HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
• Present the assignment in a formal APA paper (APA 7).
• Historically, page lengths have varied from a few pages to 10-15 pages.
• There is no suggestion of a minimum or maximum page length; length will vary based on your topic.
• Please ensure that you fully complete the parameters mentioned below.
OVERVIEW
The week three content includes higher order thinking skills (HOTS) along with active learning/teaching strategies. *
Incorporating higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) is an essential component in “teaching to think” and critical for adult learning and especially graduate level learning. This exercise will give you practice in incorporating HOTS into active learning/teaching strategies for your own proposed teaching demonstration.
INSTRUCTIONS
In your own mind, review the highest levels of thought per Bloom and Anderson and Krathwohl’s revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy—application, analysis, evaluation, creation.
Choose ONE of the critical thought levels and design a teaching activity for that thought level that would fit your own teaching topic and teaching demonstration that you will submit in the Class Project: Teaching Demonstration Assignment. Please note that your Class Project: Teaching Demonstration Assignment will require more than one active learning/teaching strategy, but you will get practice in developing one of those for this assignment.
Use the class handout which lists sample questions and below you will find a few suggested learning activities for two levels of higher thought. An internet search will also suggest numerous other activities for the various thought levels. Please also review the explanations of several active learning strategies to which you have been introduced in all three of our class texts (below).
So, for example, if your topic is exploring the counseling approaches used for combat veterans with PTSD, you might set up a debate to argue the strengths and weaknesses of two therapeutic approaches. Or you might introduce a case to use for a new therapeutic application and have students argue the value or disadvantages of the new therapy approach.
In this assignment, provide adequate detail about how you would develop the learning activity. Provide the actual cases, for instance, if those are used, and suggest the penetrating questions that would guide the discussion. Justify your choice of activity. Why was your active learning strategy a great way to evaluate, analyze, apply, etc. with regard to your teaching topic? Draw broadly from the class sources to support your conclusions and cite per APA.
Present the assignment in a formal APA paper (APA 7). Historically, page lengths have varied from a few pages to 10-15 pages. While we don’t suggest a minimum/maximum page length, your assignment length will vary based on your topic. Just make sure that you fully complete the assignment parameters mentioned above.
*Active learning/teaching strategies
All three class texts mentioned active learning/teaching strategies, vs. traditional lecture, which can be very passive. Here are some of the active learning strategies to which you are introduced in class:
• Cases analysis/application
• Examination of viewpoints
• Devil’s advocate
• Scenario analysis
• Discussion technique and questions (Svinicki & McKeachie have excellent content on this as well as Brookfield; the class content on using discussion for active learning was rich in detail and suggestions)
• Think/pair/share
• Assumption inventory and analysis
• Point/counter-point
• Critical conversations protocol
• Critical incidents exploration
• Simulations/games, etc.
• Questions formulation techniques
• Peer questioning
• Project based learning
• Peer teaching –several strategies mentioned in the class sources
• Team based learning—several strategies in Svinicki & McKeachie
• Cold calling
• Speaking in tongues
Etc.
**Proposed teaching activities for the higher thought levels: (several of the active learning/teaching strategies mentioned above could be developed for these possible ideas)
Analysis:
• Distinguish the strengths and weakness of a proposed therapy for X diagnosis.
• Design a questionnaire to gather information for research on an application of a counseling theory
• Produce support for two sides of a controversial topic in Christian counseling
• Produce a flow chart to show critical stages of the effects of AES
• Make a family tree to show relationships between pathologies within an extended family
Evaluation:
• Develop a list of criteria to judge the value of a new therapy for an unusual application
• Conduct a debate about clinician choices regarding sensitive social issues in a Christian counseling setting
• Prepare a case which illustrates the complexities of a controversial counseling topic
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.