[etni] Our pupils don't need HOTS

From: "Chezi Fine" <hezi5@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2012 11:16:54 +0300
Hi, Esther.

IMHO, the question is not whether our pupils need to do a log or take an
exam. The question is whether they need HOTS at all.

Here is an excerpt from my reply (from 17/08/2010!) to one of the members of
the steering committee of the of the HOTS program. In this reply, I tried to
explain why our pupils don't need HOTS: 
____________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________
Our pupils don't need the HOTS program as you are selling it, because it is
a travesty of invaluable critical thinking skills. All critical thinking is
content specific. Claiming that because your program "teaches" pupils to
recognize and name a skill, say, prediction, they have therefore learnt how
to think is ridiculous. 

Take prediction. Prediction is content-specific. Prediction in physics (the
ability to say where a projectile will be on a certain trajectory) is not
prediction in medicine (say in the prognosis of a disease). So too,
prediction in astronomy is nothing like prediction in economics -  unless
you want to TRIVIALIZE  what 'prediction' means.

I don't think there is any real basis for your jubilation over what pupils,
or for that matter, their parents' report, about their application of
thinking skills. 

Here is an imaginary pupil reporting that he applied prediction to a real
life situation:
 
Pupil:   Teacher, teacher.
Teacher: What, my thinking genius?
Pupil:   I just applied prediction to real life.
Teacher: How did you do it, my Einstein?
Pupil:   I looked at my low battery indicator and predicted that my phone is
going to go dead soon.
Teacher: Wow!
____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________

If you think I'm being facetious, watch some of the videos on TLC purporting
to "explicitly teach" HOTS, here:

http://tlc.cet.ac.il/ItemList.aspx?SubjectID=c07c21e3-7e24-4873-8b88-e1b12c1
13329#MediaTypes=2,3,7

You won't know whether to laugh or cry.

Chezi Fine

From: ETNI list <etni.list@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2012 16:53:09 +0300
Subject: [etni] Fwd: HOTS (again :)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Esther Revivo <estherrevivo@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: HOTS (again :)

I am a well-known "unhappiy camper" with the HOTS program, as I teach weak
pupils. At our school there will most probably be fewer 4 pointers than in
the past. Perhaps MOE wants those between 3/4 points to stay at 3 while
those between 4/5 ability stay at 4. That is why I disagree with whoever
said that 'there should be either an exam or log for everyone,' which I
believe would rob many pupils of the ability to succeed on the D exam.
(Although it would be much easier for ME!) My weak yuddies occasionally
misinterpret/ misunderstand concepts of HOTS in L1! However I've accepted
the fact that sadly, it seems that HOTS are here to stay.

I fullheartedly agree with Jennifer when she wrote : "On the other hand,
though  learning HOTS is important in L1, particularly in grade school and
Junior High, I do not like the way it is being tacked on to the literature
exam." Neither do I. I'm sure that Adele is correct when she mentioned that
in the past, some teachers did NOT teach literature. (Which was depriving
them of one of the most important facets of EFL! Such teachers should be
ashamed of themselves, although sorrowfully I doubt they are!! ) However, I
believe that we should have returned to the old test of yesteryear-- whereby
pupils were tested on literature sans HOTS on the exam.

Esther Revivo





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[etni] Our pupils don't need HOTS

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