Evaluation on Lesson Plans of Elementary Pre-Service Teachers Fostering HOTS within Shulman’s Framework

This study aimed at explaining the capacity of pre-service teachers in designing teaching activities to foster Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). The research participants were 35 pre-service teachers attending Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Teacher Education department at a state university in Malang. The research method was descriptive quantitative. The assessment was conducted by reviewing lesson plans designed by the pre-service teachers. Rubric within Shulman's framework was used for assessing the lesson plans by considering some key aspects of teaching to foster HOTS, namely content knowledge, the use of questions, and problem-solving. The results have revealed that the pre-service teachers did not show a good ability to interpret contents. Besides, the pre-service teachers tended to use clarifying questions in learning. This was due to the fact that the designed learning had not been based on problems. It can be said that the capacities of the pre-service teachers in both content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge were considerably low. Both types of knowledge have shown a significant correlation in the context of teaching to foster HOTS.