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HOTS-BASED QUESTIONS PREPARATION STRATEGY ON SENIOR

HIGH SCHOOL'S LINEAR PROGRAMME

Agnes Yulitya, Mia Rizki Idaroyanni Siregar, Nurul Hidayah Sembiring

State University of Medan, Indonesia

nurulhidayahsembiring@gmail.com

PAPER INFO ABSTRACT

Received:

November 2021

Revised:

December 2021

Approved:

December 2021

Background: One of the changes in the education assessment system in

Indonesia today is the implementation of HOTs (Higher Order Thinking

Skills) based assessments. The application of HOTs-based assessment aims

to make the learning processe specially mathematics able to encourage

students to develop creative thinking skills.

Aim: In this article, it examines conceptually with the aim of providing

educators with knowledge about the concepts, characteristics, and strategies

for preparing HOTs questions.

Method: This research includes qualitative descriptive research.

Findings: The strategies for compiling HOTs questions are (1) Analyzing the

basic competencies that will be made about HOTs; (2) Arranging a grid of

questions; (3) Using interesting problems in everyday life; (4) Writing

questions; and (5) Make assessment guide lines and answer keys.

KEYWORDS

Preparation of questions, HOTs, learning mathematics

INTRODUCTION

The development of science and technology today requires humans to have various

abilities to face the future including 21

century skills consisting of critical thinking, creative,

innovation, communication and collaboration. The 2013 curriculum is structured to improve

century skills requiring teachers to play an important role in training students to develop

higher-order thinking skills. Students are expected not only to know and understand a

knowledge but also to be able to analyze, evaluate and even create something from the use of

the knowledge they have.

To have this ability, the teacher can train students by providing assessments in the form of

different test questions and demanding students to be more creative in applying the knowledge

they have (Asrul & Rosnita, 2015). In accordance with Law Number 14 of 2005, teachers have the

obligation to plan lessons, implement the learning process and assess and evaluate learning

outcomes. Educational evaluation is the process of determining the quality of education in

order to know the quality or results. The type of test evaluation instrument is the technique

most often used to evaluate student learning outcomes. There are several types of tests

including (1) Achievement test, (2) Proficiency test, (3) Aptitude test, (4) Diagnostic test, and

(5) Placement test.

Mathematics is a science based on abstract concepts so that the provision of this subject

matter can be done by linking the material to everyday life (Dinni, 2018). This is done so that

students are able to find concepts from experience in the surrounding

environment. Mathematics is not only oriented to the mastery of concepts or facts but rather to

the ability to think creatively and apply the basic knowledge it has to solve a problem. The

problem in question is certainly not in the form of questions that are usually presented but also

includes questions or problems that are different from questions in general. The ability of

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184 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(3), Dec 2021

students to examine a problem and relate it to the concepts they already have is what is called

higher order thinking skills (Effendi, 2015).

HOTs-based questions have been tested in the national exam since 2017 and their

composition is always added to the national exam the following year. However, currently the

teacher has not developed an assessment in the form of a test that makes students practice

higher-order thinking. Therefore, this study is expected to provide a description of concepts

and strategies for compiling HOTs-based questions in mathematics learning in elementary

schools in particular so that they can be used as teacher reference materials in teaching

mathematics (Wahyuni, 2017).

Definition of HOTs (Higher Order Thinking Skills)

Higher order thinking skills are interpreted in various different perspectives according to

experts. Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTs) were first formulated by the author from

Dusquance University, namely Susan M Brookhart in her book entitled "How to Assess

Higher-order Thinking Skills in Your Classroom" where she defined that this model as a

method for critical thinking, knowledge transfer and problem solving.

According to Lewis & Smith (in Hidayati, 2017) that: “Higher order thinking occurs when

a person takes new information and information stored in memory and interrelates and/ or

rearranges and extends this information to achieve a purpose or find possible answers in

perplexing situations". This opinion explains that higher order thinking occurs when new

information is received and is interrelated with previous information or expands existing

information in order to formulate answers in certain confusing situations.

Meanwhile, according to Brookhart (in Hidayati, 2017) states that higher order thinking

skills are classified into 3 categories, namely the form of transfer of learning outcomes, critical

thinking and problem solving. Gunawan (in Fanani, 2018) explains HOTs or higher-order

thinking skills as a thinking process that requires students to process existing information and

can produce new meanings and implications in a certain way.

