Individuals today need to enhance their knowledge and skill sets to stay relevant and on par with the times. This is where Bloom’s taxonomy comes in. This taxonomy can help teachers design effective instruction, assess student learning, and promote higher-order thinking skills, enhancing their teaching pedagogy.
Let’s explore the main characteristics and examples of each category of Bloom’s taxonomy.
By better understanding this framework, educators and learners alike can work towards achieving their learning goals more efficiently and effectively
What is Bloom’s Taxonomy?
Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework for classifying and organising learning objectives in education. Originally developed by a group of educational psychologists led by Benjamin Bloom in the 1950s, Bloom’s Taxonomy consisted of six categories or levels:
Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation
In the 2000s, Loris Anderson and David Krathwohl revised it and produced a revised version of Bloom’s Taxonomy named A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. The aim was to step outside the bounds of purely educational objectives and focus on the dynamic aspects of the learning process at each level.
The Original Bloom’s Taxonomy
In the 1950s, Benjamin Bloom and his collaborators published the book Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. It provided a way to categorise educational goals, which helped educators create an enhanced teaching Pedagogy. Their framework received large-scale recognition and was known as Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Bloom’s Taxonomy consisted of six categories or levels:
- Knowledge: The ability to recall factual information, such as terms, definitions, dates, facts, etc.
- Comprehension: The ability to understand the meaning and implications of information, such as summarising, explaining, interpreting, etc.
- Application: The ability to use learned information in new situations, such as solving problems, applying rules, demonstrating, etc.
- Analysis: The ability to break down information into its components and examine the relationships among them, such as comparing, contrasting, classifying, etc.
- Synthesis: The ability to combine information from different sources and create something new, such as designing, composing, proposing, etc.
- Evaluation: The ability to judge the value and quality of information based on criteria and standards, such as critiquing, assessing, recommending, etc.
The Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
Loris Anderson and David Krathwohl, along with a group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists, and instructional researchers, studied and produced a revised version of the original Bloom’s Theory, titled A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.
In the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, nouns and static objectives were replaced with verbs and gerunds in order to describe the cognitive processes required to be used by the students and learners.
Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy consists of two main domains or dimensions: Cognitive Domain and Knowledge Domain
- Cognitive Domain: The cognitive domain represents a continuum of cognitive complexity from lowest to highest order from remember to create.
The revised six levels are:
Remember:
This level involves recalling facts, terms, definitions, or concepts from memory. It is the lowest level of cognitive skill, but it is essential for building a foundation for higher levels of learning.
Example, students can remember the names of the planets in the solar system or the definition of photosynthesis. Some verbs that indicate this level are: define, list, name, recall, recognise, and repeat.
Understand:
This level involves explaining, interpreting, summarising, or paraphrasing information in one’s own words. It goes beyond remembering by demonstrating comprehension and meaning-making.
Example, students can understand the main idea of a text or the relationship between two variables in a graph. Some verbs that indicate this level are: classify, compare, describe, explain, illustrate, and infer.
Apply:
This level involves using learned knowledge or skills to solve problems or perform tasks in new situations. It requires transferring and generalising what has been learned to different contexts and scenarios.
Example, students can apply the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of a side of a triangle or use a formula to calculate the area of a circle. Some verbs that indicate this level are: apply, demonstrate, perform, solve, and use.
Analyse:
This level involves breaking down information into parts and identifying relationships, patterns, or causes and effects. It requires critical thinking and logical reasoning to examine and evaluate information.
Example, students can analyse the structure of a poem or the factors that led to a historical event. Some verbs that indicate this level are: analyse, compare, contrast, differentiate, and distinguish.
Evaluate:
This level involves making judgements, assessments, or critiques based on criteria or standards. It requires making informed decisions and supporting them with evidence and arguments.
Example, students can evaluate the quality of a source or the effectiveness of an argument. Some verbs that indicate this level are: appraise, critique, evaluate, judge, and justify.
Create:
This level involves generating, producing, or synthesising new ideas, products, or solutions. It requires creativity and innovation to combine existing elements into something original and novel.
Example, students can create a story, a poem, a song, or a model. Some verbs that indicate this level are: create, design, develop, invent, and produce.
- Knowledge Domain: They also created a separate domain that represented four types of knowledge:
- Factual Knowledge: This is the comprehension of how various facts interconnect to create a broader understanding. For instance, grasping how the Earth’s orbit around the Sun leads to seasonal changes
- Conceptual Knowledge: This involves understanding how different facts relate to each other to form a bigger picture. For example, understanding how the Earth’s revolution around the Sun causes the change in seasons
- Procedural Knowledge: This pertains to knowing how to apply facts and concepts or how to perform a task. An example would be the ability to elucidate why Earth’s orbit around the Sun results in different seasons
- Metacognitive Knowledge: This involves being conscious of your cognitive processes and how you acquire knowledge or solve problems. For example, realising that real-world examples enhance your understanding of concepts
Integrating Bloom’s Taxonomy in Pedagogy
Bloom’s taxonomy is widely used in pedagogy as a tool for designing and evaluating learning outcomes. By using Bloom’s taxonomy, educators can:
– Align learning objectives with instructional activities and assessment methods
– Ensure that students develop higher-order thinking skills and not just memorise facts
– Promote active and deep learning that fosters critical thinking and creativity
– Differentiate instruction and assessment to meet the diverse needs and abilities of learners
– Encourage student self-regulation and reflection on their learning process
To use Bloom’s taxonomy effectively, educators should:
– Start with clear and specific learning objectives that state what students should know or be able to do by the end of instruction.
– Use verbs from Bloom’s taxonomy to describe the cognitive skills involved in each learning objective.
– Select appropriate instructional activities and assessment methods that match the level of cognitive skill required by each learning objective
– Sequence the learning objectives from lower-order to higher-order thinking skills
– Provide feedback and guidance to help students progress from one level to another
– Review and revise the learning objectives as needed based on student performance and feedback
Summing It Up
Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a useful framework for educators to design effective instruction and assess student learning. It promotes higher-order thinking skills and enhances teaching pedagogy.
By understanding the main characteristics and examples of each category, teachers can better guide their students towards achieving their learning goals more efficiently and effectively.
The revised Bloom’s Taxonomy is a more dynamic and versatile version that focuses on the cognitive processes required to be used by learners. With this framework, educators can help students develop their knowledge and skill sets, ensuring they stay relevant and on par with the times.
Overall, incorporating Bloom’s Taxonomy into teaching practice can lead to better learning outcomes and a more engaging and interactive classroom environment.
