Conference Excitement!!!!

Good evening to all!
I have not started teaching yet, but these next two post is in preparation for the upcoming school year. I have attended conferences and a leadership summit over the past week. They both were awesome experiences. Therefore, I am stoked about the upcoming school year. I am excited because I have learned something grand. I just can't wait to use this properly this year. I am super crazy excited about.... Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DOK)! Yes, I am excited about DOK. Let me tell you my reasoning.
I heard of DOK a few years ago. However, I did not get a grand grasp of the concept until I attended a session at the MEGA Conference. I was sitting between  a phenomena teacher friend and a curriculum specialist, and both had the same reaction I had. The presenter told us she did an in depth study on this concept and realize some truths about DOK-(a) DOK is based upon the kind of thinking involved in the task; (b)DOK is Not about DIFFICULTY, it is about COMPLEXITY; (c) the level of the task is classified by the verb AND what comes after the verb. On Webb's DOK, level 1 includes recall and reproductions. This level includes a basic task such how many inches is in a foot or 3 feet.  Level 2 is skill and concept and involve students to compare or differentiate (contrast), classify or sort such as classifying 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional shapes. Level 3 is strategic thinking such as planning, reasoning, higher order thinking, justifying. I thinking of Number Talks where students have to justify their answers and critique others reasoning.  Level 4 is extended thinking by creating, extending, producing such as project based learning.  The presenter also discussed how DOK relates to the ACTAspire. Most of the items  for reading and math are DOK levels 2 and 3. Ouch! I really need to revamp what I am doing in the classroom to make sure I do two things: (1) truly teach the standard and (2)  provide items on ALL DOK levels. especially DOK 3. When I am engaging students in Daily Data or math task, I need to make sure I provide items based on the content standards AND the DOK Levels especially 2 and 3. As time progress towards the opening, I will jot some ideas down and get some ideas from my colleagues. 
As a life long educator, learning never stops. Teaching  is a complex art that constantly updates and upgrades. To remain relevant, I must be willing to change as well.

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