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Higher Order Thinking Skills and
Academic Performance in Physics of
College Students: A Regression Analysis

JenniferLynS.Ramos
1
,BretelB.Dolipas
2
,BrendaB.Villamor
3
1,2
BenguetStateUniversity,Philippines
3
PhilippineNormalUniversityAgusanCampus,Philippines
ABSTRACT
Thestudydeterminedtherelationshipbetweenhigherorderthinkingskills(HOTS)ofstudentsand
theacademicperformanceinphysics.TheresearchwasconductedatBenguetStateUniversity
duringtheschoolyear20102011andrespondentswerestudentsenrolledinPhysics.Resultsshow
that49.5%offemalestudentshaveaverageHOTSlevelonanalysiswhile54.4%ofmalestudents
havebelowaveragelevel.Oncomparison,almost50%ofbothmaleandfemalestudentshave
belowaveragelevelwhilemorethanhalfofmaleandfemalestudentshaveaveragelevelon
inference.AlmosthalfofmalestudentsandfemalestudentshaveaveragelevelofHOTSon
evaluation.MaleandfemalestudentshavesimilarlevelofHOTSonallfourareas.Moreoverthe
HOTSlevelonanalysis,comparisonandevaluationsignificantlyinfluencethephysicsperformance
ofmalestudentswhiletheHOTSlevelonanalysis,inferenceandevaluationsignificantlyinfluence
thephysicsperformanceoffemalestudents.
Keywords:Higherorderthinkingskills,academicperformance,physics,collegestudents,regression
analysis
INTRODUCTION
Thetypeofthinkingprocessthatstudentsmustdeveloptopreparethemtoconfronttherealworld
mustgobeyondsimplelearningoffactsandcontent.Knowledgeobtainedthroughhigherorder
thinkingprocessesismoreeasilytransferable,sothatstudentswithadeepconceptualunderstandingof
anideawillbemuchmorelikelytobeabletoapplythatknowledgetosolvenewproblems(Teaching
HigherOrderThinking,n.d.).AshighlightedinthewebsiteofCentralBoardofSecondaryEducation
(CBSE)Physics:
theconceptofhigherorderthinkingskillorHOTSisafundamentalshiftinevaluationreformthat
aimsatpromotingthinkingskillsinlearnersandtakingthemawayfromrotelearning.Higherlevel
mentalabilitiesofthelearnerssuchastoanalyze,interpret,reasonout,synthesizeorevaluatethe
giveninformationarelikelytoenablethemtransferlearningtototallydifferentsituations.
(http://cbse.nic.in/phycareer/hots.html).
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Acrosssubjectareas,whenteachersaskhigherorderquestionsandprovideopportunitiesforstudents
todevelopdeepexplanations,learningisenhanced.Higherorderquestionsoftenstartwithquestion
stemslike:why,whatcaused,howdiditoccur,whatif,howdotheycompare,orwhatistheevidence?
Whenteachersaskhigherorderquestionsandencourageexplanations,theyarehelpingtheirstudents
todevelopimportantcriticalthinkingskills.
Physicsisauniqueandfascinatingdiscipline.Itshardtoteachandhardertocomprehend.Physicscan
beconsideredasHOThigherorderthinking.Itmakesimmenseacademicdemandsonstudentsinits
learning(Adeyemo,2010).Thelearningofphysicsisdifficultatbestandalmostimpossibleatworst.But
becauseofitsenormousimportancetoscienceandtechnology,thereisunderstandablyhugeinterestin
studentsachievementinPhysics,hencetheconceptualizationofthisstudy.
