Development Of Higher Order Thinking Skills Research Articles

Alignment between actual and planned assessments: implementation of the Accounting curriculum in Eswatini.

This study explored the extent to which the assessments produced by teachers in the implementation of the Eswatini General Certificate of Secondary Education (EGCSE) Accounting curriculum (actual assessment) align with the requirements of the curriculum (planned assessment). EGCSE is a learner-centred curriculum which was introduced in 2006 in Eswatini. It emphasises the development of higher-order thinking skills. The study used a mixed-methods approach and a descriptive survey design. Simple random sampling was adopted to select nine (9) Accounting teachers who participated in this study. Questionnaires, interviews and document analysis were the method used in data collection. Descriptive statistics such as percentages and measures of central tendency were used to analyse quantitative data. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The study found that there is no alignment between what is required of the learner in external and internal assessments. It was concluded that teachers were not implementing the EGCSE Accounting curriculum as intended. In-service training for all senior secondary school Accounting teachers was recommended so to equip teachers with assessment skills for the effective implementation of the EGCSE Accounting curriculum.

Alignment between actual and planned assessments: implementation of the Accounting curriculum in Eswatini.

This study explored the extent to which the assessments produced by teachers in the implementation of the Eswatini General Certificate of Secondary Education (EGCSE) Accounting curriculum (actual assessment) align with the requirements of the curriculum (planned assessment). EGCSE is a learner-centred curriculum which was introduced in 2006 in Eswatini. It emphasises the development of higher-order thinking skills. The study used a mixed-methods approach and a descriptive survey design. Simple random sampling was adopted to select nine (9) Accounting teachers who participated in this study. Questionnaires, interviews and document analysis were the method used in data collection. Descriptive statistics such as percentages and measures of central tendency were used to analyse quantitative data. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The study found that there is no alignment between what is required of the learner in external and internal assessments. It was concluded that teachers were not implementing the EGCSE Accounting curriculum as intended. In-service training for all senior secondary school Accounting teachers was recommended so to equip teachers with assessment skills for the effective implementation of the EGCSE Accounting curriculum.

Examining Debate in Developing Higher-order Thinking Skills: A Case of English Language Class in Senior High School Context

<span lang="EN-US">The concept of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) has become an important issue in 21<sup>st</sup>-century learning. One of the skills reflecting higher-order thinking skills is critical thinking that also becomes another important concept that has recently been studied in some researches. The number of previous studies supporting the influence of debate as a beneficial pedagogy on the development of critical thinking skills have been conducted through some researches. However, the studies contradicting the issue also need to be concerned to consider the influence of debate particularly in enhancing critical thinking in English language class. Having conducted a study by using a quantitative method and objective assessment, the purpose of the present study was to find significant effect of debate on the development of students’ higher-order thinking skills in English language class. The study was conducted in public senior high school 1 in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, involving 68 students divided into two groups. The result shows that there was no significant mean difference of the scores obtained, despite the higher scores achieved by the experimental group in which the group using debate, since the t<sub>h</sub> is lower than the t<sub>t</sub>(1.21 < 1.669). In other words, the study reveals that debate does not have significant effect on the development of higher-order thinking skills. Some possible reasons are then discussed and illustrated.</span>

Instructions, frameworks, agility, and teaching twenty-first century skills in the opinion of specialists, educational curricula as a model

This study aims to identify what the skills of the twenty-first century are, and the important frameworks related to these skills from the point of view of experts in teaching and learning and researchers in this era. the need to include these skills in the current curricula; To correspond with the development of modern educational skills and methods of teaching them. This study follows the critical descriptive approach, which came in order to achieve the objectives of the study and answer its questions. This is done by describing skills and classifying them according to their type, as well as the steps to achieve them with scientific graphic criticism. The study reflects on previous studies, authored books, and written documents regarding teaching skills in the twenty-first century. The study reached some results, the most important of which are: These skills are important for their presence in the textbook for the development of higher-order thinking skills among teachers and students at the university and school levels.

