HIGHER ORDER

THINKING
I- SEARCH REPORT
7801EDN Issues and Practices in Junior
Secondary Schooling

Name: Michael Buchanan

Student Number: 2091393
Due Date: 25/04/2016

What I Know

I began this semester having absolutely no knowledge of educational theory or practice and a
very rusty and fractured knowledge in my chore field of science. In the beginning it was a
complete information overload where every education theory and concept was foreign. The
education system seems full of acronyms, contradictions and completely open to
interpretation or opinion. A stark contrast from my previous experience within the sciences.
Initially, a concept that continually caught my attention is higher order thinking.
I first heard about higher order thinking at the beginning of this semester both in
lectures and in the Teacher Education Centre for Excellence (TECE) program at Benowa
High School. It seems to me that almost every subject, lecture, tute or presentation mentions
some aspect or need for higher order thinking. Although the need for higher order thinking is
constantly mentioned, my initial understanding of its meaning is limited to my own
assumptions. One of these assumptions is that higher order thinking is the ability to think
about things on a deeper level. Another involves a persons ability to problem solve or think
their way through complex questions. Many of these assumptions appear to be linked by the
notion that higher order thinking is a gauge or assessment of an individuals thinking
capacity.

What I Want to Know

When contemplating these assumptions, I would like to focus my research towards finding
and discussing why higher order thinking is so widely regarded as being important and
appears to be connected to so many different educational theories and practices. Specifically I
will investigate how higher order thinking is defined, whether it is focussed towards an
individuals thinking abilities and why there appears to be a need for higher order thinking
not only in middle school education but across other areas of society.
I will also investigate and discuss the key question of why is higher order thinking
relevant for junior secondary students. Particularly the cognitive and developmental
characteristics of these adolescent students and how these characteristics relate to higher
order thinking. Which leads into the investigation of strategies to tailor educational programs
towards the cognitive needs of middle school students. I will not go into detail on individual
higher order thinking frameworks however will endeavour to touch on the most prominent
and widely used frameworks. This paper will also focus on the factors, and any possible

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restrictions, that can affect a teachers ability to get the best possible learning outcomes for
the students through the integration of higher order thinking into a junior secondary
classroom.

