What Is DOK (Depth of Knowledge)?
Webb's Depth of Knowledge framework classifies tasks into four levels of cognitive complexity: Recall, Skill/Concept, Strategic Thinking, and Extended Thinking.
Depth of Knowledge (DOK) is a framework developed by Norman Webb that categorizes tasks and assessments by their cognitive complexity. Unlike Bloom's Taxonomy, which focuses on the type of thinking, DOK focuses on the depth and complexity of thinking required.
DOK Level 1 (Recall) involves basic recall of facts, definitions, and simple procedures. DOK Level 2 (Skill/Concept) requires some mental processing beyond recall — comparing, organizing, interpreting. DOK Level 3 (Strategic Thinking) demands reasoning, planning, and justification. DOK Level 4 (Extended Thinking) requires investigation, complex reasoning, and application across multiple sources over time.
Teachers use DOK to ensure their assessments and activities push students to deeper thinking. A common mistake is confusing difficulty with complexity — a long math problem can still be DOK 1 if it only requires recall of a procedure.
Related Terms
Bloom's Taxonomy
A hierarchical framework of six cognitive levels — Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create — used to classify learning objectives and assessments.
Formative Assessment
Ongoing, low-stakes assessments used during instruction to monitor student learning and adjust teaching in real time.
Rubric
A scoring guide that defines criteria and quality levels for evaluating student work, making expectations transparent and grading consistent.
Learning Objective
A clear, measurable statement of what students should know or be able to do by the end of a lesson, using specific action verbs.
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