

DOK levels can be cumulative

An item/standard written to DOK 3 often also contains DOK 1 and DOK

2 level demands

Determining DOK: Science Example

Sample Science Assessment Limit(based on Webb)

Example A: Perform a simple science process or a set procedure to gather data 

Example B: Represent data collected over a period time, making comparisons and interpretations 

Example C: Interpret data collected for a research question for a scientific problem related to your environment  

DOK CeilingLevel

1

2

3

Potential DOK Levelsfor Assessment

1 (Measure temperature of

water)

1(Measure temperature of water at

different times/places)2

(Construct a graph to organize, display, and compare data)

1(Measure temperature of water at

different times/places)2

(Construct a graph to organize, display, and compare data)

3(Design an investigation to explain the affect of varying temperatures of the river in different locations)

Remember…Depth of Knowledge (DOK) is a scale of

cognitive demand.

DOK requires looking at the assessment item/standard-not student work-in order to determine the level. DOK is about the item/standard-not the student.

The context of the assessment item/standard must be considered to determine the DOK not just a look at what verb was chosen.