DOK stands for Depth of Knowledge, which is a cognitive rigor model developed by Dr. Norman Webb in 1997. It is a system designed to categorize activities based on the complexity of thinking required to complete them. DOK is used by educators to identify the cognitive demand of activities and make informed decisions on how to design effective learning experiences for their students. The DOK model involves four levels that describe different types of thinking required to successfully complete tasks:

• DOK-1: At this level, students are asked to acquire and gather the information they need to develop deeper knowledge and thinking. They are asked mostly factual questions (who, what, where, when) about the texts and topics they are reading and reviewing. They might also be asked to recall or reproduce how or why a concept or procedure works.

• DOK-2: Use academic concepts and cognitive skills to answer questions, address problems, accomplish tasks, and analyze texts and topics. This level requires more complex thinking and application of knowledge.

• DOK-3: Think strategically and reasonably about how and why concepts, ideas, operations, and procedures can be used to attain and explain answers, conclusions, decisions, outcomes, reasons, and results. This level requires more analysis and evaluation of information.

• DOK-4: This level is extensive and practical, focusing on how and why learning can be transferred and used across the curriculum and beyond the classroom. It requires more synthesis and creation of new knowledge.

DOK levels are not sequential, and students need not fully master content with Level 1 tasks before doing Level 2 tasks. All students, including the youngest preschoolers, are capable of strategic and extended thinking tasks. DOK is particularly useful for standardized assessments, where tasks are structured to test various levels of rigor.