Practices, Challenges and Implications of Teaching and Assessment of Cognitive Skills in Higher Education

Abstract

The key research questions of the study were to check understanding,practices and challenges in teaching and assessment of higher orderthinking skills to students enrolled in pre-service teacher educationprogram. Sequential mixed method design was applied to collectquantitative and qualitative data with the help of structured questionnairescale and semi-structured interview. Descriptive statistics were appliedby calculating percentages and means; and thematic analysis was carriedout by open coding, axial coding, analytical coding and selective coding.Quantitative and qualitative data was integrated to draw findings andconclusions of the study. The major conclusions of the study are thatfaculty in UK conceptualise Cognitive Skills (CS) as processinginformation, constructing understanding, application of knowledge,problem solving and thinking activity. They also incorporate CSs inteaching problem solving and reflective learning practices in whichlearners retrieve, generate, organise, and validate information. Theyassess CSs by open book examination, moderation of assignments,matching and comparing against Teacher Education Standards, and alsoprovide effective feedback. However, faculty do not focus on‘construction of theory’ and linking theory to practice in teaching andassessment.