what is higher order thinking in education

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What Is Higher-Order Thinking and How Do I Teach It?

Go beyond basic remembering and understanding.

Educators know that people learn in a variety of ways and that we often learn best when we can make connections to the material on a deeper level. That’s why higher-order thinking is such a valuable skill, one that serves students well throughout their school years and beyond. But what exactly does the term mean? And how can teachers build higher-order thinking skills in their students? Learn what you need to know here.

What is higher-order thinking?

Source: Vanderbilt University

Higher-order thinking refers to the top levels of cognitive thinking, as laid out in the Bloom’s Taxonomy model. When we use higher-order thinking, we push beyond basic memorization and recall to analyze and synthesize information. These are the skills that help us evaluate information and think critically. We also use these skills to develop new ideas and concepts, building on previous knowledge to create something entirely new.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Benjamin Bloom headed a team of educational researchers in the 1950s and led the development of the model that bears his name today. He and his team broke cognitive thinking into six levels, shown as a pyramid. The bottom levels provide the foundation for the higher-order thinking skills at the top.

Source: Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy/University of Michigan

If you first learned about Bloom’s Taxonomy more than 20 years ago, it looked a little bit different. In 2001, education experts decided to revise the taxonomy to make it more accurate and easier for educators to understand and apply. They changed the category names from nouns to verbs, showing the action learners would take for each. And they determined that the top two tiers should actually be switched, making “Create” (Synthesis) the highest order of thinking.

Learn more about the history and development of Bloom’s Taxonomy here.

What are the Lower-Order Thinking Skills (LOTS)?

Source: Lower-Order Thinking Skills/Helpful Professor

The bottom three levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy are referred to as the Lower-Order Thinking Skills (LOTS). It’s important to note that even though these skills are considered lower on the pyramid, they’re still extremely important. Think of these as the foundational skills students must have to support their higher-order thinking.

These are skills like memorizing math facts, defining vocabulary words, or knowing the main characters and basic plot points of a story. This is the kind of information you can check using flash cards, spelling tests, true/false questions, and more. There are many basic facts that kids must master so they can quickly recall them as needed.

Check out 21 Ways To Build Background Knowledge to learn more.

When you understand a concept, you can explain how it works to someone else. True understanding is more than memorization or reciting facts. It’s the difference between a child reciting by rote “one times four is four, two times four is eight, three times four is twelve,” versus recognizing that multiplication is the same as adding a number to itself a certain number of times. This is why we often ask students to “show their work” or “show their thinking” on math tests.

See 20 Ways To Check for Understanding for more information.

When you apply your knowledge, you take a concept you’ve already mastered and apply it to new situations. For instance, a student learning to read doesn’t need to memorize every word. Instead, they use their skills in sounding out letters to tackle each new word as they come across it.

Explore 25 Easy Ways To Make Math Practice Fun here.

Which levels constitute higher-order thinking skills (HOTS)?

Source: Higher-Order Thinking Skills/Helpful Professor

The top three levels make up the Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), also known as critical thinking skills . When students use these skills, they delve deeper into information. Rather than simply accepting facts, they explore the reasons behind them and make cause-and-effect connections. They evaluate the validity of facts and use them to synthesize new concepts, ideas, and inventions.

When we analyze something, we don’t take it at face value. Analysis requires us to find facts that stand up to inquiry. We put aside personal feelings or beliefs, and instead identify and scrutinize primary sources for information. This is a complex skill, one we hone throughout our entire lives. When students compare and contrast multiple concepts, sort and categorize, or ask “why” questions, they’re analyzing.

Try these 25 Cause-and-Effect Lesson Plans and Activities to help kids analyze information.

Evaluating means reflecting on analyzed information, selecting the most relevant and reliable facts to help us make choices or form opinions. True evaluation requires us to put aside our own biases and accept that there may be other valid points of view, even if we don’t necessarily agree with them. Students evaluate when they debate topics, write persuasive essays, assess their own or others’ writings, and more.

Use these 35 Strong Persuasive Writing Examples to show students how evaluation works in practice.

At the highest level, students take the facts that they’ve mastered, evaluated, and analyzed, and use them to create something entirely new. This might be designing a science experiment, building a computer program, writing a paper putting forth new ideas, authoring a story or making art, and other creative activities.

Discover 40 Ways To Make More Time for Creativity in Your Lesson Plans .

Why is it so important to teach higher-order thinking?

Source: Equal Levels/University of Michigan

While remembering, understanding, and applying are key skills, they don’t really develop students into lifelong learners and critical thinkers. As kids often point out, if they need to know the date of the start of the American Civil War or the third law of motion, they can just look it up in a book or online.

What really matters is what we do with the information we have. Higher-order skills are the ones people use in daily life to make informed decisions and create new products and processes. They help us think critically, something that’s incredibly vital in this age of constant information overload.

When we teach higher-order thinking skills, we give students the ability to solve problems, develop creative solutions, make smart choices, and evaluate the validity of information. Kids grow into adults who understand how to think carefully about the world and feel confident enough to share their own ideas, concepts, and creations with others.

