Teachers' Strategies to Enhance Students' Higher Order Thinking Skills A. Introduction
Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) have become a crucial aspect in the educational of Indonesia, particularly within the realms of education, science, and technology (Pratiwi et al., 2019). This framework, which extends beyond Bloom's taxonomy, encompasses critical thinking, creative thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, and metacognition (Roets &
Maritz, 2017). By emphasizing critical thinking in problem-solving, HOTS equips individuals with the necessary tools to navigate the complexities of globalization and cope with the abundance of information (Setyarini et al., 2018). Students’ ability to be able to relate their prior knowledge to what is being read develops higher level thinking skills (Singh et al., 2020). HOTS skill is the way of how human think critically and creatively that can be useful to solve the problem and create or produce a product (Silalahi et al., 2021).
HOTS refers to three higher thinking ability created by Benjamin Bloom, it is often called Bloom’s Taxonomy. These skill are analyzing, evaluating, and creating (Alexander, 2001). High-order thinking is thus considered to be in the C4 to C6 domain. In ELT, Higher- Order Thinking Skills fosters students’ critical, creative, and reflective thinking abilities (Syafryadin et al., 2021). These skills are as important as language proficiency for students' overall cognitive and linguistic development. Teaching strategies are important in the context of higher order thinking skills learning (Dungsungnoen, 2016). It is recognized that developing critical thinking skills is very important for English language learners. It is as crucial as language proficiency for overall cognitive and linguistic advancement (Mukhamedov & Durdona, 2023).
The role of teachers in the classroom has evolved from being the sole authority figure to providing students with tools to acquire knowledge. It is especially prominent in the context of integrating technology and communicative language teaching (CLT). Teachers are expected to motivate students by creating supportive, non-threatening, and meaningful language learning environments. They are also tasked with integrating new technologies into the English language classroom. In relation to HOTS, to facilitate linguistic skills and significant communication. Thus they are playing a crucial role in the educational setting by enabling students to recognize the value of content across various media (Sarfraz et al., 2015).
Teachers’ role in creating conducive learning environments is central to enhancing HOTS. Teaching planned strategies that foster HOTS demand substantial time, effort, planning, and resources from instructors, necessitating contextual reinforcement and conceptual analysis (Aziz Ahmad et al., 2017). Students are encouraged to analyze, interpret,
reason, synthesize, evaluate, and create through strategic teaching methods (Dungsungnoen, 2016). Teachers play a critical role in stimulating students’ higher-order thinking. Employing creative questioning techniques prompts critical and high-level cognitive engagement (Syafryadin et al., 2021).
However, the full implementation of HOTS in English Language Teaching (ELT) in Indonesia is yet to be realized. Various factors contribute to this, including non-optimal class sizes (Nguyễn & Nguyễn, 2017) and resistance towards technologically advanced forms of education, proven to enhance HOTS development (Wu et al., 2024). A significant factor is the insufficient capacity of teachers to understand, assess, and teach HOTS. Addressing this issue may require further education and training for teachers, considering the diversity among educators (Soeharto et al., 2024).
A significant barrier to the teachers’ planned startegies and challenges in implementing HOTS regardless the available sources. The integration of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) into English Language Teaching (ELT) practices in Indonesia presents multifaceted challenges, including suboptimal class sizes, reluctance towards advanced educational methods, and a lack of pedagogical capacity among educators. Addressing these challenges necessitates focused efforts on teacher training and professional development to equip educators with the knowledge and skills to effectively teach and assess HOTS. Current research in this area emphasizes understanding the planned strategies employed by English teachers to enhance students’ HOTS and the challenges they face in implementation.
The study aims to provide a detailed information on the prepared lesson plan to teach higher order thinking skill. As well as the implementation at senior high school in Indonesia.
In this case the focus on the investigating of teachers strategies, and the challenging in the implementation in teaching HOTS.
The study will be focus to investigating teachers’ strategies for enhancing students’
HOTS within the ELT context. Understanding these pedagogical practices holds implications for curriculum development, teacher training, and the refinement of teaching methodologies.
Additionally, it addresses the challenges teachers face in promoting higher-order thinking in English language.
B. Research question
1. What are the planned strategies employed by English teachers to enhance students’ higher order thinking skills (HOTS)?
2. What are the challenges for teachers in implementation strategies to enhance students’
higher-order thinking skills HOTS?
Masih kurang research novelty.
C. Research Method
In this study researchers will be conducted by using a qualitative approach with case study which is descriptive. Qualitative research is research that uses a natural setting, with the intention of interpreting phenomena that occur and are carried out by involving various existing methods. The qualitative approach is an important one to understand a social phenomenon and the individual perspective studied (Rukajat, 2018).
Related to the previous explanations, the researchers will use a qualitative approach with case study. Qualitative research approach that is ideal for exploring complex phenomena within a specific context. The context in this case is the investigating the teachers’ planned strategies, and the challenging in the implementation in teaching HOTS. The case study approach will enable a detailed analysis of the phenomenon within this context.
D. Research Instrument
a. Semi-structured interviews, can be used to collect data on the teachers' planned strategies for promoting HOTS in their classrooms. Sample questions may include:
Can you describe your approach to planning lessons that aim to enhance students' higher-order thinking skills?
What specific teaching strategies or techniques do you employ to foster critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving among your students?
How do you assess students' higher-order thinking skills in your classroom?
b. Classroom observation, will focus on identifying the instructional methods, activities, and interactions that support the development of higher-order thinking skills. The researcher will use structured observation guides to document their observations and note any challenges encountered during implementation.
c. Document analysis, will analyse instructional materials, lesson plans, and other relevant documents provided by the participating teachers. Document analysis will provide insights into the explicit strategies and techniques incorporated into teachers' lesson plans to promote HOTS. The researcher will examine the alignment between stated instructional goals, planned activities, and assessments to understand how teachers conceptualize and operationalize the promotion of higher-order thinking skills.
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