Strategic reading program to develop critical-creative thinking in high school students

The objective was to design a program of reading strategies to develop critical and creative thinking (PCC) in the students of the VI cycle of the educational institution Diego Ferré Sosa de Monsefú. The research was of a primary propositional type, in which 137 students participated, who were administered a questionnaire on the development of critical and creative thinking, elaborated separately for every kind of thought and covering the dimensions of each one of them. The instruments were duly validated and with a reliability coefficient of 0.80. The results regarding the level of development of critical and creative thinking indicate that 45.99% of the total sample are at the medium level for critical thinking, and 51.09% are also at the medium level concerning creative thinking, which makes it possible to determine that almost half of the students surveyed need to reorient the development of higher-order thinking skills that allow them to strengthen their cognitive abilities.

Identifying Higher-Order Thinking Skills on Lesson Plan: How Do Teachers Construct the Lesson Plan?

In line with 21st-Century learning, the 2013 Curriculum highlights the development of critical thinking, problem analysis, problem-solving, decision making, and creating something new. Professional teachers need to facilitate students in developing these abilities. This research describes how the teachers plan the higher-order thinking skills (HOTs). This research is qualitative research with a descriptive design. The respondents were four teachers with 0-40 years of teaching experience. The data were collected qualitatively through documentation and interviews. The results showed that HOTs were not clearly expressed in the teacher's lesson plans at teaching experience levels of 0 to 10 years and 10 years to 20 years. Teachers with 20 to 30 years of teaching experience and 30 to 40 years of experience have expressed HOTs explicitly and completely in all parts of the lesson plan. Teachers have an important role in facilitating higher-order thinking skills that can be seen through the lesson plans. The lesson plan must describe the development of higher-order thinking skills holistically. Teachers need to review each lesson plan to be coherent in every part and relevant to 21st-century learning.

The Impact of Flexible Assessment on Students’ Engagement and Learning During COVID-19 Pandemic

The work presented in this paper is related to the use of the flexible assessment to promote collaborative learning that impact students’ engagement and learning, especially during COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents the analysis and results obtained by applying the flexible assessment in a large second-year undergraduate computer science module. Flexibility in assessment is usually achieved by giving students choice over the assessment components, contents, type, weight, timing, or the overall assessment grade. This study, however, demonstrates the development of a flexible assessment where students were given the choice to invest in a flexible assignment task designed to encourage collaborative learning and the development of higher-order thinking skills. The flexible assessment used in this study has proven that effective learning can occur when students work collaboratively. The data used for the analysis are those collected from a questionnaire distributed to students by the end of the academic term in addition to gathering students’ written feedback comments about their experience of the new flexible assessment. The questionnaire results and students’ feedback related to their learning experience are recorded and examined. Students’ performance of the targeted module has been recorded, interpreted, and contrasted with similar assessment of another module that has no flexibility in its requirements. In accordance with the students’ performance, questionnaire and feedback analysis results, flexible assessment is considered a unique assessment, beneficial and useful for students’ learning and engagement.

A design of machinery learning activity to develop critical thinking

In engineering education, it is universally recognized that the development of higher-order thinking skills must be encouraged. On the one hand, the backwards design approach allows for the design of courses or activities focused on learning goals rather than on specific content, establishing basic tools to foster these skills. On the other hand, Bloom’s taxonomy allows for the separation of macro learning goals into specific learning objectives and adequate evidence. This work integrates the two approaches for the development of an active learning activity for a design of machinery course. The activity consists of introducing students to the design of mechanisms, is developed following the backwards design process and Bloom’s taxonomy of learning objectives, and focuses on both technical skills and critical thinking. After designing and testing the activity, the authors found that it allows the acquisition of technical skills in kinematics and kinetics of mechanisms and provides insights for the development of the main components of critical thinking within the machinery design process.

Improving Students' Critical Thinking and Self-Efficacy by Learning Higher Order Thinking Skills Through Problem Based Learning Models

Higher-order thinking skills critical to being applied and developed in learning. Because the learning activity is focused on the higher-order thinking skills development, then learning activities will be more influential, effective, and efficient, so that the intellectual abilities of teachers and students become more skilled, it positively will affect the increase in the quality of education. There is a gap in students' critical thinking ability based on the pre-research survey results. The basic level of thinking is in the poor category, and self-efficacy is still lacking. This study aims to determine the extent to which the application of higher-order thinking skills learning through the problem-based learning (PBL) model improves student's critical thinking and self-efficacy. This study uses a quasi-experimental design and data collection techniques in tests, questionnaires, and observation sheets. This study's population was 123 students, sampling using a convenience sampling technique so that the sample used was 62 students. Based on the research results, there are differences. There is an increase between students' critical thinking skills and self-efficacy who use the PBL model rather than the conventional model. The research result implies that the PBL model is highly recommended for economics teachers. Still, it is necessary to provide innovation in the learning model so that in the learning process, it uses one model and innovates with other models.