Read more about the importance of higher-order thinking here.

How do I teach higher-order thinking?

Source: The IDEA Lab

There are a multitude of ways to encourage higher-order thinking in your students. While some say that kids don’t really begin to develop these skills until upper elementary, others argue that it’s never too soon to challenge kids to make connections and ask questions. You can tweak these quick higher-order thinking strategies to work in any classroom, no matter the age or subject.

1. Ask higher-order thinking questions.

Keep a list of higher-order thinking questions on hand, and use them regularly in class. Consider making a bulletin board or anchor chart with some of your favorites, and refer kids to it as they learn. Get a huge list of higher-order thinking questions here.

2. Encourage discussion and debate

When kids learn to disagree respectfully and argue their own opinions using facts to back their beliefs, they’re preparing to take part in the discourse of the world at large. Encourage those with conflicting points of view to share them in your classroom, and teach kids how to analyze and evaluate those points though discussion and debate. Try these resources:

• 60 Funny Debate Topics for Kids of All Ages
• 100 Winning Debate Topics for Middle School Students
• 100 High School Debate Topics To Engage Every Student
• 110+ Controversial Debate Topics to Challenge Your Students
• 60 Interesting Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids and Teens

3. Try STEM challenges.

STEM challenges encourage kids to come up with their own unique answers to problems. They use their knowledge and understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math to analyze and evaluate the challenge and create new solutions. Start with these 50 STEM Activities To Help Kids Think Outside the Box . Then, visit our archive of STEM challenges and science experiments for ideas .

4. Use graphic organizers.

Graphic organizers are tools that let kids make connections, create a plan, and communicate effectively. A good organizer simplifies complex information and lays it out in a way that makes it easier for a learner to digest. Graphic organizers may include text and images, depending on the purpose and student’s learning style. Read all about graphic organizers and learn how to use them here.

5. Incorporate project-based learning.

Project-based learning uses HOTS like analysis and evaluation, collaboration and communication, and problem-solving. As students conduct their hands-on projects, they dig deeper into a real-world topic and make personal connections to the knowledge and skills they’re gaining. In many ways, PBL is more like the work adults do in their daily jobs, especially because students collaborate with others outside their school community. Discover the basics of project-based learning here , then check out 55+ Real-World Project-Based Learning Ideas for All Ages and Interests .

Have more questions about higher-order thinking? Come talk it over with other educators in the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, what is critical thinking and why do we need to teach it .

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70 Higher-Order Thinking Questions To Challenge Your Students (Free Printable)

Plus 45 lower-order thinking questions too. Continue Reading

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Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) in Education

Teaching Students to Think Critically

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Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) is a concept popular in American education. It distinguishes critical thinking skills from low-order learning outcomes, such as those attained by rote memorization. HOTS include synthesizing, analyzing, reasoning, comprehending, application, and evaluation.

HOTS is based on various taxonomies of learning, particularly the one created by Benjamin Bloom in his 1956 book, "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. " Higher-order thinking skills are reflected by the top three levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy: analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Bloom's Taxonomy and HOTS

Bloom's taxonomy is taught in a majority of teacher-education programs in the United States. As such, it may be among the most well-known educational theories among teachers nationally. As the Curriculum & Leadership Journal notes:

"While Bloom’s Taxonomy is not the only framework for teaching thinking, it is the most widely used, and subsequent frameworks tend to be closely linked to Bloom’s work.... Bloom’s aim was to promote higher forms of thinking in education, such as analyzing and evaluating, rather than just teaching students to remember facts (rote learning)."

Bloom’s taxonomy was designed with six levels to promote HOTS. The six levels were: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. (The taxonomy's levels were later revised as remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, revising, and creating.) The lower-order thinking skills (LOTS) involve memorization, while higher-order thinking requires understanding and applying that knowledge.

The top three levels of Bloom's taxonomy—which is often displayed as a pyramid, with ascending levels of thinking at the top of the structure—are analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. These levels of the taxonomy all involve critical or higher-order thinking. Students who can think are those who can apply the knowledge and skills they have learned to new contexts. Looking at each level demonstrates how HOTS is applied in education.

Analysis , the fourth level of Bloom's pyramid, involves students use their own judgment to begin analyzing the knowledge they have learned. At this point, they begin understanding the underlying structure of knowledge and also are able to distinguish between fact and opinion. Some examples of analysis would be:

• Analyze each statement to decide whether it is fact or opinion.
• Compare and contrast the beliefs of W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington.
• Apply the rule of 70 to determine how quickly your money will double at 6 percent interest.
• Illustrate the differences between the American alligator and the Nile crocodile.

Synthesis, the fifth level of Bloom’s taxonomy pyramid, requires students to infer relationships among sources , such as essays, articles, works of fiction, lectures by instructors, and even personal observations. For example, a student might infer a relationship between what she has read in a newspaper or article and what she has observed herself. The high-level thinking skill of synthesis is evident when students put the parts or information they have reviewed together to create new meaning or a new structure.

