Design Question #4: What will I do to help students generate and test hypotheses about new

knowledge?

21. Organizing Students for Cognitively Complex Tasks

The teacher organizes the class in such a way as to facilitate students working on complex tasks that require them to generate
and test hypotheses.

Teacher Evidence
 Teacher establishes the need to generate and test hypotheses
 Teacher organizes students into groups to generate and test hypotheses

Student Evidence
 When asked, students describe the importance of generating and testing hypotheses about content
 When asked, students explain how groups support their learning
 Students use group activities to help them generate and test hypotheses

Scale
Not Using Beginning Developing Applying Innovating
Organizing students Strategy was Uses strategy Organizes Organizes Adapts and creates
for cognitively called for but not incorrectly or students into students into new strategies for
complex tasks exhibited. with parts groups to groups to unique student
missing. facilitate working facilitate working needs and situations
on cognitively on cognitively in order for the
complex tasks, complex tasks desired effect to be
but the majority and monitors for evident in all
of students are evidence of the students.
not monitored for extent to which
the desired effect group processes
of the strategy. facilitate
generating and
testing
hypotheses for
the majority of
students.

Reflection Questions
Not Using Beginning Developing Applying Innovating
Organizing students How can you How can you In addition to How might you What are you
for cognitively begin to organize organizing adapt and create learning about your
complex tasks incorporate students in students in new strategies students as you
some aspect of groups to groups for for organizing adapt and create new
this strategy in facilitate working cognitively students to strategies?
your instruction? on cognitively complex tasks, complete
complex tasks? how can you cognitively
monitor the complex tasks?
extent to which
group processes
facilitate
generating and
testing
hypotheses?

©2011 Robert J. Marzano. Can only be digitized in iObservation. Page 23

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