Definition Of Higher Order Learning
Another stream at this confluence includes the new findings from the cognitive sciences regarding the nature of thinking and the acquisition of thinking and learning capacities. Researchers do not agree on a precise and complete definition of higher order learning, but they do agree on key characteristics of higher order thinking. It is complex; yields multiple solutions; requires interpretation and the use of multiple criteria; involves uncertainty and finding structure in apparent disorder; demands self-regulation of thinking processes; and requires considerable mental effort. Insights from a substantial body of re-search provide techniques for improving teaching in ways that support higher order learning in the disciplines and the development of problem-solving skills. These are extraordinarily important to succeed with the agenda of the 1990's--extending the learning of high level thinking and reasoning abilities to all students.
The elements of higher order learning are not new. They represent timeless, longstanding concepts of learning never realized universally but only by small fractions of the population. What differs at the close of this century is that education for higher order learning is essential for all.
Principles To Support Restructured Learning
Based on a review of research in the cognitive sciences regarding thinking and learning, the Council extends the following principles to guide state policy-makers and other education decision makers as they attempt to restructure learning for all:
Ensure that all students receive an educational program that supports higher order learning. It is imperative that all students, especially those placed at risk, have the opportunity and the necessary instructional and social support to develop fully their thinking and reasoning abilities for success in school and as adults. Particular effort must be made by state education agencies and all others in education to ensure the provision of such an education for disadvantaged students whose schooling frequently lacks a commitment to teaching for higher order learning. The teaching of thinking and reasoning must be integrated throughout all educational programs--whether in "regular" classrooms or in special programs for students with extra educational needs.
Acknowledge different rates of development and learning. Students learn at very different rates. For those students who do not meet high standards and achievement outcomes by expected times, schools must provide intense supplementary resources.
Make certain that the teaching of thinking and other higher order skills are part of direct preparation for work. Higher order learning should be immediately useful not only for those students who will attend post-secondary schooling but for those students who enter the workforce directly from secondary school.
Emphasize the teaching of thinking skills across all grade levels. Research on thinking demonstrates clearly that higher order skills are required for learning at all levels of academic study. Teaching should emphasize thinking and problem-solving for all students. The development of "basic skills" should be simultaneous with the teaching of thinking and should not be considered a prerequisite to higher order learning.
Incorporate teaching of thinking skills in all parts of the curriculum. Research indicates that thinking skills are best taught when based within subject disciplines. Several programs that teach thinking skills apart from subject matter can be effective as supplemental activities and deserve consideration, but there is general agreement that thinking skills should, at a minimum, al-ways be taught within the subject areas. Courses in thinking skills should not substitute for the infusion of thinking and reasoning within the curriculum.
Ensure that classrooms serve as environments that support higher order learning. While no simple formula or ratio exists to guarantee the creation of such an environment, classroom structure group size, organization of time, teacher responsibilities, etc.--must foster interaction that encourages learning. Students must be able to work cooperatively have access to effective learning technologies, and be able to participate in sustained conversation about a specific subject.
Acknowledge and support a diversity of instructional approaches to support thinking. Recent research in psychology and cognition identifies a variety of learning styles and intelligences. Instruction for higher order learning must adapt methods to differing styles, but keep constant the outcome of high achievement. Efforts toward flexibility in instructional method should also take into account differences in cultural styles and gender regarding student and teacher interaction. All such efforts must include high order intellectual challenge. Methods should differ but expectations for outcomes should be the same.
Assure student assessment measures higher order learning. The content and design of assessment should provoke and engage students' knowledge and judgment, and require careful thought and problem-solving. Take seriously the adages "you get what you assess" and "teaching to the test," and build assessment measures that demand the sort of teaching that supports higher order learning. Teaching to the test can be a desirable strategy when the test assesses knowledge and skills indicative of high levels of thinking and reasoning. Examine current efforts by several states which have adopted operational science assessments, extended essays in language tests, portfolio assessments, and other performance examinations.
Provide significant and appropriate professional development opportunities. Success at teaching for higher order learning requires fundamental changes in content, method, organization and relations within the classroom and supportive changes throughout the school system. These changes should lead to the creation of a supportive environment for thinking and learning within the classroom where the teacher acts as the facilitator for learning. These new roles are fundamentally different from those presented in typical teacher preparation and so require substantial re-education for experienced and new teachers and administrators. Furthermore, university-based teacher education programs must change significantly how they prepare their students. All these efforts will require time and financial resources.
Communicate expectations of student higher order learning to families and the community. Educators must enlist the support of families and community organizations in achieving higher order learning goals for students. Expanded opportunities must be created for collaborative involvement between home and school in achieving this goal. Families must know of and be assisted in fulfilling their role in maximizing student learning and monitoring the progress of schools in meeting their responsibility to students.
Implmentation Strategies
The advances made in the cognitive sciences during the last two decades must inform restructuring of education practice. The bridge between what the theorists, the researchers and the scholars have dis-covered and actual practice must be built anew.
