ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education
Volume 7, Issue 2, June 2019
p-ISSN 2301-7554, e-ISSN 2541-3643
https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE
119
HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS AMONG ENGLISH
TEACHERS ACROSS GENERATION IN EFL CLASSROOM
Mursyid
English Education Magister Program, Faculty of Arts and Language, State University of Jakarta, Indonesia
E-mail: mursyid_pb17s2@mahasiswa.unj.ac.id
Nia Kurniawati
English Education Study Program, Suryakancana University, Indonesia
E-mail: nia@unsur.ac.id
APA Citation: Mursyid, M., & Kurniawati, N. (2019). Higher order thinking skills among English teachers
across generation in EFL classroom. English Review: Journal of English Education, 7(2),
119-124. doi: 10.25134/erjee.v7i2.1775.
Received: 25-01-2019 Accepted: 22-03-2019 Published: 01-06-2019
Abstract: Higher order thinking skills are the next cognitive ability to evaluate, analyze and create. It is a
must for English teachers across generation (Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y) to grasp and
implement the idea of HOTS in their classrooms. Teaching English in EFL setting certainly forces the
teachers to have expertise in planning the learning activities that would foster students’ thinking skills,
especially their HOTS. This study aims at investigating the perceptions, the practice, and the constraints in
endorsing higher order thinking skills in teaching foreign language. This case study involved seven senior
high school English teachers from three generations (Baby Boomers, generation X, and generation Y). Data
were collected through open-ended questionnaire, classroom observation, and document analysis for
triangulation purpose. Data were then categorized and classified to form themes for the study. The results
showed that teachers from all generation are aware of HOTS and they are applying it in their teaching in a
different way. However, some obstacles are still found in incorporating HOTS in their classroom.
Keywords: EFL; English teaching strategies; generation theory; HOTS.
INTRODUCTION
The demand of 21st century in education comes
with the need of thinking ability which is called
as higher order thinking skills. Many experts
have mentioned that higher order thinking skills
(HOTS) and students’ academic performance are
interrelated. In this sense, students who learn
with critical thinking skills often perform well in
their education (Tam & Linh, 2017).
The use of HOTS is significant for
educational process especially in teaching and
learning. Learners’ thinking ability in learning
can affect the effectiveness of learning itself. The
skills cover all kind of ability of the abstract
skills, including critical thinking skills and
problems solving skills (Nourdad, Masoudi, &
Rahimali, 2018). Those thinking skills are
needed in nowadays situation in which students
are forced to use their critical thinking skills to
solve their problems. As for example, students
can use their thinking skills to analyze and
choose correct information from the internet and
students can also create new idea to write a
report or to present their finding about a social
phenomenon at school. That is why higher order
thinking is urgent for students.
The urgent needs of critical thinking skills
has been stated by Reid (2014) that students
become self-conscious and self-monitoring to
what they think about strategies to solve the
problem. Self-conscious means students aware of
what they are learning and self-monitoring means
that students reflect about their ability and barrier
to solve the problems. The ability to solve the
problem is one of the thinking skills that human
need in current situation. The theory of human
thinking skills was classified by Benjamin Bloom
in the beginning of his publication entitled
Educational Objectives: The Classroom of the
Educational Goals. It was the original version
explaining the learning objectives and thinking
ability.
According to Weay, Masood, and Abdullah
(2016), Bloom divides the educational objectives
into three, namely cognitive, affective, and
psychomotor domain. In the Bloom taxonomy,
cognitive domain is classified into six levels,
namely knowledge, comprehension, application,
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Affective
domain is classified into five levels, namely
receiving, responding, valuing, organizing, and
characterizing. Meanwhile, psychomotor domain
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Higher order thinking skills among English teachers across generation in EFL classroom
120
is classified into seven levels, namely perception,
set, guided response, mechanism, complex over
response, adaptation, and origination. Those
three educational objectives are then popularly
known as Bloom Taxonomy.
On the other hand, Anderson and Krathwohl
(2001) as cited in Harris et al., (2014) declare the
new cognitive domain which include
remembering, understanding, applying,
analyzing, evaluating, and creating. The
differences between the original and revised
version are on the analyzing, evaluating and
creating that previously are analyzing,
synthesizing, and evaluating. Thus, the new
version states creating is the highest thinking
ability and remembering is the lowest thinking
ability.