From some of these opinions, it can be concluded that HOTs or high-level thinking skills

are deep thinking processes about processing information in dealing with and solving complex

problems and involve analyzing, evaluating and creating skills. To measure higher-order

thinking skills which are abilities that are not just remembering or referring without doing

analysis, an instrument question in the form of HOTs-based questions can be used (Ariyana &

Bestary, 2018). From this explanation, it can be seen that students' thinking skills can be

developed through the provision of challenging HOTs concepts.

HOTs Characteristics

The characteristics of HOTs-based questions are (1) being able to measure higher-order

thinking skills, (2) using interesting problems or problems in everyday life, and (3) using

various types of questions. This is described in the following description.

1) Measuring the level of HOTs: These abilities include problem solving, critical thinking,

creative thinking, decision making, and reasoning abilities.

2) Using problems in everyday life (Contextual): HOTs-based assessment is an

assessment that involves situations in everyday life and students are expected to apply

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185 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(3), Dec 2021

the knowledge or basic concepts that have been obtained to solve the problem. The real

problems presented include health, economic, environmental, universal funds and the

role of technology in life. The definition concerns students' skills in correlating,

applying and integrating science concepts to solve problems related to everyday life

problems.

3) The use of questions in various forms: The use of questions with various forms has the

aim of providing information about students' abilities as test takers in detail, detail and

comprehensively

Cognitive Level Dimension

Dimensions of cognitive processes according to Bloom consist of six aspects, namely

remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating or creating. The

first and second aspects of remembering and understanding are called low-level thinking

skills. While the other aspect is called higher order thinking ability. Furthermore, Bloom

distinguishes and groups the levels of knowledge level dimensions starting from low or

memorizing levels, medium levels and high levels, namely creating or creating. The knowledge

level dimension is divided into 6 phases which include (1) remembering, (2) understanding,

(3) applying, (4) analyzing, (5) evaluating, and (6) creating. The levels of cognitive processes

are often used to determine learning objectives, known as cognitive levels C1, C2, C3, C4, C5,

and C6 (Wachyudi et al., 2015).

The dimensions of the cognitive level are classified into 3 as explained by Puspendik (in

Fanani, 2018) that the classification consists of (1) level 1 which is the level of understanding

of a knowledge, (2) level 2 which is the application of the acquired knowledge, and (3) level 3

which is the level of reasoning. Each level is described as follows.

1) Level 1 knowledge dimension: Dimensions of knowledge at this level include

knowledge at the level of thinking C1 (remembering) and C2

(understanding). Instrument questions at this level aim to determine students'

understanding of facts or concepts. Operational verbs that are usually used in preparing

questions are writing, mentioning, counting, registering, etc. This type of question on

the level 1 dimension is not a HOTs question.

2) Knowledge dimension level 2: The dimension of knowledge at this level is the process

of applying the facts or concepts that have been obtained. This level includes the level

of knowledge on aspects of C3 (application). Operational verbs that are widely used at

this level are use, apply, prove and so on. However, this type of question at this level is

also not a form of HOTs.

3) Knowledge dimension level 3: The dimensions of knowledge at this level include

thinking processes at the levels of C4 (analysis), C5 (evaluation) and C6 (creating). At

this level students must be able to apply the knowledge, facts or concepts they already

have to answer the questions presented. Students must also have high enough reasoning

and logical power to be able to solve problems related to everyday life. Therefore, the

types of questions at this level of knowledge dimension are HOTs or high - level

thinking questions.

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186 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(3), Dec 2021

Strategy for Formulating HOTs

The strategy for compiling HOTs-based questions includes several steps, namely (1)

analyzing basic competencies, (2) making question grids, (3) using problems related to

everyday life, (4) compiling items and (5) making scoring guidelines.

