THE question begging to be asked is how a young child’s primordial cognitive skill is lost in the country’s school system, ending up with 12-year-olds who find thinking such a challenge. The 2016 Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) showed this to be the case when only 1.11 per cent, or 4,896 of the 440,782 pupils who sat for the UPSR, scored straight As. Last year, 38,344 children aced the subjects they sat for. The shortfall is incredible. That gap, according to experts, is caused by the education reform that subjected this year’s entrants to a new format — the higher order thinking skills (HOTS). It entails analysing, critical thinking, being creative and coming up with ideas. It is about leading a child through, from analysis to criticism, followed by the “eureka moment”.
Traditionally, the education system has stressed lower order thinking skills (LOTS) in primary schools, the 3Rs of reading, writing and arithmetic; basic skills needed to enable understanding and application. Much of it is rote learning, and examinations, the multiple choice format. Those who commit content to memory thrive under these conditions. Mastering this art is easier. The radical transformation to HOTS demands a specific approach to learning where rote alone does not work. Unfortunately, for most of this year’s UPSR candidates, the sudden change from rote to thought, in some nine months after five years of rote, was just too much. Were the teachers able to accommodate the transformation? Were they adequately prepared? Did they have enough time to guide the pupils? Were there teaching tools for the purpose?
For this year’s Year One children, HOTS and LOTS will combine to sharpen a child’s cognitive skills. But, is there pedagogy at hand for teachers to handle the change? For, HOTS cannot be taught with a LOTS methodology. Now would be a good time to start preparing teachers for the change to ensure that they have the right pedagogy and tools for a modern construct.
HOTS cannot be reversed. By next year, UPSR candidates would have experienced two years of cognitive learning and teachers would have had two years to challenge their pupils’ intellect. An improvement is, therefore, to be expected, especially now that schools are forced to face their shortcomings. Pay attention to pedagogy and how best to teach to meet the HOTS objective. The approaching long holidays should be an opportunity for refresher courses for teachers. And, too, teachers’ key performance indicators to be assessed according to pupils’ performance. More remedial classes must be held for UPSR candidates. If old textbooks remain the teaching staple, then the Education Ministry must take responsibility and rectify the situation. Cognitive skill development should be a natural process in a child as it is the progressive building of thought processes, that include remembering, analysing, problem solving, understanding the cause, making comparisons and decision making; it is a process that carries through from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Education must be built on this foundation.