At the synthesis level, students move beyond relying on previously learned information or analyzing items that the teacher is giving to them. Some questions in the educational setting that would involve the synthesis level of HOTS might include:

• What alternative would you suggest for ___?
• What changes would you make to revise___? 
• What could you invent to solve___?

Evaluation , the top level of Bloom's taxonomy, involves students making judgments about the value of ideas, items, and materials. Evaluation is the top level of Bloom’s taxonomy pyramid because at this level, students are expected to mentally assemble all they have learned to make informed and sound evaluations of the material. Some questions involving evaluation might be:

• Evaluate the Bill of Rights and determine which is the least necessary for a free society.
• Attend a local play and write a critique of the actor’s performance.
• Visit an art museum and offer suggestions on ways to improve a specific exhibit.

HOTS in Special Education and Reform

Children with learning disabilities can benefit from educational programming that includes HOTS. Historically, their disabilities engendered lowered expectations from teachers and other professionals and led to more low-order thinking goals enforced by drill and repetition activities. However, children with learning disabilities can develop the HOTS that teach them how to be problem solvers.

Traditional education has favored the acquisition of knowledge, especially among elementary school-age children, over the application of knowledge and critical thinking. Advocates believe that without a basis in fundamental concepts, students cannot learn the HOTS they will need to survive in the work world.

Reform-minded educators, meanwhile, see the acquisition of problem-solving skills—higher-order thinking—to be essential to this very outcome. Reform-minded curricula, such as the Common Core , have been adopted by a number of states, often amid controversy from traditional education advocates. At heart, these curricula emphasize HOTS over strict rote memorization as the means to help students achieve their highest potential.

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Higher Order Thinking: Bloom’s Taxonomy

Many students start college using the study strategies they used in high school, which is understandable—the strategies worked in the past, so why wouldn’t they work now? As you may have already figured out, college is different. Classes may be more rigorous (yet may seem less structured), your reading load may be heavier, and your professors may be less accessible. For these reasons and others, you’ll likely find that your old study habits aren’t as effective as they used to be. Part of the reason for this is that you may not be approaching the material in the same way as your professors. In this handout, we provide information on Bloom’s Taxonomy—a way of thinking about your schoolwork that can change the way you study and learn to better align with how your professors think (and how they grade).

Why higher order thinking leads to effective study

Most students report that high school was largely about remembering and understanding large amounts of content and then demonstrating this comprehension periodically on tests and exams. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework that starts with these two levels of thinking as important bases for pushing our brains to five other higher order levels of thinking—helping us move beyond remembering and recalling information and move deeper into application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and creation—the levels of thinking that your professors have in mind when they are designing exams and paper assignments. Because it is in these higher levels of thinking that our brains truly and deeply learn information, it’s important that you integrate higher order thinking into your study habits.

The following categories can help you assess your comprehension of readings, lecture notes, and other course materials. By creating and answering questions from a variety of categories, you can better anticipate and prepare for all types of exam questions. As you learn and study, start by asking yourself questions and using study methods from the level of remembering. Then, move progressively through the levels to push your understanding deeper—making your studying more meaningful and improving your long-term retention.

Level 1: Remember

This level helps us recall foundational or factual information: names, dates, formulas, definitions, components, or methods.

Level 2: Understand

Understanding means that we can explain main ideas and concepts and make meaning by interpreting, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining.

Level 3: Apply

Application allows us to recognize or use concepts in real-world situations and to address when, where, or how to employ methods and ideas.

Level 4: Analyze

Analysis means breaking a topic or idea into components or examining a subject from different perspectives. It helps us see how the “whole” is created from the “parts.” It’s easy to miss the big picture by getting stuck at a lower level of thinking and simply remembering individual facts without seeing how they are connected. Analysis helps reveal the connections between facts.

Level 5: Synthesize

Synthesizing means considering individual elements together for the purpose of drawing conclusions, identifying themes, or determining common elements. Here you want to shift from “parts” to “whole.”

Level 6: Evaluate

Evaluating means making judgments about something based on criteria and standards. This requires checking and critiquing an argument or concept to form an opinion about its value. Often there is not a clear or correct answer to this type of question. Rather, it’s about making a judgment and supporting it with reasons and evidence.

Level 7: Create

Creating involves putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole. Creating includes reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through planning. This is the highest and most advanced level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Pairing Bloom’s Taxonomy with other effective study strategies

While higher order thinking is an excellent way to approach learning new information and studying, you should pair it with other effective study strategies. Check out some of these links to read up on other tools and strategies you can try:

• Study Smarter, Not Harder
• Simple Study Template
• Using Concept Maps
• Group Study
• Evidence-Based Study Strategies Video
• Memory Tips Video
• All of our resources

Other UNC resources

If you’d like some individual assistance using higher order questions (or with anything regarding your academic success), check out some of your UNC resources:

• Academic Coaching: Make an appointment with an academic coach at the Learning Center to discuss your study habits one-on-one.
• Office Hours : Make an appointment with your professor or TA to discuss course material and how to be successful in the class.

