Sunday, December 13, 2009

Targeting Higher-order Thinking in Classroom Walkthroughs

The LoTi Classroom Walkthrough process is intended to promote continuous improvement and reflective practice in the classroom. Teachers are observed on their level of H.E.A.T. or H.E.A.R.T. which stands for Higher-order Thinking, Engaged Students, Authenticity, (Rubrics), and Technology Use in the classroom. Administrators using the Classroom Walkthrough with H.E.A.T./H.E.A.R.T. process are strongly encouraged to provide timely and effective written and verbal feedback to teachers following the walkthrough. This feedback should include a summary of the lesson along with at least one commendation and recommendation regarding the lesson.

Outlined below are commendations and recommendations focusing on the first target area of H.E.A.T./H.E.A.R.T.: Higher-order Thinking

Higher-order Thinking
One of the simplest ways to determine the level of Higher-order Thinking in a classroom is to note the questioning strategies being used; e.g., the types of questions being asked and perhaps, more importantly, who is asking the questions? Which level of Bloom's Taxonomy would these questions be categorized? Classrooms demonstrating "higher-order thinking" typically involve students asking these higher-order questions rather than the teacher. Most data reveals that the level of questioning is often teacher-led and at the knowledge/comprehension or application level of the Bloom's Taxonomy. So what feedback can we provide teachers to take it to the next level?

Higher-order Thinking Commendations
Start with a positive comment! Administrators can commend teachers on the level of Bloom's being achieved in the classroom walkthrough and/or the questioning strategies being used. Including specific examples of questions that were asked during the observation and discussing the level of Bloom's of the questions is an extremely valuable exercise to do with teachers.

Higher-order Thinking Recommendations
The most productive feedback is usually discovered through reflection after a lesson. This is why the feedback is such a vital part of the Classroom Walkthrough with H.E.A.T./H.E.A.R.T. process. As mentioned earlier, discussion of the lesson regarding the type of questioning strategies and questions asked will surface many ideas for future planning. An approach that often works is listening to the teacher reflect on the lesson and then providing advice and suggestions based on that reflection. In regards to Higher-order thinking there are many helpful resources available to direct teachers in order to enhance their current practice. Check out some of the recommended higher-order thinking sites that follow and utilize these in your own recommendations to teachers.


By the way, elevating the Higher-order thinking in the classroom also increases the level of student engagement and promotes authentic connections to the content.

16 comments:

  1. I think the place to search for Webquests will be very useful to me in the classroom.

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  2. I liked the simplicity of the Bloom's verb wheel. What a great resource for generating ideas. I could not get the web site for question stems to show information. The web sites listed on the WebQuests and Thinkfinity need to be investigated further. I'm not sure the HEAT framework is anything new, but always good to revisit ideas and refresh my teaching.

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  3. I think that it is great that there is a website that provides free lesson plans for teachers.

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  4. I agree that the questions we as teachers ask get us different responses. The more higher order is required in my opinion the more the impact will be on the student.

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  5. You know that your lesson was successful when the entire class participates in the discussion.
    Higher order of thinking is taking place.

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  6. I think that it is very important with the higher order of thinking to answer the question "who is asking the questions, and who is responding to them?". If we can get the kids to possibly be the ones asking the questions we know that they are somewhat engaged and interested in learning. Not always the case but hopfully most of the time is true.

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  7. I like the idea of the question toolkit to encourage students to use different levels of questions.

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  8. Questioning is key to making the students think for themselves.

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  9. I like the idea of a "fluid" Bloom's taxonomy. In our student centered classrooms we fluctuate between the heirarchy.

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  10. I like thinkfinity it has great lessons for teachers. And the question toolkit is very good.

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  11. I watched a video with an elementary teacher using a smart board and the students were actively involved in the lesson. I also found some verbs from the Bloom's taxonomy to help with my questioning techniques and help the students their questioning and answering techniques.

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  12. I like the idea that students are encouraged to ask questions of different levels.

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  13. It is inspiring to see students leading in their learning experience by heading up discussion monitored by the instructor.

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  14. The websites for higher order thiking skills was very helpful. Definately something my students need.

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  15. I think that it is very important with the higher order of thinking.... Great Article

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  16. There's also a really cool app for iPhone called "Stick Pick" that lets teachers link blooms questions to each student's level. Check it out:
    http://www.stickpickapp.com

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