State education agencies can and must take a leading role in advancing the adoption and use of these powerful developments in the cognitive sciences. Implementation demands fundamental changes in the nature and organization of schooling. The states must assist local education agencies with technical, administrative, and financial assistance to ensure both the development of excellent instructional practice and equitable provision of such practices. States must establish new strategies for curriculum development research and development, student assessment, professional development, and financial support.
Examples of strategies that will strengthen instruction and support higher order learning for all include:
Provide necessary additional funding, materials time, technical assistance, or sanctions to ensure that schools offer all students an education of higher order learning. Because schooling for low income minority, and language minority students typically is not one of higher order learning, extra effort must be made by states to make certain that schools restructure teaching and learning so that these students receive an education of thinking and reasoning.
Design curriculum frameworks and corresponding instructional materials, and direct the selection of textbooks that integrate knowledge; that support higher order learning; and that are sufficiently flexible to students' developmental needs and differences. Such curricula should deepen the content of disciplines and affirm the contributions and perspectives of diverse cultural and linguistic groups, while increasing sensitivity to gender differences.
Design student assessments to measure accumulated, complex accomplishments rather than testing samples of discrete skills. Acknowledge that the design of student tests drive the content and method of instruction and frequently are an impediment to curriculum reform. Multiple choice tests are not consistent with teaching critical thinking, focus on lower-level skills and frequently have a deleterious effect on the education of students.
Ensure that professional development activities provide teachers and administrators--as well as staff of local and state education agencies--with the capacity to promote higher order learning for all students in school and at home. Most teacher education programs do not provide sufficient preparation or experience to ensure such learning, especially for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Nor do they prepare teachers to work appropriately with families in this effort. States should provide professional development that is of sufficient quality (i.e., provides models of successful instruction for all students), length (i.e., lasts over periods of weeks and months and so provides continuity of support), and breadth (i.e., is available to teachers, administrators and staff of local and state education agencies) to ensure effective preparation, the development of local capacity, and system-wide change. States should also influence teacher preservice education to include similar preparation.
Ensure parental and community support of instruction for higher order learning by engaging their active participation in all facets of schooling including the development of plans for achieving higher order learning goals, and in the implementation and evaluation of the activities that follow. Special efforts and resources should be directed to elicit the support of those parents and communities that traditionally have not been active supporters of public education and should be directed toward ensuring continuity of higher order learning processes beyond the classroom.
Conclusion
All educators, including chief state school officers, must be committed to the provision of a high quality education for all students that results in critical and creative thinking, cooperative problem-solving, reasoned and ethical analysis, responsible and moral action, and a lifelong disposition for thinking and learning. Educators must pledge their efforts to assist all children and youth but reserve particular and intense commitment for those students who historically have not been provided an education of higher order and thoughtful learning.
CCSSO Initiatives
In 1989 the Council of Chief State School Officers examined efforts by states, local education agencies, and national organizations to change the practice and organization of schooling-- to restructure schools. In that effort the Council re-viewed activities related to changes in school governance, the nature and organization of the curriculum, professional roles for educators, and accountability that supports school restructuring. The Council also noted principles and strategies for restructuring schools. The fundamental criteria for success in school restructuring were, does the restructuring result in improved student learning, and does it allow students to reach their full potential?
The Council's work during 1990 builds on the previous year's emphasis on restructuring schools, and focuses its efforts on restructuring learning--fundamentally changing the relationship among student, teacher knowledge, and other students in ways that support the development of higher order learning for all students. The Council has examined a broad range of work related to improving student thinking: recent advances in cognitive research about the nature of thinking; new efforts within the disciplines of language acquisition, mathematics, science and social studies; successful programs that teach thinking skills; changing the teacher's role to better assist the development of student thinking; and altering assessment in ways that helps support the teaching of higher order learning. The Council has also identified a set of principles to inform and guide state and local efforts to foster improved student thinking.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nationwide, nonprofit organization composed of the public officials who head the departments of public education in the 50 states, five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Dependents Schools. The Council has functioned as an independent national council since 1927 and has maintained a Washington office since 1948. CCSSO seeks its members' consensus on major education issues and expresses their views to civic and professional organizations, to federal agencies, to Congress, and to the public. Through its structure of committees and task forces, the Council responds to a broad range of concerns about education and provides leadership on major education issues.
Because the Council represents each state's chief education administrator, it has access to the educational and governmental establishment in each state and to the national influence that accompanies this unique position. CCSSO forms coalitions with many other education organizations and is able to provide leadership for a variety of policy concerns that affect elementary and secondary education. Thus, CCSSO members are able to act cooperatively on matters vital to the education of America's young people.
The CCSSO Resource Center on Educational Equity provides services designed to achieve equity and high quality education for minorities, women and girls, and for the disabled, limited English proficient, and low-income students. The Center is responsible for managing and staffing a variety of CCSSO leadership initiatives to assure education success for all children and youth, especially those placed at risk of school failure.
Council of Chief State School Officers, 1990
Herbert J. Grover (Wisconsin), President
Werner Rogers (Georgia), President-elect
Gordon M. Ambach, Executive Director
Cynthia G. Brown, Director, Resource Center on Educational Equity