BACKGROUND
HigherOrderThinkingSkills
Higherorderthinkingbasicallymeansthinkingthatistakingplaceinthehigherlevelsofthehierarchyof
cognitiveprocessing.Themostwidelyacceptedhierarchicalarrangementofthissortineducationis
BloomsTaxonomy,viewingacontinuumofthinkingskillsstartingwithknowledgelevelthinkingto
evaluationlevelofthinking.AsHammond(n.d.)stipulates:
Critical/creative/constructivethinkingsimplymeansthinkingprocessesthatprogressupwardinthe
givendirection.Firstonecriticallyanalyzestheknowledge,information,orsituation.Thencreatively
considerpossiblenextstepoptions,andfinally,constructanewproduct,decision,direction,orvalue.
(http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/glenh/hots.htm)
ThesignificanceofhigherorderthinkingintheclassroomisbestclarifiedintheDepartmentof
Education,TrainingandEmployment(DETE)Educationwebsite:
Higherorderthinkingbystudentsinvolvesthetransformationofinformationandideas.This
transformationoccurswhenstudentscombinefactsandideasandsynthesise,generalise,explain,
hypothesiseorarriveatsomeconclusionorinterpretation.Manipulatinginformationandideas
throughtheseprocessesallowsstudentstosolveproblems,gainunderstandinganddiscovernew
meaning.Whenstudentsengageintheconstructionofknowledge,anelementofuncertaintyis
introducedintotheinstructionalprocessandtheoutcomesarenotalwayspredictable;inother
words,theteacherisnotcertainwhatthestudentswillproduce.Inhelpingstudentsbecome
producersofknowledge,theteachersmaininstructionaltaskistocreateactivitiesorenvironments
thatallowthemopportunitiestoengageinhigherorderthinking.
(http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/pedagogies/intellect/int1a.html)
Correspondingly,higherorderthinkingskillsorHOTSincludeskillssuchascreativeandcriticalthinking,
analysis,problemsolvingandvisualization(HigherOrderThinkingSkills,n.d.).Theseskillsinvolve
categorizingitems,comparingandcontrastingideasandtheories,andbeingabletowriteaboutand
solveproblems.Intheclassroom,abilitiesandskillsthatincludetheuseofHOTSarecomplexthinking
thatgoesbeyondbasicrecalloffacts,suchasevaluationandinvention,enablingstudentstoretain
informationandtoapplyproblemsolvingsolutionstorealworldproblems.
Thus,higherorderthinkingskillsarevaluedbecausetheyarebelievedtobetterpreparestudentsforthe
challengesofadultworkanddailylifeandadvancedacademicwork(Higherorderthinking,n.d.).
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QuellmalzFrameworkofThinkingSkills
Althoughdifferenttheoreticiansandresearchersusedifferentframeworkstodescribehigherorderskills
andhowtheyareacquired,allframeworksareingeneralagreementconcerningtheconditionsunder
whichtheyprosper.Inthisstudy,theQuellmalzFrameworkofThinkingSkillswasutilizedsinceit
collectsalloftheelementscommontomanyothertaxonomicstructuresofthinkingskills(Stiggins&
Conklin,1992).Thelevelsareconsideredtobeconceptuallyclearandstraightforwardmakingcodingof
questionseasy.Thefourcognitiveprocessesofanalysis,comparison,inferenceandevaluationare
collectivelycalledhigherorderthinkingskills(HOTS)orcriticalthinkingskills.Thesearethefourareas
consideredinthestudy.
Analysisincludeunderstandingrelationshipsbetweenthewholeanditscomponentpartsandbetween
causeandeffect;sortingandcategorizing,understandinghowthingsworkandhowthepartsof
somethingfittogether;understandingcausalrelationships;gettinginformationfromcharts,graphs,
diagramsandmaps.Analysisismorethanroterepetition;insteaditinvolvesreflectivelystructuring
knowledgeinnewways(Stiggins,Rubel,&Quellmalz,1988).Comparisoninvolvesexplaininghowthings
aresimilarandhowaretheydifferent.Comparisonsmayeitherbesimpleorcomplex.Simple
comparisonsarebasedonasmallnumberofveryobviousattributes.Complexcomparisonsrequire
examinationofamoreextensivesetofattributesoftwoormorethings;startwiththewhole/part
relationshipsintheanalysiscategoryandcarrythemastepfurther.
