The document discusses higher order thinking skills. It defines them as skills like creative and critical thinking, analysis, problem solving, and visualization. These skills require commitment to develop and go beyond simple learning of facts. The document also discusses the importance of higher order thinking for progress, explains how to develop these skills through practice and exercising different parts of the brain, and provides tips for teaching higher order thinking skills through action learning rather than focusing too much on terminology.

1. HIGHER ORDER THINKING
Skills which will Serve You Though out Your Life as
You Think Critically & Creatively.
What are Higher Order Thinking Skills?
Thinking is a conscious act that requires space and time. You do a lot more thinking
that you perhaps realize, simply in the way that you carry out your everyday life.
Deciding what clothes to wear, and remembering to take your keys with you when
you leave the house require conscious thought. Mastering the skills of higher order
thinking requires your commitment and dedication.
Simple thinking skills include things like learning facts and learning how to
remember these. Higher Order Thinking Skills include skills such as creative and
critical thinking, analysis, problem solving and visualization. The term first became
popular with the 1956 publication of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
which set out an educational reform that included Higher Order Thinking Skills.
Today such skills are also commonly referred to as Advanced Thinking Skills.
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2. In his reform, Bloom categorized thinking skills into 6 groups listed in order of
complexity:
Knowledge
Memorize how to do a task.
acquisition:
Question, discuss and explain how to do a
Comprehension:
task.
Application: Extract and transfer this knowledge
Categorize, characterize, compare and
Analysis:
contrast.
Synthesis: Collating and creating.
Evaluation: Prioritization, relevancy and judgment.
By first becoming aware of new knowledge and committing this to memory we
are then able to understand and apply this knowledge. By further interpreting,
deciphering, questioning, and critiquing such facts and understanding we are
able to broaden our mental outlook so as to recreate something new and
original by assessing and evaluating the benefits and importance of doing so.
This is the skill of higher order thinking; a skill which I prefer to define as the
passion and purpose with which to solve problems.
Why are Higher Order Thinking Skills Important?
Higher order thinking is imperative to progress. No explorer ever discovered
anything new by following in the footsteps of those who had been there before. If
lower order thinking skills seek to learn and commit to memory knowledge and know
how that somebody else has already acquired then Higher Order Thinking allows for
the interpretation and reconsideration of such information so that other application
may be used and alternative conclusions drawn.
This exposes further fields of knowledge and
know how which may again, be transferred,
reapplied and collated to create a new and
improved version.
If you are committed to learning, growing and
constant evolution then it is vital that you commit
yourself to improving your Higher Order
Thinking Skills.
Thinking is at the heart of all learning. Thinking
makes things that have yet to be perceived
possible, thinking facilitates and enhances our
ability to perform and produce and pass on such
vital information to others who would then do the
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3. same. This is progress.
If the purpose of this web site is to help you improve and strengthen your advanced
thinking skills and problem solving abilities then your purpose is to pass this
information on with passion.
Learning and knowledge is organic. Given the right climate it will grow and thrive.
Given how many problems our planet faces today the need for more people capable
of thinking at Higher Order levels is more important now than ever.
In this information age in which we live vital, life-saving skills are being lost. As the
generation gap widens the transfer of skills weakens. As more and more gadgets seek
to support our brain activity what affect does this have on our memory and powers of
recall.
Memorization is an essential Higher Order Thinking Skill. Without the ability to
memorize and recall information our ability to interpret, analyze and assess such
knowledge and know how is limited by its own lack of information. If we can collate
and combine our wider, collaborated understanding and experiences then so too will
we be equipped to generate solutions to the many problems we face.
Can you learn Higher Order Thinking Skills?
Contrary to popular belief, we all think or at least we have the ability to think, in the
same way. Much as our bodies develop as reflections of how we have lived our lives,
so too do our minds. A person who has been to the gym 3 times a week for the last 30
years will physically look very different from somebody whose lifestyle has involved a
visit to the MacDonald’s DriveThru just as frequently.
Your brain is much the same. If you want to improve your Higher Order Thinking
Skills then you need to give your brain a regular workout. In order to give your brain
a workout then there is something very important that you must know about your
training.
Again, to use the analogy of training your body rather than your mind, if you were to
lift the same weight every day in the same arm, never once using the other arm then,
you can see how you would very quickly develop a lop-sided body.
Now imagine your brain: Your brain consists of a left and right side. The left side of
your brain tends to deal with logic, reason, language and liner thinking. The right
side of your brain processes your creative, intuitive, imaginative and rhythmical
thoughts. If you spend all day, every day running through the same thoughts and
patterns of thinking then very quickly you are going to build up strength in this one
particular area of your brain. Soon it will become difficult to use your brain any
differently. Imagine, suddenly after many years switching that 10 kg weight to the
other arm… it would feel unbearably difficult to lift. You’d have to go back to using
smaller, lighter weights. You’d have to train each day to build up your strength;
concentrating on retaining strength in the first arm either whilst focusing your
attention on building up the weaker side. Eventually, and certainly if you’ve ever
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4. recovered from an accident or injury, you know that your strength would balance out
and your body would be in better shape than ever. It is with this mindset that you
must approach your Advance Thinking Training too.
It’s imperative that you begin to think radically differently, that you start to cross
examine evidence from a number of different sides, that you acquire skills such as
visualization to improve your powers of recall and that you understand how best to
think creatively and critically if you truly wish to master the skills of Higher Order
Thinking.
