Universitas Muhammadiyah Purworejo (UMPWR) once again demonstrated its contribution to improving educational quality, particularly in enhancing educators’ competencies. This time, a lecturer from the Teacher Professional Education (PPG) Program at UMPWR, Dr. Yuli Widiyono, M.Pd., was invited as a keynote speaker in a training session on developing Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)-based assessment questions, focusing on strengthening literacy and numeracy skills.
The training was held on Monday, June 29, 2026, at SMA Negeri 6 Purworejo and was attended by 35 participants, including the principal, vice principals, teachers, and members of the school’s academic community.
This training was part of a competency development program initiated by SMA N 6 Purworejo as an effort to refresh and strengthen teachers’ capacities in literacy and numeracy. The main focus of the activity was to improve teachers’ ability to design learning assessment instruments, particularly through the development of HOTS-based questions for various subjects.
The three-hour session ran smoothly and interactively. The materials presented covered the fundamental concepts and characteristics of HOTS-based questions, followed by hands-on practice in designing and discussing sample questions.
In his presentation, Dr. Yuli emphasized that HOTS-based questions are not simply about making questions more difficult, but rather about encouraging students to think more deeply, critically, and analytically. “HOTS questions are not about creating complicated problems, but about designing questions that stimulate students to analyze, evaluate, and find solutions to problems. This is where literacy and numeracy play a crucial role in the learning process,” he explained.
The lively and communicative discussion reflected the participants’ strong enthusiasm throughout the training. The two-way interaction between the speaker and participants created a dynamic learning environment, while also providing teachers with opportunities to deepen their understanding of effective assessment strategies that foster students’ critical thinking skills.
The Principal of SMA Negeri 6 Purworejo, Niken Wahyuni, S.Pd., M.Pd., also expressed her appreciation for the successful implementation of the program. She acknowledged the efforts of both the organizing committee and the speaker for their contributions to strengthening literacy and numeracy through HOTS-based assessment development.
According to her, the training is expected not to remain at the theoretical level alone, but to be implemented in actual classroom learning. In this way, the assessment questions designed by teachers can support students in developing more critical, analytical, and adaptive ways of thinking to meet today’s learning challenges.
Contributor: Dr. Yuli Widiyono, M.Pd.
Editor: UMPWR Public Relations (Akb/KP)
