Frequently Asked Questions About DOK Training

Depth of Knowledge (DOK) is a different and deeper way to define and determine the complexity and demand of the instructional goals and learning expectations set by academic standards, curricular activities,  assessment items, and generative artificial intelligence (AI) resources.

Depth of Knowledge clarifies and considers the conditions and criteria - or context -  students must understand and use their knowledge and thinking. That's described and detailed by the all words and phrases that follow the initial cognitive action verb that introduces an objective that indicates the type of thinking students must demonstrate. Those words and phrase identify and inform the following:

• What exactly must students learn?
• How deeply must students understand and use their learning?

These are the two overarching essential questions that must be asked and addressed to check and confirm the DOK Level of an academic standard, curricular activity, assessment item, or AI resource.

The DOK Levels describe four different ways students could understand and use their knowledge and thinking - or learning. The DOK Levels as a framework can serve as the following:

• A criterion for alignment studies (Webb, 1997, 1999)
• A measure of cognitive rigor (Hess, 2018, 2023)
• A method and model for teaching and learning (Francis, 2022)

The DOK Levels do not function as a taxonomy.  Each DOK level explains an explicit way - or context - in which academic standards, curricular activities, assessment items, and AI Resources could demand students to understand and use their learning. Each also have specific goals and expectations students must achieve to demonstrate proficiency, develop competency, and perform successfully.

The DOK Levels establish the ceiling of assessment - the deepest level an assessment item should demand students to understand and use their learning. That's set by the DOK Level of the specific standard being addressed and assessed. 

The DOK Levels also inform the range of DOK Levels in which students could and should be evaluated equitably and fairly on standardized assessments.

The goal of the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Training provided by MAVERIK EDUCATION is for participants to do the following:

• Recognize what distinguishes Depth of Knowledge and how the four DOK levels describe four different ways students can understand and use their learning 
• Understand how Depth of Knowledge measures the cognitive demand of academic standards, curricular activities, assessment items, and generative AI resources.
• Use the language of DOK to clarify and communicate what exactly students must learn and how deeply they must understand and use their learning to demonstrate proficiency, develop competency, and perform successfully.
• Deconstruct the learning intention of academic standards to determine the level of Depth of Knowledge students must understand and use their learning to demonstrate proficiency.
• Reconstruct performance objectives into DOK Learning Targets that specify the demand of the mental processing (DOK Skill) students must perform and the extent of the response (DOK Response) students must provide to demonstrate proficiency or perform successfully.

The expectation of the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Training provided by MAVERIK EDUCATION is academic leaders and classroom teachers to understand and use the Depth of Knowledge (DOK as a concept, framework and language to do the following:

• Deconstruct the learning intention of their academic standards, curricular activities, assessment items, and AI resources.
• Determine and designate the DOK Level of performance objectives and learning targets
• Reconstruct objectives into DOK Learning Targets that specify the demand of the mental processing (DOK Skill) students must perform and the extent of the response (DOK Response) students must provide.
• Use the language of DOK to clarify and communicate what exactly students must learn and how deeply students must understand and use their learning to demonstrate proficiency, develop competency, or perform successfully.

The Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Training provided by MAVERIK EDUCATION is based on the book Deconstructing Depth of Knowledge: A Method and Model for Deeper Teaching and Learning written by Erik M. Francis and published by Solution Tree. It also incorporates Dr. Norman Webb's work with alignment studies and Dr. Karin Hess's concept of cognitive rigor.

Specific references, research and resources include the following:

• Ainsworth, L. (2003). “Unwrapping” the standards: A simple process to make standards manageable. Denver, CO: Advanced Learning Press. 
• Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Addison Wesley Longman.
• Hess, K. J. (2018). A local assessment toolkit to promote deeper learning: Transforming research into practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
• Hess, K. J., Carlock, D., Jones, B., & Walkup, J. R. (2009a, March 7). "Cognitive rigor: Blending the strengths of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge to enhance classroom-level processes". Accessed at https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED517804.pdf
• Hess, K. J., Carlock, D., Jones, B., & Walkup, J. R. (2009b, June). "What exactly do “fewer, clearer, and higher standards” really look like in the classroom? Using a cognitive rigor matrix to analyze curriculum, plan lessons, and implement assessments". Accessed at www.nciea.org/publications/cognitiverigorpaper_KH12.pdf
• Mager, R. F. (1997). Preparing instructional objectives: A critical tool in the development of effective instruction (3rd ed.). Atlanta, GA: Center for Effective Performance.
• Webb, N. L. (1997). "Criteria for alignment of expectations and assessments on mathematics and science education (Research Monograph No. 6)". Madison, WI: National Institute for Science Education. Accessed at https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED414305.pdf on March 6, 2021. 
• Webb, N. L. (1999). "Alignment of science and mathematics standards and assessment in four states (Research Monograph No. 18)". Madison, WI: National Institute for Science Education. Accessed at https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED440852.pdf on March 6, 2021.
• Webb, N. L. (2019, July). "DOK Primer". Accessed at www.webbalign.org/dok-primer.
• Webb, N. L., Christopherson, S, and Morelan, B. (2023 March 27). "An Inside Look at Webb’s Depth of Knowledge". Edutopia. San Francisco, CA: George Lucas Foundation. Accessed at https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-use-norman-webb-depth-of-knowledge/

The Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Training provided by MAVERIK EDUCATION is designed and differentiated to address the goals and needs of specific staff and stakeholders in education. We can provide training to academic leaders and classroom teachers in all subjects at all grade levels. Click here to learn more about the services and support we provide on how to teach and learn for DOK.

We also offer a train-the-trainer models for academic leaders and classroom teachers to lead, sustain and support the implementation of Depth of Knowledge (DOK) as a districtwide and / or schoolwide comprehensive schoolwide reform model. Participants can earn certification and endorsements to become a DOK Trainer and DOK Specialist through microcredentializing.  Click here to learn more about our DOK Train the Trainer program and model.

• Participants will learn a different and deeper way to define and determine the cognitive complexity and demand of academic standards, curricular activities, assessment items, and generative AI resources.

• Participants will learn how Depth of Knowledge (DOK) can be understood and used as a concept, a framework and a language.

• Participants will also learn what distinguishes teaching and testing for Depth of Knowledge from teaching and learning for Depth of Knowledge.

• Participants will also learn how to plan and provide teaching and learning experiences that address and assess student learning over a range of DOK Levels leading to, through and beyond the goals and expectations set by grade level academic standards and learning targets.

The Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Training provided by MAVERIK EDUCATION is standards-driven in that it focuses on how to plan and provide teaching and learning experiences that address, assess, and extent beyond the grade level goals and expectations of academic standards. 

Participants will learn how to deconstruct the learning intention of their own grade level and content area academic standards to check and confirm the DOK Level. 

Participants  will also learn how to reconstruct learning objectives into DOK Learning Targets that specify the mental processing - or DOK Skill - students must perform. 

Participants will also also learn how to establish DOK Success Criteria that specify the extent of the response students must provide to curricular activities and test items.

The core idea of Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Training provided by MAVERIK EDUCATION is that all students will be expected and encouraged to achieve and surpass grade level goals and expectations.  Participants will learn how the delivery and intensity of instruction depends on the demand of the standards and the strengths of the students collectively and individually.  They will learn how the DOK levels can be used as a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to deliver instruction, respond to intervention, and extend or enrich student learning.

The Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Training provided by Maverik Education will show how teaching and testing for Depth of Knowledge starts and stops with the standards but teaching and learning for Depth and Learning begins at the DOK level where students are and builds upon their strengths to rise to, reach, and go beyond the DOK level - or DOK Bar - set by the standards. This makes  DOK a strengths-finder method and model that differentiates, individualizes, and personalizes teaching and learning.

The resources provided with the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Training provided by MAVERIK EDUCATION will include the following:

• E-copy of the DOK Training Workbook 
• E-copy of the DOK Database Grid
• Registration on the online microcredential platform SkillsForce
• PDF copies of graphics and visuals that can used as resources and tools

The Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Training provided by MAVERIK EDUCATION can be provided in-person onsite and virtually online. We also provide training as half-day, full-day, and multi-day seminars or workshops. We also provide follow-up coaching and support to schools and staff to ensure the ideas and strategies addressed in the seminar or workshop are being implemented effectively and with fidelity.

YES!  MAVERIK EDUCATION offers a comprehensive "train the trainer" program and model designed to equip and empower educators with the essential expertise needed to understand, implement and sustain Depth of Knowledge (DOK) in different aspects of education. 

NO! The DOK Wheel does not depict Depth of Knowledge accurately as an academic concept and framework. In fact, Dr. Norman Webb, the creator of Depth of Knowledge, explains how the DOK Wheel is inaccurate in this 2023 article from Edutopia (click to read). The introduction of the DOK Training will examine and explain with evidence why the DOK Wheel is inaccurate and should be discarded. Please watch our video that explains why the DOK Wheel is inaccurate.

Costs for the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Training provided by MAVERIK EDUCATION are fair, reasonable, and negotiable to ensure the district, school, or organization receives the quality services and support they need.  Pricing includes costs for travel and lodging as well as access to the supplementary training materials. Fees can be paid from supplemental federal funding sources (e.g., Title I, Title II, Title III, or Title IV of the Every Students Succeeds Act of 2016, ESSR funding that address learning loss). Contact us to discuss costs for services and support.