METHOD

This research includes qualitative descriptive research. Qualitative research is research that

is descriptive and tends to use analysis. Process and meaning are highlighted in qualitative

research. The theoretical basis is used as a guide so that the research focus is in accordance

with the facts on the ground. This study was conducted to analyze and describe the strategy for

preparing HOTs questions on linear programming material for class XI students. The questions

given have been validated by 2 lecturers and 1 mathematics teacher.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The steps for compiling HOTs-based questions have the same steps as compiling the usual

questions (Wahidmurni, 2018). The difference is in the use of stimuli in the form of presenting

problems in everyday life. HOTs-based questions require students to think about how to apply

the facts or concepts that have been mastered. Meanwhile, questions that are not based on

HOTs tend to be simple questions that only measure students' ability to remember or

understand a concept and do not present contextual problems related to everyday life. To write

HOTS items, the question writer is required to be able to determine the behavior to be measured

and formulate the material that will be used as the basis for the question (Stimulus) in a certain

context in accordance with the expected behavior. In addition, the description of the material

to be asked (Which requires high reasoning) is not always available in the textbook. Therefore,

in writing HOTS questions, mastery of teaching materials is needed, skills in writing questions

(Construction questions), and teacher creativity in choosing question stimuli according to the

situation and conditions of the area around the education unit.

The strategy for compiling HOTs-based questions includes several steps, namely (1)

analyzing basic competencies, (2) making question grids, (3) using problems related to

everyday life, (4) compiling items and (5) making questions. scoring guidelines (Fanani,

2018:71). All of these steps are described as follows.

Conduct An Analysis of Basic Competencies (KD) that Can be Made about HOTs

Questions in any form are made to measure the achievement of the competency formulation

formulated in the curriculum text of a subject. Because KD is the last competency formulation

in the curriculum text, educators must analyze KD that will be made about HOTs, and ensure

that the Competency Achievement Indicators (GPA) developed have shown evidence of

achieving the KD. Teachers can study and examine KD which can be compiled into HOTs

questions, because not all KD can be made into HOTs questions (Widana, 2017). This can be

carried out independently or through teacher deliberation forums.

Compiling a grid of questions

The grid is a matrix that contains the criteria needed in compiling the items. The

preparation of this grid aims to make it easier for educators to write HOTs-based

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187 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(3), Dec 2021

questions. Furthermore, it is explained that a good grid must have criteria including (1)

reflecting the content of the curriculum, (2) having clear and easy-to-understand content

components, and (3) being able to write down questions from each of the available

indicators. The format of the question grid is divided into 2 parts, namely the identity section

and the matrix section (Wulan & Rusdiana, 2014). The matrix part is written in the form of a

column while the identity part is written at the top of the matrix while the identity part includes

level/school, subject, academic year, time allocation and types of questions while the matrix

part is in the form of a column consisting of at least KD, indicators, materials, types of

questions, and the number of questions (Wulan & Rusdiana, 2014). An example of a question

writing grid is presented in the following table. An example of a question writing grid is

presented in the following table.

Table 1. Examples of Question Grid Formats

Math Daily Quiz

Education units

: Senior High School

Class : XI

Subjects

: Mathematics

Time : 30 Minutes

School year

: 2020/2021

Question Type: Description

Indicators of

Competencies

Subject

Matter

Indicator

Type

Cog.

Level

No.

3.2 Explaining

the program

linear 2

variables and

method solution

using

conceptual

problems

3.2.1 Identifying

equations and

the linear inequality

of 2 variables.

3.2.2 Identify

objective function

of the constraints

on a linear

programming

problem.

3.2.3 Drawing

up mathematical

models of linear

Programming

Problem.

3.2.4 Solving the

mathematical

model of

the problem which

related with

Linear

Program

Presented a

story question

related to

daily life,

where

students are

asked to seek

maximum

profit

Description

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188 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(3), Dec 2021

a linear inequality

of two variables.

3.2.5 Critical in

dealing with

problems day-

to- day which

related to system

of equations and

linear inequalities

of 2 variables.

3.2.6Analyze and

conclude

the concept of

a system of

equations and line

ar inequalities of

2 variables.

3.2.7 Applying

a system

of linear equations

and inequalities 2

variables

in solving real

problem.

Using problems that are interesting or related to everyday life

The problems presented in the form of problems in everyday life are interesting and can

motivate students to read in more detail the questions. Teachers can use the school environment

or the local environment as a contextual stimulus to be able to attract students' interest in

solving problems.

