Depth and Complexity PD

For too long, I let my students turn in blah Big Ideas. Here’s how I fixed it.

Learn to use the Content Imperatives, a set of five additional tools that work with Depth and Complexity.

Here’s how I got better at using the Think Like An Expert technique.

Depth and Complexity is the most powerful framework most teachers have never heard of. Here’s what it actually is — and isn’t.

My students made a list of problems… and we stopped right there.

Universal Themes are an easy way to connect lessons, units, and content areas, even going across grade levels, and into students’ personal interests.

I spent about a decade making some pretty major mistakes in my use of depth and complexity.

Bloom’s tells you how high to aim. Depth and Complexity tells you where to look. Combine them and things get interesting.

Let’s see a few examples of how Depth and Complexity slides nicely into any graphic organizer.

This very common Depth and Complexity worksheet has many problems. And I used it for years!

My students listed Unanswered Questions and then… we moved on! Oops.

I asked “How could two experts’ perspectives regarding information from this reading selection differ from one another.” Yikes!

Let’s improve “Create a title for this chapter. Explain why your title fits the 🏛️ Big Idea.”

Can kindergartners discuss ethical issues? Yes. Here’s how to weave multiple-perspective problems throughout your curriculum.

One topic, four angles. The Frame graphic organizer gives every student a different way in — without you creating four different lessons.

Even our youngest students can learn to think from multiple perspectives!