The Teacher and the School Curriculum

Dr. Narcisa R. Figuerres

Submitted by: Ocampo, Leslie S.

BSED- Math 3A

MODULE 6
LAYING DOWN THE CURRICULUM PLAN :
DEVELOPING HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS
 MODULE 6

LAYING DOWN THE CURRICULUM PLAN :

DEVELOPING HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS (HOTS)

I. INTRODUCTION
Higher order thinking skills is a concept that notes on the different types of
learning and on the difference in the amount of cognitive processing. It is a
way to help students think and not just memorize and also improve their
cognitive ability. They can make critical interpretations and demonstrate high
levels of insight and sophistication in their thinking. They are able to make
inferences , draw relevant and insightful conclusions , use their knowledge in
new situations and relate their thinking to other situations and to their own
background knowledge.

II. LEARNING OUTCOMES

After completing this Module , pre-service teachers shall be able to :
1. gain in-depth understanding on the nature and importance of higher order
thinking skills ;
2. demonstrate knowledge in developing higher order thinking skills; and
3. accomplish the different learning tasks related to the topic.

III. TOPIC AND KEY CONCEPTS

A. The Nature of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)
1. Higher order thinking is thinking on a level that is higher than
memorizing facts or telling something back to someone exactly the
way it was told to you. When a person memorizes and gives back the
information without having to think about it , we call that rote
memory.
2. Higher order thinking therefore , takes thinking to higher levels than
restating the facts. HOT requires that we do something with the facts.
We must understand them , infer from them , connect them to other
facts and concepts , categorize them , manipulate them , put them
together in new ways and apply them as we seek new solutions to new
problems.
3. Higher order thinking skills are a series of important competencies that
individuals can utilize in order to improve learning progress and
critical thinking. Those who employ higher order thinking skills
understand how to analyze and evaluate complex information ,
categorize , manipulate and connect facts , troubleshoot for solutions ,
understand concepts , connections and big picture thinking , problem
solve and develop insightful reasoning.
 B. Classification , Levels , Description and How to develop Higher
Order Thinking Skills

Classificatio Level Description How can we develop this skill?

n
• Prepare lessons that
Inferential Formulatin • Inference is defined require students to
Thinking g as an idea which is observe many things in
Inferences based on the environment.
observations. • After recording
• To infer means to observations about a
deduce or presume. particular object or
• It refers to the ability situation , let them
to form an idea , formulate inferences
opinion or a • Train them in forming
conclusion after a their own ideas for as
series of reasoning long as they are based on
and speculating their own observation.
outcomes of a
situation

Observing • The ability to

Relationshi observe similarities
ps and differences in • Start with activities that
objects , events , calls for comparisons.
situations in the • Ask them to put things
environment is closely related into
essential in sorting distinct group.
out information.
• One must be able to
observe relevant
from irrelevant data.
• The skill in
classifying enables
one to make accurate
observations and
conclusions.
• Lessons that are activity-
Drawing • Conclusion is a centered always end up
Conclusion statement arrived at with summary statement
s and based on sufficient that expresses what they
Generalizat observations or have learned.
ions evidences. • It may not be a definite
• A number of related conclusion right away
or similar but after a number of
conclusions may class activities directed
serve as a basis in toward the same problem
formulating or situation , the
generalization. concluding statement
• Generalization is a becomes easy to
big idea/concept formulate.
derived from results
of investigation/
 discussion

Classification Level Description How can we develop this

skill?

Critical Analysis • An analytical mind is • Give students

Thinking continuously problem situations.
examining and judging The problems must
people , events , be simple and within
situations and their ability to solve.
conditions. • As they offer
• It does not stop solutions to the
inquiring and searching presented problem
for relevant and reliable situations , continue
information. to ask questions of
• One who is capable of the “why” and “how”
analyzing observations type.
and arriving at own • Always remember
interpretation can that competence in
easily make safe analyzing can be
decisions. developed through a
tactful questioning
during class
discussions.

