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When assessment meets higher-order thinking (HOT): Building up a cluster for integrating the research on assessment and HOT
Higher-order thinking (HOT) skills are key 21st century skills (Rotherham & Willingham, 2010) that improve learning outcomes (Fong et al., 2017), reduce negative life events (Butler, 2012) and increase job opportunities (OECD, 2017). However, inadequate assessment of HOT, especially formative assessment, hinders adaptation of HOT teaching to fit one's students. This proposed cluster will develop a new Area of Strength by integrating the research on assessment and HOT and target high impact output that is practical and corresponding to education in Hong Kong and transferrable to other contexts. A dual-centric approach is adopted:
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Research into assessment especially formative assessment tasks which can be used to facilitate students’ HOT development, as well as antecedents of teachers’ practices of and students’ engagement in HOT assessment in non-Anglophone contexts.
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Professional development and knowledge transfer to develop HOT assessment literacy among pre- and in-service teachers.
Specific objectives of the proposed AHOT research cluster are:
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To establish up a synergic research team who comes from the fields of assessment and HOT and conduct quality research by making good use of each member’s strengths.
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To research for a better scientific understanding of assessment for HOT at different levels of education.
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To design HOT assessment materials which are ready-for-use for schools or colleges.
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To develop pre-and-in service teachers’ HOT assessment literacy.
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To build a community of practice to disseminate good assessment practices on HOT.