Research Journey
The opening research involves looking into the objectives of education. Two of the most
important goals for teachers are to promote retention and transfer (Collins, 2014). Retention
involves students remembering what they have learned however transfer requires students to
also make sense of, and use what they have learned (Collins, 2014). Hilton and Hilton (2010)
describe that often, individuals who stand out within their chosen profession, sporting group
or area of interest are those that can analyse, synthesise and evaluate the situations that they
find themselves in. They also state it can be very difficult to find these individuals within the
current schooling systems and this can be partly due to the fact that a students success is
often measured by their capacity to reproduce knowledge rather than their capability to derive
their own. They go to say that teachers are often focussed on teaching the subject or content
due to the existence and focus of school-wide block testing and this approach does not leave
much room to focus on thinking.
Lower order thinking involves memorising or replicating information from the simple
use of prior knowledge and results in disjointed knowledge that is not well connected
(Jonassen, 2000). Hilton and Hilton (2010) state that it can be quite difficult to define higher
order thinking and that it is much more beneficial for educators to focus on the value of
higher order thinking rather than trying to define it. They go on to say that an easy and
workable definition identifies higher order thinking as an appropriate umbrella term for all
types of extraordinary (not ordinary) thinking (Hilton & Hilton, 2010, p. 240) (Geertsen,
2003). Collins (2014, p1) refines this to say that higher order thinking is where students not
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only acquire the knowledge and skills, but also can apply them to new situations. One
category of interest to me under the umbrella term of higher order thinking is critical thinking
which means being able to think, use wise judgement and make sound decisions (Collins,
2014). Something that teachers may not find very noticeable in adolescents.
This brings me to the fact that teachers need to gain an understanding of the impacts
on learning and thinking of the adolescents brain development and the amount of dramatic
changes that occur during this stage of life (Nagel, 2010). During this period the brain grows
by retaining connections that are more often used and losing connections that are not in a
process known as synaptic pruning (Nagel, 2010). These connections can be formed during
learning experiences that involve appropriately challenging higher order thinking activities,
therefore assisting in brain development (Clark, 2001). Higher order thinking is merely a
section of an intricate network of teaching that is used to help address the complicated
learning needs of adolescents (Bahr, 2010). Hilton and Hilton (2010) also agree that the
emerging cognitive needs of middle year schoolchildren can be enhanced through including
higher order thinking skills in conjunction with other pedagogies. They go on to say that
rather than addressing the learning utilisation of thinking skills and knowledge separately,
they should be addressed in an integrated way. A challenging task for teachers.
It can take time for teachers to learn that students need to find their learning to be
meaningful and without the use of higher order thinking skills, content is simply a bunch of
separate and unconnected facts (Nagel, 2010) (Hilton & Hilton, 2010). As teachers develop
through their careers, they progress from novice to expert (Torff , 2003). As this progression
occurs there is a shift from content focussed, higher order thinking lean teaching practices to
content lean, student focussed and higher order thinking rich practices (Torff , 2003). Higher
order thinking takes time for the students to engage in, and can be very limited if it is
restricted to a single lesson (Hilton & Hilton, 2010) (Sparani, 1998).
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Although school structure and timetabling have an effect on the teaching of higher
order thinking, it is still the teachers approach and readiness to teach thinking strategies that
has the most influence (Hilton & Hilton, 2010). Higher order thinking requires students to be
actively engaged and when a teacher is focussed on presenting information or telling students
the answer, higher order thinking is less likely to occur (Sparani, 1998). Hilton and Hilton
(2010, p244) states that Teachers who value thinking skills do not simply dispense
knowledge. They allow students to work productively with knowledge. This kind of higher
order thinking pedagogy is extremely important to support cognitive development in the early
years of high school (Collins, 2014). However, simply probing a student to think about a
topic does necessarily equate to teaching them thinking strategies (Hilton & Hilton, 2010).
Learning how to think and thinking critically by themselves does not happen
automatically, students need to be taught (Collins, 2014). Blooms Taxonomy of Cognitive
Development is the most widely used and recognised framework for higher order thinking
and has since been updated (Krathwohl, 2002). There are many different models to help
teachers develop and teach thinking skills however many of them tend to be closely linked to
Blooms (Collins, 2014). These include; Marzano and Pickerings Habits of mind, De Bonos
Six Thinking Hats Framework and Gardeners Theory of Multiple Intelligences to name a
few (Hilton & Hilton, 2010).
Hilton and Hilton (2010) describes that there have also been many innovative tools
developed to help teachers engage students in thinking skills. They say that Gardeners
multiple intelligences have been combined with Blooms thinking levels to create a matrix
that covers for all types of learning and levels of thinking. ICT such as visual tools,
spreadsheets and databases can also be used in many ways to scaffold students into
developing higher order thinking (Jonassen, 2000). Scaffolding can be defined as the support
structure for learning just beyond the students capabilities (Bahr, 2010). OTuel and Bullard
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(1995) have a useful framework that helps guide the development of higher order thinking
over many different settings within the classroom. This framework consists of three steps; the
first involves teaching of higher order thinking and involves being taught about a specific
thinking skill. The second involves teaching for higher order thinking, where the lesson
requires the use of a thinking skill during an activity. The third involves teaching about higher
order thinking, where students are prompted to evaluate their own thinking.
Finally Collins (2014) says the assessment of higher order thinking can be very
difficult and the degree that higher order thinking is taught and measured remains to be an
area of argument because many schools and administrators are of the opinion that middle
school students cannot think (Collins, 2014). However there is a need to measure the
complexities of higher order thinking through students reasoning and scaffolding assessment
of their thinking rather than simply assessing content knowledge (Hilton & Hilton, 2010).
Therefore as the use of higher order thinking increases, there becomes a need for more
research into how this can be assessed (Hopson, Simms, & Knezak, 2001/2002).

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What I Learned
Throughout this paper I have learnt that higher order thinking is a very broad umbrella term
for all extraordinary thinking strategies, not ordinary thinking, and is somewhat difficult to
define (Geertsen, 2003). Rather than concentrate on a definition it is far more relevant to
focus on the value of higher order thinking (Hilton & Hilton, 2010).
In order for adolescents to become intelligent and functioning members of the real
world, and for school to become relevant to them, the progressively sophisticated nature of
their thinking must be complemented by their intellectual engagement within the classroom
(Hilton & Hilton, 2010). Higher order thinking must be integrated on many levels, from
society and educational policy down to individual teaching pedagogies within the classroom
(Hilton & Hilton, 2010). This will help support the increased cognitive and intellectual
demands on the adolescents (Hilton & Hilton, 2010). Modern society needs people who can
understand large volumes of information, think creatively, collaborate with others and be able
to continually problem solve within todays ever changing technologies and ideas (Hilton &
Hilton, 2010). These modern societal needs demonstrate a substantial place for higher order
thinking into the future (Hilton & Hilton, 2010).

