Higher Order

Thinking Skills

David W. Dillard
Arcadia Valley CTC
Definition
 Higher-order thinking essentially
means thinking that takes place in
the higher-levels of the hierarchy of
cognitive processing. Bloom’s
Taxonomy is the most widely
accepted hierarchical arrangement
of this sort in education and it can
be viewed as a continuum of
thinking skills starting with
knowledge-level thinking and
moving eventually to evaluation-
level of thinking.
Higher Order Thinking Skills:

 The Learning Research and Development

Center (1991) lists the following higher
order thinking skills:
 "Size up and define a problem that isn't
neatly packaged.
 Determine which facts and formulas
stored in memory might be helpful for
solving a problem.
 Recognize when more information is
needed, and where and how to look for it.
 Deal with uncertainty by 'brainstorming'
possible ideas or solutions when the way
to proceed isn't apparent.
Higher Order Thinking Skills:

 Carry out complex analyses or

tasks that require planning,
management, monitoring, and
adjustment.
 Exercise judgment in situations
where there aren't clear-cut
'right' and 'wrong' answers, but
more and less useful ways of
doing things.
 Step outside the routine to deal
with an unexpected breakdown or
opportunity."
Thought
 "Every day thinking, like ordinary
walking, is a natural performance
we all pick up. But good thinking,
like running the l00-yard dash, is a
technical performance... Sprinters
have to be taught how to run the
100-yard dash; good thinking is the
result of good teaching, which
includes much practice."
David Perkins, Howard University
Realigning your curriculum to improve
student achievement at the college-
preparatory level

 “HOT” curriculum focuses on

Higher Order Thinking and
Technology
 “HOT” courses utilize Hands-On
Technology
 “HOT” instruction promotes
Cognitive Development
 “HOT” classroom environments
reflect Active Interactions
6 levels of Bloom's Taxonomy:

Knowledge

Comprehension

Application

Analysis

Synthesis

Evaluation

Benjamin Bloom (1956)

6 levels of Bloom's Taxonomy:

 Knowledge statements ask

the student to recite the
pledge. Example: “Say the
pledge.”
 Comprehension statements
ask the student to explain the
meaning of words contained in
the pledge. Example: “Explain
what indivisible, liberty, and
justice mean.”
6 levels of Bloom's Taxonomy:

 Application statements ask the

student to apply understandings.
Example: “Create your own pledge
to something you believe in.”
 Analysis statements ask the
student to interpret word meanings
in relation to context. Example:
“Discuss the meaning of ‘and to the
Republic for which it stands’ in
terms of its importance to the
pledge.”
6 levels of Bloom's Taxonomy:

 Synthesis statements ask the student

to apply concepts in a new setting.
Example: “Write a contract between
yourself and a friend that includes an
allegiance to a symbol that stands for
something you both believe in.”
 Evaluation statements ask the student
to judge the relative merits of the
content and concepts contained in the
subject. Example: “Describe the purpose
of the pledge and assess how well it
achieves that purpose. Suggest
improvements.”
Different types of thinking:

 1. Critical thinking - This is convergent

thinking. It assesses the worth and
validity of something existent. It
involves precise, persistent, objective
analysis. When teachers try to get
several learners to think convergently,
they try to help them develop common
understanding.
 2. Creative thinking - This is divergent
thinking. It generates something new or
different. It involves having a different
idea that works as well or better than
previous ideas.
Different types of thinking:

 3. Convergent thinking - This type of

thinking is cognitive processing of
information around a common point, an
attempt to bring thoughts from different
directions into a union or common
conclusion.
 4. Divergent thinking - This type of
thinking starts from a common point
and moves outward into a variety of
perspectives. When fosering divergent
thinking, teachers use the content as a
vehicle to prompt diverse or unique
thinking among students rather than a
common view.
Different types of thinking:

 5. Inductive thinking - This is the

process of reasoning from parts to the
whole, from examples to
generalizations.
 6. Deductive thinking - This type of
reasoning moves from the whole to its
parts, from generalizations to underlying
concepts to examples.
Different types of thinking:

 7. Closed questions - These are

questions asked by teachers that
have predictable responses. Closed
questions almost always require
factual recall rather than higher
levels of thinking.
 8. Open questions - These are
questions that do not have
predictable answers. Open
questions almost always require
higher order thinking.
WHAT STRATEGIES HELP TO
DEVELOP THESE SKILLS?