Further, the thinking skills are not only
categorized based on cognitive domain, but also
based on cognitive levels. Basically, there are
three categories of cognitive levels including
LOTS, MODS, and HOTS. In this sense,
remembering is categorized as lower order
thinking skills (LOTS); understanding and
applying are categorized as middle order
thinking skills (MODS); and the next cognitive
ability to evaluate, analyze and create are
categorizes as higher order thinking skills
(HOTS). As stated by Rajendran and Idris (2008)
in Chidozie (2014), higher order thinking skills
involve the need of analysis, evaluation, and
creation or production as thinking skills. As parts
of HOTS, analyzing is an ability to break
information into parts and to arrange the useful
information; evaluating is the ability to reflect to
something and make judgment; and creating is
the highest ability to generate new ideas or
concepts.
The process of learning and gaining new
knowledge should pass the lower order thinking
before goes to the higher order levels. Therefore,
learner should remember, understand, and apply
the knowledge to reach the next cognition (Rosli
& Maarof, 2016). Thus, it means that thinking is
an order sequence process and it is not a sudden
process.
Higher order thinking skills always become
hot issue in education (Latief, Pabbajah, &
Karim, 2016). The importance of those thinking
skills has been acknowledged since decades ago.
Thus, it can be assumed that HOTS should not
have become a problem for teachers from all
generation to incorporate it in their classroom.
Basically, there are three generations of teacher
nowadays. First, whoever born between the years
1945 and 1964 is typically called Baby Boomers.
They who were born between 1965 and 1979, the
smallest generation, are called digital immigrants
or Gen X. The newest generation, Gen Y, is
whoever born between 1980 and 1999. Other
names for this generation include Millennial,
Echo-Boomers, and Net Gen (Gibson,
Greenwood, & Murphy, 2009).
In the teaching and learning process, teachers
should have the ability to design and execute
HOTS integrated with subject matter (Sutarto,
2017). Basically, HOTS can only be activated
when individuals encounter unfamiliar problems
that need to solve in complex, non-routine and
non-structured solution. Yet, as revealed by
Margana and Widyantoro (2017), students in
Indonesia are developed under the basis of LOTS
cognitive level. Hence, this study intends to find
out: 1) the teachers’ perception towards HOTS,
2) the implementation of HOTS in the classroom,
and 3) the constraints faced by teachers in
implementing HOTS in EFL classroom.
METHOD
This descriptive qualitative study was conducted
at SMAN 2 Cianjur, a public senior high in the
center of Cianjur, by involving senior high
school teachers from different generations. The
teachers are members of English teacher
association in Cianjur. It is an organization where
teachers from various schools gather together as
forum communication among English teachers.
The data in this study were collected through
open-ended questionnaire, document analysis,
and interview. First, the open-ended
questionnaire consists of 16 questions which
explore the teachers’ perspective, the application,
and the constraints faced by teachers in
implementing HOTS. Questions numbers 1-5 ask
about the teachers’ perception and understanding
on higher order thinking skills. Questions
numbers 6-10 ask how teachers apply the
concept of higher order thinking skills on
students’ learning. Then, questions number 11-16
try to analyze constraints faced by teachers in
implementing higher order thinking skills in the
classroom. Second, documents are in the form of
teachers’ lesson plan. Finally, the interview is
conducted to teachers participated in this study.
The data were then analyzed descriptively.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The discussion will be divided into three
subsections following the central themes of this
study, namely the teachers’ perception towards
ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education
Volume 7, Issue 2, June 2019
p-ISSN 2301-7554, e-ISSN 2541-3643
https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE
121
HOTS, the implementation of HOTS in the
classroom, and the constraints faced by teachers
in implementing HOTS in EFL classroom. To
make relevant comparison, the study compares
only two generations which are mostly active on
teaching in current years; they are teachers from
generation X and Y. Basically, there are three
elements assessed, namely comprehension to
theory, point of view on HOTS, and perception
based on importance.
Teachers’ perception toward HOTS
To explore teachers’ perspective and
understanding, questions number 1-5 in the
questionnaire covers what teachers know about
the theory of HOTS, teachers’ opinion about
students having HOTS, teachers’ understanding
on preparing the teaching, etc.
When a teacher from generation Baby
Boomers (Gen BB) is asked about what s/he
knows about HOTS, the teacher states:
“It is the way where thinking is levelled. Higher
order thinking skills refer to the ability to
evaluate, analyse and create.”
The teacher has been teaching for years so
that s/he really knows about the definition and
the importance of HOTS for students. The
teacher knows that the ability to evaluate,
analyse, and create are strongly needed by
students.