Reflection
Throughout this research journey and from the examples cited above, I have gained a much
greater understanding of the importance of higher order thinking and why it is connected to
so many theories and practices within education. I have found that higher order thinking is so
well recognised that it is difficult to find a teacher who is not aware of the importance of
higher order thinking skills for preparing students for the future (Collins, 2014). The expanse

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of this awareness and importance led me to recognise that higher order thinking was
something that I needed to understand and integrate into my personal pedagogy.
There is a large range of pedagogies that fall under the umbrella term of higher order
thinking (Hilton & Hilton, 2010). One of my original assumptions about higher order
thinking was that it involved an individuals ability to think, which I now realise is actually
critical thinking and only one area under the umbrella (Collins, 2014). Learning how to
think and thinking critically by themselves does not happen automatically, students need to be
taught (Collins, 2014). While Mckendree, Small and Stenning (2002) have the opinion that
teaching of any kind of thinking skills leads to superior results than no obvious teaching of
thinking. I believe that the cognitive and intellectual needs of the adolescent students is the
major contributing factor as to why I will integrate higher order thinking into my own
classroom.
When contemplating how to integrate higher order thinking into my teaching
practices, I recognise that there are many factors that will affect and possibly restrict my
ability to do this. The administrative pressures and philosophies of my future school and also
the content focussed school-wide block testing may place restrictions on time, be content
focussed and may not leave much room to focus on thinking (Hilton & Hilton, 2010). I also
understand that higher order thinking is only one strategy to help address the intricate
learning needs of junior secondary students (Bahr, 2010). However I will focus much of my
own personal reflections, when progressing from novice to expert teacher, on progressing as
quickly as possible from content focussed, higher order thinking lean teaching practices to
content lean, student focussed and higher order thinking rich practices (Hilton & Hilton,
2010).

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Finally, I have a strong desire to impact positively on my students and get the best
possible outcome not only for their education but also on a deeper and more personal level.
My future teaching will be directed by the philosophy to guide these adolescents and set them
up with the knowledge and thinking skills to use and build upon their own knowledge, both
in my classroom, and as they progress through life and into society.

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References
Bahr, N. (2010). The middle years learner. In D. Pendergast, & N. Bahr, Teaching
Middle Years: Rethinking curriculum, pedagogy and assessment (pp. 5067). Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Clark, B. (2001). Some principles of brain research for challenging gifted
learners. Gifted Education International, 16, 4-10.
Collins, R. (2014). Skills for the 21st century: teaching higher-order thinking.
Curriculum and Leadership Journal Vol 12 Iss 14, 1-8.
Geertsen, H. R. (2003). Rethinking thinking about higher level thinking. Teaching
Sociology 31(1), 1-19.
Hilton, G., & Hilton, A. (2010). Higher order thinking. In D. Pendergast , & N. Bahr,
Teaching middle years: rethinking curriculum, pedagogy and assessment
(pp. 238-253). Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.
Hopson, M. H., Simms, R. L., & Knezak, G. A. (2001/2002). Using a technologyenriched environment to improve higher-order thinking skills. Journal of
Research on Computing in Education, 34(2), 109-19.
Jonassen, D. H. (2000). Computers as mind tools for schools: Engaging critical
thinking (2nd edn). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A Revision of Blooms Taxonomy: An overview. Theory
Into Practice http://www-tandfonlinecom.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15430421tip4104_2,
212-218.
McKendree, J., Small, C., & Stenning, K. (2002). The role of representation in
teaching and learning critical thinking. Educational Review, 54(1),57-67.
Nagel, M. C. (2010). The middle years learner's brain. In D. Pendergast, & N.
Bahr, Teaching middle years: Rethinking curriculum, pedagogy and
assessment (pp. 86-100). Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin.
O'Tuel, F. S., & Bullard, R. K. (1995). Developing higher order thinking in the
content areas K-12. Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education.
Sparani, E. F. (1998). Encouraging thinking in high school and middle school:
Constraints and possibilities. The Clearing House, 71, 274-6.
Torff , B. (2003). Developmental changes in teachers' use of higher order thinking
and content knowledge. Journal of Education and Psychology, 95, 563-9.

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