How to improve and engage Higher Order thinking Skills in Life?

1. Practice Problem-Based Learning:

Problem-based analysis and learning are vital to separate relevant and irrelevant variables from the problem equation.

  1. Get valid data to process.
  2. Study the previous groundwork.
  3. Consult with people who have handled similar challenges.
  4. Refer related-documents and data, etc.

Example: If you are a student, you can engage your higher-order thinking skills by using project-based learning. You can learn via relevant websites, podcasts, documentaries, expert opinions to gain more knowledge than textbooks.

2. Do Authentic Assessment:

How you process your data is important to improve your high order thinking. You have to be authentic in your assessments to bring out facts and truth. Despite different methods and resources, assessing problems based on real-world the approach brings more authenticity.

3. Inquiry:

Inquiry is about

  1. Identifying relevant and necessary questions
  2. Self-validating the questions.
  3. To check the importance of problem questions with real-world scenarios
  4. Planning answers
  5. Testing the answers

The quality of questions determines the quality of thinking. So, excellent questioning skill improves and engages higher-order thinking ability in you.

Example: You can do brainstorming or do forum-type discussions, etc.

4. Practicality:

Approaching circumstances logically, practically, and reasonably is necessary. Be practical in approaching a problem instead of letting emotions in. Become more self-aware of the work you do.

5. Get Feedback:

You won’t know how you are doing until someone points the right and wrong.

6. Pick Appropriate Tools:

Use technology. Pick tools and methods that are comfortable for you. And it should align with your way of working. Appropriate tools to break down problems are important in high order thinking.

7. Implementing “20 Time”:

Spend 20% of your time every day to work on things that benefit and improve yourself. This is a strategy used by Google for its employees.