Higher Order Thinking Activities

Higher order thinking activities help learners move past the level of just recalling knowledge, and into higher order thinking levels; such as reflecting and evaluating knowledge and information.  As a teacher it is crucial to give these types of opportunities to your learners to allow them to be able to enhance their knowledge and skills and get the most out of their education.

Activities such as PMI tables or SWOT tables or Debono’s six thinking hats allow learners to see different perspectives on the topic or issue.  They can identify all aspects of the issue and this allows them to evaluate the issue by taking into account all the information.  Such as a PMI table:

E-Learning
Plus	Minus	Interesting
Caters for variety of learning styles	Need access to computers and internet for most tools	Countless tools available to use
Interesting and engaging, fun and creative		Tools are available that do everything

Such as a SWOT table:

Using E-Learning in the Classroom

Strengths: ü  Accommodates for variety of learners ü  Interesting and Engaging ü  Fun and Creative ü  New and Inventive ü  Vast variety of applications ü  Tools are available to do everything	Weaknesses: û  Need access to computers and the internet û  Lots of distracting applications on the internet for students to get off task
Opportunities: ü  To develop essential future skills ü  To communicate with an audience (outside classroom) ü  To allow classrooms to be more interactive with each other even if students are in different classes.	Threats: û  Safety – if the appropriate safety measures are not in place anyone can access the information the student put on the internet û  Students need to be advised about what is safe to put on the net and what is not.

Such as DeBono’s sic thinking hats:

Mobile Phones in the Classroom
Hat Colour	Perspective	Your ideas
Black (Negative)	Judgement: What is wrong with this? Why will this not work? Is this safe? Can this be done?	Using mobile phones in a classroom can be detrimental to the very important and valuable learning time our learners have. Mobile phones can be used to send text messages and emails. These could be full of inappropriate comments or off task things. This means the learning time will not be for the best interest of the learners. Mobiles have been associated with cancer and disease. This can have a huge impact on learners and their capability to learn and their life. Mobiles have been used to bully people and mobiles can have access to many applications that are used for bully and inappropriate discussions as well. Learners have the right to learn in a safe environment. This can affect this right to the students. Mobiles can be a great distraction and have harmful effects on learners, especially when the learners do not have the maturity to use the technology for positive and meaningful ways towards their learning.
Blue (Process)	The Process: Where are we now? What is the next step? Where have we been? What sort of thinking is needed?	Will learning managers have to be trained in the use of mobile phones and tools -how will they be monitored to ensure that they are only used for learning during class ( will this affect the rights of students privacy ) -what laws may be affected by the use of such tools - implementation of school wide networks and costing - how would parents view this and what proof of work would be shown in using phones - training of student learner for correct usage (time wastage
Green (Creative)	Creativity: What new ideas are possible with this? What is my suggestion for success? Can I create something new?	It is clear that technology has advanced incredibly and because of technology there are many new things that we have probably not even thought of. In saying that, if mobile phones were to be allowed in the school, like restrictions on certain websites within schools, this may also be a possible action which may be taken to prevent access to internet in the school area and only allowing access to other programs. This may prevent bullying over the internet or even stop students from disengaging in lessons as they would prefer to be on the internet.
Red (Intuitive)	Feelings: How do I feel about this? What do I like about the idea? What don't I like about the idea?	The feelings hat is something that everybody does use when thinking about mobile phones in education. As a teacher / learning manager, how do I feel about mobile phones being used in MY class? As a principal, should I allow mobile phones in my school? As a parent, should I spend the money on a mobile phone for my child? As a student, man it would be awesome if I could do my school work on my phone! Depending on how you were brought up you may feel that some new technologies may take away from the human experience of interacting with other humans face to face. You may feel that the mobile is just a matter of moving forward with evolution. Excitement about being able to easily connect with other people. Fear that we are all so easy to contact and so much of our personal information is available so easily and readily.
Yellow (Positive)	Benefits: What are the good points? Why can this be successful? Why is this good thing?	Learning with technology can greatly increase the depth students learn, when it is implemented effectively into their learning experiences. Mobiles have great potential with the access to internet, email, application such as graphs, tools (checking if a surface is level) and much more! Students have great motivation towards technology and are resistant towards teachers and parents when this technology is taken away or not allowed. As a teacher, if the technology is allowed to be used to further deepen their learning, the students should be more motivated to participate and learn. They will want to learn! Students can have instant access to internet to research deeper on topics and assignment concepts. By using mobiles as a tool for learning it can help us, as teachers motivate the learners and assist in shaping the students knowledge and allowing them to internalise the new knowledge and information.
White (Objective)	Information: What information do I have? What are the facts? What information do I need? What do I want to KNOW?	Mobile phones have a wide range of uses which can include being used in a classroom if used in the right manner. There are numerous different applications that can be used to teach children everyday basics, such as grammar, spelling, punctuation and even maths. Children can become distracted with mobile phones, going off track of what the class is actually learning. What is needed to be found out is whether mobile phones are a constructive way of teaching in the classroom and how do we know what year levels would be most beneficial to this type of technology?

As you can see by using these activities they can create opportunities to access even greater knowledge.  These activities provide organisation of the knowledge and skills and allow learners to see each perspective easily.  As a teacher you will need to provide scaffolding to make the task clear.  Talking through with them what each part should include and giving them hints and clues to unlock more depth into the discussion.  These higher order thinking activities are easy and effective!  So use them!!