This document discusses integrating higher-order thinking skills into middle and high school math classes. It provides examples of how students can demonstrate conceptual understanding through creating their own math problems and solutions using digital tools like videos, posters, and animations. The document advises that teachers allow students to struggle productively, explore concepts, and create multiple representations of their understanding in order to develop higher-order thinking skills beyond just memorizing steps. Special thanks are given to a teacher who has implemented these strategies in their classroom.

1. Integrating Higher-Order
Thinking Skills into
Middle and High School Math
clifmims.com

2. Clif Mims
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ID: clifmims
Join my PLN and let’s learn together.
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3. Instructional Design
and Technology
Certificate
Technology Integration
Graduate Degrees
Library Sciences Program
Instructional Design & Technology
idt.memphis.edu

4. MartinInstitute.org

5. All materials are available online:
bit.ly/mims147

6. What kinds of lessons, activities,
assignments, etc. would a visitor to
your classroom observe?

7. It’s not about the technology.
It’s about learning.

8. Images from
http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy

9. Images from http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy

10. Images from http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy

11. How Do Students
Describe Our Math Classes?

12. Student Voices
“I don’t know why we have to learn math. The
only place you use it is at school…what’s the
point?”
Sierra
9th Grade

13. Student Voices
“I’m always scared in that class…either your
answer is wrong or it’s right and I’m always
worrying that mine is wrong.”
Crystal
8th Grade

14. Student Voices
“All we ever do in there is work on problems.
Everyday we have to do about 20 more and if we
don’t finish in class we just have to do them for
homework.”
Ricardo
8th Grade

15. Student Voices
“Math is easy. All you have to do is memorize
the steps…don’t really have to think about it
much.”
Derek
6th Grade

16. What Advice Would You Offer Future
Teachers about Integrating HOTS?

17. Some Advice I’d Share
• Conceptual Understanding
– Could potentially lead to increased problem
solving abilities.

18. Some Advice I’d Share
• Design Opportunities for Students to “Create”
– Highest Bloom’s Level
– Produce products
– More than just repeating memorized steps

19. Some Advice I’d Share
• Student-Created Problems and Solutions
– Teach classmates, younger classes, or parents
– Ability to teach requires high level of
understanding
– PowerPoint, video, Glogster, Blabberize,
Xtranormal

20. Some Advice I’d Share
• Let Students Explore
– Instruction booklets for video games have gotten
smaller. Learn to play through exploration.

21. Some Advice I’d Share
• Allow Students to Struggle.
– Careful Not to Always Rescue them.

22. Some Advice I’d Share
• Informative Assessment

23. Reggie

24. Digital Media in the Classroom

26. Example Digital Poster
• Student Created Problem and Tutorial

28. VoiceThread Example
• Triangle Scavenger Hunt

30. Examples of Animated Video
• Student Created Problem and Tutorial
• The First Derivative of a Function

31. Tool Time

34. Audio Examples
• First Day of Preschool
• Dear Mrs. Estep…

35. The preposterously easy way to
post everything online using email.

36. Posterous Examples
• Let’s Post Something!
• Photos, .Doc, .Ppt, Audio, Video, and more
• Can use embed codes
• Has RSS
• Teaching & Learning with Web 2.0 (Group Blog)

37. Let’s Be Real

38. Follow-up Discussion
Discuss using these kinds of activities and projects
in the classroom.
• Are there any benefits?
• Are there any disadvantages?
• How realistic would this be in your teaching
situation?
• How do you think the students would react to
being assessed with these kinds of strategies?

39. Although teachers may not be comfortable
using technology it is important to consider
allowing students to use it to communicate
their understanding as they are often more
naturally able to more fully express themselves
with digital media.

40. Related Resources
The following workshop resources may be
helpful.
• Multiple Representations of Mathematic
Understanding
• Multiple Representations of Language Arts
Understanding

41. Special Thanks to
Ryan Graham
Kannapolis Middle School

42. It’s not about the technology.
It’s about learning.

43. Presentation materials and
many other teacher resources
available at
http://clifmims.com/pd.

44. Clif Mims
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ID: clifmims
Join my PLN and let’s learn together.
clifmims.com/pln

45. clifmims.com/ccl