Defining thinking skills for learning
Teachers have long been familiar with Bloom’s Taxonomy, which was developed by American psychologist and educator Benjamin Bloom and his associates in 1956 and revised in 2000. The purpose of the group was to develop a method of classification for thinking behaviors that were believed to be important in the processes of learning. The diagram below shows the revised version, which features verbs instead of nouns, and puts creating above evaluating at the top of the pyramid.
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy in the classroom
Explanations of the various levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, together with examples and question types, can be seen in the table below:
Levels |
Explanation |
Examples of thinking skills demonstrated |
Example questions |
Remembering |
Recalling basic facts and concepts |
Students are required to recall the information learned and repeat it to the teacher. They are asked to identify something and list things. |
- Who said…?
- What is…..?
- Where did the event take place?
- How many…
- Can you name the……?
|
Understanding |
Demonstrating understanding of something learned |
Students are required to explain why or how. They may rephrase, reword and summarise to demonstrate understanding of facts and ideas. |
- Can you describe…in your own words?
- Why did…..?
- Explain why…?
- What is the difference…?
|
Applying |
Using information already learned in a new way |
Students are required to take something learned and use it in a different situation |
- Could this happen in Hong Kong?
- Do you know someone like the character in the book?
- How would you use what you have learned to…?
|
Analysing |
Breaking information into parts and examining those parts by looking for relationships |
Students are required to break apart information and examine how the parts relate to one another. Students need to make inferences when things are not entirely literal or clear and then find evidence to support these generalisations. |
- What are the causes / effects of…?
- What evidence can you find…?
- What is the relationship between…?
- What conclusion can you draw…
- How is….similar to / different from…..
|
Evaluating |
Judging something based on a set of criteria |
Students are required to make an opinion about something and support their opinion. |
- Which is better? Why?
- What is your opinion of…?
- Were they right to do…..? Why not?
- Would it be better to….? Why?
|
Creating |
Creating something new |
Students are required to put information together in a different way to get something new. Synthesis is making up a whole new and different product by taking apart the information and putting it back together as something completely new. |
- Can you suggest an alternative ending to the story?
- Can you develop a proposal to……?
- What could be done to improve/change… ?
- Can you predict the outcome if..?
|
Importance of questioning for higher-order thinking
There is much research to indicate that students perform better when presented with more intellectually challenging materials. For example, Newmann and associates (1996) suggest that when students from all backgrounds are expected to produce work of high intellectual quality, overall student academic performance increases. In Hong Kong, the Quality Assurance has made reference to teachers’ skills in asking questions which promote higher-order thinking: “Through questioning, students’ understanding and the mastery of learning content is checked. However, some questions are quite simple and direct, focusing on obtaining pre-set answers from students, and inadequate “wait-time” is given for students to consider before answering. Moreover, it is not common for teachers to probe or seek to extend students’ responses or raise a range of questions to stimulate in-depth thinking.” (QA Inspection Annual Report 2009/10). This comment reveals that there is a need for teachers in Hong Kong to develop skills in asking questions to promote higher-order thinking.
Difficulties facing teachers
However, there are a number of difficulties facing Hong Kong teachers who try to encourage higher-order thinking in their students. The diagram shows some of the ideas passing through the teacher’s and the student’s minds when a more challenging question is asked. |
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However, in spite of these cultural and linguistic difficulties, it is important that second language learners be engaged in learning activities which challenge them intellectually. Therefore it is necessary for teachers to employ various strategies to overcome these difficulties in the classroom. Below are some strategies which teachers can use:
- Ask “probing” questions to help students analyse, clarify, elaborate or justify their answers
- Let students prepare or discuss higher level questions in pairs or groups first, before responding in front of the class
- Encourage responses from volunteering and non-volunteering students
- Invite other students to contribute ideas or make comments when an answer has been given
- Scaffold learning with rich input to prepare students. This may include:
- Discussion of content
- Input in the form of reading or listening material
- Useful vocabulary and structures
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