Effects of Teachers' Use of Active Learning Techniques on Secondary School Students' Development of Lower Order and Higher Order Thinking

Abstract

This study looked at how secondary school students' lower-order and higher-order thinking skills were affected by teachers' use of active learning techniques. 389 students from secondary public schools participated in a quantitative, cross-sectional survey. One-way ANOVA and post hoc comparisons were used to analyze the data, which were gathered using a structured questionnaire based on Bloom's taxonomy. The findings showed that while moderate and high implementation levels of active learning significantly improved students' higher-order thinking skills, there was no significant difference between these higher levels. In contrast, teachers' high-level implementation of active learning significantly improved students' lower-order thinking skills. These results demonstrate how teachers play a critical role in promoting cognitive development through intentional instructional design and active engagement techniques. The study offers implications for teacher preparation, curriculum design, and educational policy in secondary education, highlighting the significance of regularly incorporating active learning to support the progression from basic knowledge to complex reasoning.

Keywords: Active learning, Lower-order thinking, Higher-order thinking, Secondary education