A Deeper Look AT Costa

​This month we are going to focus on questioning/inquiry using Costa's theory.  Endorsed and used by AVID, teachers at Cross Creek should consider, if they are not doing so,  incorporating this structure within their classroom so that students are exposed to this strategy and understanding becomes routine. 

Costa’s levels of learning and thinking, is a relative newcomer to the intellectual taxonomy world of cognitive theories. Note: sometimes his taxonomy is called “levels of inquiry,” or “levels of questioning” or “levels of intellectual thinking.” No matter what it is called, it all means the same thing—a way of categorizing and labeling the amount and depth of thinking a student is actually doing. His taxonomy has three levels—a lower level of intellectual thinking, a moderate level of intellectual thinking, and a high level of intellectual thinking.

His learning taxonomy is primarily used by the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program, which is a successful program targeting kids who normally would not be thinking about going to college. Costa’s Levels of Creative Thinking are used in AVID to encourage both teachers and students to increase their level of intellectual rigor, in the products they make and in the process they go through to make the product. Because his learning taxonomy is relatively simple—there are only three different levels of learning difficulty—Costa’s learning taxonomy has been picked up by many other educators. It’s not hard to see why many individuals have preferred to use Costa’s learning taxonomy other those which have been created by others. His taxonomy is easier for many people to understand because it involves only three different levels of intellectual complexity, as compared with Bloom’s six levels and Schank’s 12 types of cognitive processes." 

No matter which learning taxonomy you like or use, the important thing is to make sure students are thinking in multiple ways, rather than relying on one or two thinking or learning processes.

The video link below is targeted to help students understand Costa, but it may also help you if you are unfamiliar.

A Review Of Costa Video

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In the comments below- Using Examples of Costa's Levels of Questions create a level 1,2, 3 question for the photograph featured in the video.   Due by Feb 13.

Click on your subject for more specific example samples of levels within each subject 

Costa ENGLISH Example Samples

Costa MATHEMATICS Example Samples

Costa Science Example Samples

Costa Language Example Samples

Costa AVID Assignment

This month will challenge you to be mindful of the types of questions used within the classroom. Using the Example Samples from your subject and with the general understanding of Costa's Three Levels of Thinking and Questioning, you will observe (Veteran) or be the observed (Newbie) within a given time, 30-45 minutes in length and denote the type and quantity of questions asked. 

Your team must choose a time where direct instruction or some method of inquiry is used. Observations are due by NLT Feb 22nd.  Template is provided below. Please make comments in your learning log. All log entries are due by February 27.