Evaluation • Evaluation as a higher • Plan lessons which

order thinking skill will create situations
involves judgment. or problems wherein
• Evidences gathered are the students will have
weigh carefully and to judge which is the
depending on the best choice among a
standard used , a number of probable
decision is made. answers.
• The act of collecting
and sorting out
observations is merely
assessing the situation
or event. Subjecting the
information to some
appraisal techniques
result to what we call
evaluation.
Classification Level Description How can we develop this
skill?

Creative Synthesis • Synthesis means • Present problems

Thinking putting together where they will be
parts to make it led to solve by
*Creative whole. making use of
thinking • Creative thinking separate parts or
involves the use works well in alternatives.
of one’s combining simple • Motivate them to
imagination in ideas or elements invent a favorite
order to come into larger concepts game and how it
up with new and generalizations. can be won.
ideas. • Inventors possess • Recycle from
this high level discards.
*Creative thinking skill. • Present an
thinkers are equipment or
capable of device that fails to
coming up with function.
original ways
of doing things.

Flexibility • It is the ability to • In daily lessons ,

generate many always ask “How
alternatives rather else can we do it?.
than being tied to Students will be
old ways of doing interested to
things. suggest their own
• A flexible mind is technique or
ready to adopt new procedures.
ways if the
traditional • Encourage them to
methodologies fail. always think of
• A flexible mind alternatives , be it
considers a number in terms of
of choices and procedure or choice
arrives at own of product to buy.
decision.
• It is open to other
ideas which it can
 try and improve on.

Classification Level Description How can we develop this skill?

Combination of Problem • A problem • Problem solving as a higher

Thinking Skills Solving originates from a order thinking skill includes
situation that needs the following steps :
an answer or a 1. Identifying a problem
solution situation
2. Collecting data
3. Formulating hypothesis
4. Testing the likely
hypothesis
5. Analyzing the data
gathered
6. Formulating a
conclusion or a solution

Decision • A thorough analysis • Making a decision includes

Making and evaluation of the following steps :
recorded 1. Identifying a goal
observation and 2. Collecting relevant data
data can serve as the 3. Formulating
solid basis for a alternatives
decision. 4. Analyzing the
alternatives
5. Choosing the best
alternatives
 IV. LEARNING TASKS

Learning Task No. 1

Direction : Apply in Practice

INFERENTIAL THINKING.
Apply the concepts and processes of inferential thinking .

Cite as many inferences as you can which you have formulated in a day. Mention the
observations which would serve as your evidence.

You’re about to enter a classroom. It’s 8:57, and there is lots of chatter coming from

inside the room.

➔ You infer that there’s a 9:00 class that hasn’t started yet.

Harry’s face turned red and he started to yell, balling his hands up into shaking fists.

➔ It’s not to hard to infer what Harry’s feeling here. From the evidence of his face,

voice, and hands, we infer that he’s really angry about something, though we don’t

yet know what it is.

Weather forecast says 80% chance of thunderstorms.

➔ It’s a good idea to bring an umbrella

There are over 40 million volumes in the university library.

➔ They probably have a copy of Plato’s Republic in circulation

My throat is sore and my nose is running.

➔ I have probably caught a cold

Learning Task No. 2

Direction : Apply in Practice

CRITICAL THINKING.

Apply the concepts and processes of critical thinking

 Give examples of answers given by students that are indicative of an analytical mind or a

product of analysis.

Describe a time when you were given a problem without a lot of information. How did you handle

this situation?

Answer: “In my current role, I am often tasked with developing better processes in our workplace. My

first step is to look at our database and see if there are other processes we’ve used previously. One

particular process included entering information into both a cloud-based database and a spreadsheet. I

found that we weren’t always updating the info in both places. I also saw that the database could export

to a spreadsheet. I brought this up to my manager, and now all the information only gets entered into the

database so that when we use the information for projects, it’s the most accurate.”

How do you use advantages and disadvantages to make a decision?

Answer:“I try to make this process as simple as I can. In general, if the advantages outweigh the

disadvantages, then we will usually move forward with that decision. However, I do try to take this to

another level. For example, there have been a few instances where the pros outweighed the cons by one

advantage. So I took a deeper dive into what this decision could cost us if we moved forward with it. I

also looked at other costs outside of financials and found that this decision would end up costing us more

in the long-term and could end up a detriment to our company. So we chose to forgo the decision and

ultimately found a better solution to our current issues.”