 Help Students Organize Their

Knowledge
 Build on What Students Already Know
 Facilitate Information Processing
 Facilitate Deep Thinking Through
Elaboration
 Make Thinking Processes Explicit
Becoming a guide
(promoting cognitive development)

 --Require justification for ideas and

probe for reasoning strategies
 --Challenge students to develop
alternatives and to ask thought-
provoking questions
 --As an instructor, ask open-ended
questions and accept varied responses
 --Require all students to participate
actively in class discussions
 --Serve as a master of apprentices
rather than a teacher of students
An Igniting
Interactive Environment
 --Reflects real-life situations and
contexts
 --Shows collaboration among
teachers, disciplines, and students
 --Encourages curiosity,
exploration, and investigation
 --Demands student responsibility
for his or own learning
 --Encourages various performance
–based displays of competencies
How do I foster higher-order thinking in
my classroom?

 1. Set up a classroom environment

which is conducive to high-level
thinking.
 A. Multi-level materials
B. Flexible grouping
C. Accept and celebrate diversity
D. Print-rich environment
E. High expectations
F. Teacher as co-learner
G. Nurture risk-taking 2. Engage
students in activities which foster high-
level thinking.
How do I foster higher-order thinking in
my classroom?
 A. Collaborative group activities in which students
can communicate with others in a variety of ways.
B. Problem-solving activities that require more than
routine calculations.
C. Open-ended activities with more than one "right"
answer.
D. Activities which acommodate multiple
intelligences.
E. Activities in which both genders participate freely.
3. Construct questions that call for high-level
thinking.
 A. Ask yourself, "Do I always know the answer to my
questions?"
B. Use a variety of assessment methods that match
teaching strategies. For example, use a project for
assessment instead of an end-of-unit test.
Evaluation: Words
 Appraise  Judge
 Choose  Justify,
 Compare  Prioritize
 Conclude  Rank
 Decide  Rate
 Defend  Select
 Evaluate  Support
 Give your  Value
opinion
 Synthesis

 Change  Find an
 Combine unusual way
 Compose  Formulate
 Construct  Generate
 Create  Invent
 Design  Originate
 Plan
 Synthesis

 Predict  Revise
 Pretend  Suggest
 Produce  Suppose
 Rearrange  visualize
 Reconstruct  write
 Reorganize
Analysis
 Analyze  Diagnose
 Categorize  Diagram
 Classify  Differentiate
 Compare  Dissect
 Contrast  Distinguish
 Debate  Examine
 Deduct  Infer
 Determine the  Specify
factors
Application
 Give an
 Apply
example
 Compute
 Illustrate
 Conclude
 Make
 Construct
 Operate
 Demonstrate
 Show
 Determine
 Solve
 Draw
 State a rule or
 Find out principle
 Use
Comprehension
 Convert  Retell in your
 Describe own words
 Explain  Rewrite
 Interpret  Summarize
 Paraphrase  Trace
 put in order  Translate
 Restate
Knowledge
 Define  Match
 fill in the  Memorize
blank  Name
 Identify  Recall
 Label  Spell
 List  State
 Locate  Tell
 Underline
 Knowledge: Identification and recall of information
 Who, what, when, where, how?
 Describe ___________________.
 Comprehension: Organization and selection of facts and ideas
 Retell ___________ in your own words.
 What is the main idea of ___________________?
 Application: Use of facts, rules, principles
 How is __________ and example of _______________?
 How is __________ related to _________________?
 Why is _________________ significant?
 Analysis: Separation of the whole into component parts
 What are the parts or features of ________________?
 Classify _______________ according to ________________.
 Outline/diagram/web ____________________.
 How does ______________ compare/contrast with __________________?
 What evidence can you list for _____________________?
 Synthesis: Combination of ideas to form a new whole
 What would you predict/infer from __________________?
 What ideas can you add to __________________?
 How would you create/design a new __________________?
 What might happen if you combine _______________ with ________________?
 What solutions would you suggest for __________________?
 Evaluation: Development of opinions, judgments, or decisions
 Do you agree with _________________?
 What do you think about _______________?
 What is the most important _____________?
 Prioritize ________________.
 How would you decide about ________________?
 What criteria would you use to assess ______________________?
QUESTIONS THAT PROBE
ASSUMPTIONS
 What are you assuming?
 What is Karen assuming?
 What could we assume instead?
 You seem to be assuming________.
 Do I understand you correctly?
 All of your reasoning depends on the idea that .
 Why have you based your reasoning on ______
rather than ____?
 You seem to be assuming _______.
 How would you justify taking this for granted?
 Is it always the case?
 Why do you think the assumption holds here?
 Why would someone make this assumption?
QUESTIONS OF
CLARIFICATION
 What do you mean by? Could you give me an
example?
 What is your main point? Would this be an example?
 How does_________relate________to? Could you explain this
further?
 Could you put that another way? Would you say more about
that?
 Is your basic point______or_____? Why do you say that?
 What do you think is the main issue here?
 Let me see if I understand you; do you mean_______or______?
How does this relate to our discussion (problem, issue)?
 What do you think John meant by his remark? What did you take
John to mean?
 Jane, would you summarize in your own words what Richard has
said? ...Richard, is that what you meant?
QUESTIONS THAT PROBE
REASONS AND EVIDENCE
 What would be an example?
 How do you know?
 Why do you think that is true?
 Do you have any evidence for that?
 What difference does that make?
 What are your reasons for saying that?
 Could you explain your reasons to us?
 Is there reason to doubt that evidence?
 What would you say to someone who said________?
 Can someone else give evidence to support that response?
 Who is in a position to know if that is so?
QUESTIONS THAT PROBE
REASONS AND EVIDENCE

 By what reasoning did you come to that conclusion?