Works consulted

Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D.R., Airasian, P.W., Cruikshank, K.A., Mayer, R.E., Pintrich, P.R., Wittrock, M.C (2001). A taxonomy of learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York, NY: Longman.

“Bloom’s Taxonomy.” University of Waterloo. Retrieved from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/planning-courses-and-assignments/course-design/blooms-taxonomy

“Bloom’s Taxonomy.” Retrieved from http://www.bloomstaxonomy.org/Blooms%20Taxonomy%20questions.pdf

Overbaugh, R., and Schultz, L. (n.d.). “Image of two versions of Bloom’s Taxonomy.” Norfolk, VA: Old Dominion University. Retrieved from https://www.odu.edu/content/dam/odu/col-dept/teaching-learning/docs/blooms-taxonomy-handout.pdf

If you enjoy using our handouts, we appreciate contributions of acknowledgement.

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63 Higher-Order Thinking Skills Examples

Dave Cornell (PhD)

Dr. Cornell has worked in education for more than 20 years. His work has involved designing teacher certification for Trinity College in London and in-service training for state governments in the United States. He has trained kindergarten teachers in 8 countries and helped businessmen and women open baby centers and kindergartens in 3 countries.

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Chris Drew (PhD)

This article was peer-reviewed and edited by Chris Drew (PhD). The review process on Helpful Professor involves having a PhD level expert fact check, edit, and contribute to articles. Reviewers ensure all content reflects expert academic consensus and is backed up with reference to academic studies. Dr. Drew has published over 20 academic articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education and holds a PhD in Education from ACU.

Higher-order thinking skills are used for advanced cognitive processing of information. It occurs when a person engages in a deep level of processing and manipulating information in the mind.

The term “higher-order” is used because these forms of thinking are difficult to perform. It goes beyond just memorizing dates and facts. They are skills necessary for the generation of new knowledge and solving of complex problems.

Examples of higher-order thinking skills include critical thinking, analytical thinking , problem solving, evaluation, metacognition, and synthesis of knowledge.

Higher Order Thinking Definition (Bloom’s Taxonomy)

Educators often utilize Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956) to organize types of thinking processes into a structure that ranges from simple to advanced, or lower-order to higher-order.

The taxonomy is organized into levels of understanding and thinking, as follows:

• Remembering (Lower-Order): This is the most fundamental level of understanding that involves remembering basic information regarding a subject matter. This means that students will be able to define concepts, list facts, repeat key arguments, memorize details, or repeat information.
• Understanding (Lower-Order): Understanding means being able to explain. This can involve explaining the meaning of a concept or an idea.
• Applying (Middle-Order): Applying refers to the ability to use information in situations other than the situation in which it was learned. This represents a deeper level of understanding.
• Analyzing (Higher-Order): Conducting an analysis independently is the next level of understanding, requiring more cognitive effort . This includes the ability to draw logical conclusions based on given facts or make connections between various constructs.
• Evaluating (Higher-Order): Evaluating means determining correctness. Here, students will be able to identify the merits of an argument or point of view and weigh the relative strengths of each point.
• Creating (Higher-Order): The final level of Bloom’s taxonomy is when students can create something new. It is characterized by inventing, designing, and creating something that did not exist previously.

The premise of Bloom’s taxonomy is that thinking exists on a continuum that reflects degrees of understanding and cognitive abilities. The thinking processes toward the top of bloom’s taxonomy are considered higher-order.

The education system in many countries strive to improve higher order thinking skills such as critical thinking and innovation. Teachers around the world are constantly working to design educational activities with this aim. Their successful efforts are demonstrated in many forms, as illustrated below.

Higher Order Thinking Skills Examples

• Critical thinking – Critical thinking refers to the capacity to engage with information with an independent and analytical mindset. Instead of taking things on face value, a critical thinker uses logic and reason to evaluate the information.
• Creative thinking – According to Bloom’s taxonomy, creative thinking is the highest form of higher-order thinking. If we create something new, we are going beyond receiving and evaluating knowledge. We move up a step to generating new knowledge based on our experiences and intellect.
• Lateral thinking – Lateral thinkers take alternative routes to develop under-utilized or creative solutions to problems. ‘Lateral’ means to approach from the side rather than head-on.
• Divergent thinking – Divergent thinking refers to the process of generating multiple possible ideas from one question. It is common when we engage in brainstorming , and allows people to find creative solutions to problems.
• Convergent thinking – Convergent thinking is about gathering facts to come up with an answer or solution. It’s seen as the opposite of divergent thinking because you’re gathering information together to come up with one single solution rather than searching around and comparing multiple different solutions.
• Counterfactual thinking – Counterfactual thinking involves asking “what if?” questions in order to think of alternatives that may have happened if there were small changes made here and there. It is useful for reflective thinking and self-improvement.
• Synthesizing – When we synthesize information, we are gathering information from multiple sources, identifying trends and themes, and bringing it together into one review or evaluation of the knowledge base.
• Invention – Invention occurs when something entirely new is created for the first time. In order for this to occur, a person usually needs to have thorough understanding of existing knowledge and then have the critical and creative thinking skills to build upon it.
• Metacognition – Metacognition refers to “thinking about thinking”. It’s a thinking skill that involves reflecting on your own thinking processes and how you engaged with a task in order to seek improvements in your own thinking processes.
• Evaluation – Evaluation goes beyond reding for understanding. It moves up to the level of assessing the correctness, quality, or merits of information presented to you.
• Abstract thinking – Abstraction refers to engaging with ideas in theoretical rather than practical ways. The step up from learning about practical issues to applying practical knowledge to abstract, theoretical, and hypothetical contexts is considered higher-order.
• Identifying logical fallacies – In philosophy classes, students are asked to look at arguments and critique their use of logic. When students identify fallacies and heuristics , they are demonstrating higher-order skills like critique , judgment, and logic.

