Level 4 learning involves the use of thinking processes such as Decision-Making, Problem Solving, Investigating, and Experimenting. These are known as thinking processes because they incorporate multiple level 3 Higher Order Thinking strategies. For example, Decision-Making requires compare and contrast, evaluate, and justify. Level 4 thinking requires that students have had multiple experiences with the Higher Order Thinking strategies required before attempting to integrate them to learn and produce at the Apply level. You will not have Level 4 Learning Activities in every lesson. When you do have level 4, the Learning Activities and Assessment Prompts will usually be levels 1 – 3, and then the lesson assignment is level 4.
Level 4 thinking should require students to “be in the driver’s seat”. In other words, activities or assignments are student-directed. Examples are case studies, simulations, authentic problems, and investigations. Questions should require the types of strategies embedded in the thinking process. For example, decision-making requires selecting among alternatives. An appropriate question is, “What criteria would you use to choose among these alternatives?” Experimenting requires students to make and test hypotheses. A question might be “How will your experiment test your hypothesis?” For problem-solving, a question is, “What is another way to solve this problem?”
Because this Level of Learning is student-directed, and your role is to serve as a facilitator as students complete Level 4 assignments, assessment is ongoing. There will be checks for understanding as you ask questions and observe student products, but there will not be a need for planned stops to check for understanding using Assessment Prompts.
