Raena Willett

CHAPTER 5: Designing Complex Tasks In Chapter 5, Hess dives into  complex tasks.  So far, she has gone through the steps involved in formulating schemas, thinking through strategic scaffolding, and asking a series of probing questions. These are all wonderful pieces of a tiered approach to designing complex tasks. Hess continues her talk about the value of creating complex tasks by introducing the concept of  PBAs  (performance-based assessments),  near transfer , and  far transfer - and how they all relate to each other. First of all, what are PBAs, and what is the big deal? According to Hess, PBAs “demonstrate evidence of proficiency by creating authentic products of learning, such as designing a website, participating in a debate, or producing art” (p. 43). These aren’t your stereotypical  tests  that you might have grown up stressing about as a kid;   These are chances for students to engage in practical interactions with classmates, the ...

In chapter 4 of   Rigor by Design, Not Chance,  Karin Hess dives into scaffolding. She first and foremost breaks down the misconception that scaffolding and differentiation are the same thing- spoiler alert- they certainly are not! Differentiation is varying class content and assignments, typically offering choice and incorporating different aspects of UDL (Universal Design for Learning) in your instruction. Don’t get me wrong- differentiation is   important  for developing well-rounded learners. It keeps them engaged and typically utilizes multi-sensory approaches to deliver the same content in various means. However,   scaffolding  is just as important, if not more so! Here is why:   As a rising special educator, scaffolding is my bread and butter! Above is an image that you’ve probably seen before. It illustrates three people trying to watch a baseball game. In the first image, they are all given the exact same resources, but you will notice that th...

Chapter 3 of  Rigor by Design, Not Chance,  is all about  schemas.  Karen Hess explains the significance  of building schemas by citing the lack of intent that educators have had with schemas when developing lesson plans by what she had experienced. Schemas are necessary for helping our students grow from rookie learners into expert learners. According to Hess, “Learning activities that build schemas in each content domain is crucial to students long-term memory retrieval and their ability to transfer learning to novel situation’s (far transfer)” (p. 56). Throughout the chapter, she consistently refers back to schemas as being  mental models   and   frameworks.  As Hess says, “schemas allow chess experts to quickly master new chess patterns or high-level athletes to effectively integrate more complex skills to up the quality of their game” (p. 55).     This is a great analogy that applies to recreational activities of daily life- bu...

  In  Rigor by Design, Not Chance,  Karen Hess uses the 2 nd  chapter to explain the significance of asking probing questions. Hess supports this idea by saying, “The art of questioning is at the heart of good teaching and deeper learning” (p. 32). Probing questions are not asked to be responded to with concrete, 1 dimensional answer, but rather lay a guiding path in a student’s mind that will help them to establish their own mind map. Probing questions will encourage students to grapple complex concepts and actively engage with their own thought processes.  Hess categorizes questioning under two levels: closed-end questions for surface level understanding, and open-ended questions for deeper understanding. Closed-end questions are questions that you can physically open up a textbook and reread to find the specific answer, write it down, and you can feel good about your response. Open-ended questions often involve probing students to elaborate on a pre-conceptua...

Rigor by Design, Not Chance’s  first chapter is called  Laying the Foundations for Deeper Learning.  It defines deeper learning, and the 6 classroom and teacher-oriented qualities that encourage deeper learning, including: Mastering Core Academic Content Thinking Critically and Solving Complex Problems Working collaboratively on complex tasks Communicating effectively Learning how to learn Developing an academic mindset  (Hess, 2023).   All six of these characteristics are to evolve into College and Career Readiness skills, which often require students to think critically with a combination of academic and personal life skills. This relies heavily on the development of schemas, which are cognitive frameworks that organize and interpret relevant information with automaticity (Hess, 2023).   Depth of Knowledge is also discussed in a light that it should not be viewed as a taxonomy, and that engaging in a higher level would thus mean it is a  better...