Additional Examples

• Data manipulation
• Troubleshooting
• Metaphorical thinking
• Problem solving
• Out of the box thinking
• Media literacy
• Concept mapping
• Applying to new contexts
• Compare and Contrast
• Categorizing
• Distinguishing difference and similarity
• Identifying correlation
• Deconstructing texts
• Find Patterns
• Integrating knowledge
• Structuring knowledge
• Questioning established facts
• Discriminating between concepts
• Connecting the dots
• Classifying
• Inquiring (see: inquiry based learning )
• Finding Strengths
• Finding Weaknesses
• Prioritizing
• Creating Hierarchies
• Making value judgements
• Developing a thesis statement
• Constructing something new
• Formulating
• Socratic questioning
• Hypothesizing
• Pushing boundaries
• Proposing something new
• Mind-Mapping

How to Develop Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Education

Educators expend a great deal of time trying to build up their students’ higher-order thinking skills. Generally, this starts with curriculum design.

During curriculum design, educators often consult bloom’s taxonomy verbs to create lessons and assessment tasks that directly assess higher-order thinking.

With learning outcomes that have higher-order thinking verbs embedded in them, lesson plans and the actual activities in class are more likely to target higher-order thinking skills.

In the classroom, teachers should focus on strategies used to instil higher-order thinking. These are often constructivist learning strategies , such as:

• Open-ended questioning: Instead of just asking yes/no questions, teachers try to ask higher-order thinking questions that require full-sentence responses. This can lead students to think through and articulate responses based upon critique and analysis rather than simple memorization.
• Active learning : When students are simply told information and asked to memorize, they are engaged in what we call passive learning. By contrast, when students actually complete tasks themselves, they are engaging in active learning.
• Problem-based learning : Problem-based learning involves students working together to solve problems. This means that lessons aren’t just a matter of following instructions, but actually require students to engage in higher-order thinking to figure out how to solve the challenges posed.
• High expectations : This involves the teacher insisting students try their hardest in all situations. Often, low expectations allow students to ‘coast along’ with simple memorization and understanding, and doesn’t ask them to extend their knowledge.
• Scaffolding and modeled instruction: Often, students don’t fully understand how to engage in higher-order thinking. To address this, teachers demonstrate how to think at a high level, then put in place scaffolds like question cards and instruction sheets that direct students toward higher levels of thinking. (See also: gradual release of responsibility model ).
• Cognitive tools : When students have mastered the basics, we can use cognitive tools like calculators and computer sheets so the basic tasks are completed by computers. As a result, students can spend more time focusing on higher-order thinking rather than wasting time on lower-order tasks like doing their times tables.

Case Studies of Higher Order Thinking Skills    

1. synthesizing.

One form of higher-order thinking involves creating something new based on the synthesis and application of existing knowledge.

Industrial design is just such an endeavor. The goal of the designer is to gather various facts and principles, and forge them into a new product that addresses numerous needs and situational parameters.

The industrial designer must carefully examine the form and function of a product as it relates to the user. They are often involved in an analysis of the human-product interface.

Synthesizing that knowledge will help them generate solutions to make the product function more smoothly and efficiently.

Fourth order design takes the analysis one step further and involves considering a broader array of issues surrounding the product.

2. Hypothesizing

Forming a hypothesis requires higher-order thinking because it asks students to look at a problem and existent patterns, then abstract them into the future.

For example: A first-grade teacher presents several balls that differ in size, weight, colors, and material.

The teacher takes each ball and asks the students to predict what will happen if dropped. The teacher changes the height of the drop and the type of surface being dropped upon.

The students explain their rationale and express their views about the rationale of others. The teacher also asks questions, such as why one ball bounces higher.

This activity encourages deep thinking processes that invoke the characteristics of critical analysis and inference.

Of course, the goal is not to assess the rightness or wrongness of any explanations, but rather to get the students to think about the possibilities and the rationale underlying those possibilities.

Finally, the teacher supplies groups of students with various balls and allows free time to explore directly.

3. Socratic Questioning 

Socrates developed a method of questioning that utilize several high-order thinking skills. Teachers today apply the method by asking students a series of well-designed questions that force them to explore complex issues and question underlying assumptions.

This requires students to retrieve knowledge, synthesize their understanding, and eventually produce an enlightened opinion. That process will activate numerous higher-order thinking skills.

