Here’s the most common mistake I’ve seen in implementing depth and complexity: the “fill in the blanks” worksheet.
All AboutDepth And Complexity
This framework for differentiation will give your students practical ways to think more deeply about a topic.
The Least Popular Depth and Complexity Prompt
Last month, I asked which prompt of Depth and Complexity you’d get rid of. The results were pretty unanimous…
Building Sequences of Questions with Depth and Complexity
Understanding how to move students from abstract to specific and back again is a key to differentiating for the gifted. Reading through a pal’s dissertation gave me a new way of applying this to Depth and Complexity…
Depth, Complexity, and Graphic Organizers
Layer the prompts of Depth and Complexity onto any graphic organizer to increase the level of thinking required of your students.
What is up with those “New” Depth and Complexity Icons!?
I love the prompts of depth and complexity and the content imperatives. But some teachers are being asked to use eight new prompts that just aren’t as good as the classics.
Depth or Complexity Alone Isn’t Deep Enough
You can use the prompts of depth and complexity yet still ask very shallow questions. Here’s how to avoid this common pitfall…
Multiple Perspectives: Right And Wrong At The Same Time?
It’s essential to teach our students to think flexibly and consider multiple points of view. Flexible thinking leads to product innovation, diplomacy between nations, and advances in science. School, however, often encourages students to settle into a “one right answer” mindset.
3 Examples to Introduce ⏳ Change Over Time
Here are three visual resources to discuss change over time, compare and contrast, and multiple persepctives: beauty tips from 1889, company logos over time, and 1950s 7up ads featuring babies.
Think Like A Philosopher
Up near the top of Bloom’s taxonomy is “evaluating.” A great use of this level of thinking is to evaluate a character’s ethical choice. But we can go deeper! Let’s ask students to evaluate characters’ actions based on another character’s point of view. To add another layer, we’ll teach kids about philosophers and use their points of view as well.
Think Like An Engineer: Egg Drop
At our school, 6th graders participate in an annual egg drop. To increase the rigor, I looked for unique scientific roles and came up with three: designing a parachute to slow the egg’s descent, testing materials to pack inside the structure, and developing the structure itself. Each of these roles will be developed into a scientific discipline.