Inferentialthinkinginvolvesreasoninginductivelyordeductively.Indeductivetasks,studentsreason
fromgeneralizationstospecificinstancesandareaskedtorecognizeorexplaintheevidence.In
deductivetasks,studentsaregiventheevidenceordetailsandarerequiredtorelateandintegratethe
informationtocomeupwiththegeneralization.AccordingtoCorpuzandSalandanan(2003,pp.6876)
ascitedinSaingan(2008),inferentialthinkingisanabilitytoformanidea,opinionoraconclusionafter
aseriesofreasoningandspeculatingoutcomesofasituation.Studentswhoareabletoformulate
conjectures,possibilitiesandsurmiseconsequencesbasedonsufficientproofsareconsideredcapable
ofthishigherorderthinkingskill.
Evaluation,ontheotherhand,meansexpressinganddefendinganopinion.Evaluationtasksrequire
studentstojudgequality,credibility,worthorpracticalityusinganestablishedcriteriaandexplainhow
thecriteriaaremetornotmet.FromQuellmalzTaxonomy(n.d.)keywordssuchasassess,appraise,
defend,argue,recommend,debate,critiqueareusedifevaluationistobemeasured.
HigherOrderThinkingSkills,GenderandAcademicAchievement
Acrossdifferentlevels,sameresultswereshownontherelationofgenderandhigherorderthinking
skills.Bothmaleandfemalestudentshavethesamelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsinthegrade
schoollevel(Eisenman,1995),middleschool(Song,Koszalka&Grabowski,2005),highschoollevel
(Saingan,2008)andinhighereducation(Heong,Yunos&Hassan,2011).However,athigheracademic
levels,genderseemstobeafactor.Whencriticalthinkingtestsweregiventograduateand
undergraduateseniorstudents,thegendereffectwassignificant,withmalesconsistentlyhavinghigher
criticalthinkingskillsthanfemales(King,Wood&Mines,1990).
Ontheotherhand,severalstudiesshowedmixedresultsontheinfluenceofgenderonacademic
achievement.Femalestudentsoutperformedmalestudentsacrosssubjectareas(Dayoglu&TrtAsk,
2004;Hedges&Nowell,1995;Linver,DavisKean&Eccles,2002;Nori,2002ascitedinHabibollah,
Rohani,Aizan,Jamaluddin&Kumar,2009);malestudentsperformedbetterthanfemalestudents(King,
Wood&Mines,1990;Voyer,Voyer,&Bryden,1995;Wai,Cacchio,Putallaz&Makel,2010);girlsare
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betterinsomeareaswhileboysbetterinothers(Gallagher&DeLisi,1994andLinn&Kessel,1996cited
inOdell&Schumacher,1998);nogenderdifferenceinmanynationsandvariabilityofgender
differenceacrossnations(ElseQuest,Hyde&Linn,2010);andnodifferencesintheirperformance
(Abubakar&Oguguo,2011;Habibollahetal.,2009;Llanes,2002;Moses&Daniel,2008;Peyag,2001).
THE STUDY
Thestudiesmentionedaboveshowconflictingresultsofthegendergaponachievementthatastudy
exploringtheroleofgendertoHOTSisalsoworthinvestigating.Unlikemixedresultsongenderand
academicachievement,moststudiescitedshowedthatgenderisnotapredictorofHOTS.Inthecurrent
study,thelevelofHOTSofcollegestudentswasinvestigatedaswellascomparedtheirHOTSlevel
accordingtogender.ItalsoinvestigatedtherelationshipofthelevelofHOTSofstudentstotheir
academicperformanceinphysics.