Then, when two teachers from generation X
are asked with the same question about what they
know about HOTS, both have same answers:
“HOTS (Higher order thinking skills) are the
ability of thinking in high level in order to help
students to prepare their future.”
The teacher from generation X seems to
know the definition of high level thinking.
Teachers from this generation want to prepare
their students for better life in the future. It
implies that they were focusing on students’ life.
More description on teachers’ perspective
came from gen Y teachers as the youngest
generation. They were teachers who just started
teaching so that they have less than five-years
experiences of teaching. One of them provides
the following response:
“I personally don’t know much about HOTS. But
I ever heard that in Curriculum Material
Development (CMD) subject in my college.”
From the statement, it can be seen that the
gen Y teacher does not know about HOTS since
s/he has lack of experience in teaching.
The next finding is related to teachers’
opinion on students with higher order thinking
skills. There are two teachers who gave clear
response concerning their view on their critical
students:
(#1) Students can perform in higher order
thinking skills such as in creating text. (#5) I
assume that students with HOTS will be more
active, have higher understanding, and become
creative thinkers.
Teacher #1 is from gen BB and teacher #5 is
from gen Y. From the statement, it can be clearly
seen that the Gen BB teacher tends to see HOTS
as the highest level on the result of thinking that
is creating. Meanwhile, the gen Y teacher sees
the general view on their students.
From the discussion, it is revealed that
teachers from Generation BB and X have well
understanding about HOTS. This generation is
senior teachers. They are capable on pedagogical
theory, including Blooms’ taxonomy. Regarding
their understanding about HOTS, they know that
HOTS covers the ability to evaluate, to analyse
and to create something.
The data of the teachers’ perception towards
HOTS are depicted at the following tables.
Table 1. Gen BB teachers’ perception towards
HOTS
Elements Teacher: Generation BB
Comprehension to
theory
Teachers understand the
definition and theory related
to HOTS. They also know
that HOTS covers the
ability to evaluate, to
analyse, and to create.
Point of view on
HOTS
Teachers view students who
have higher order thinking
skills can create or product
something like create a text,
for example.
Perception based
on importance
HOTS are important for
students and their future.
From Table 1, it was clear that teachers from
generation BB completely comprehend the
concept of HOTS. It was because they have
experience on teaching for years. However, they
will be retired for some next years, so that
teachers from newer generations should learn
more about thinking skills from the gen BB
teachers.
Mursyid & Nia Kurniawati
Higher order thinking skills among English teachers across generation in EFL classroom
122
Table 2. Gen X teachers’ perception towards
HOTS
Elements Teacher: Generation X
Comprehension to
theory
Teachers know that higher
order thinking skills used as
the way for levelling the
thinking ability. Teachers
know that HOTS include
the ability to evaluate, to
analyse, and to create.
Point of view on
HOTS
Students can perform by
using higher orders, such as
creating and explaining
concept both in written and
oral text.
Perception based
on importance
HOTS are important for
students to understand such
concepts.
From the table, it can be seen that the
generation X teachers have already known HOTS
concepts as the highest level in thinking skill.
Furher, they realized that it covers several stages
such as evaluating, analysing or synthesizing and
creating. They also consider it as important skill
to be mastered by the students. Teacher has
implemented the theory on the practice of
learning reading and writing, such as in creating
a text about certain theme.
Teachers from generation Y have enough
understanding on HOTS, but they still find
difficulties to use the theory in practice. Because
of the lack of experience, the teachers from this
generation have perception that students’ higher
order thinking skills will develop depending on
situation. The gen Y teachers’ perceptions on
HOTS are presented in Table 3.
Table 3. Gen Y teachers’ perception towards
HOTS
Elements Teacher: Generation Y
Comprehension on
HOTS
Teachers only know that
thinking ability with
high levels is called as
HOTS.
Point of view
related to HOTS
It can help the students,
but they still face
various difficulties to
use it on that way.
Perception based
on importance
HOTS demand students
to create something.
The data shows that the teachers from
generation Y only recognize HOTS as thinking
ability. They mentioned that HOTS is important,
but it is still very difficult to be implemented in
EFL classroom since it demands students to
create a product.
Finally, the analysis reveals that each
generation perecieved HOTS differently.