For instance, when examining their existing understanding of the issue, students often discover gaps in their knowledge base.

Socratic questioning also forces students to examine their understanding, which is often based on assumptions and not facts .

That critical analysis will help students identify a necessary path to enhance their knowledge; fill those gaps in understanding and ensure their opinion is based on facts.

When the student enters and exits the Socratic process, they will have engaged a series of higher-order thinking skills. Those skills are far more advanced than those required of conventional instructional approaches that involve memorization of facts.

If executed properly, Socratic questioning can lead an individual down a path of analyzing and synthesizing knowledge that ultimately leads to a transformation of their initial perspective.

4. Concept Mapping

A concept map is a visual way to show how various concepts are related. The map contains circles, called nodes, with the name of each concept placed within. The nodes are either connected or not depending on the relationship. The strength and direction of the relationship is depicted through the thickness of the line and an arrow placed at one end.

Asking students to create a concept map either before or after the presentation of a subject encourages them to analyze their understanding and examine the dynamics of a complex issue.

The instructor can then engage in a question-and-answer session or place students in small groups for discussion.

Each group member shares their rationale on how the concepts are interconnected. This requires students to engage in critical thinking and analysis of their rationale and the rationale of others.

The top ten free online concept map makers found here .

5. Counterfactual Thinking  

Counterfactual thinking involves considering what might have happened if something in the past transpired differently. Some examples include imagining the outcome if a person had answered questions during a job interview more adeptly. Or, what could have happened if some aspects of an important project had been different.

By reimagining the past, a person must utilize several higher-order thinking skills.

First, they must analyze what went wrong the first time. This involves taking information known today and applying it to the circumstance prior. What were the key factors that affected the outcome?

Then, it is necessary to make several predictions on the implications of applying that additional knowledge. How will those changes alter the trajectory of the event? What other factors could possibly be encountered as the new scenario emerges?

Critical analysis, synthesis of new information, inferences regarding possible ramifications, are all examples of higher-order thinking.

Each one requires the individual to engage in advanced cognitive processing.

Critiques of the Higher-Order Thinking Model

There are two central critiques of the concept of higher-order thinking and its applications in education:

• It is not linear: Sometimes, lower-order thinking is extremely difficult and requires great skill; while other higher-order tasks can be objectively much easier. For example, the ability to simply follow a piece of logic in a graduate-level physics class (supposedly lower-order) requires much greater cognitive skill than the ability to create something in a grade 7 math class ( creativity being higher-order). Thus, simply engaging in higher-order thinking doesn’t tell us everything we should know about someone’s cognitive and intellectual capacity.
• Focus on thinking rather than outcomes: John Biggs argues that use of Bloom’s taxonomy is insufficient for curriculum design because it focusses on often un-assessable internal cognitive processes rather than outcomes of those processes. As a result, Biggs proposed the SOLO taxonomy , which talks about outcomes that can be used in curriculum design rather than processes.

Higher-order thinking is when an individual engages in deep processing of information . This can include a critical analysis of an event, artistic endeavor, or even the design a commercial product. 

Other forms of higher order thinking skills take place when existing circumstances are reimagined or considered in the context of future conditions that require prediction and inference.

At its highest state, higher order thinking skills can be manifest in the creation of something new that reflects a synthesis of factors and concepts not previously forged.

Educators today try to facilitate the development of higher-order thinking skills in their students. This can materialize at many grade levels across the education system.

The primary school teacher can present exploratory activities that give students an opportunity to predict what could happen when different objects are dropped from different heights.

Or, the university professor can task students with making inferences about how global events could affect manufacturing, or environmental factors alter the water cycle.

Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D. R., Airasian, P. W., Cruikshank, K. A., Mayer, R., Pintrich, P. R., Raths, J. D., & Wittrock, M. C. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York: Longman

Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. Vol. 1: Cognitive domain. New York: McKay , 20, 24.

Bloom, B.S. (Ed.), Engelhart, M.D., Furst, E.J., Hill, W.H., & Krathwohl, D.R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook 1: Cognitive domain . New York: David McKay.

Byrne, R. M. J. (2005). The rational imagination: How people create alternatives to reality . MA: MIT Press.

Eber, P. A., & Parker, T. S. (2007). Assessing Student Learning: Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy. Human Service Education , 27 (1).

Golsby-Smith, Tony (1996). Fourth order design: A practical perspective. Design Issues, 12(1), 5–25. https://doi.org/10.2307/1511742

Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy: An overview. Theory into Practice, 41 (4), 212-218.

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Higher order thinking

This page provides guidance on supporting the high-ability student to develop their higher order thinking skills.

The importance of higher order thinking

It is easy to assume that students who appear to move through tasks quickly have all the skills they need. A teacher may also think these students have little more to develop. Yet, the development of cognitive and metacognitive skills has no ceiling. 

There is always more for high-ability students to learn and room for them to grow. 

If students exceed curriculum level outcomes, tasks can be made more challenging by targeting higher order thinking. This will set the conditions for students to extend their learning.

