Higher Order Thinking Skills
in The Classroom
(H.O.T. Skills)
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
HOSTED BY:
SARAH REAMS
What is higher order thinking?

Higher order thinking essentially means thinking that
takes place in the higher-levels of the hierarchy of
cognitive processing.
The Griney Grollers Thinking
Skills Test
The griney
grollers
grandled in the
granchy
gak.
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?
The griney grollers
grangled in the granchy
gak.
5)
Place one 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?
Why Higher Level Thinking is
Important



In addition to content (the what of student’s
learning and achievement) we also need to
be concerned with student’s thinking skills or
mental processes( the how in learning).
Thinking provides the software for the mind.
Higher level thinking allows student’s memory
to be used effectively.
Planning for Productive Thinking and Learning
by Treffinger and Feldhusen, 1998,p.24
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 illdefined problems and win. Problemsolving ability is the cognitive passport
of the future
(Martinez, 1998).
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
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.
Six Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Analysis
2. Comprehension 5. Synthesis
3. Application
6. Evaluation
1.
Knowledge
4.
Bloom’s Taxonomy versus
Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Bloom classifies learning behaviors
according to six levels ranging from
Remembering, which focuses upon
recitation of facts, to Creating, which
requires synthesizing 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 level…the recall of information.
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 Bloom’s Taxonomy
of Learning Objectives while divergent
questions relate to the latter three levels.
1
Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy
Level: Remembering
 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
Examples of
Remembering
Level Questions
•“What is the biggest city in Japan?”
•“Who wrote War and Peace?”
•“How many ounces in a pound?
2
Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy
Level: Understanding
 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
Examples of
Understanding
Level Questions
“How would you illustrate
the water cycle?”
“What is the main idea of
this story?”
“If I put these three blocks
together, what shape do
they form?”
3
Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy
Level: Applying
 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
Examples of
Applying Level
Questions
“How would you use your
knowledge of latitude and
longitude to locate
Greenland?”
“What happens when you
multiply each of these
numbers by nine?”
“If you had eight inches of
water in your basement and
a hose, how would you use
the hose to get the water
out?”
4
Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy
Level: Analyzing
 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
Examples of
Analyzing Level
Questions
“What are some of the
factors that cause
rust?”
“Why did the United
States go to war with
England?”
“Why do we call all
these animals
mammals?”
5
Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy
Level: Evaluating

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
Examples of
Evaluating Level
Questions
“What do you think about
your work so far?”
“What story did you like
the best?”
“Do you think that the
pioneers did the right
thing?”
“Why do you think
Benjamin Franklin is so
famous?”
6
Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy
Level: Creating

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
Examples of
Creating Level
Questions
“How would you assemble
these items to create a
windmill?”
“How would your life be
different if you could breathe
under water?”
“Construct a tower one foot
tall using only four blocks.”
“Put these words together to
form a complete sentence.”
H.O.T.S. in Action
Activities
Taxonomy Level
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Analyzing
Evaluating
Creating
Topic
Verb
Task/Activity
Questions in a Classroom
1.
The majority of questions asked in a classroom come
from the teacher (85%).
2.
Research on the types of questions that teachers
ask shows that about 60% require only recall of facts
(Remembering), 20 percent require students to
think, and 20 percent are procedural in nature.
3.
Questioning is a type of formative assessment, and
effective questions should provide data that helps
guide instruction.
Questions in a Classroom cont’d

The major types of questions fall into four categories:

Managerial: questions which keep the classroom operations
moving;

Rhetorical: questions used to emphasize a point or to
reinforce an idea or statement;

Closed: questions used to check retention or to focus
thinking on a particular point; and

Open: questions used to promote discussion or student
interaction.
(Source: P. E. Blosser. (1975). How to Ask the Right Questions. National Science Teachers
Association)
H.O.T.S. Questions

It is recommended that at least three H.O.T.S.
questions be incorporated into every lesson
that you teach.

This will demonstrate that you are presenting
your students with challenging questions and
meeting the needs of your advanced students.

H.O.T.S. questions can, and should, be used
with all levels of student learners regardless of
grade level or ability level.
Creating H.O.T.S. Questions

EQUATION:
Question Stem
+ What you want them to know
Higher Order Thinking Question
H.O.T.S. in Action
Questions
Taxonomy Level
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Analyzing
Evaluating
Creating
Topic
Question
Assessments in the Classroom

There are six main types of assessments:
1.
Diagnostic
2.
Formative
3.
Summative
4.
Norm-referenced
5.
Criterion-referenced
6.
Interim/Benchmarked
What type of assessment(s) could have HOTS easily
incorporated?
Types of Assessment Questions

There are five types of questions:
1.
Multiple Choice
2.
Constructed Response
3.
Extended Constructed Response
4.
Technology-Enhanced
5.
Performance Task
6.
What type of question(s) could have HOTS easily
incorporated?
H.O.T.S. in Action
Assessment
Taxonomy Level
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Analyzing
Evaluating
Creating
Type of
Assessment
Question or Example