PLANTING THE SEEDSOF RIGOR

Region I Principals’ MeetingNovember 5, 2010

Presented byCurriculum Support Specialists:

Isis CasaresLizbeth Gonzalez

&Esther Sanchez

What is Rigor?• Barbara Blackburn, author of Rigor is

NOT a Four-Letter Word, states Rigor can be ice cream—everyone has his or her own favorite flavor. And when you are told you are to increase rigor, but there are 32 definitions to choose from, it leads to frustration.

Rigor is

• Scaffolding thinking• Planning for thinking• Assessing about

content• Recognizing the level

of thinking students demonstrate

• Managing the teaching/learning level for the desired thinking level

Rigor is not

• More or harder worksheets

• AP or honors courses• The higher level

book in reading• More work• More homework

So then… What is Rigor?• Rigor is creating an environment in

which each student is expected to learn at high levels,

• each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels, and

• each student demonstrates learning at high levels.*

* From RIGOR is Not a Four Letter Word by Barbara Blackburn

The teacher is always the KEY

• It’s not the textbook, or the latest program on the market, or even a policy.

• It is the individual teacher—it is how the teacher uses the textbook or program with the students. It is how the teacher implements the policy.

Examples of Rigor in Reading/ Language Arts

• Whole group instruction• Small group instruction• Differentiation• Questioning• Centers

Examples of Rigor in Mathematics

• Use of manipulatives to explore concepts in mathematics

• Mathematics Journals• Incorporation of technology in centers• Real world problem solving

Examples of Rigor in Science

• Vocabulary maps• Lab journals to explore concepts• Lab reports following hands-on or

virtual experiments• Variety of authentic student work

used to explore concepts

How can we increase Rigor?

• Higher Order Thinking Skills

• Webb’s Depth of Knowledge

Let’s Learn about Norman Webb’s

Depth of Knowledge • The Depth-of-knowledge (DOK) was created by Norman

Webb from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. • The Depth of Knowledge is the degree of depth or

complexity of knowledge standards and assessments require; this criterion is met if the assessment is as demanding cognitively as the expectations standards are set for students.

Four Levels of Depth of Knowledge

Level 1 Recall

Level 3Strategic Thinking

Level 2Skill/Concept

Level 4Extended Thinking

Level 1 Recall

Requires students to use simple skills or abilities to recall or locate facts from the text or information such as a fact, term, definition, or performance of a simple

process or procedure. The student either knows the information or does not.

Level 2 Skill/Concept

Requires both initial comprehension and subsequent processing of text or text portions.

Important concepts are covered, but not in a complex way. Tasks involve more than one step.

Students must make decisions about how to approach a problem or activity. Literal main ideas are stressed. Items may include words

such as paraphrase, summarize, interpret, infer, classify, organize, and estimate.

Level 3 Strategic Thinking

Requires deep knowledge. Cognitive demands are complex and abstract.

Students are encouraged to go beyond the text and are asked to explain,

generalize, or connect ideas. Students must be able to support and explain their

thinking, inferencing and analyzing.

Level 4 Extended Thinking

Requires complex reasoning, planning, developing, and thinking. Students take information from at least one passage

and are asked to apply this information to a new task. They may also be asked to

develop hypotheses using evidence, and perform complex analyses combining and

synthesizing ideas into new concepts.

They Go Together

Bloom’s Taxonomy Webb’s DOK

Knowledge/Remembering Recall

Comprehension/Understanding

Application/Applying Skill/Concept

Analysis/ Analyzing Strategic Thinking

Synthesis and Evaluation Extended

Which Level of Webb’s DOK?

Task Comparison Thinking

Collecting data samples

Developing a generalized model from the data and applying it to a new situation

Using the chart to make and justify predictions

Organizing the data in a chart

Recall

ExtendingThinking

StrategicThinking

Skills/Concepts

Do your classrooms have DOK quality?

DOK in Language Arts/Reading

What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?

What did the author say about the childhood of the salmon?

Why did the author begin the article/story with “Pacific salmon have a wonderful childhood”?

Moderate

Low

High

DOK in Mathematics• Determine the perimeter or area of

rectangles given a drawing or labels.• Classify plane and three dimensional

figures.• Solve a multiple-step problem and

provide support with a mathematical explanation that justifies the answer.

• Specify a problem, identify solution paths, solve the problem, and report the results.

High

High

Moderate

Low

DOK in MathematicsSame VERB

• Determine the formula for the area of a rectangle and explain reasoning through modeling

• Demonstrate and model multiplication (repeated addition, arrays) and division (repeated subtraction, partitioning)

• Model, describe, and draw – lines, rays, angles including right, obtuse, and acute angles.

High

Moderate

Low

DOK in ScienceKnowledge• Content knowledge • Knowledge of science processesTeachers need to understand the

benchmarks to ensure that the intent of the standard and the level of student demonstration required by each standard are addressed in classroom instruction.

DOK on the FCAT Science

DOK on the FCAT Science

DOK on the FCAT Science

Percentage of Points by Cognitive Complexity Level for

FCAT 2.0 ReadingGrades Low Level

Moderate Level

High Level

3 25-35 50-70 5-15

4 20-30 50-70 10-20

5-7 15-25 50-70 15-25

8 10-20 50-70 20-30

9 10-20 50-70 20-30

10 10-20 45-65 25-35

Percentage of Points by Cognitive Complexity Level for FCAT 2.0 & EOC Mathematics

AssessmentsGrades Low Level

Moderate Level

High Level

3-4 25-35 50-70 5-155 10-20 55-75 10-20

6-8 10-20 60-80 10-2010/

Retake10-20 50-70 20-30

Algebra I

10-20 60-80 10-20

Percentage of Points byCognitive Complexity Level

for FCAT Science

GradesLow

LevelModerate Level

High Level

5 15-25 40-60 25-35

8 15-25 40-60 25-35

11 15-25 40-60 25-35

Plant the seeds of knowledge everywhere you go!