Real-World Learning Framework - Cognitive Complexity

Clarified as applying knowledge in new ways and engaging in nonroutine problem solving

Directly related to Blooms' Taxonomy

Knowing

Remember level tasks

Practicing

Understand and apply level tasks

Investigating

Analyze, evaluate and create using teacher directed tasks

Integrating

Same as investigating BUT students identify the questions, tasks or projects

Specializing

Students generate projects while thinking like an expert with open-ended or global emphasis

How students interact with the content dictates level of thinking

Teachers should ask themselves crucial questions to be sure their lessons have various levels of cognitive complexity

What is Bloom's level of student thinking in the task?

Will the student work produce this level of thinking?

Is the project standards based and part of the curriculum?

Is the project teacher directed or student directed?

Do students have opportunities to generate open-ended, high level thinking questions?

Remember

Recover information previously memorized

Recognizing and Recalling

Understand

Establish new connections with content

Interpreting, Exemplifying, Classifying, Summarizing, Inferring, Comparing and Explaining

Apply

Students execute certain procedures or steps to address a new problem

Executing and Implementing

Analyze

Students use knowledge and understanding to complete higher-level tasks or projects

Differentiating, Organizing and Attributing

Often seen as the beginning of deep thinking process

Could be a top tier level of complexity based on if it is student vs teacher directed

Evaluate

Students examine informational sources to assess their quality and make decisions based on the identified criteria

Checking and Critiquing

Create

Organizing information in a new way to design a product

Generating, Planning and Producing