Specificallythestudyintendedto:(1)determinethelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsinphysicsof
collegestudentsgroupedaccordingtogenderalonganalysis,comparison,inferenceandevaluation;(2)
comparethelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsofmaleandfemalestudentsalongthefourareas;and
(3)determinetherelationshipofthelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsofmaleandfemalestudents
alongthefourareastoacademicperformanceinphysics.
Basedontheproblemsstatedandwithalltheconsiderationsmentionedabove,thefollowing
hypotheseswereinvestigated:(1)Thereisanaveragelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsalonganalysis,
comparison,inferenceandevaluationinphysicsofmaleandfemalestudents;(2)Thereareno
significantdifferencesbetweenthelevelsofhigherorderthinkingskillsofmaleandfemalestudents
alongthefourareas;and(3)Therearenosignificantrelationshipsbetweenthelevelsofhigherorder
thinkingskillsalongthefourareasandacademicperformanceinphysicsofmaleandfemalestudents.
METHODS
Respondents
TherespondentswerestudentsenrolledinPhysics11(GeneralPhysics1)atBenguetStateUniversity
duringthefirstandsecondsemesterofschoolyear20102011.Atotalof393studentstookpartinthe
study,112aremaleand281arefemale.
Instrument
Theinstrumentwasateachermadetestconsistingof60multiplechoicetypeofquestionscovering
topicsinPhysics11thatincludeKinematics,DynamicsandStatics.TheareagroupingofHOTSwasbased
onthecriteriaofQuellmalztaxonomy(Stiggins&Conklin,1992,pp.159160).Theacademic
performanceofstudentsinphysicswasmeasuredbasedontheirfinalgradesinPhysics11.
DataAnalysis
Todeterminethelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsofthemaleandfemalestudents,thefrequency
countwasutilized.AfivepointLikertScalewasusedtodeterminethelevelofHOTSofthestudents
basedontheirscores.
ThefollowingLikertScalewasusedtomeasurethelevelofHigherOrderThinkingSkillsofthe
respondents:

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ScaleMean DescriptionSymbolUsed
TestScore
1 13 LowLevelHigherOrderThinkingSkills LHOTS
2 46 BelowAverageLevelHigherOrderThinkingSkillsBHOTS
3 79 AverageLevelHigherOrderThinkingSkills AHOTS
4 1012 AboveAverageLevelHigherOrderThinkingSkillsAAHOTS
5 1215 HighLevelHigherOrderThinkingSkills HHOTS
ThettestwasusedtotestdifferenceinthelevelsofHOTSofmaleandfemalestudentsfromtheHOTS
averagelevelandtodeterminethedifferencesintheHOTSlevelofstudentsalongthefourareaswhen
groupedaccordingtogender.Finally,thelinearregressionwasemployedtoanalyzetherelationship
betweenthelevelofHOTSalongthefourareasandacademicperformanceinPhysicsofmaleand
femalestudents.
RESULTS
HigherOrderThinkingSkillsofMaleandFemaleStudents
Figure1.Ashowsthelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsalonganalysisofmaleandfemalestudents.
49.5%femalestudentshaveanaveragelevelofHOTSonanalysisfollowedby36%withbelowaverage
level.TheresthaveaboveaverageandlowlevelofHOTS.Ontheotherhand,54.4%ofmalestudents
havebelowaveragelevelwhilealmostonethirdhaveaveragelevelofHOTSalonganalysis.Therest
haveaboveaverage(6.1%)andlow(3.5%)levelsofHOTSalonganalysis.

Figure1.A.Levelofhigherorderthinkingskillsalonganalysisofmaleandfemalestudents.
Figure1.BpresentsthelevelofHigherOrderThinkingSkillsalongcomparisonofmaleandfemale
students.48.6%offemalestudentshavebelowaveragelevelofHOTSalongcomparison,32.3%have
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averagelevelwhile13.6%havelowlevelandonly5.50%haveaboveaveragelevel.Forthemale
respondents,57.9%havebelowaveragelevel,29.8%haveaveragelevel,8.80%havelowlevelwhile
only3.5%haveaboveaveragelevelofHOTSalongcomparison.

