Parents and teachers can do a lot to encourage Higher Order Thinking. Here are some strategies to help foster children's complex thinking.
Answer children's questions in a way that promotes HOT
According to Robert Sternberg, answers to children's questions can be categorized into seven levels, from low to high, in terms of encouraging higher levels of thinking. While we wouldn't want to answer every question on level seven, we wouldn't want to answer every question on levels one and two, either.
Level 1: Reject the question
Level 2: Restate or almost restate the question as a response
Level 3: Admit ignorance or present information
Level 4: Voice encouragement to seek response through authority
Level 5: Encourage brainstorming, or consideration of alternative explanations
Level 6: Encourage consideration of alternative explanations and a means of evaluating them
Level 7: Encourage consideration of alternative explanations plus a means of evaluating them, and follow-through on evaluations
Go to http://www.readingrockets.org/article/how-increase-higher-order-thinking for examples of each level.