Writing questions

The question paper can be written in the form of multiple choice or description according

to the needs of the teacher where the writing must be adjusted to the rules of writing HOTs

questions. The number of items and the form of the questions are adjusted to the grid that has

been prepared. The rules for compiling HOTS questions are in general the same as compiling

questions in general, the difference is the material aspect and the use of operational verbs that

must be adapted to verbs at cognitive levels C4, C5, and C6. The items that have been arranged

are written on a question card. An example of a question card format is presented in the

following table.

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189 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(3), Dec 2021

Table 2. Sample of Question Card

Subject:

Class:

Semester:

Question Card No. 1

Mathematics

Basic competencies

3.2 Describe a two-variable linear program and

its solution method using conceptual problems.

Material

Linear Program

Question Indicator

Presented a story problem related to everyday

life, where students are asked to seek

maximum profit.

Cognitive Level

About

1. Mr. Chandra owns a home industry of art

tools that produces 2 types of products,

namely art tools A and B. The two types of art

tools are produced by cutting machines and

sanding machines. To produce art tool A, it

takes 2 hours of work on a cutting machine

and 1 hour on a sanding machine. To produce

art tool B, it takes 2 hours of work on a cutting

machine and 3 hours on a sanding

machine. Each type of machine works no

more than 12 hours a day. Mr. Chandra

estimates that the profit from the sale of each

unit of art tool A is Rp. 175,000.00 and art

tools B in the amount of Rp. 215,000.00. If

Mr. Chandra has 3 units of cutting machines

and 3 units of sanding machines, then the

maximum profit is ....

Making assessment guidelines and answer keys

The questions that have been written by the teacher should be equipped with answer keys

and assessment guidelines (Widana, 2017). The making of assessment guidelines is used to

measure the results of the work from the form of description questions, while to assess the

results of the work from questions in the form of multiple choice, complex multiple choice or

short descriptions, it is necessary to make an answer key. An example of an answer key table

format and an assessment guideline is presented in the following table.

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190 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(3), Dec 2021

Table 3. Examples of Assessment Guidelines and Answer Keys

No.

Answer Description

Score

Information: Producing art tool A requires 2 hours of work

on a cutting machine and 1 hour on a sanding machine. To

produce art tool B, it takes 2 hours of work on a cutting

machine and 3 hours on a sanding machine. Each type

of machine works no more than 12 hours a day. Mr.

Chandra estimates that the profit from the sale of each unit

of art tool A is Rp. 175,000.00 and art tools B in the amount

of Rp. 215,000.00.

Question: If Mr. Chandra has 3 machines cutter and 3 units

of sanding machine, then the maximum profit is...

Answer: Let x and y be the number of art tools A and B

produced, respectively. The objective function is f(x,y) =

175,000x + 215,000y.

The following table can be used to create a system of linear

inequalities.

The system of linear inequalities that represents the above

case is

or simplified to

Next, determine the solution area and the corner points.

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191 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(3), Dec 2021

From the picture, there are 4 corner points, namely points

A, B, C, and D. Corner point C is the second intersection

point line and coordinates could search by using method of

settlement SPLDV.

x+3y=12

x+y=6

2y=6

y=3

Substitute and get x=3. Now, we have obtained 4 corner

points and their coordinates. Test the value on the objective

function.

The maximum profit that can be achieved per day from the

use of one unit of cutting machine and sanding machine is

Rp. 1,170,000.00. Because each machine has three

units, the maximum profit will be 3 times,

namely Rp. 3,510,000.00.

Total Score

CONCLUSION

From the results obtained in the discussion, it can be concluded that HOTs are a deep

thinking process about processing information in completing and solving complex

problems. The dimensions of knowledge on HOTs include thinking processes at the levels of

C4 (analysis), C5 (evaluation), and C6 (creating). The characteristics of HOTs-based questions

are (1) measuring higher-order thinking skills, (2) using problems in everyday life, and (3)

using various types of questions. The strategy for compiling HOTs questions consists of several

steps, namely (1) conducting an analysis of the basic competencies that will be made about

HOTs, (2) compiling a grid of questions, (3) using interesting problems in everyday life, (4)

writing questions, and (5) making assessment guidelines and answer keys.

HOTs-Based Questions Preparation Strategy on Senior High School's Linear Programme

192 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(3), Dec 2021

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