What we know

Teachers who plan to teach and extend students' higher order thinking skills promote growth for their high-ability students. Higher order thinking is often used to refer to 'transfer', 'critical thinking' and 'problem solving.' These can be defined as:

• transfer - the student's ability to apply knowledge and skills to new contexts (for example, a student in year 5 learning about fractions applied her knowledge to a real world scenario)
• critical thinking - the ability to reason, reflect, and decide what to believe or do next
• problem solving - meeting a goal that cannot be met with a memorised solution (Brookhart, 2010, 2011).

From theory to practice

Teachers may know some thinking skill taxonomies. These may include:

• Bloom's Revised Taxonomy (remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate, create) (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
• Webb's Depth of Knowledge (recall and reproduction, application of skills, strategic thinking, extended thinking) (Webb, 2002).

These models can be used to plan activities that target students' higher order thinking. Focusing on content and skills at the highest level (Level 4 – Extended thinking) can help extend students' thinking skills. Low and high cognitive questions can also be used to target activities towards specific levels of thinking skills.

Strategies and tools

Strategies that teachers may use in their classes to encourage higher order thinking include:

• posing provocative questions, statements or scenarios to generate discussion (for example, the use of 'what if' questions)
• requiring students to explain concepts using analogies, similes and metaphors
• posing problems with no single solution, or that have multiple pathways to a solution
• modelling a range of problem solving strategies
• using concept mapping to assist students to make connections between and within ideas
• creating a makerspace in your classroom to encourage creativity, critical thinking and design thinking
• posing paradoxes for students to consider (for example: In a study of World War 1, students can be presented with the statement: 'War nurses saved lives, but they also contributed to deaths')
• creating an 'I wonder' wall in your classroom
• conducting a Socratic dialogue .

Tools that can assist teachers to encourage higher order thinking include:

• depth of knowledge table (informed by Webb 2002)
• low and high cognitive questions exemplar for reading comprehension
• SOLO taxonomy

Focus questions for professional learning

• How do you, or can you, plan for higher order thinking in your lessons?
• How does higher order thinking support the needs of the high-ability student?
• What thinking skills are considered to be of higher order in the depth of knowledge table?

Anderson, L.W., & Krathwohl, D. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and Assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Allyn & Bacon, MA (Pearson Education Group).

Brookhart, S. M. (2010). How to assess higher-order thinking skills in your classroom. ASCD.

Fleming, L. (2015). Worlds of making: Best practices for establishing a makerspace for your school. Corwin Press.

Gamwell, P., & Daly, J. (2017). The wonder wall: Leading creative schools and organizations in an age of complexity. Corwin Press.

Webb, N. L. (2002). Depth-of-knowledge levels for four content areas. Language Arts.

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Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

• Critical Thinking and other Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Critical thinking is a higher-order thinking skill. Higher-order thinking skills go beyond basic observation of facts and memorization. They are what we are talking about when we want our students to be evaluative, creative and innovative.

When most people think of critical thinking, they think that their words (or the words of others) are supposed to get “criticized” and torn apart in argument, when in fact all it means is that they are criteria-based. These criteria require that we distinguish fact from fiction; synthesize and evaluate information; and clearly communicate, solve problems and discover truths.

Why is Critical Thinking important in teaching?

According to Paul and Elder (2007), “Much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced.  Yet the quality of our life and that of which we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought.”  Critical thinking is therefore the foundation of a strong education.

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy of thinking skills, the goal is to move students from lower- to higher-order thinking:

• from knowledge (information gathering) to comprehension (confirming)
• from application (making use of knowledge) to analysis (taking information apart)
• from evaluation (judging the outcome) to synthesis (putting information together) and creative generation

This provides students with the skills and motivation to become innovative producers of goods, services, and ideas.  This does not have to be a linear process but can move back and forth, and skip steps.

How do I incorporate critical thinking into my course?

The place to begin, and most obvious space to embed critical thinking in a syllabus, is with student-learning objectives/outcomes.  A well-designed course aligns everything else—all the activities, assignments, and assessments—with those core learning outcomes.

Learning outcomes contain an action (verb) and an object (noun), and often start with, “Student’s will....” Bloom’s taxonomy can help you to choose appropriate verbs to clearly state what you want students to exit the course doing, and at what level.

• Students will define the principle components of the water cycle. (This is an example of a lower-order thinking skill.)
• Students will evaluate how increased/decreased global temperatures will affect the components of the water cycle. (This is an example of a higher-order thinking skill.)

Both of the above examples are about the water cycle and both require the foundational knowledge that form the “facts” of what makes up the water cycle, but the second objective goes beyond facts to an actual understanding, application and evaluation of the water cycle.

Using a tool such as Bloom’s Taxonomy to set learning outcomes helps to prevent vague, non-evaluative expectations. It forces us to think about what we mean when we say, “Students will learn…”  What is learning; how do we know they are learning?

The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom by Larry Ferlazzo

Consider designing class activities, assignments, and assessments—as well as student-learning outcomes—using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide.