This web site is here to help you achieve this.
How do I teach Higher Order Thinking Skills?
Higher order thinking involves learning complex judgmental skills such as critical
thinking, creative thinking and problem solving. Because of this it is harder to teach.
Higher order thinking is much more ambiguous, rarely are answers right or wrong
making it subjective when tested or measured however, such skills are vital to all
further education and understanding how best to teach them can help you pass this
information on with the passion it
deserves….
…My Words of Wisdom:
Using words such as Higher Order
Thinking Skills or Advanced Thinking
Techniques only encourages those who
believe themselves to be incapable of such
skills to stop listening. Such descriptions
are intimidating, seemingly scientific and
daunting. They encourage people who
lack confidence or understanding to
assume such subjects as “out of their
league”. The truth is very different.
Everyone is more than capable when they
know how.
Learning happens in 4 stages. First we are
in a state of Unconscious Unconsciousness, when we are not aware of the subject,
neither are we aware that it exists. If you landed on this web site in this state then by
simply reading this article you have moved on to the next stage; Conscious
Unconsciousness. In this state we are aware of the subject but we don’t necessarily
know anything about it. During the next stage; Conscious Consciousness we are
aware and we have an understanding. We are able to apply our awareness if we think
about it. The final stage of Unconscious Consciousness is where we become unaware
of how aware we actually are. In other words we are able to apply this knowledge and
understanding without having to stop to think about it.
When teaching Advanced Thinking Techniques it is important that students are
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5. encouraged to use and adopt such skills before they become too aware of what they
actually are. In a situation where the student focuses too firmly on understanding the
terminology and technology of such brain activity he or she will merely be practicing
lower order thinking skills of memorization and understanding rather those of a
higher order.
The best way to acquire Higher Order Thinking Skills is through action learning and
practice. Having appreciated the participation, the pupil can then begin to acquire
theoretical knowledge too. Much like sport or music it’s much better to install a sense
of passion and pride in performing than to bore a beginner with theory!
Practice is what makes the performance perfect.
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6. BRAINSTORM & MIND MAP
The Key Components to Any Critical and Creative
Thinking Session - Learn the Basics.
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7. Brainstormingis an intese and inspired conversation with yourself or a
group of people. It is about creating a metaphorical storm in your head.
By brainstorming you are effectively jumbling-up all your existing
thought patterns and allowing new, creative, critical, ingenious,
ridiculous and righteous ideas to emerge. It is about engaging with your
brain so that you can think laterally and literally to explore the hidden
potential that exists within the realms of your imagination and
understanding.
The process was first popularized in 1953 by Alex Faickney Osborn in a book called
Applied Imagination. Osborn proposed that groups could double their creative
output with brainstorming and indeed some of the results produced are incredibly
inspiring.
A brainstorming exercise is a very fluid, engaging, intense and revealing experience.
It is the ideal way to approach solving a problem, reaching a decision or discovering
hidden opportunities.
How to brainstorm.
Brainstorming can either be
a solo or a group activity. If
you are working as part of a
team then it is a highly
productive and efficient way
to collaborate, communicate
and stimulate new ideas or
generate possible solutions.
It is imperative that you are
able to concentrate,
uninterrupted during a
brainstorming session.
The principles of
brainstorming are based on
stimulating both the left and
right hand sides of your
brain. During such a
thinking session your
thoughts will flow naturally
as you focus on them. Your
job is to observe these free
flowing thoughts so as to
later be able to form
judgment over them. For
this reason it is essential
that all brainstorming activities involve a pen and paper or electronic input device
that allows you to record your thoughts as they occur to you. This allows you to stand
back from them and take and objective view to summarize any brainstorming
session.
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8. Brainstorming commonly starts with a problem or scenario that needs a solution. By
taking the time to consider all aspects of such a situation the barnstormer opens up
the mental opportunity for new ideas to emerge.
To date no firm evidence exists to support the power of brainstorming however we
were able, using the Whether? Forecast™ way of working, to generate a patentable
solution to a problem which had been consuming a large research and development
team for two and a half years in under 15 minutes.
The power of combined, collaborative thinking is tremendous.
Mind Mapping.
Mind mapping is an excellent way of recording your thoughts. You can mind map
using a pen and paper and various types of mind mapping software do exist.
Tony Buzan was the first to conceptualize and name this way of recording thoughts
in his book Use Your Head. His company offer a very effective mind mapping
software platform called iMindMap which you can use to draw electronic maps. A
hand drawn map is just as effective.
A mind map is a spider-like diagram that emerges as you record each thought as it
occurs. The non-liner pictorial form of a mind-map encourages the use of your
creative brain whilst allowing a critical analysis to be observed. It literally is a map of
your mind as your thoughts emerge.
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9. Each mind map will be as unique as the person’s mind and the subject they are
brainstorming. It is up to you to practice and develop your own unique style.
The visual aspect of such a diagram is less important than the process you put your
mind through in order to draw one.
If you’re brain is the car and you are the driver then a mind map is simply the tracks
you leave on the road. By being able to look back and see where you’ve been you will
gain a much greater understanding of how best to get to where you want to go.
Learn how to brainstorm better by taking action. Practice is what makes perfect but it
is also important to remember that when you are brainstorming you can neither be
right or wrong. The situation simply is. The more you practice the easier and more
efficiently simple solution to your situations will emerge.
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