Give an example of a time when you had to take a risk to achieve your desired goal. What was your

approach, and what was the outcome?

Answer:“I recently had a situation like this. My team needed to fix an issue with our company’s website.

Our contact page wouldn’t load, and we explored all the reasons why this could happen. Normally we

don’t deviate from our usual processes, but I saw something in our code that just seemed off. I spoke up

about it and said that all we needed to do was add a semicolon to a couple of lines. At this point, we just

needed to fix the website so that we didn’t lose any customers. So we tried it, and it worked. Our team is

now backtracking so that we know more about why this happened. Normally we would have done some

tests first, but we had to act fast, and it paid off.”

Learning Task No. 3

Direction : Apply in Practice

CRITICAL THINKING.

Apply the concepts and processes of critical thinking.

Is curiosity a proof of an analytical mind? Cite examples based from your observation and/

or own experience.

Curiosity is a proof of an analytical mind as they’ve said, strong analytical thinkers are always curious.

Curiosity allows us to embrace unchartered territories, ask questions, and dig a little deeper. Being

inquisitive opens a world of possibilities and seeks rare ideas that a lack of curiosity would just pass by.

Curiosity is key to learning. In fact, studies show that, when we’re curious about a subject, we are much

more likely to remember information we learned about that subject. 1 If you’re an educational

professional—or are considering earning a teaching degree and entering the classroom—knowing how to

ignite student curiosity can help you improve learning outcomes.

What makes children want to learn? According to research, it's the joy of exploration -- a hidden force

that drives learning, critical thinking, and reasoning. We call this ability curiosity, and we recognize it in

children when we see them exploring their environment, devouring books and information, asking

questions, investigating concepts, manipulating data, searching for meaning, connecting with people and

nature, and seeking new learning experiences.

The Heart of Lifelong Learning

Most teachers understand that curiosity supercharges learning. But they also know that many students can

achieve high grades without being curious -- by understanding the system of test-taking and dutifully

doing their homework. Curious children often spend a great deal of time reading and acquiring knowledge

because they sense a gap between what they know and what they want to know -- not because they are

motivated by grades. In fact, when kids are in curiosity's grip, they often forget the immediate goals at

hand because they are preoccupied with learning.

Learning Task No. 4

Direction : Apply in Practice

CREATIVE THINKING.

Apply the concepts and processes of creative thinking.

Design a class activity that will test the creativity of your students.

Interview or Role Play

Members of the class take the part or perspective of historical figures, authors, or other

characters and must interact from their perspective. Breakdown the role play into specific

tasks to keep students organized and to structure them so that the content you want to

cover is addressed. Preparation work can be assigned for outside of class, so clearly

communicating your expectations is essential. Advantages include motivation to solve a

problem or to resolve a conflict for the character, providing a new perspective through

which students can explore or understand an issue and the development of skills, such as

writing, leadership, coordination, collaboration and research.

 Learning Task No. 5

Direction : Applying in Practice

COMBINATION OF THINKING SKILLS

Apply the concepts and processes of combination of thinking skills

Cite some problems that occur almost daily in school. How do you solve them?

Some school problems that occur almost daily:

• finding schoolwork difficult, or having problems concentrating in class if others are noisy and

disruptive

• exam stress

• tricky relationships with friends and friendship groups

• not getting on with teachers, or feeling like you are labelled as 'trouble'

• bullying

How to solve?

The easiest management problems to solve are ones that do not happen in the first place!

Even before the school year begins, you can minimize behavior problems by arranging

classroom furniture and materials in ways that encourage a focus on learning as much as

possible. Later, once school begins, you can establish procedures and rules that support a

focus on learning even more.

Establishing classroom rules

Unlike procedures or routines, rules express standards of behavior for which individual

students need to take responsibility. Although they are like procedures in that they

sometimes help in insuring the efficiency of classroom tasks, they are really about

encouraging students to be responsible for learning and showing respect for each other.

• Treat others with courtesy and politeness.

• Make sure to bring required materials to class and to activities.

• Be on time for class and other activities.

• Listen to the teacher and to others when they are speaking.

• Follow all school rules.