IMPLEMENTING THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM: A CASE STUDY OF TEACHING ESP TO THE BACHELORS IN AUTOMATION AND COMPUTER-INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES

The paper describes the experience of flipped classroom application in teaching ESP. The study was held at the National Aviation University and involved 46 undergraduate students majoring in “Automation and Computer-Integrated Technologies”. In-class learning was organized according to the university schedule and out-of-class activities were conducted by using Google Classroom and a set of digital learning tools. Our observations during teaching with their further analysis and a designed questionnaire were used to reveal the benefits and drawbacks of the flipped classroom. The analysis of the students’ responses has shown that it allows students to study at their own pace, meet their needs, develop their organizational, communication and time management skills and increase their independence and creativity. The paper specifies three main phases of the flipped classroom and determines what skills are developed at each of them. Remembering and understanding are developed at the first phase and the freed classroom time is devoted to developing the skills of applying and analyzing. The higher-order thinking skills of evaluating and creating can be formed both in the classroom and during the post-class phase. The authors have selected digital learning tools which can be recommended for learning ESP in order to facilitate students’ out-of-class activities. Their use can help to shift the emphasis from the teacher to the student, increase students’ engagement in learning and make the course versatile and appropriate to students’ needs. A student survey was conducted at the end of the academic year, and the analysis of students’ responses revealed that they had a positive attitude to implementing the flipped classroom in teaching ESP. As shown by the results of the study, the use of the flipped classroom for teaching ESP is effective as it saves much in-class time for communicative tasks enhancing the development of higher-order thinking skills, unites in-class and out-of-class learning, controls students’ achievement not only in the classroom but outside it and makes the learning process more engaging.

RETRACTED: Critical thinking of music educators as a factor in creative music pedagogy

• Critical thinking is one of the core skills of the 21st century. • The study involved 53 music teaching individuals. • Music education is widely regarded as a vehicle for self-expression. As one of the main skills of modern education, critical thinking has actualized the problem of developing new concepts in all preparation areas, including music. However, as experience shows, many teachers are not competent in critical thinking enough. The ultimate goal of this study was to define the relationship between educators’ HOTS (critical thinking), creativity, and the ability to teach music in a creative manner. For this, the study involved 53 music teaching individuals who had completed preliminary training in the form of the course on the development of higher-order thinking skills (2019–2020). The put forward hypotheses stated that the ability to teach music creatively does not depend on the skills of critical thinking and creativity (H0) and, accordingly, that it is directly connected with these skills (H1). In order to find dependencies in the experimental data obtained as a result of testing, analysis of variance and methods of analytical statistics were used. As a result, the conclusion was drawn that critical thinking and musical creativity have a notable impact on music educators’ competence to teach creatively. That is, hypothesis H1 was confirmed. The paper concluded by arguing that it is advisable to pay more precise attention to the activation of critical thinking skills when training music teachers to raise the effectiveness of the overall music education. Its results might be useful for interested academics, music educators, and music school administrators who wish to implement innovative educational approaches that positively impact student and teacher achievement.

The Development of Higher Order-Thinking Skills (HOTS) Instrument Assessment in Physics Study

This study aims to determine the characteristics of the test instruments in the mechanics of SMA to measure higher order thinking skills. This study also aims to see the validity, reliability, level of difficulty, and differentiation of items using the classical theory approach. This study adapted the development model from Mardapi. The items developed were tested on 114 students at one of High School in Makassar, South Sulawesi. The results show that the items that have been developed have content validity with a coefficient of 0.860. Of the 35 test items developed, there were 7 invalid items, with a test reliability of 0.593. The proportion of item difficulty level has the distribution of 0% hard items,74.3% medium items, and 25.7% easy items. The distinguishing power of test items has shown good criteria.

