Higher Order Thinking Skills in The Classroom

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Higher Order Thinking Skills in The Classroom
(H.O.T. Skills)

• Blooms Taxonomy
• Begona Farwell, Susan Grandle, Susan Kreger and
  Eva Navarro

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What is higher order thinking?

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

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The Griney Grollers Thinking Skills Test

• The griney
• grollers
• grandled in the
• granchy gak.

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The griney grollers grangled in the granchy gak.

1. What kind of grollers were they?
2. What did the grollers do?
3. Where did they do it?
4. In what kind of gak did they grangle?

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The griney grollers grangled in the granchy
gak. The griney grollers grangled in the
granchy gak.

• 5) Place one line under the subject and two
  lines under the verb.
• In one sentence, explain why the grollers were
  grangling in the granchy gak. Be prepared to
  justify your answer with facts.
• If you had to grangle in a granchy gak, what one
  item would you choose to have with you and why?

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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

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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).

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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

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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.

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Six Levels of Blooms Taxonomy

1. Knowledge
2. Comprehension
3. Application

• Analysis
• 5. Synthesis
• 6. Evaluation

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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.

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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. 

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Applying Blooms Taxonomy

• Level Evaluation
• Materials/Situations Recommendations,
  self-evaluations, group discussions, debate,
  court trial, standards, editorials, values
• Measurable Behaviors Compare, recommend, assess,
  value, apprise, solve,criticize, weigh, consider,
  debate

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Steps to Constructing a Mini-Center/Activity
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.

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Example of Grid-Comprehension Level
Concept Verb Product
Range and population of the mountain lion Identify map
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Example Mini-Center /Activity Comprehension Level
Task

• Draw a map with a legend identifying
  the current range and population of the
  mountain lion.

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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/ho
t_and_successful.html
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CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

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

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CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

• Identifying value statements
• Identifying points of view
• Determining bias
• Identifying fact and opinion

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CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

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

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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"

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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

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Personal Check-up

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

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Personal Check-up

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

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Bibliography

• http//www.lgc.peachnet.edu/academic/educatn/Bloom
  s/critical_thinking.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.