Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful time away and had plenty of time for rest and fun. This month the gifted zone will cover different strategies and ideas to create enriching learning experiences for our learners (and maybe ourselves!) - Dr. Weigelt

Drum roll please… Welcome “Depth and Complexity” to center stage!

The “Depth and Complexity” framework is most recognized by their icons which represent the 11 different thinking prompts. These prompts can be applied to almost any topic or concept.  Depth and Complexity is not only great for learning, but for conversation starters as well!

Depth

• Depth involves approaching a topic from concrete to abstract, or from known to unknown. Students use different perspectives to examine topics by determining facts, concepts, generalizations, principles, and theories.
• Details, Patterns, Rules, Ethics, Language of the Discipline, Trends, Unanswered Questions, and Big Idea

Complexity

• Complexity can inspire students to relate concepts and ideas at a more sophisticated and complex level of thinking.
• Multiple Perspectives, Over Time, and Across Disciplines

Here’s an example of applying the D&C framework to learning about fractions:

Language of the Discipline What specialized language is needed to talk about fractions? What vocabulary words do you know that have to do with fractions?

Details What are the parts-to-a-whole relationships found in fractions?

Patterns Compare and Contrast the patterns found in fractions.

Rules What rules do we follow when solving equations that include fractions?

Big Idea If you were going to tell someone who had never heard about fractions what they were, what would you say?

Across Disciplines How do different careers fields use fractions? (education, science, culinary, medicine, ect)

Check out this free Depth and Complexity resource from Byrdseed.com.

The Center for Depth and Complexity also has an incredibly user-friendly website with tons of great resources.