Graphical Advance Organizers and Their Impact to Develop Higher Order Thinking Skills among Secondary Science School Students

Abstract

This study was conducted to find out the impact of graphical advance organizers on the development of higher order thinking skills among ninth grade biology students. Due to the increasing complexity of the scientific content, especially at secondary stage, there is a need for cognitive tools to develop the higher order thinking skills. Graphical advance organizers are the visual instructional tools presented before learning and are designed to bridge the gap between prior knowledge and the new content to make the learning more meaningful. This quasi-experimental research utilized a pre-test/post-test control group design involving 57 Grade 9 students in one urban public school; Government Girls High School Westridge No. 3, Rawalpindi (Pakistan). The experimental group (30 students) received instruction in biology using graphical advance organizers while the control group (27 students) was taught using conventional lecture-based methods without visual aids.

Data were collected using a validated analysis skill assessment tool specifically developed to measure students’ ability to interpret, compare, analyze, and evaluate biological information. The findings revealed that students exposed to graphical advance organizers demonstrated significantly higher gains in higher order thinking skills (analysis and evaluation) than those in the control group.

This study contributes to the growing body of literature on instructional strategies in science education and emphasizes the importance of incorporating graphical organizers in the secondary classrooms to promote analytical and evaluating skills. Recommendations are offered for educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers to embed visual learning tools at secondary level biology instruction to foster higher order thinking skills.

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