Tapping into Bloom Taxonomy’s Higher-Order Cognitive Processes: The Case for Multiple Choice Questions as a Valid Assessment Tool in the ESP Classroom

This article describes the results of Action Research conducted in an ESP classroom of Dhofar University located in Oman. Following the call of Oman Vision 2040 to emphasize educational practices that promote the development of higher-order cognitive processes, this study raises the following question: Can an online multiple choice question (MCQ) quiz tap into the higher-order cognitive skills of apply, analyze and evaluate? This question was also critical at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic when Omani universities switched to the online learning mode. The researchers administered an online MCQ quiz to 35 undergraduate students enrolled in an ESP course for Engineering and Sciences. The results showed that MCQ quizzes could be developed to tap into higher-order thinking skills when the stem of the MSQ is developed as a task or a scenario. The study also revealed that students performed better on MCQs that tap into low-level cognitive skills. This result can be attributed to the prevalent practice in Oman to develop assessment tools that tap only into a level of Bloom’s taxonomy, which involves the cognitive process of retrieving memorized information. The significance of the study lies in its pedagogical applications. The study calls for the use of teaching and assessment practices that target the development of higher-order thinking skills, which is aligned with the country’s strategic direction reflected in Oman vision 2040.

META-ANALYSIS: THE EFFECT OF THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY LEARNING MODEL ON STUDENTS HIGH ORDER THINKING SKILLS

This study aims to analyze the effect of the science, technology, and society (STS) learning model on students' higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) in science subjects. This influence is viewed from several aspects, namely aspects of higher-order thinking skills, education level, and dimensions of science studies. This influence is seen from the effect size (ES) in each article. This research uses the meta-analysis method of 20 (twenty) scientific articles from journals. The results of this study indicate that the STS learning model has a good effect on students' higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) in science learning. Aspects of high-order thinking skills critical thinking have the highest average effect size (ES), namely 1,84. Students at the high school level experienced higher order thinking skills development which was better than students at the junior and elementary school levels with an average ES of 1,77. The dimensions of the Biology Science study show a better effect if it is taught with the community technology science (STS) model with an average effect size (ES) of 1,70.

ANALYSIS OF NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT OF HOTS-BASED MATHEMATICS TEACHING MATERIAL IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

One of the 2013 curriculum transformation elements in elementary schools is strengthening the learning process and familiarizing the development of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) for students. This needs to be supported by teaching materials to support HOTS-based learning.This research aims to analyze the need for HOTS-based mathematics teaching materials in elementary schools. This research uses a descriptive approach. The subjects of this research were fourth-grade students of public elentary school in Tunjungan Blora area. The data collected in this research uses observation sheets, interviews, and document studies. Observations and interviews were carried out to teachers and fourth-grade students. Otherwise, the document studies were carried out on learning resources used in mathematics learning. The validity test data was conducted by using triangulation techniques. The results showed that: first, the characteristics of mathematics teaching materials used in elementary schools of Blora Regency have not described the HOTS material. Second, the need for teachers shows that the problems faced by teachers in learning mathematics have limited learning resources. Third, the student's need toward teaching material products is shown by the low interest of students in learning mathematics. Fourth, students have not been invited to think critically in learning mathematics.

Teachers’ Learning Communities for Developing High Order Thinking Skills—A Case Study of a School Pedagogical Change

This study deals with an elementary school that is undergoing a process of pedagogical change. The teachers understood that their weak point was excessive use of teaching based on memorization rather than developing high-order thinking (HOT) skills. The school therefore established teachers’ learning communities for peer learning and designing learning tasks that encourage the development of HOT skills. Quantitative and qualitative research tools were used in this study as a formative assessment. The data included learning tasks and interviews with teachers. The findings indicate an increase in the expression of critical thinking and the cognitive levels of application, analysis, and synthesis. The national test scores indicate an increase in students’ performance in most subjects. It appears that educators recognize the need for a transition from teaching that emphasize memorizing information to methods that develop students’ thinking skills and independent learning and initiated a successful pedagogical change.

