Higher Order Thinking

Skills in The Classroom

(H.O.T. Skills)
Blooms Taxonomy
Hosted by:
Begona Farwell, Susan Grandle, Susan
Kreger and Eva Navarro

What is higher order thinking?

Higher order thinking essentially means
thinking that takes place in the higher-levels
of the hierarchy of cognitive processing.

The Griney Grollers Thinking

Skills Test
The griney
grollers
grandled in the
granchy gak.

The griney grollers grangled in the

granchy gak.
1)
2)
3)
4)

What kind of grollers were they?

What did the grollers do?
Where did they do it?
In what kind of gak did they
grangle?

The griney grollers grangled in the

granchy gak.
5) Place one line under the subject and two

lines under the verb.

6) In one sentence, explain why the grollers
were grangling in the granchy gak. Be
prepared to justify your answer with facts.
7) If you had to grangle in a granchy gak,
what one item would you choose to have
with you and why?

Why Higher Level Thinking is

Important
In addition to content (the what of students
learning and achievement) we also need to be
concerned with students thinking skills or mental
processes( the how in learning).
Thinking provides the software for the mind.
Higher level thinking allows students memory to
be used effectively.
Planning for Productive Thinking and Learning by
Treffinger and Feldhusen, 1998,p.24

Need for Problem Solving Ability

Because the pace of societal change shows
no signs of slackening, citizens of the 21st
century must become adept problem
solvers, able to wrestle with ill-defined
problems and win. Problem-solving ability
is the cognitive passport of the future
(Martinez, 1998).

Need for Problem Solving Ability

Thinking analytically is a skill like
carpentry or driving a car. It can be taught,
it can be learned, and it can improve with
practice. But like many other skills, such as
riding a bike, it is not learned by sitting in a
classroom and being told how to do it.
http://www.cia.gov/csi/books/19104/art4.html

Theory
Critical thinking theory finds its roots primarily in
the works of Benjamin Bloom as he classified
learning behaviors in the cognitive domain.
Bloom (1956) developed a taxonomy of
learning objectives for teachers which he
clarified and expounded upon over the course
of approximately two decades. His ideas
continue to be widely accepted and taught in
teacher education programs throughout the
United States.

Six Levels of Blooms Taxonomy

1. Knowledge
2. Comprehension
3. Application

4. Analysis
5. Synthesis
6. Evaluation

Blooms Taxonomy
Bloom classifies learning behaviors according to
six levels ranging from Knowledge, which
focuses upon recitation of facts, to Evaluation,
which requires complex valuing and weighing
of information. Each level relates to a higher
level of cognitive ability.
This taxonomy is useful in designing questions,
lessons, tasks for students. Bloom found that
95% of test questions focused on the lowest
levelthe recall of information.

Question Levels
Critical thinking may be thought of in terms of
convergent and divergent questioning (Guilford
1956, Gallegher and Aschner 1963, and Wilen 1985).
Convergent questions seek to ascertain basic
knowledge and understanding. Divergent questions
require students to process information creatively.
Convergent questions tend to align with the first three
levels of Blooms Taxonomy of Learning Objectives
while divergent questions relate to the latter three
levels.

Applying Blooms
Taxonomy
Level: Knowledge
Materials/Situations: Events, people, newspapers,
magazine articles, definitions, videos, dramas,
textbooks, films, television programs, recordings, media
presentations
Measurable Behaviors: Define, describe memorize,
label, recognize, name, draw, state, identify, select,
write, locate, recite

Applying Blooms
Taxonomy
Level: Comprehension
Materials/Situations: Speech, story, drama, cartoon,
diagram, graph, summary, outline, analogy, poster,
bulletin board
Measurable Behaviors: Summarize, restate,
paraphrase, illustrate, match, explain, defend, relate,
infer, compare, contrast, generalize

Applying Blooms
Taxonomy
Level: Application
Materials/Situations: Diagram, sculpture, illustration,
dramatization, forecast, problem, puzzle, organizations,
classifications, rules, systems, routines
Measurable Behaviors: Apply, change, put together,
construct, discover, produce, make, report, sketch,
solve, show, collect, prepare

Applying Blooms
Taxonomy
Level: Analysis
Materials/Situations: Survey, questionnaire, an
argument, a model, displays, demonstrations, diagrams,
systems, conclusions, report, graphed information
Measurable Behaviors: Examine, classify, categorize,
research, contrast, compare, disassemble, differentiate,
separate, investigate, subdivide

Applying Blooms
Taxonomy
Level: Synthesis
Materials/Situations: Experiment, game, song, report,
poem, prose, speculation, creation, art, invention,
drama, rules
Measurable Behaviors: Combine, hypothesize,
construct, originate, create, design, formulate, role-play,
develop

Applying Blooms
Taxonomy
Level: Evaluation
Materials/Situations: Recommendations, selfevaluations, group discussions, debate, court trial,
standards, editorials, values
Measurable Behaviors: Compare, recommend,
assess, value, apprise, solve,criticize, weigh, consider,
debate

Steps to Constructing a MiniCenter Using The Engine-Uity

Process
1. Select a topic
2. Brainstorm 6 concepts related to the topic
3. Using a grid select a verb from Blooms
Taxonomy for each level, one of the
concepts, and a product for each task
4. Translate grid into complete sentences.

Example of GridComprehension Level

Concept:

Verb:

Product:

Range and
population of the
mountain lion

Identify

map

Example Mini-Center
Comprehension Level Task
Draw a map with a legend
identifying the current range and
population of the mountain lion.

What is Critical Thinking?

This involves using your own knowledge
or point of view to decide if something is
right or wrong about someone elses ideas.

http://www.cdl.org/resources/reading_room/print/hot_and_successful.html

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Inductive thinking
Deductive thinking
Determining reality and fantasy
Determining benefits and drawbacks

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Identifying value statements

Identifying points of view
Determining bias
Identifying fact and opinion

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Determining the accuracy of presented
information
Judging essential and incidental evidence
Determining relevance

Looking For Evidence Of Critical

Thinking
You may be a critical thinking teacher if...
Learners are active and in a continuous dialogue with
teacher
Learning is constructing, not feeding
Truth is discovered, not delivered
Teacher "leads from behind"
Teacher functions as a facilitator/mentor instead of
lecturer
Questions are answered with explanations or questions,
not simply "yes" or "no"

Looking for Evidence of Critical

Thinking
Pertinent discussions on related issues often break
out
Debate is common
Peers exchange ideas
Learner and teacher satisfaction increases
"Rabbit chasing" becomes an art - explore related
issues, yet remain on task
Teachers often face questions for which they have
no answers
Social interaction and acceptance in the class is
generally high

Personal Check-up
Answer the following questions:
1. Are your teaching objectives, activities, and assessments
are tied to higher level behavioral verbs?
2. Do all learners have the opportunity to interact with you
and others?
3. Do you allow time in your course for debating?
4. Do your learners have to use inductive and deductive
strategies?
5. Do you find yourself using "shock" statements and
questions to get learners' minds running?

Personal Check-up
If you could say "yes" to most of these
questions, critical thinking is probably
happening in your classroom.

Bibliography
http://www.lgc.peachnet.edu/academic/educatn/Blooms/critical_thinki
ng.htm
http://www.bena.com/ewinters/Bloom.html
Planning for Productive Thinking and Learning by Treffinger and
Feldhusen, 1998, p.24
Sandra Kaplan, National/State Leadership Training Institute
Engine-Uity, Ltd.,P.O. Box 9610, Phoenix, Az 85068
Martinez, M. E. (April, 1998) What is Problem Solving? Phi Delta
Kappan. 605-609.