What are higher-order thinking skills?

Chunking, mnemonics, melodies, and active recall are just a few of the many study techniques one utilises when learning for an exam. And it is understandable when there are questions where specific answers are required to earn full marks. But there is always that one question that lingers in the back of the mind. “How is this going to help me in real life?” That is where higher-order thinking skills come into the picture. This is a cognitive process that involves analysing, reflecting, and many other practical skills. Simply put, when you incorporate this process of learning, you will be doing far more than just memorising words on the page. Think of it like this: When you study through memorisation, you’re remembering the name of a cake you saw. But with higher-order thinking skills, you are learning about the ingredients, how much of each is used, what brings out the taste, and possible ways through which you can alter the recipe. One base framework that is used to develop this type of thinking is Bloom’s taxonomy. The cognitive learning domain consists of six levels placed in a sequence. By following them, one can slowly learn to take in knowledge for more than the purpose of memorisation for tests. The levels are: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyse, Evaluate, and Create. Remembering is just the first step! You must explore the memorised facts and be able to explain their meaning to understand them. By applying the knowledge to practical situations, you can find the answer to the previously asked question: “How is this going to help me in real life?” To understand the information better, one can break it down for analysis, so that new observations can be made and evaluated. At the end of the process, the knowledge that a person has gathered can be used to create new ideas, theories, and solutions. 

Being able to think and learn beyond mere memorisation is an incredibly important skill for one to have when it comes to real life. Memorising lets you find the door that will lead you out of a dark room, while higher-order thinking skills provide you with the key to unlock that same door into the light. In other words, these skills will ensure that your knowledge of a subject doesn’t stop at the end of an exam. Some of the many benefits are as follows: