The Implementation of Higher Order Thinking Skills for Teaching and Learning

Abstract

This paper reviews the implementation of higher order thinking skills for teaching and learning in Malaysia. Several recent studies have found that there are issues with the implementation of higher order thinking skills from aspects such as lack of knowledge on the educators’ part, inadequate understanding of the strategies to inculcate HOTs amongst teachers, insufficient materials and references to teach HOTs and improper environmental settings to instil the learning of HOTs in the education classrooms. Teachers lack the appropriate pedagogical knowledge to teach HOT (Fisher, 1999; Zohar, 1999; Zohar and Schwartzer, 2005). This paper analyses further the implementation of higher order thinking skills for the teaching and learning of HOTs which is of paramount importance in order to address these rife matters.