 How could we find out whether that is true?
 Are these reasons adequate?
 Why did you say that?
 What led you to that belief?
 How does that apply to this case?
 What would change your mind?
 What other information do we need?
 But is that good evidence to believe that?
 Who is in a position to know if that is so?
QUESTIONS ABOUT VIEWPOINTS
OR PERSPECTIVES
 You seem to be approaching this issue
from________ perspective.
 Why have you chosen this rather than that
perspective?
 How would other groups/types of people
respond? Why? What would influence them?
 How could you answer the objection
that________would make?
 What might someone who believed________
think?
 Can/did anyone see this another way?
 What would someone who disagrees say?
 What is an alternative?
QUESTIONS THAT PROBE IMPLICATIONS
AND CONSEQUENCES
 What are you implying by that?
 But if that happened, what else would happen
as a result? Why?
 What effect would that have?
 Would that necessarily happen or only probably
happen?
 What is an altenative?
 If this and this are the case, then what else
must also be true?
 If we say that this is unethical; how about
that?
 When you say________you are implying?
Suggestions Related to Using Writing to Promote
Higher-Order Thinking

 Write daily or frequently rather

than sporadically.
 Write for real audiences and
purposes.
 Allot sufficient time for stages of
thought and editing to occur.
 Encourage peer review
 Write with an initial emphasis on
thinking rather than on
proofreading and editing.
Writing to Promote Higher-Order Thinking

 (Synthesized from Teaching Children to Be Literate: A

Reflective Approach, by Anthony and Ula Manzo, 1995)
 Writing activates the reader’s background knowledge
before reading/thinking.
 Writing builds anticipation of upcoming learning events.
 Writing raises the reader’s level of intellectual activity.
 Writing encourages meaningful comparisons of the
student’s perspective with that of the writer (in reading
situations)
 Writing helps students better formulate their world view.
 Writing allows students to examine their perspectives on
key issues.
 Writing builds metacognitive as well as cognitive abilities
because writing forces deeper levels of introspection,
analysis, and synthesis than any other mediational
process.
(Synthesized from Teaching Children to Be Literate: A Reflective Approach, by

Anthony and Ula Manzo, 1995)

 1. Remember to ask for it; that is, for discovery,

invention, and artistic/literary creation.
 2. Great curiosity and new ideas with enthusiasm; these
can often lead to the most valuable “teachable
moments.”
 3. Expose learners to new twists on old patterns and
invite looking at old patterns from new angles.
 4. Constructively critique new ideas because they almost
always require some fine-tuning.
 5. Reset our expectations to the fact that there will be
many more “misses” than “hits” when reaching for
workable new ideas.
 6. Learn to invite contrary, or opposing, positions; new
possibilities are often discovered in this way and existing
thoughts, patterns, and beliefs can be tested and
strengthened.
 Head-on Approaches to Teaching Higher-Order
Thinking
 (Synthesized from Teaching Children to Be Literate: A
Reflective Approach, by Anthony and Ula Manzo, 1995)
 “Thinking Thursdays”
 Consider setting aside a given amount of time on a
regular basis to try some of these direct approaches
to teaching critical and creative thinking.
 Word Creation:
 Define the word “squallizmotex” and explain how
your definition fits the word.
 If dried grapes are called raisins, and dried beef is
called beef jerky, what would you call these items if
they were dried: lemons, pineapple, watermelon,
chicken.
 Unusual Uses:
 Have students try to think of as
many unusual uses as they can
for common objects such as
bricks, used toys, old tennis
balls, soda bottles, and 8-track
cassette tapes.
 Circumstances and Consequences:
What would happen if . . .
 school was on weekends and not
during the week?
 water stuck like glue?
 gravity took a day off?
 there were no colors?
 everyone in the country could vote on
every issue that is now decided by
government representatives?
 Product Improvements:
 How could school desks be
improved?
 How could living room furniture
be improved to provide better
storage and even exercise while
watching television?
 How can we better equip book-
carrying bags to handle lunches
and other needs that you can
think of?
 Systems and Social
Improvements:
 A sample question that could
lead into plenty of higher-level
discussion and a good give-and-
take of views and needs could
be: “How can schools be made
more fun without hurting
learning?”