Bloom's Taxonomy

History:

Bloom's Taxonomy refers to a classification of learning objectives (Peters). In 1956, Bloom - of the

University of Chicago - led a group of educational psychologists that included Max Englehart, Edward

Furst, Walter Hill, and David Krathwohl (Vanderbilt University). Working collaboratively, they published a

framework for categorizing educational goals titled, Taxonomy

of Educational Objectives (better known as Bloom's Taxonomy).

The taxonomy is, essentially, a classification of levels of intellectual behavior that are

considered important in learning. In Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains, Clark states that

in creating the taxonomy, Bloom was interested in promoting higher forms of thinking in

education. This includes analyzing and evaluating concepts, processes, procedures, and

principles, as opposed to simply remembering facts (i.e., rote learning).

Video: Taxonomy Explained

Original Taxonomy:

Bloom's Taxonomy is a multi-tiered model of classifying thinking according to six cognitive levels of

complexity. Throughout the years, the levels have often been depicted as a stairway, leading many

teachers to encourage their students to "climb to a higher level of thought" (Forehand).

According to Peters (2014), Bloom envisioned a series of three taxonomies (i.e., three categories of

objectives). However, it is the cognitive taxonomy which has become widely applied. The others were

affective and motor-sensory or psychomotor. The others were affective and motor-sensory or

psychomotor. The cognitive domain involves knowledge and the development of intellectual

skills (Bloom, 1956).

There are six major categories of cognitive processes associated with the taxonomy, starting

from the simplest to the most comp lex. The categories within the "cognitive domain” (discussed

below) can be thought of as degrees of difficulties. That is, the first ones must normally be

mastered before the next one can take place (Clark).

Image Source: Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University

Six Main Categories:

The framework elaborated by Bloom and his collaborators consisted of six major categories (Vanderbilt

University):

Knowledge: Involved recall of data or information, including methods and processes, and/or the recall of a

pattern, structure, or setting.

Comprehension: Refers to a type of understanding (the individual knows what is being communicated

and can make use of the material or idea being communicated).

Application: Refers to the use of abstractions in certain situations. The learner can apply was learned in

the classroom in novel situations and contexts (Bilash).

Analysis: Represents the breakdown of a communication into its constituent elements or parts. Relations

between ideas expressed are made explicit. Separates material or concepts into component parts so that

its organizational structure may be understood (Bilash).

Synthesis: Involves the putting together of elements and parts so as to form a whole - with emphasis on

creating a new meaning or structure.

Evaluation: Engenders judgments about the value of ideas, material and methods for certain purposes

(Whitman School of Management).

This video further explains the taxonomy's categories

Importance to Educators:

The Taxonomy provided educators with one of the first systematic classifications of the processes of

thinking and learning. Bloom's Taxonomy can prove helpful when an instructor wants to move a group of

students through a learning process by utilizing an organized framework (Forehand).

The taxonomy provides a "common language” for teachers and others involved in education to discuss

and exchange learning and assessment methods. Teachers can benefit from using the Taxonomy's

framework to organize objectives (Vanderbilt University), and specific learning objectives can be derived

from the taxonomy. The goal of an educator using Bloom's taxonomy is to encourage higher-order

thought in students by building upwards from lower-level cognitive skills (University of Central Florida) to

more complex, sophisticated processes.

Video: Use in Education

According to Bilash, the taxonomy can be used by teachers who want to insure that their lessons are

varied, and that lessons and assignments encourage thinking at different levels (ranging from recitation

and labeling, to reconstructing and summarizing).

The taxonomy is often used when designing educational, training, and learning

processes. Provided here is a list of instructional strategies that can be used with each level of

the taxonomy.

Revised Taxonomy:

In 2001, a group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists, instructional researchers, and testing

and assessment specialists published a revision of Bloom's Taxonomy, titled: A Taxonomy for Teaching,

Learning, and Assessment(Vanderbilt University). The group was lead by Lorin Anderson - a former

student of Bloom's (Overbaugh and Schultz). The revised model is designed to better fit the educational

practices and pedagogies of the 21st century (Northern Illinois University).

The authors of the revised taxonomy use verbs and gerunds to label their categories and subcategories

(changing the names in the six categories from noun to verb forms). According to the Whitman School of

Management, these "action words” describe the cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and

work with knowledge.

The chart shown below compares the original taxonomy with the revised one:

Image Source: Donald Clark

According to Anderson and Krathwohl, one of the more important ways in which the revised model can be

clearly differentiated from the original is that its components are presented in a manner that they can be

more efficiently considered and used effectively.

As a result, cognitive processes, as related to chosen instructional tasks, can be easily documented and

tracked. This feature has the potential to make teacher assessment, teacher self-assessment, and

student assessment easier or clearer as certain usage patterns emerge (Anderson and Krathwohl).

In this article, David R. Krathwohl provides a more detailed and expansive explanation of the revised

taxonomy.

Works Cited:

Anderson and Krathwohl - Bloom's Taxonomy Revised - The Second Principle. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15,

2015, from http://thesecondprinciple.com/teaching-essentials/beyond-bloom-cognitive-taxonomy-revised/

Anderson, L.W., Krathwohl, D.R., Airasian, P.W., Cruikshank, K.A., Mayer, R.E., Pintrich, P.R., Raths, J.,

Wittrock, M.C. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A revision of Bloom's

Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York: Pearson, Allyn & Bacon.

Bilash, Olenka; Best of Bilash; Bloom's Taxonomy; Retrieved April 15, 2015,

from http://www.educ.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.bilash/best of bilash/bloomstaxonomy.html

Bloom, B.S. (Ed.). Engelhart, M.D., Furst, E.J., Hill, W.H., Krathwohl, D.R. (1956). Taxonomy of

Educational Objectives, Handbook: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc.

Clark, Donald. Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from

http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

Forehand, Mary, The University of Georgia; Bloom's Taxonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from

http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Bloom's_Taxonomy

Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center; Teaching with the

Revised Bloom's Taxonomy; (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from

http://www.niu.edu/facdev/programs/handouts/blooms.shtml

Overbaugh, Richard C. and Schultz, Lynn; Old Dominion University; Bloom's Taxonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved

April 15, 2015, from http://ww2.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm

Peters, Dorian, Interface Design for Learning: Design Strategies for Learning Experiences. Published:

August 4, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2014/08/interface-

design-for-learning-design-strategies-for-learning-experiences.php

University of Central Florida, Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning; Bloom's Taxonomy. (n.d.).

Retrieved April 15, 2015, from

http://www.fctl.ucf.edu/TeachingAndLearningResources/CourseDesign/BloomsTaxonomy/

Vanderbilt University, Center for Teaching. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from

http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University; Bloom's Taxonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15,

2015, from http://whitman.syr.edu/wsmhelp/faculty-resources/instructional-design-delivery/teaching-

pedagogy/blooms-taxonomy.aspx