High order thinking skills in the inquiry framework: A new taxonomy on the cognitive domain and its assessment instruments on kinematics topics

Inquiry-based learning has been widely researched to improve students' ability in higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). However, the HOTS component that specifically relates to the steps of inquiry has not been developed. Therefore, it is necessary to develop HOTS in the inquiry framework as a new taxonomy of cognitive domains relevant to the inquiry process. This study aims to develop HOTS in the inquiry framework, develop the assessment instrument of HOTS in the inquiry framework on the kinematics, then test both content validity and empirical validity. This Research and Development (R&D) use the steps proposed by Barg and Gall. The research began by synthesizing HOTS in the inquiry framework through literature study, compiling the instrument of HOTS in the inquiry framework on kinematic, then testing its validity through expert judgment and field tests. Aiken's V formula is used to analyze the expert judgment, while the field test results were analyzed using the Rasch Model. The result of this study is a new taxonomy on the cognitive domain called HOTS in the inquiry framework, consisting of three levels, namely: Level 1-Diagnose the problem, which consists of attributing, analyzing errors, and planning skills; level 2-Solve the Problem which consists of generating, experimenting, examining importance; and Level 3-Get the solution of the problem which consists of generalizing and producing abilities. In addition, based on the results of expert assessments and empirical tests in the field, a valid and reliable instrument of HOTS in the inquiry framework on kinematics has been produced.