An effort to train the biological computation skill and teach animal phenetic taxonomy to pre-service biology teacher

Computational biology skills for studying phenetic taxonomy is inseparable from learning outcomes of Animal Systematics Course. Pre-service biology teachers are expected to have computational biology skills, which can support further study in bioinformatics. This study was aimed to train computational biology skills and evaluate learning outcomes of phenetic taxonomy material. Phenetic taxonomy practicum was held online and assignments were given as mini-projects. Indicators of biological computation skills were evaluated using ntsys 2.2 software and analysis of resulting dendograms based on synapomorphy, automorphy, and apomorphy. Respondents consisted of three classes contained 84 students who programmed Animal Systematics Course. Computational biology skills were quantified based on self-assessment questionnaire while learning outcomes were evaluated based on mini-project assessment. Data were analyzed using descriptive quantitative method. Results indicated that mastery of computational biology for phenetic taxonomy was very good, as supported by students’ ability to use Ntsys software of 86.04%, dendogram analysis of 83.33% or categorized as good. In addition, learning outcomes of phenetic taxonomy were classified as good with average score of 77.7 ± 4.17. Evaluation of qualitative assessment data showed that computational biology skills supports the development of higher-order thinking skills (data synthesis, analysis, and evaluation) of pre-service biology teachers.

Taking critical thinking, creativity and grit online.

Technology has the potential to facilitate the development of higher-order thinking skills in learning. There has been a rush towards online learning by education systems during COVID-19; this can therefore be seen as an opportunity to develop students’ higher-order thinking skills. In this short report we show how critical thinking and creativity can be developed in an online context, as well as highlighting the importance of grit. We also suggest the importance of heuristic evaluation in the design of online systems to support twenty-first century learning.

EXAMINING HIGHER ORDER THINKING IN INDONESIAN LOWER SECONDARY MATHEMATICS CLASSROOMS

Indonesian students’ poor performance in the mathematics test of PISA 2015 prompted the decision by the Ministry of Education of Indonesia to pay more attention to the integration of higher-order thinking (HOT) in the curricula starting in 2018. This new regulation emphasizes the need to have a shared understanding of HOT in mathematics on many levels, such as curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment, and among students, teachers and policy makers. This study aims to examine HOT in Indonesian lower secondary mathematics classrooms by assessing students’ ability to demonstrate HOT skills through an open-ended mathematics problem, and by exploring teachers’ views of HOT skills through semi-structured interviews. It involved 372 ninth-grade students and six mathematics teachers from six lower secondary schools in Jakarta and Palembang. The findings show that most students could construct the mathematical model but experienced difficulty in transferring knowledge into new contexts, in applying creative thinking, and with information literacy skills. Besides, some of the teachers were familiar with the concept of HOT, but some viewed HOT as skills for talented students, or HOT problems having a high level of difficulty and long storylines. The knowledge of existing teaching strategies, familiarity with HOT problems, and colleague-support are needed to improve the development of HOT skills in the mathematics classroom.

AN EVALUATION OF THE CONCEPT INSTRUCTION PROCESS IN THE CONTEXT OF “KNOW, UNDERSTAND, DO” DIMENSIONS

Kavram öğretimi öğrencinin bilgiyi yapılandırmasını ve “anlam oluşturmasını” sağlayan önemli bir uygulamadır. Ancak geleneksel olarak, eğitim programı ve öğretim tasarımları daha çok iki boyutludur ve öğrencilerin “bilme” ve “yapabilmelerine” odaklanmıştır. Oysa, “anlama boyutu” bilginin yapılandırılması ve üst düzey düşünme becerilerinin gelişimi için önemlidir. Bu nedenle çalışma kavram öğretimi sürecinin Erickson (2007) tarafından sunulan “bil, anla, yap” boyutları bağlamında öğrenci gelişimine katkısının değerlendirilmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır. Araştırmada nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden durum çalışması kullanılmıştır. Seçilen kavramların öğretimi 16 ders saatinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma Adana ilinin merkez ilçelerinden birinde, bir devlet ilkokulunda yürütülmüştür. Çalışmaya on üçü erkek, sekizi kız olmak üzere toplam 21 ilkokul dördüncü sınıf öğrencisi katılmıştır. Öğrencilerdeki gelişim “düzey belirleme kontrol listeleri” ile izlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, kavram öğretiminin “bil, anla, yap” boyutlarında bilgiyi yapılandırma sürecine katkı sağladığı, ancak anlama boyutunda diğer boyutlara göre daha fazla gelişim olduğu belirlenmiştir. Anla boyutunda; nedenini açıklama, sınıflandırma, ayırt etme, soru sorma, özelliklerini gösterme davranışların edinmesinde katkısı olduğu bulgusuna ulaşılmıştır.