1. Higher order thinking skills
Definition
Designing, constructing, in
venting, producing, and
planning.
Provides
opportunities to
generate ideas, design
plans, and produce
products. Planning:
production of
a plan
Producing: derivation
of a set of abstract
relations
Expected student skills –
Cognitive levels
Construct designs?
Generate possibilities?
Compose ideas?
Propose hypotheses?
Produce solutions?
Brainstorm solutions?
Design products?
Assemble plans?
Rearrange operations?
Imagine possibilities?
Activities
Develop the script
for a video.
Construct a book.
Develop a podcast.
Digital tools
Prezi is becoming an
increasingly popular
alternative to
PowerPoint for
creating interactive
presentations.
Microsoft Excel is a
tool for
communicating
information visually
through charts and
graphs

2. Higher order thinking skills
Judging, checking,
critiquing, detecting, and
monitoring.
Definition
Helps learners make
judgments using:
Internal evidence
(checking)
External criteria
(critiquing)
Expected student skills –
Cognitive levels
Check for accuracy?
Activities
Compare proposals
using Skype.
Detect inconsistencies?
Monitor effectiveness?
Use discussion tools
to debate the merits
of your proposals.
Evaluate procedures?
Critique solutions?
Appraise efficiency?
Judge techniques?
Contrast performance?
Check the probability of
results?
Beta test each
others’ projects.
Digital tools
Learners can use
tools like Survey
Monkey
to construct and
deliver surveys and
evaluate the results.
Rubrics let learners
know how they will
be evaluated.
Allowing learners to
get involved in
creating rubrics helps
get them engaged in
the assessment
process. It also helps
learners have a
better understanding
of how they are
being evaluated.

3. Higher order thinking skills
Outlining, organizing,
comparing, finding and
structuring.
Definition
Improves user’s ability
to differentiate
between the relevant
and irrelevant,
determine
relationships, and
recognize the
organization of content
by analysis of:
Elements
(differentiating)
Relationships
(attributing)
Organizational
principles (organizing)
Expected student skills –
Cognitive levels
Discriminate fact from
hypothesis?
Distinguish the relevant
from irrelevant?
Observe the structure?
Select important
elements?
Determine biases?
Recognize intent?
Deconstruct content?
Understand the
relationships?
Organize content?
Activities
Create a mindmap.
Graph and analyze
results.
Use a mindmap to
compare and
contrast the main
ideas in the assigned
reading.
Digital tools
Mindmaps are
diagrams that show
words, ideas, tasks,
or other items
arranged around a
central key word or
idea. Mindomo is
one mindmapping
tool that could be
used for this
purpose.
Microsoft Word and
other word
processing programs
can be used to create
outlines, diagrams,
essays, and research
papers.

4. Higher order thinking skills
Using, implementing,
executing, and carrying
out.
Definition
Provides opportunities
to implement learned
procedures and
methods
Expected student skills –
Cognitive levels
Demonstrate methods
and procedures?
Activities
Create a proposed
timeline for the
project.
Carry out procedures?
Find and interview
two people who
have the experience
you desire.
Use ideas or knowledge?
Discover a new purpose
for skills or knowledge?
Employ knowledge in new
situations?
Experiment with concepts
in a different setting?
Adjust knowledge for use
in a different context?
Apply procedures to
unique situations?
Digital tools
We can encourage
learners to apply
what they are
learning using a
variety of tools such
as Skype.
Picasa is a tool for
organizing, editing,
and sharing photos.
Instructors could ask
learners to use this
tool to organize
images to construct a
story

5. Higher order thinking skills
Comparing, inferring,
summarizing, explaining,
and interpreting.
Definition
Helps users connect
new learning to prior
knowledge
Expected student skills –
Cognitive levels
Summarize facts and
ideas?
Activities
Summarize the
content in a blog
post.
Restate methods or
procedures?
Explain a topic to the
rest of the class in a
screencast.
Interpret relationships?
Paraphrase information?
Predict consequences?
Give examples?
Re-tell information in own
words?
Retell events?
State problem in own
words?
Explain ideas or concepts?
Determine importance?
Digital tools
Some of the best
resources for
enhancing learners’
understanding of
material and
concepts include TED
and Khan Academy
Learners can
research topics on
their own or
instructors can assign
videos to be watched
before a lesson, so
instructor time can
be used for Q&A,
practice, and other
interactions.

6. Higher order thinking skills
Listing, naming,
describing, recognizing,
finding, and retrieving.
Definition
Improves the user’s
ability to define terms,
identify facts, and recall
and locate information
Expected student skills –
Cognitive levels
Define information?
Activities
Create flashcards
from the module.
Name facts?
Fill in a cloze
exercise.
Recite information?
List facts or details?
Recall facts or ideas?
Locate facts or ideas?
Retrieve information?
Describe information?
Recognize facts or ideas in
context?
Determine importance?
Look up the works in
the glossary.
Digital tools
Google Documents
and Zoho are
comprehensive
suites of online
business,
productivity, and
collaboration
applications. Shared
documents allow
groups to collaborate
on content.
Delicious is a social
bookmarking tool
that learners can use
to save and organize
useful websites.
Instructors can
assemble resources
for students and
then share them.