Demanding, Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Samuel Betances, professor of education, Northeastern Illinois University, describes the challenge of teaching demanding new skills for all students. Excerpted from a presentation at NCREL's 1992 Academy for Urban School Leaders. (Audio file, 219k) A text transcript is available.

The Secretary of Labor's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS, 1992) listed five broad competencies for all students that should be considered in curriculum, including:

1. Being able to identify, organize, plan, and allocate resources

2. Being able to work with others

3. Being able to acquire, interpret, and use information

4. Being able to understand and work with social, organizational, and technological systems

5. Being able to work with technology

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