Depth and Complexity Renovations
Boy did I make a lot of obvious mistakes when implementing Depth and Complexity. In this series, I’m breaking down worksheets I used and re-writing them to improve my use of Depth and Complexity.
Don’t just list examples of writing techniques. Let’s improve Shakespeare!
I stopped and started with “What 👄 special writing techniques does the author use? List examples.”
Taking A Zoologist Across Disciplines
All I did was ask students to list and explain three “disciplines.” Let’s take it a bit further!
My class listed two Unanswered Questions. Now what?
It seems obvious, but if someone tells me what they’re wondering about, I shouldn’t move on to another topic!
Going Beyond “Define These Terms In Your Own Words”
“Define these terms in your own words” may contain depth and complexity… but it’s neither deep nor complex!
Multiple Perspectives Gone Mad!!
Yes, I actually gave my students this question: “How could two experts’ 👓 perspectives regarding information from this reading selection differ from one another?” yikes.
Beyond “Describe How This Changed Over Time”
I want to go beyond just listing how a character changed. Let’s get students thinking about that change!
Don’t Just List ⚖️ Ethical Issues
Let’s improve this “make a list” question to incorporate high level thinking.
Improving “What’s The Chapter’s 🏛️ Big Idea?”
Let’s improve this bland Depth and Complexity question by getting really specific.
I just asked, “Do You Notice Any Patterns?”
Here’s another question from a worksheet I used to use: Do you notice any 🌀 patterns in this book? And then the next question moved on to another topic. Do you notice any 🌀 patterns in this book? Were there any ⚖️ ethical issues? What was the 🏛️ big idea? I was leaving so much […]
Fixing my “Think Like A Statistician” Frame
I used a Depth and Complexity Frame like this with my math students. Let’s look at how we could improve this. Some problems: It asks four unrelated questions. I want to build a sequence of questions that climbs Bloom’s Taxonomy. Most of the questions are naturally answered with “yes” or “no” or a list. Questions […]
Details Should Lead To A Big Idea
Here are two questions I’d ask students about a story What are three important 🌼 details about the main character? What is the story’s 🏛️ moral? Now, details naturally lead to big ideas. But in this case, I switched topics from “main character” to “big idea, ” which broke the natural movement. If I ask […]
Perspectives on Friendship in Charlotte’s Web
Asking students to “explain the importance” wasn’t as high-level as I thought.
Language of the Discipline Gone Wrong
A teacher sent this one in. They had a ring of pre-written Depth and Complexity questions. They suspected something was wrong. They were right!!
The Problem with Depth and Complexity Handouts
These common Depth and Complexity handouts are packed with questions that don’t even make sense!
Pop Quiz! Rock Cycle Depth and Complexity
Here are a set of questions someone sent in. What do you think?
Misconceptions About 🏛️ Big Idea
Big Idea is often the first prompt of Depth and Complexity that I introduce to students. That does not mean, however, that it is basic or less sophisticated than the other prompts.
My Worst Depth and Complexity Worksheet
Here’s the most common mistake I’ve seen in implementing Depth and Complexity. And I made it too!
Conflict and Quadrilaterals
Rather than merely asking “what patterns are there in these quadrilaterals” we’ll set up an exploration of conflict and quadrilaterals.
Think Like A Disciplinarian: The Common Problems
Think Like A Disciplinarian is a method for teaching students to approach concepts from an expert’s point of view. You’ll expose you class to new modes of thinking, teach subject–specific language, and develop questions that delve deeper into problems. As a bonus, students will learn about potential careers.