Assimilation of the KWHL Model: A Review of Learning and Facilitation (LaF) of HOTS for Argumentative Essay Writing

It is a necessity for teachers to develop higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) into learning and facilitation (hereafter known as LaF) processes implemented in the classroom. Teachers should carefully balance the content of knowledge or knowledge they wish to convey and then integrate with other skills, especially HOTS. This research set out to examine the assimilation of HOTS into the LaF of argumentative essay writing as carried out by Malay language teachers in secondary schools. To obtain a holistic overview of the methods used by teachers in LaF, a qualitative case study approach was employed as the research design of this study. Two research participants were involved voluntarily in this study, and it was conducted at a boarding school in a district in Selangor, Malaysia. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and classroom observations with the two participants. The findings revealed that the assimilation of the KWHL model for the LaF of HOTS argumentative essay writing could be seen through (i) the pair-think-share activity; and (ii) usage of self-assessment whiteboard.