The Socratic style of questioning encourages critical thinking.  Socratic questioning  “is systematic method of disciplined questioning that can be used to explore complex ideas, to get to the truth of things, to open up issues and problems, to uncover assumptions, to analyze concepts, to distinguish what we know from what we don’t know, and to follow out logical implications of thought” (Paul and Elder 2007).

Socratic questioning is most frequently employed in the form of scheduled discussions about assigned material, but it can be used on a daily basis by incorporating the questioning process into your daily interactions with students.

In teaching, Paul and Elder (2007) give at least two fundamental purposes to Socratic questioning:

• To deeply explore student thinking, helping students begin to distinguish what they do and do not know or understand, and to develop intellectual humility in the process
• To foster students’ abilities to ask probing questions, helping students acquire the powerful tools of dialog, so that they can use these tools in everyday life (in questioning themselves and others)

How do I assess the development of critical thinking in my students?

If the course is carefully designed around student-learning outcomes, and some of those outcomes have a strong critical-thinking component, then final assessment of your students’ success at achieving the outcomes will be evidence of their ability to think critically.  Thus, a multiple-choice exam might suffice to assess lower-order levels of “knowing,” while a project or demonstration might be required to evaluate synthesis of knowledge or creation of new understanding.

Critical thinking is not an “add on,” but an integral part of a course.

• Make critical thinking deliberate and intentional in your courses—have it in mind as you design or redesign all facets of the course
• Many students are unfamiliar with this approach and are more comfortable with a simple quest for correct answers, so take some class time to talk with students about the need to think critically and creatively in your course; identify what critical thinking entail, what it looks like, and how it will be assessed.

Additional Resources

• Barell, John. Teaching for Thoughtfulness: Classroom Strategies to Enhance Intellectual Development . Longman, 1991.
• Brookfield, Stephen D. Teaching for Critical Thinking: Tools and Techniques to Help Students Question Their Assumptions . Jossey-Bass, 2012.
• Elder, Linda and Richard Paul. 30 Days to Better Thinking and Better Living through Critical Thinking . FT Press, 2012.
• Fasko, Jr., Daniel, ed. Critical Thinking and Reasoning: Current Research, Theory, and Practice . Hampton Press, 2003.
• Fisher, Alec. Critical Thinking: An Introduction . Cambridge University Press, 2011.
• Paul, Richard and Linda Elder. Critical Thinking: Learn the Tools the Best Thinkers Use . Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.
• Faculty Focus article, A Syllabus Tip: Embed Big Questions
• The Critical Thinking Community
• The Critical Thinking Community’s The Thinker’s Guides Series and The Art of Socratic Questioning

Quick Links

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• Creating Your Syllabus
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Study guides for every class, that actually explain what's on your next test, higher-order thinking skills, from class:.

Higher-order thinking skills refer to cognitive processes that involve analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information, going beyond mere recall of facts. These skills are essential for deeper learning and problem-solving, allowing individuals to apply knowledge in new contexts and create original ideas. They play a crucial role in performance assessment and authentic assessment by challenging learners to demonstrate their understanding through complex tasks.

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5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

• Higher-order thinking skills are often assessed through tasks that require students to apply knowledge rather than just memorize it, such as projects or presentations.
• These skills encourage creativity and innovation, pushing learners to generate new ideas and solutions rather than relying on rote memorization.
• Developing higher-order thinking skills can lead to better academic performance, as students become more engaged and motivated in their learning process.
• Performance assessments often use higher-order thinking skills to evaluate a student's ability to integrate knowledge across various disciplines and real-world situations.
• Authentic assessments provide opportunities for students to demonstrate higher-order thinking by engaging in real-life tasks that reflect their understanding and application of concepts.

Review Questions

• Higher-order thinking skills enhance student engagement in performance assessments by challenging them to actively participate in the learning process. When students are required to analyze, evaluate, and create, they become more invested in their work. This active involvement not only deepens their understanding of the material but also encourages them to take ownership of their learning as they apply concepts in practical, real-world situations.
• Authentic assessments utilize higher-order thinking skills by requiring students to complete tasks that mirror real-life challenges and scenarios. These assessments often involve problem-solving, critical analysis, and creative thinking, pushing students to apply what they've learned in meaningful contexts. By evaluating how well students can integrate knowledge across different subjects and situations, authentic assessments provide a comprehensive view of their understanding beyond simple recall.
• Developing higher-order thinking skills significantly impacts lifelong learning and adaptability by equipping individuals with the ability to think critically and solve complex problems throughout their lives. As these skills foster a mindset that values inquiry and innovation, learners become more adept at navigating challenges across different environments, whether in academic settings or the workforce. This adaptability is crucial in a rapidly changing world, where the ability to analyze information, evaluate options, and synthesize new ideas is essential for success.

Related terms

The ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or believe, involving the evaluation of evidence and arguments.

Problem-Solving : The process of identifying solutions to specific issues or challenges by analyzing information and generating options.

Awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes, allowing individuals to monitor and regulate their learning strategies.

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• Curriculum Development
• Foundations of Education
• Mathematics Education
• Philosophy of Education

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