Surprisingly, generation X exceed the
expectation that they have no sufficeient
understanding on HOTS concept. They even
understand HOTS concepts much better than Gen
Y teachers. This finding has proven that different
age and experience of teachers affect the
teachers’ perception on the implementation of
HOTS. In short, teachers’ perceptions are
strongly influenced by experience.
The praxis of HOTS in EFL classroom
This study reveals interesting data regarding the
practice of HOTS in EFL classrooms by the
English teachers from two different generations.
The data is gained from questionnaire and
teachers’ lesson plans. The questionnaire covers
the teacher perceptions and their daily teaching
experience on teaching language by levels. The
lesson plan is then used as a comparison. The
result of the analysis is summarized in the
following table.
Table 3. The practice of HOTS in EFL classroom
HOTS
implementation
Gen Xs Gen Ys
Teacher
preparation
Develop lesson
plan, prepare
the teaching
material,
prepare the
multimedia
and learning
activity with
various text.
Read a lot
and prepare
media or
materials to
be given to
the
students.
Classroom
Practice
Involving
students in
such activities
that demand
them to
evaluate
collaboratively
Stimulating
the students
by
observing
the activity
related to
text.
Multimedia Usage Yes Yes
Students’ activity Discussion,
presentation,
discovery,
project and
problem based
learning.
Activities are
designed to
make students
use their
optimum
thinking skills.
Reading
Speaking
Writing
Listening
ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education
Volume 7, Issue 2, June 2019
p-ISSN 2301-7554, e-ISSN 2541-3643
https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE
123
It is interesting to know that there are some
similarities as well as differences among English
teachers accross generations in implementing
HOTS in their classroom. There are several
points used as the indicator to see similarities or
differences between the two generation;
preparation, implementation, and evaluation to
the students.
Regarding the preparation, basically, all of
the teachers develop lesson plan and prepare the
materials comprehensively. The teachers from
gen X also read before teaching and the teachers
from gen Y practice the teaching technique
beforehand. These two activities show the
teachers’ professional competence. As
professional, preparation is an important key to
provide aligned learning and assessment for
students.
Next, in practice, the analysis shows a
different way of practice. First, the teachers from
gen X involve the students in such activities that
foster collaboration among students, such as
project based learning and problem based
learning. Then, the gen Y teachers prefer to
stimulate the students through observation
activity. The observation is the very beginning
process of learning. The activity designed by the
teachers from gen Y is still at the low cognitive
level, including remembering until applying.
However, surprisingly, the gen Y teachers
admitted to not implement HOTS in their
classrooms, but they focus on text exploration on
understanding level.
Moreover, teachers from both generations
have utilized multimedia in their teaching and
they have varied the students’ activities. The Gen
X involve discussion, presentation, discovery,
project based learning and problem based
learning for the students’ activity. Meanwhile,
the Gen Y teachers choose the language
comptence-based activities; they prefer
discussion, watching English movie or listening
to English songs for their classroom activities.
The different practice among them might appear
due to teaching hours and experience. The Gen
Xs, in this case, have more teaching hours and
experience compared to gen Ys.
Constraints faced by teachers in implementing
HOTS in EFL Classroom
Implementing HOTS in the classroom is not an
easy task. Teachers must be encountering many
obstacles. From the interview, it is found that
teachers face various constraints in implementing
HOTS in EFL classroom as the following.
1) Teachers’ limited knowledge in choosing
operational words.
2) Lack of experience in developing lesson plan
based on thinking skill that is suitbale with
basic competence.
3) Teachers’ lack of ability in infusing
creativitities to classroom activities.
4) Teachers too focus on transferring the
knowledge rather than practicing students’
metacognitive and thinking skills.
CONCLUSION
From the analysis, it can be concluded that the
Gen X teachers have shown more understanding
on HOTS concepts compared to gen Y teachers.
They also applied it in their classroom in various
ways and have utilized multimedia. Meanwhile,
the gen Ys admitted to not implement HOTS in
their classroom yet. This condition might appear
due to different experience among them. The
baby boomers who have more teaching hours are
benefitted to have more knowledge and skills
from their experience. Conversely, the gen Y
teachers only have the basic theories of teaching
and lack of practice in teaching. However,
implementing HOTS in EFL classroom is not an
easy task. Teachers from the three generation
adimtted that they often face some constraints
since many of them are lack of understanding
and experience in developing lesson plan based
on thinking skill that is suitbale with basic
competence. They also need to change the
paradigm from transferring the knowledge into
training the students’ metacognitive and thinking
skills.
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