Higher-Order Thinking
What is higher-order
thinking?
"Everyday thinking, like ordinary walking, is a natural performance we
all pick up. But good thinking, like running the l00-yard dash, is a
technical performance... Sprinters have to be taught how to run the 100yard dash; good thinking is the result of good teaching, which includes
much practice."
David Perkins, Howard University
The Griney Grollers
Thinking Skills Test
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What kind of grollers were they?
What did the grollers do?
Where did they do it?
In what kind of gak did they grangle?
Place a 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?
Moral:
Students can answer low-level
questions without thinking.
Students enter/exit classrooms
with no more understanding of
what they've learned than
"The Griney Groller"
taught you!
Types of Thinking
Convergent thinking
 is cognitive processing of information around a
common point, an attempt to bring thoughts from
different directions into a union or a common
conclusion.
 When teachers try to get several learners to think
convergently, they try to help them develop common
understanding, common conclusions about content,
whatever it may be.
Divergent thinking
 starts from a common point and moves outward into a
variety of perspectives.
 When fostering divergent thinking, teachers use the
content as a vehicle to prompt diverse or unique
thinking among students, rather than a common view.
Con or Div
 What is the difference between
alligators and
crocodiles?_________________
 What measures could be taken to
improve the effectiveness of crime
prevention in our city?__________________
 What was the explorer’s name who first
found the America’s?______________
 Can you think of an original way that we
could prevent the lessening of the ozone
layer?__________________________
Higher Order Thinking (H.O.T.)
 A basic rule for developing tasks to assess higher-order thinking
abilities is that the assessment materials should be new or novel
What levels of Bloom’s
taxonomy would this include?
to the students.
 They should not repeat the specific examples you used during
instruction and should be phrased in language different from
what you used in teaching. (p. 208)
How do I foster higher-order
thinking in my classroom?
1. Set up a classroom environment that is conducive to high-level thinking.
A.Multi-level
materials
B. Flexible grouping
C. Accept and celebrate diversity
D. Print-rich environment
E. High expectations
F. Teacher as co-learner
G. Nurture risk-taking
How do I foster higher-order thinking
in my classroom?
2. Engage students in activities which foster high-level
thinking.
A. Collaborative group activities in which students
can communicate with others in a variety of ways.
B. Problem-solving activities that require more than
routine calculations.
C. Open-ended activities with more than one "right"
answer.
D. Activities that accommodate multiple intelligences.
E. Activities in which both genders participate freely.
How do I foster higher-order thinking
in my classroom?
3.
Construct questions that call for higher-level thinking.
Questions should probe reasons and
evidence
Questions that Invite Higher-Order Thinking
 How is this study like another you/we have read?
This question encourages students to make
connections and see analogies.
 Does this story/information make you aware of any
problems that need attention?
This amounts to asking students to see themselves
as active participants in problem identification as
well as problem solving.
 What does this mean to you and how might it affect
others?
This pair of questions gives students a chance to
express their own interests but also to
empathetically consider and understand the views
of, and possible consequences to, others.
(Synthesized from Teaching Children to Be Literate: A Reflective Approach, by Anthony and Ula Manzo,
1995) at http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/glenh/hots.htm
Questions that Invite Higher-Order Thinking
 Is there anything wrong with this solution, and how else might this
problem be solved? These questions are the heart of
successful critical analysis.
 What more needs to be known or done to understand or do this
better? This is a pointed request for creative problem

solving that invites thinking “beyond the lines.”
What is a contrary way of seeing this? Being able to examine
issues from multiple points of view helps the students
to clarify their thoughts.
(Synthesized from Teaching Children to Be Literate: A Reflective Approach, by Anthony and Ula Manzo,
1995) at http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/glenh/hots.htm
More H.O.T. Questions
1.
What would be an example?
2.
How do you know?
3.
Why do you think that is true?
4.
Do you have any evidence for that?
5.
What difference does that make?
6.
What are your reasons for saying that?
7.
Could you explain your reasons to us?
8.
Is there a reason to doubt that evidence?
9.
What would you say to someone who said __?
More H.O.T. Questions
10. Can someone else give evidence to support that response?
11.
Are these reasons adequate?
12. Why did you say that?
13. What led you to that belief?
14. How does that apply to this case?
15. What would change your mind?
16. What other information do we need?
TASK: Classify each question on Bloom’s taxonomy,
then put a * (star) next to those that are considered
H.O.T.
1. Discuss an original way that we could prevent the lessening of
the ozone layer.
2. What was the explorer’s name who first found the Americas?
3. By using your ruler and the map legend, what is the shortest
distance (by highways) between Boston and Washington, DC?
4. Examine the steps in the solution of a complex math problem.
Was each step logical or would there have been a better way to
solve the problem?
5. Explain why the colonists dumped the tea into Boston Harbor.
6. When comparing the frogs’, amphibians’, and reptiles’ hearts,
which is the most efficient? Why?
Analysis: Separation of the whole
into component parts
What are the parts or features of
________________?
Classify _______________ according to
________________.
Outline/diagram/web ____________________.
How does ______________ compare/contrast
with __________________? Explain your
response.
What evidence can you list for
_____________________? http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/glenh/hots.htm
Synthesis: Combination of
ideas to form a new whole
 What would you predict/infer from
__________________? Explain your response.
 What ideas can you add to __________________?
Explain your response.
 How would you create/design a new
__________________? Explain your response.
 What might happen if you combine _______________
with ________________? Explain your response.
 What solutions would you suggest for
__________________?
Explain your response.
http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/glenh/hots.htm
Evaluation: Development of opinions, judgments,
or decisions with valid reasoning to support it.
 Do you agree with _________________? Explain your
response.
 What do you think about _______________? Explain your
response.
 What is the most important _____________? Explain your
response.
 Prioritize ________________. Explain your choices.
 How would you decide about ________________?
Explain.
 What criteria would you use to assess
______________________? Provide a rationale for your
choices. http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/glenh/hots.htm