Complex thinking skills - how to have them apply to activities, DOK and Bloom's Taxonomy.

1. 6 | TechEdge | www.tcea.org/techedge
● ● AT A GLANCE
2016/2017 Priorities:
Building Complex Thinking Skills
Research studies report that the most essential skill
needed in the workplace is complex, problem-focused
thinking. Yet most students coming into higher education
and the workforce lack this ability (Henderson Hurley,
Hurley, 2013).
Learning requires effort, but complex thinking requires a
higher level of focus and resilience over time. Teachers find
it harder to teach, and students often struggle because there
are often no right answers and the tasks require personal
reflection, which many are not comfortable with.
What Is Complex Thinking?
Complex thinking can be summed up as “seeing both sides
of an issue, being open to new evidence that disconfirms
your ideas, reasoning dispassionately, demanding that
claims be backed by evidence, deducing and inferring
conclusions from available facts, solving problems, and so
forth” (Willingham, 2007).
Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK) is an effective way
to think about critical thinking and content complexity.
The DOK model was employed to analyze the cognitive
expectations demanded by standards, curricular activities,
and assessment tasks (Webb, 1997). A DOK level is
identified based on the cognitive demand, or the mental
by Dr. Lisa Gonzales and Charles Young
DOKLevel 1
Involves basic tasks that
require students to recall
or reproduce knowledge
and/or skills.
DOKLevel 2
Includes the engagement
of mental processing
beyond recall to compare/
differentiate, apply multiple
concepts, classify, explain
relationships, or provide
and explain examples.

2. Issue Three, August 2016 | TechEdge | 7
● ●AT A GLANCE
processing, required by the central performance of the
assigned objective or task. (See bar below.)
Where Do You Start?
Thinking critically is one thing, but teaching it is even more
of a challenge. Complex thinking is best taught with deep,
focused questioning strategies. Looking at it through DOK
levels is a great starting point.
Using DOK levels, student engagement is richer starting at
a DOK 3. Tasks at this level prompt engagement in complex,
strategic thinking, with students required to support their
positions and perspectives with information from text
or research. DOK 3 goes beyond just filling in a blank or
selecting from a set of multiple-choice options. Students are
required to justify and explain their answers.
In a DOK 4 task, students should apply their learning to a
new situation or context or invent/create something new.
DOK 4 tasks are not assessed by their difficulty, but by the
engagement of students in higher levels of complex thinking.
The Importance of Application
In today’s world, the volume of information available to
students via technology is massive. The burgeoning field of
big-data analysis is producing job opportunities for those
who can think critically and make sense of what may feel
like a daily tsunami of new information. Students must be
taught how to think critically, at an early age,
to successfully navigate this new world of
limitless, real-time information.
To effectively teach complex thinking,
teachers need to have a sound knowledge base
of their content and a solid understanding of
effective reasoning skills. Moving from the
primary source of information to the facilitator
of rigorous debate, deep exploration of ideas,
and Project-Based Learning expands the role
of the teacher, providing great avenues to
influence student learning.
Providing time and opportunities for deeper
thinking requires time for planning, processing,
reflecting, and debriefing, both for teachers and
students. And because the shift is so necessary,
yet challenging, keeping parents in the loop
with strategies they can support at home can
deepen your effectiveness.
Teaching complex thinking is akin to teaching life skills. To
live successfully in a democracy, students must be able to
think critically to make sound decisions about their personal
lives and the communities in which they live. If we teach our
students to think critically, we are giving them the thinking
skills as a guide by which they can live their lives.
There is much at stake for our students. As educators, we play
a pivotal role in providing learning experiences that help our
students not only shape their fabric of their own lives, but the
society in which they live.
Dr. Lisa Gonzales is President Elect for the Association of California
School Administrators. She is the Interim Superintendent in the Lakeside
School District and was selected by the US Department of Education as
one of 100 #FutureReady Superintendents.
Dr. Charles Young is Superintendent in the Benicia Unified School District.
References:
Henderson Hurley, M. & Hurley, D. (2013). Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills
Among Authoritarian Students. International Journal of Teaching and Learning
in Higher Education, 25(2), 248-261.
Webb, N. (1997). Research Monograph Number 6: “Criteria for alignment
of expectations and assessments on mathematics and science education.”
Washington, D.C.: CCSSO.
Willingham, D. (2007, Summer). “Critical Thinking: Why is it so Hard to Teach?”
American Educator. p. 8.
DOKLevel 3
Has tasks that demand the
use of planning, reasoning,
and higher-order thinking
skills such as the analysis
and evaluation we find in
Bloom’s Taxonomy.
DOKLevel 4
Engages students
in solving real-world
problems, sustaining
strategic thinking over
a longer period of time,
often producing an
authentic product.