Educators in the health professions have at their disposal a variety of teaching techniques and a multitude of delivery modalities that incorporate cutting-edge technology or pedagogical approaches, yet there remains a paucity of evidence in the existing literature to enable educators to identify best practices for maximizing higher-order thinking among learners. This focus session will share new data conducted at the University of Illinois College of Medicine that analyzed the relationship between various pedagogies and student performance outcome metrics in a pre-clinical medical education curriculum over three years. All assessments used in the analysis were classified based on Bloom's taxonomy levels. Level I is associated with remembering (recognizing, recalling), Level II is associated with understanding (interpreting), and Level III is associated with applying concepts. Our findings showed that different pedagogies had variable correlations with Bloom's taxonomy levels, which we think has important implications for health professions education and, therefore, will be of great interest to the audience at IAMSE. We intend to use our findings as a jumping-off point to spark discussion among participants who will be asked to share their personal experiences, triumphs, and challenges in an effort to arrive, collectively, at a list of best practices for achieving high-level conceptual thinking among learners in the health professions field. =-@ Compare and contrast common pedagogical approaches in health professions education with respect to developing higher-@order thinking in learners. -@ Discuss various approaches to active learning within a variety of institutional settings. - Identify strategies for effective integration of active learning pedagogies in traditional as well as online, blended, or hybrid settings. -@ Work together to Identify the best teaching strategies to promote higher-@order thinking