Higher Order Thinking Skills: 5 Examples

If someone stopped to ask you how you think, you might look at them as if they were a bit odd. That’s understandable since we don’t generally think about how we think, or thinking in general, for that matter – we simply think. However, our education, family, and government systems are starting to talk a lot more about how we think, with an emphasis on higher-order thinking, sometimes referred to as HOT for short.

Higher thinking is necessary for success in all areas of life, including work. In fact, higher-order thinking skills are some of the most sought-after soft skills employers look for in their employees. Without higher-order thinking, our world would be void of new inventions, creativity, novel ideas, and so much more.

In this article, we cover what higher-order thinking skills are, as well as five examples that are vital for success in the workplace.

What is higher-order thinking?

When we memorize and regurgitate facts without having to think about them, we use what’s referred to as rote memory. Using rote memory is essentially like programming a robot so it does exactly what you want it to do. However, it doesn’t have the ability to adjust or change what you program into it since it can’t think on its own.

Higher-order thinking, on the other hand, goes beyond mere memorization or observation of facts – it requires us to use the facts we have stored in different ways vs. simply memorizing them and then sharing them when asked to do so. For higher-order thinking, we must take the information we’ve gathered and connect it to other information, which we then categorize, connect to concepts, manipulate, and use to develop new solutions, ideas, and innovations.

Foundations of higher order thinking

Our brains develop higher-order thinking to help us move from simply remembering and recalling knowledge to application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and creation based on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain. We move from gathering information to comprehending the information. We then apply and use the data to analyze the information collected. From there, we can evaluate and synthesize information to generate new ideas, concepts, and creations.

Two foundations of HOT are concept development and schemas.

Concept development

When we encounter new concepts, higher-order thinking allows us to connect those concepts to things we’re already familiar with. This requires chaining patterns together through categorizing, classifying, and pattern recognition.

Concepts can be abstract or concrete and verbal or nonverbal. Abstract concepts are those that we can’t use our senses to understand, like love, loyalty, joy, and employee morale. We must have some level of experience with abstract concepts for us to understand them.

Conversely, concrete concepts are those that we can use our senses to understand, like desks, tables, and food. Nonverbal concepts tend to be easily visualized, like water or a square while verbal concepts require words to describe them, like liberty and environment. Concepts can also be bundled together. For example, you can combine verbal and concrete to define something like a toothbrush, or verbal and abstract to talk about something like perseverance.

There are also process concepts, which highlight the steps to how things work or occur. Budget development and writing a work order would be process concepts in the workplace.

Schemas

We create meaning to make connections, which are considered concepts. When we use the information we already have stored to help us interpret new information, the already stored information is a schema. For example, if you have a clear idea in your mind of what a software development program language looks like, when you see a new language on your computer that appears similar to what you’ve encountered before, you can infer that it is likely a software language you’re encountering for the first time.

Schemas also allow us to predict something based on learned patterns. An example of this might be your ability to more easily plan for a phone interview because you’ve attended a few with various employers in the past that all have had a similar structure or pattern.

Examples of higher-order thinking skills for job success

From concepts and schemas, you can start to idealize higher-order thinking within the workplace. Here are five examples of higher-order thinking that virtually all employers look for in employees. You’ll notice that they are interconnected – you often need to simultaneously use more than one higher-order thinking skill.

1. Problem-solving as an example of higher-order thinking

We problem-solve from the minute we wake up until we go to bed. At work, we must solve problems regularly for many reasons, including meeting our goals, increasing productivity, reducing costs, and moving past project hold-ups.

To problem-solve successfully, we:

Define the problem
Generate new ideas and alternative solutions using creative thinking
Evaluate and select an alternative option
Implement and follow up to confirm a solution is working

2. Idea generation as an example of higher-order thinking

Developing ideas is how innovation and progress are made. Idea generation comes from both original ideas and insights. Insights are a sudden gathering of several thoughts – like a lightbulb going off in your head – that allow you to figure something out or see something in a new way.

Original ideas, as the name implies, are ideas that you have that have not come from or been copied from anything or anybody else. You must use creativity and imagination to come up with original ideas.

3. Creativity as an example of higher-order thinking

Creative thinking is our ability to develop original and unique ideas and solutions. It requires analytical skills and innovation. Creative thinking at work might look like this:

Identifying a unique opportunity to increase brand awareness and then developing a strategy based on that opportunity
Holding a brainstorming session to gather new ideas to solve a persistent and reoccurring project bottleneck
Researching ways to better support clients in market development
Evaluating current processes and procedures and providing suggestions for improvement

4. Brainstorming as an example of higher-order thinking

Through brainstorming, we generate new and original ideas while evaluating options. It can be done alone or in collaboration. At work, coworkers can build on each other’s ideas to come up with the best option. You want to generate as many ideas as possible and then evaluate those ideas to determine which one is the best to implement. Many inventions in our world were thanks to brainstorming.

5. Critical thinking as an example of higher-order thinking

New ideas are also formed through critical thinking. Often referred to as “having a mind of your own,” critical thinking allows you to evaluate things as well as the options, ideas, and opinions of others and discern whether they’re right or wrong. Effective critical thinking allows you to analyze and evaluate a problem or issue to form your own judgment.

At work, you might receive an estimate and process recommendations from two project management vendors. Using critical thinking skills allows you to read both estimates and recommendations, ask questions, and come to a decision that’s the best solution for your organization.

Tips to enhance higher-order thinking skills

Here are some tips and exercises to improve your higher-order thinking skills.

Understand how you engage in metacognition

Metacognition is an awareness of your own thought processes. It’s a higher-order thinking skill that requires you to understand your own strengths and weaknesses based on how you retain and learn new information.

By being self-aware of your weaknesses and strengths in this area, you’ll be better able to make choices to enhance your success and how to work with coworkers to compensate for each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

For example, if you know you learn best by doing, then it’s most advantageous for you to be hands-on when learning a new skill vs. only reading about it or listening to a tutorial about it. Or, if you have a coworker who excels at analyzing data and you excel at applying the data in practical settings, you can assign tasks accordingly.

Engage in personal development

Personal development through reading, watching videos, and attending training courses in your field allows you to expand HOT skills in several ways. By learning and applying new information, you’re enhancing concept development, critical thinking, innovation, and more.

Actively listen

Actively listening is an essential skill to apply and expand higher-order thinking. Truly hearing what your coworkers and leadership have to say allows you to take the verbal information and synthesize it. It also provides information to allow you to expand your knowledge and make informed decisions and choices to support your team.

Use open-ended questions

Open-ended questions require more than a “yes” or “no” answer. Use open-ended questions that probe and encourage critical thinking for yourself and others

Work together

Working together in groups to achieve a goal supports sharing ideas. It also invokes questions to expand thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Elaborate on your thinking

When you make a choice to elaborate on your thoughts and answers to questions or problems, you go beyond the first answer you come to. Doing so stretches your mind to help you determine why you chose what you chose and possibly identify alternatives.

Emphasize your higher-order thinking skills for success

Employers seek candidates who possess higher-order thinking skills. Apply the information and tips here to move forward successfully on your career path by actively using HOT. And, if you’re in the job market, be sure to highlight your HOT skills on your resume to stand out from the competition and land an interview.

Want to ensure your resume emphasizes HOT skills? Why not submit your resume for a free review today?