13 Hot Skills in Higher Order Thinking

The teaching objectives of “13 Higher Order Thinking (HOT) Skills” are to strengthen students’ thinking skills of different types and the habit of thinking one step further. For each HOT skill, students start from analyzing problems from different angles and are guided to find out evolving perspectives at different points in time, by playing different roles and at different levels. In this way, we assist students to establish and exercise flexible thinking. This way, they can think one step further. For example, after arranging different characteristics, methods and viewpoints in order, students can think further by organizing their thought processes through sorting, filtering and listing examples. Students are educated to think systematically and with precision, and to be open minded and critical thinkers. The training of high order thinking is the foundation of learning that can help students master effective thinking methods and strengthen their learning abilities.

To enhance teachers’ abilities to master and apply the teaching strategies and skills of higher order thinking, the school has participated the Gifted Education School Network (General Studies) workshops organized by the EDB. The 13 HOT skills are implemented in the classes and used in the teaching and learning activities of main subjects. Recent years, the structure of the school-based higher order thinking program has been developed to include different key learning areas. The students’ ability to use these skills is gradually strengthened.