Teaching with Complexity

1. Teaching with Complexity

2. Cognitive Demand • The kind and level of thinkingrequired of students to successfully engage with and solve a task • Ways in which students interact with content

3. Cognitive Complexity in Math Low Complexity • Relies heavily on recall and recognition of previously learned concepts. • Test items typically specify what the student is to do, which often is to carry out some procedure that can be performed mechanically. • It is not left to the student to come up with an original method of solution.

4. Cognitive Complexity in Math Moderate Complexity • Involve more flexible htinking than low complexity test items do. • Requires a response that goes beyond the habitual, is not specified, and ordinarily involves more than a single step or thought process. • Requires students to decide what to do—using informal methods of reasoning and problem-solving strategies—and to bring together skill and knowledge from various domains.

5. Cognitive Complexity in Math High Complexity • Makes heavy demand on student thinking. • Engages students in abstract reasoning, planning, analysis, judgment, and creative thought. • Requires students to think in an abstract and sophisticated way, often involving multiple steps.

6. Percentage of Points by Cognitive Complexity Level for FCAT Math Low DOK

7. Algebra I and Race to the Top • What knowledge, skills and experiences in math do students most often lack that they should have acquired in earlier grades? • What skills, knowledge and experiences in math separate students who enter and succeed in more advanced math classes from those who do not? • What skills and knowledge in math that students acquired in elementary school take the most time to re-teach? • What deficiencies in knowledge and understanding are most difficult to remedy and which ones continue to plague students in later courses? Low DOK

8. Algebra I Readiness Skills • High school graduation requirements are increasing with the inclusion of state algebra tests required for a high school diploma. (Race to the Top) • Algebra I is the key—and the barrier—to students’ ability to complete a challenging mathematics curriculum in high school. • In a 2001 ninth grade study, 62 percent of students in HSTW sties who took something called algebra in the middle grades took college preparatory math in grade nine. • According to a 2002 HSTW study, 56 percent of career/technical students completed four or more mat courses during high school. Low DOK

9. Percent of graduates enrolled in Algebra I or equivalent in a FL public school prior to 9th grade • State Average – 29.60% • Leon County – 18.40% • Hillsborough – 41.80% • Palm Beach – 59.70% • Alachua – 33.50% • Bay - 32.90% • Duval – 46.10% Low DOK

10. Race to the Top STEM Timeline2nd Quarter 2010-2011 • Review current course offerings at middle and high school to determine what changes are needed in the progression plan to ensure students are prepared for more rigorous STEM course work. • Analyze current offerings in STEM accelerated course offerings to use as baseline data.

11. Race to the Top STEM Timeline3rd Quarter 2010-2011 • Review current course offerings at middle and high school to determine what changes are needed in the progression plan to ensure students are prepared for more rigorous STEM course work. • Develop a plan for expansion of STEM Accelerated offerings at the high school level.

12. Race to the Top STEM Timeline4th Quarter 2010-2011 • Develop a plan for expansion of STEM Accelerated offerings at the high school level • Explore the use of distance learning to increase STEM accelerated offerings at the high school level. • Develop and refine courses that serve as prerequisites to Advanced Placement and/or dual enrollment classes in the STEM areas, including , but not limited to, Algebra I and Earth/Space Science in middle school. (ongoing) • Provide professional development for teachers to effectively teach accelerated STEM courses. (ongoing) • Analyze student performance data to determine support needed for students in rigorous STEM courses. (ongoing)

13. Race to the Top STEM Timeline2011-2013 • Develop a list of potential STEM Accelerated courses, including Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment to add to high school course offerings. • Implement revised course progression plan to include, but not limited to: Algebra I and Earth/Space Science in middle school and additional STEM courses in Advanced Placement and/or dual enrollment. • Document implementation of additional accelerated STEM courses and industry certifications offered at each school to check progress in expanding opportunities. (ongoing)

14. Race to the Top STEM Timeline2013-2014 • Documentation of increased STEM accelerated course offerings, including a comparison of baseline data to end-of-grant period date.

15. Complexity and InstructionThe 5 E Model Engage. Explore. Explain. Elaborate. Evaluate.

16. Depth of Knowledge/Level of Cognitive Complexity on the FCAT

17. Depth of Knowledge/Level of Cognitive Complexity on the FCAT

18. Depth of Knowledge/Level of Cognitive Complexity on the FCAT

19. How complex are the items on your tests? Low DOK

20. Revise your text to make the questions more complex. Low DOK