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Why are higher order thinking skills important?
Knowledge is not static. It grows. It changes. It’s flexible. There are many levels and dimensions to thinking. People can think conceptually, make assumptions, draw inferences, consider implications, argue different points of view, etc. Developing higher order thinking skills is like moving beyond one dimension, fact-and- recite thinking, to thinking in 3-D.
Can students learn to be higher order thinkers?
Yes and no. The ability to use higher order thinking skills is partly developmental. While the average first grader has the ability to learn the letters and sounds of the alphabet, it would be silly to expect them to be able to reflect on the development of the alphabet and analyze its impact on western society over the past 2000 years. As your brain matures, it develops the ability to think at higher levels. Piaget (remember him from Chapter 12?) believed that thinking develops in stages, and that around the age of 12-16 the brain is mature enough to think critically. While the brain at that age is capable of thinking critically, critical thinking doesn’t happen automatically. Students must constantly push and challenge their brains in order to develop the ability to think critically. PRODUCT PREVIEW How are higher order thinking skills demonstrated? Knowledge. Why do you suppose the first level of Bloom’s hierarchy of thinking skills is knowledge ? This is arguably the most important component of critical thinking. Gathering knowledge is critical, because it’s impossible to think if you have nothing to think about. Knowledge is the foundation of higher order thinking skills, so gather a lot of it. Read fiction and nonfiction books, study a variety of subjects, study maps, get a hobby, get up to date on developments in science and tech, listen to news and political commentary. Cut down on reality T.V. and celebrity gossip. You are not too young to gather knowledge about the world. Be an active learner. Comprehension. To comprehend means to grasp the meaning of something or the importance of a fact. For example, the exclamatory sentence: “OMG, she has no clue!” read literally means that the subject does not have the information she needs to solve a problem or a mystery . However, your comprehension skills tell you that there is an alternate meaning (perhaps several) to this statement. Comprehension is on the lower level of the thinking skills hierarchy, but still an important step toward critical thinking. Active reading, active listening, taking-notes, and outlining chapter textbooks are study skills that improve comprehension. Application. What good is knowledge if you don’t use it? The application of knowledge means to use what you know to understand situations and solve problems . To be a successful student, you must apply knowledge to create solutions and solve problems. For example, if you know a little about history, apply that knowledge to try to understand what is going on in the world now. Use what you know about science to understand the environment, climate change, or other current issues in science.
THE 21st CENTURY STUDENT’S GUIDE TO STUDY SKILLS 231
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