Bloom’s taxonomy

What is a taxonomy

Taxonomy” simply means “classification”

Bloom’s aim was to classify

- forms of learning - levels or steps of learning.

Who is Bloom??

In 1956 Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist at the University of Chicago, proposed his Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

Bloom's Taxonomy represents the process of learning. It is simplified but essentially represents how we learn.

The three forms or domains of learning:

Cognitive

Affective

Psychomotor

Three forms or domains of learning:

• Cognitive: mental skills (Knowledge)

• Affective: growth in feelings (Attitudes)

• Psychomotor: manual/physical skills (Skills)

Cognitive domain

Divided into 6 categories/degrees of difficulty

Bloom’s Steps

Blooms taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Cover the lower steps before addressing the higher levels

Lower Steps

Knowledge

(Remembering)

Recalling information, recognising, naming, finding

Comprehension

(understanding)

Grasping the meaning, explaining ideas, interpreting, summarising, paraphrasing, classifying

Application

(Applying)

Using information in another situation,

Implementing, carrying out, using, executing

Higher Steps

Analysis

(Analysing)

Breaking information down to explore relationships

Comparing, organising, finding, deconstructing

Synthesis

(Creating)

Create new ideas, products or ways of viewing things

Designing, constructing, planning, inventing, producing

Evaluation

(Evaluating)

Justifying a decision

Checking, hypothesising, critiquing, judging, experimenting

Bloom’s taxonomy at work … This is a site where

somebody has done the research and identified web based applications that give learners the opportunity to develop their higher order thinking skills

Verbs Activity

Each table will have a graphic template of the levels of

Bloom’s Taxonomy An envelope of Verbs

Match the verbs with the corresponding level on the diagram

Review of learning

Work out and map what we have done in this activity to Bloom’s taxonomy

Application

When might you use what you have learned about Bloom’s taxonomy??

Psychomotor domain

(Simpson 1972)Use of motor skills and includes coordination, physical movement

Psychomotor domain

Development of these skills areasRequires practice Is measured in terms of precision speed techniques

Affective domain

Way in which we dealwith feelings, values,motivations ,enthusiasms