How to foster higher order thinking skills in plant biology classroom? An investigation to deal with Indonesian new curriculum for senior high school

Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) is one of the requirements that must be owned by innovative learning. In its development, teachers are required to be able to choose the right learning strategies, not only in planning and assessment but also in the learning process. This paper explores the lesson plans made by teachers in developing learning that empowers HOTS on plant material in senior high school. The research approach is qualitative research with descriptive methods. The documents used in this study were taken from students taking curriculum and learning design courses. The samples used were eight lesson plans using plant themes. From the results obtained, there are four learning approaches developed, including the scientific, concepts, environmental, and STEM approaches. The learning models developed also vary, including Discovery Learning, Project Based Learning (PjBL), Problem-Based Learning (PBL), and Cooperative Learning. The development of these approaches and models is expected to be an inspiration for biology teachers to develop plant material learning in high school, especially in facing the new challenges of the implementation of a new curriculum in Indonesia called Kurikulum Merdeka.