Figure1.B.Levelofhigherorderthinkingskillsalongcomparisonofmaleandfemalestudents.
Figure1.Cpresentsthelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsalonginferenceofmaleandfemalestudents.
55%offemalestudentshaveaveragelevelofHOTSalonginferencefollowedby35%havingbelow
averageleveland2.7%withlowlevelofHOTS.Forthemalestudents,63.2%averagelevelofHOTSon
inference29.4%havebelowaveragewhile6.1%haveaboveaveragelevelandonly0.9%havelowHOTS
levelnoninference.

Figure1.C.Levelofhigherorderthinkingskillsalonginferenceofmaleandfemalestudents.
Figure1.D.presentsthelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsalongevaluationofmaleandfemale
students.40.9%offemalestudentshavebelowaverageHOTSlevelonevaluation,40.5%haveaverage
levelwhilealmost10%eachhaveloworaboveaveragelevel.Formalerespondents,45.6%havebelow
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averagelevel,30.7%averagelevel,13.2%aboveaveragelevelandabout10%havelowlevelofHOTS
alongevaluation.

Figure1.D.Levelofhigherorderthinkingskillsalongevaluationofmaleandfemalestudents.
Table1presentsthecomparisonofthelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsofmaleandfemalestudents
alonganalysis,comparison,inferenceandevaluationfromtheHOTSaveragelevel.Formalestudents,
thetvaluesofallareaswerefoundtobesignificantat0.01levelofsignificance.Thisimpliesthatthe
levelofHOTSofmalestudentsalongthefourareasdiffersignificantlyfromtheHOTSaveragelevel.
Hypothesis1formalestudentsisthereforerejected.Thelevelsofhigherorderthinkingskillsalongthe
fourareasofmalestudentsarebelowaverage.
Similarly,thetvaluesofeachareaforfemalestudentsarefoundtobesignificantat0.01levelof
significance.TheHOTSleveloffemalestudentsalongallfourareasdiffersignificantlyfromtheHOTS
averagelevel.Therefore,hypotheses1forfemalestudentsisrejected.Thelevelsofhigherorder
thinkingskillsalongthefourareasoffemalestudentsarebelowaverage.
Table1.Comparisonofthelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsofmaleandfemalestudentsfromthe
HOTSaveragelevel.
Higherorder
thinkingskill(HOTS)
tvalues
MALE FEMALE
Analysis 34.74** 54.44**
Comparison 33.32** 39.63**
Inference 49.05** 61.08**
Evaluation 28.29** 43.17**
**Highlysignificant
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ComparisonofHigherOrderThinkingSkillsofMaleandFemaleStudents
Table2presentsthecomparisonamongthelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsalonganalysis,
comparison,inferenceandevaluationofmaleandfemalestudents.Thetvaluesofallareasarenot
significant.ThisimpliesthatthelevelofHOTSofmaleandfemalestudentsdonotdiffersignificantly.
Hypothesis2isthereforeaccepted.MaleandfemalestudentshavethesameHOTSlevelalongthefour
areas.
Table2.Comparisonamongthelevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsofmaleandfemalesstudents
Higherorder
thinkingskill(HOTS)
tvalues Sig
MALEFEMALE
Analysis 1.809 0.161ns
Comparison 0.962 0.225ns
Inference 1.429 0.121ns
Evaluation 0.568 0.387ns
nsnotsignificant
RelationshipofLevelofHigherOrderThinkingSkillsandAcademicPerformancein
PhysicsofMaleandFemaleStudents
Theregressionequationshowstherelationshipbetweenthefourareasofhigherorderthinkingskills
withphysicsperformanceofmaleandfemalestudents.ThefirstequationshowsthatthelevelsofHOTS
onanalysis,evaluationandcomparisonhavesignificantinfluencetoacademicperformanceofmale
studentsinphysicsasindicatedby <0.05levelofsignificance.Ontheotherhand,thelevelofHOTSon
inferencedoesnothaveasignificantinfluencetophysicsperformanceofmalestudentsasindicatedby
>0.05.Hypotheses3arethereforerejectedforanalysis,comparisonandevaluation,whilehypothesis
3isacceptedforinference.ThehigherthelevelofHOTSofmalestudentsonanalysis,comparisonand
evaluation,thebetteristheirperformanceinphysics.
