Hello colleagues, The College and Career standards are designed to support students to enhance their critical thinking skills as indicated in Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DOK). This Edutopia article by Gerald Aungst, which focuses on Webb's DOK, highlights some practical techniques for increasing the rigor of instruction.
What stands out to you in this article? Are there questions that are raised for you?
Is there a lesson or an activity you can share with us that engaged students in higher-order thinking?
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, College and Career Standards CoP
Comments
Hello colleagues, Here is a rubric I've seen used to evaluate the level of higher-order thinking required in a lesson. These levels are meant to be aligned to Webb's Depth of Knowledge. What do you think of these categories? Would a tool like this be helpful in planning standards-based lessons?
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, College and Career Standards CoP
Dimension
6 – Students create new learning at the Extended Thinking level
5 - Students arrange learning at the Extended Thinking level
4 – Students justify learning at the Strategic Thinking level
3 – Students apply learning at the Skill/Concept level
2 – Students explain learning at the Recall level
1 – Students taking notes only; no questions asked
Susan, I feel the rubric you shared is wonderful to help teachers think about what possible evidence students might be able to show in any assessment the teacher is designing. So often, teachers have great activities with questions or products that require students to only mentally stretch a few spaces up that rubric. As a tool that helps teachers really think about what they can see as products in their lesson design, this is a good rubric to use.
As for using this rubric for standards, I would offer the following opinion. All learners and most teachers are still at the very beginning of really digging into the standards to really learn what each standard looks and feels like. I personally have a goal of tackling one standard a week to really dive into it and figure out how I might help learners experience and demonstrate each standard. Still, that real life thing gets in the way all the time and I find my progress slow. Given that really understanding each standard will probably be a focal point for the field and for learners for another 3+ years, I propose that a much more simple and concrete rubric might be used for assessing standards.
1 - Student has begun engagement with the standard
2 - Student has been able to demonstrate much of the standard but still has some refining to do
3 - Student has demonstrated the standard and has evidence
This rubric offers a student-centric focus that really centers on what does the standard mean and what can I do to demonstrate it. As we all know, time pressures are frequent in the field and learners often lack persistence. A nice simple rubric, in easy to understand language can be helpful for learners to feel short term goals are attainable and that everyone can find success with a standard.
When we start putting many levels of graduation in an assessment, there is negative psychological effect in that those near the higher end of the scale are simply focused on "What's wrong!?!?" and those in the middle bottom levels are always feeling behind or incapable of confidence levels demonstrated by those grade hounds at the top scrabbling for that extra point like starving dogs. Learners ultimately want to focus on the positive steps that have been completed and what next steps are available. With an extensive multi-point rubric, most learners motivation and persistence drops off. Of course this is simply my feelings from experiences with my students and is not based on any studies. I would love to read any studies that have been done that explore learner persistence and the use of 6 point rubrics vs 3 or 4 point rubrics. I would be quite shocked to find that the 6 point rubrics are more effective in promoting persistence and retention in learners.
1-2-3 rubrics have allowed me to help learners focus on all they have accomplished and that little bit that is often the only thing missing for the learner to find success. The Web's rubric you offer is wonderful to help reflect on activity and lesson design, but learners and teachers need much more familiarity with standards for the Web's rubric to be as effective as it could be.
Hi Ed and all, I love the teacher- and student-friendly aspect of a 1-2-3 rubric, Ed. As you note, keeping things basic helps everyone to stay focused. I have not heard of studies comparing 3-point compared to 5- or 6-point rubrics. It would be interesting to know about that.
The rubric I shared is for teachers to consider the complexity of the lessons they are planning. In other words, it's a tool to help us deepen the complexity of our lessons. Speaking for myself, I want to challenge myself to enhance the depth of my lessons in a variety of ways. The Webb's Depth of Knowledge rubric I shared offers me one way to measure that.
If members have tools they are using to help guide in depth lesson planning, please share them. Likewise, if you have rubrics that support students to achieve the standards, please share those as well.
This CoP is a great venue for sharing resources, so we don't all have to reinvent the wheel!
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, College and Career Standards CoP