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Activating Higher Order Thinking Skills
There are many ways that educators can introduce a topic, concept, or lesson to students for them to use higher order thinking skills. These skills include problem solving, decision making, and critical thinking, which have been shown to improve the development of knowledge
in students (Miri, David, & Uri, 2007). One technique that educators can implement is using images to provide context or insight for a certain subject. With these images, students can build connections and make inferences about a topic. When learning about a subject, using different text structures can be challenging for students if they are not familiar with the structure. By using
images in a lesson, students can improve skills that will support their comprehension of different types of texts. Using Images to Support Vocabulary and Comprehension Development
For the module 4 application, the educator designed a presentation that is focused on The Harlem Renaissance, a movement that expressed pride in black culture and arts. The presentation
contains ten images that are connected to the movement. The images are a mix of paintings and photographs taken and created during the time period. Each image has 3 prompts for students to think about, discuss, write about, etc. With the images and prompts, students must use inference skills and previous knowledge, both of which are significant skills required to comprehend text. When looking at these images, students must be observing, describing, comparing, investigating etc., which are fundamental parts of reading, writing, speaking, and listening (Brookhart, 2010). For example, in the presentation, students are looking at a painting and thinking about what each detail might represent and how it supports the overall message of the painting. This is similar to