Y
M
=3.4190.035Analysis0.026Comparison0.020inference0.072evaluation
(<0.01)(<0.01)(<0.05)(>0.05)(<0.01)
Thesecondequationshowsthatamongthefourareas,thelevelsofHOTSonanalysis,inferenceand
evaluationhavesignificantinfluencetothephysicsperformanceoffemalestudentsasindicatedby <
0.05levelofsignificance.However,thelevelofHOTSoncomparisonhasnosignificantinfluencetothe
physicsperformanceoffemalestudents.Hypotheses3arethereforerejectedforanalysis,inferenceand
evaluationtofemalestudentswhilethatforanalysisisaccepted.ThehigherthelevelofHOTSon
analysis,inferenceandevaluationoffemalestudents,thebetteristheirphysicsperformance.
Y
F
=3.4130.014Analysis0.025Comparison0.037inference0.082evaluation
(<0.01)(<0.05)(>0.05)(<0.05)(<0.01)
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DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
ThestudyshowsthatcollegestudentsdonothavethenecessaryskillsneededinPhysics.Thisis
consistentwiththeobservationofCotton(1991)students,ingeneral,donothavewelldeveloped
thinkingskills(p.10).Studentsshouldbeexposedtoinstructionalapproachesthatpromotehigher
orderthinkingskills.Researchhasshownthattheseskillscanbesignificantlyenhancedthrough
interventions(Hopson,Simms&Knezek,2001;Ives&Obenchain,1996;Jackson,2000ascitedinKoczij,
2005,pp.56;Saingan,2008;Zohar&Dori,2003).Teachersshouldencouragestudentstoengagein
tasksthatinvolvehigherorderthinkingskills(Zohar&Dori,2003).Neverthelessthedevelopmentof
theseskillsrequirespractice,andthatthemoreworkstudentshaveinaparticulardiscipline,themore
abletheywillbetodemonstratethesesortsofeducationaloutcomes(Haller,Monk&Tien,1993,p.
67).
TeachertrainingisakeyfactorinthesuccessoffosteringHOTSinsidetheclassroom.Itisassociated
withstudentachievementgains(Cotton,1991).Thereisaneedforphysicsteacherstrainingsasonlya
minorityofteachersviewfosteringofhigherorderthinkingasanimportantobjectiveofteaching
physics(Barak&Shakhman,2008).Additionally,thesetrainingsshouldbeextensivesinceteachersare
notlikelytoimplementnewapproachesthattheyhavelearnedaboutinteachereducationprograms
unlesstheirtraininginnewapproachesiscontinuous,largescale,offersincentives,andcanbedone
withoutasignificantlygreatertimecommitment(Levine,1994ascitedinIvesandObenchain,2006,p.
73).
Thereseemstobenogendergapinthephysicsclassroomasfaraslevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsof
studentsisconcerned.ThisnonsignificantroleofgenderalsoconcurswiththefindingsofAbubakarand
Oguguo(2011),Habibollahetal.(2009),Llanes(2002),MosesandDaniel(2008)Peyag(2001)and
Saingan(2008).Maleandfemalestudentsshouldbegivenequalopportunitiestodeveloptheirhigher
orderthinkingskillsinthephysicsclassroom.Strategiestobeadoptedbyphysicsteachersshouldbe
designedtoappealtobothgroups.Consequently,itcanbesurmisedthattheteacherplaysacriticalrole
forthesestrategiestobeeffective.Differentinstructorsmayenacttheseteachingstrategiesdifferently;
andinstructorssetthetone,normsofbehavior,andattitudeintheclassbothexplicitlyandimplicitly
(Pollock,Finkelstein&Kost,2007,p.2).AsemphasizedbyBaird(1997),throughtheirattitudesand
actions,teachershavethepotentialtomakeasignificantpositiveornegativeimpactongenderbalance
inphysicalscience(Chap.6,para.5).

