Investigating the Higher-order Thinking Skills of Gifted Students within a Differentiated Learning Environment: A Case Study

This study investigates how higher-order thinking skills (HOTs) can be developed in gifted students through their participation in an interdisciplinary project within a differentiated learning environment. The interdisciplinary project was designed using a “backward design” approach, incorporating three subjects: History, Islam, and Moral Education. The study focused on employing differentiated instruction in terms of both content and process. A case study was adopted in the current study. The study involved 21 students, aged 15 and 16, enrolled in a high school in Northern Malaysia offering the Advanced Smart Education Program. Data was collected from interdisciplinary project discussions in Google Docs and analysed qualitatively using the content analysis method. The depth of students' thinking levels was assessed using the revised Bloom's taxonomy. The findings show that most students responded superficially to the interdisciplinary project within a differentiated learning environment.