Does Higher-Order Thinking Boost Student Satisfaction?

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Student satisfaction is crucial for universities aiming to improve education and keep students engaged. Irina Shcheglova, Jamie Costley, Elena Gorbunova, and Christopher Lange delve into whether tasks that require higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) make students more satisfied with their academic experiences.

Understanding how students feel about their academic experiences is crucial for universities aiming to improve their educational offerings. For nearly 40 years, researchers have explored what makes students satisfied or dissatisfied with their university life. Factors like motivation, learning outcomes, and academic achievements are all connected to student satisfaction, which has become even more significant in the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic amid heightened stress and mental health challenges.

One of the ongoing debates in education revolves around two main teaching approaches: promoting higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) versus focusing on more basic skills. Higher-order thinking involves complex skills like analyzing and creating, while lower-order thinking involves simpler tasks like memorization. Some educators push for HOTS because they lead to deeper understanding and better preparation for future challenges. However, others prefer traditional methods that emphasize rote learning and straightforward information transfer.

Interestingly, there is a mixed bag of findings when it comes to how HOTS affect student satisfaction. On one hand, some studies suggest that engaging students with challenging tasks that require HOTS leads to greater satisfaction and academic achievement. On the other hand, there are concerns that the increased difficulty and cognitive load associated with HOTS might lead to frustration and lower satisfaction among students.

To dive deeper into this issue, a recent study used data from a large survey of students across several U.S. universities. It looked at how often students engaged in different levels of thinking—ranging from basic recall to complex problem-solving—and how this related to their overall satisfaction with their academic experience. The study found that while students often engaged in lower-order thinking tasks, activities requiring HOTS were less frequent. Despite this, when students were challenged with HOTS tasks, their satisfaction generally increased.

The results showed that while basic recall did not significantly impact satisfaction, higher-order tasks like evaluating and creating were positively linked to a more satisfying academic experience. However, tasks that involved applying and analyzing did not show a strong correlation with satisfaction, which might suggest that these tasks are less impactful or that students need to build up their skills before they fully appreciate them.

Overall, the study suggests that harnessing HOTS can in fact enhance student satisfaction, but it is essential to balance these tasks with foundational skills. Effective teaching should guide students from basic understanding to more complex thinking, creating a learning experience that is both challenging and rewarding.

Read the full paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14703297.2024.2332738.