Ontherelationshipoflevelofhigherorderthinkingskillsalongthefourareasandacademic
achievementinphysics,levelofHOTSofstudentsinfluencethephysicsperformanceofmaleandfemale
students.Analysisandevaluationareskillscloselyassociatedtoproblemsolvingskills,soa
mathematicalapproachinteachingphysicscouldbebeneficialtomalestudentsingettingbettergrades
inphysics.Forfemalestudents,activitiesthatrequirethemtomaximizetheirevaluationwillbehelpful
intheirphysicsperformance.TheseresultsareinagreementwiththefindingsofRodriguesandOliveira
(2008)whentheypointedoutthatcriticalthinkinglevelisapredictorofthepupilsperformancein
physics(p.6).ThisfindingisnotsurprisingsincePhysicsisconsideredasahigherorderthinkingorHOT
subject,hence,theimportanceoffosteringsuchskillsinthephysicsclassroom.AsRodriguesand
Oliveira(2008)statedintheirconclusion:
Itstimetochangephysicsteaching.Teachingphysicsisstilltoofrequentlycenteredonatransmissive
approachdemandingthememorizationofphysicsequations,principlesandlawsortheperformance
ofmereexercisesbasedonadrillapproach.Thiswayoflearningphysicsisboringanduninteresting
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foryoungpeopleanddoesnotmeettheactualrequirementsofsocietyandofthenewtrendsof
physicscurricula(p.6).
CONCLUSION
Resultsofthestudycallforpushtowardhigherorderthinkingskillsintheclassroom.Theseskillsare
necessaryforpeopletohaveinthisrapidlychanging,technologicallyorientedworld.Instructionin
thinkingskillspromotesintellectualgrowthandfostersacademicachievementgains(Cotton,1991).The
importanceforstudentstodeveloptheseskillsisassertedinTeachingHigherOrderThinking(n.d.):
Informationlearnedandprocessedthroughhigherorderthinkingprocessesisrememberedlonger
andmoreclearlythaninformationthatisprocessedthroughlowerorder,rotememorization.
Knowledgeobtainedthroughhigherorderthinkingprocessesismoreeasilytransferable,sothat
studentswithadeepconceptualunderstandingofanideawillbemuchmorelikelytobeableto
applythatknowledgetosolvenewproblems(p.55).
ItcanbenotedfromtheresultsthatthehigherthelevelofHOTSofstudents,thebettertheir
performanceinphysics.Thereisaneedtoenhancesuchskillsinthephysicsclassroomassubstantiated
byMcLoughlinandHollingworth(2001)whentheysuggested:
Thelearningenvironmentforscienceshouldencouragestudentstoengageinhigherorderthinking
activities.Teachersofsciencesubjectsneedtomoveawayfromanoveremphasisoncontent
masteryandadoptpedagogiesthatenablethedevelopmentofthinkingprocesses.Graduatescannot
relyonrecallofcontentknowledgealonetooperateeffectivelyintheworkplace,butmustalsobe
equippedwiththeprocedural,strategicandmetacognitiveknowledgetosolvecomplexproblems.
Studentsneedadequatepracticeandopportunitiestodeveloptheseskills,andmustbeableto
managetheirownlearning(p.8).
Accordingly,withappropriatepedagogicalstrategiesalongwithteacherpossessingpropertrainingand
rightmotivation,HOTSofstudentscanbeenhanced(Cotton,1991;Halleretal.,1993;Ives&Obenchain,
1996).
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