AI DOK Questions Generator
Mr. Johnson is preparing his 8th-grade science unit assessment. His district requires evidence of higher-order thinking (specifically DOK Level 3 and Level 4 questions) on every unit test. He opens the DOK generator and enters the topic and the three NGSS standards the unit addressed. He has seven questions across the four levels, with what a good answer includes for each.
OpenEduCat's AI DOK Questions Generator creates questions at all four levels of Norman Webb's Depth of Knowledge framework from any topic or standard. Use them for assessment design, Socratic discussion, or lesson planning. Every question is labeled and ready to copy.
This page fills in a draft from a template. Copy prompt gives you the prompt for any AI chat.
How it works
From topic or standard to a complete DOK question set in four steps.
Enter a content standard
Teachers can input a specific content standard by code ("CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.6" or "NGSS MS-PS1-2") and the AI generates questions aligned to that standard at each DOK level.
Keep the DOK levels you need
The AI generates all four levels, so keep one specific level, a range (Levels 1 and 2 only, for a lower-stakes check), or all of them. When designing a discussion protocol, teachers might want only Level 3 and Level 4 questions. For a quick formative assessment, Level 1 and Level 2 suffice. The AI labels each question clearly.
AI generates questions with answer notes
For each question, the AI writes the question itself and what a good answer includes at that DOK level. A Level 1 answer note names the fact to recall. A Level 3 answer note names the reasoning to look for. Answer notes help teachers calibrate expectations.
Copy the questions
Copy the questions or download them as a text file, organized by DOK level.
The four DOK levels, with example questions
Each level represents a distinct type of cognitive demand. The generator produces questions at the correct level, not just varying difficulty, but different kinds of thinking.
L1
Level 1, Recall and Reproduction
"What is the function of the mitochondria?"
Recall a fact, definition, or simple procedure from memory. No interpretation required.
L2
Level 2, Skills and Concepts
"Compare cellular respiration and photosynthesis. How do they complement each other?"
Use a concept in context, interpret information, classify, or organize, goes beyond recall.
L3
Level 3, Strategic Thinking
"A student claims that cells with more mitochondria always work harder. Evaluate this claim using evidence."
Reason, plan, justify, or construct an argument. Requires deeper analysis and evidence-based thinking.
L4
Level 4, Extended Thinking
"Design an investigation to test whether exercise intensity affects mitochondrial density in muscle cells."
Synthesize across sources, design investigations, or apply knowledge in novel real-world situations.
What it can do
Cognitive-level targeting for assessment and discussion design.
All 4 DOK levels with clear distinctions
Level 1 (Recall and Reproduction): recall a fact, identify a term, follow a procedure. Level 2 (Skills and Concepts): use a concept in context, classify, interpret, organize. Level 3 (Strategic Thinking): reason, plan, construct an argument, explain why. Level 4 (Extended Thinking): design, investigate across multiple sources, synthesize, apply to novel situations. The template keeps these levels separate, so the higher-order levels stay distinct.
Standard shown on the draft
When questions are generated from a specific standard, the draft names the standard.
Answer notes
Each generated question comes with notes on what a good answer includes. Level 1 answer notes can be brief factual statements. Level 4 answer notes can include multi-step reasoning, evidence from multiple sources, and a novel application or synthesis. Teachers can use these notes to calibrate scoring expectations and share them with students as models.
Subject-agnostic generation
The DOK framework applies across disciplines, and so does the generator. ELA teachers use it for text analysis questions. Math teachers use it for problem-solving prompts at different cognitive depths. Science teachers generate questions from NGSS standards. Social studies teachers enter the topic of a primary source document. The AI adapts its question style to the subject, math Level 3 questions ask students to justify a solution strategy; ELA Level 3 questions ask students to explain an author's craft choice.
Administrators reviewing assessment design can verify that unit tests include Level 3 and Level 4 questions as required by curriculum frameworks.
Where teachers use it
Assessment design and test construction, Teachers building unit tests use the DOK generator to ensure the assessment includes questions at multiple cognitive levels. Some district policies ask for a spread of DOK levels on summative assessments.
Socratic seminar and discussion facilitation, Level 3 and Level 4 questions drive productive academic discussions because they require reasoning and cannot be answered with a simple fact lookup. Teachers generate the Level 3 questions to open and carry the discussion, and the Level 4 question to close the session. The discussion questions tool generates the full facilitation set with opening, core, and closing questions.
Instructional planning for rigor, When planning a lesson, teachers use the generator's four levels as a guide to the DOK level of their planned activities and questions. If all planned activities are at Level 1 and Level 2, the lesson lacks rigor. The generator gives teachers Level 3 questions to adapt for the lesson and a Level 4 task to assign as an extension or homework.
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- Data-processing agreement on request.
What this page does here
This page builds a draft from a template on this device. Copy prompt gives you the prompt for any AI chat.
Questions teachers ask
What is Webb's Depth of Knowledge framework?
Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DOK) is a framework developed by Norman Webb that categorizes cognitive complexity into four levels. Level 1 (Recall and Reproduction) involves retrieving facts or performing routine procedures. Level 2 (Skills and Concepts) requires using information in context, classifying, or interpreting. Level 3 (Strategic Thinking) demands reasoning, planning, and justifying claims with evidence. Level 4 (Extended Thinking) involves synthesizing information across multiple sources, designing investigations, and applying knowledge in novel real-world contexts. Unlike Bloom's Taxonomy, DOK measures the depth of thinking required, not the type of thinking.
How is DOK different from Bloom's Taxonomy?
Bloom's Taxonomy categorizes the type of cognitive process (remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create). DOK measures the depth and complexity of thinking required, regardless of the cognitive type. A student can 'remember' at DOK Level 1 (recall a specific date) or DOK Level 2 (recall a complex multi-step procedure). The two frameworks are complementary, many teachers use both.
What kinds of text passages work best with the generator?
The generator does not read text passages; it takes a topic, so enter the topic of your expository article, narrative fiction, primary source document, data table, textbook excerpt, map, graph, or poem. Richer, more specific topics make the Level 3 and Level 4 questions more useful because there is more to analyze and synthesize. A narrow topic such as a single data table suits Level 1 questions (read the value for X) and Level 2 questions (compare X to Y), so you may need to adapt the Level 3 and Level 4 questions. You can add further sources yourself when you adapt the extended-thinking question.
Can I use the DOK generator for standardized test preparation?
Yes, as a starting point that you adapt. Many state standardized assessments use DOK levels. When teachers know their state test emphasizes Level 2 and Level 3 questions for a given standard, they can generate targeted practice questions at those levels. The draft gives question stems at each cognitive demand level, which the teacher can match to the assessment questions students will face.
How many questions does the generator produce per DOK level?
The generator produces two questions at each of Levels 1 to 3 and one at Level 4, enough for a discussion set or short assessment. For very specific content standards, question variety at Level 4 may be limited by the scope of the standard itself. Teachers can generate additional questions by varying the input: a different topic or a related standard.
Can I share DOK question sets with other teachers?
Not from the tool. There is no share link, question bank or PDF export. Copy the questions or download them as a text file, and send them to other teachers yourself.
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