Mastery Learning Bloom’s Taxonomy Benjamin Bloom Mastery Learning Bloom’s Taxonomy 1913- 1999

Benjamin Bloom’s early years 1913 Born on February 21, 1913 in Lansford, Pennsylvania His parents were Russian immigrants His father was a picture framer and his mother a housewife 1931 Bloom graduated high school as class valedictorian In the fall, Bloom enrolled at Pennsylvania State University 1935 Bloom graduated with his B.A. and M.A. degrees in psychology

1936 1939 1942 Early years cont. Bloom moved to Washington D.C. Research workers with the American Youth Commission. Bloom met Ralph W. Tyler (who eventually became his mentor) Bloom agreed with Tyler’s philosophy and principles of curriculum 1939 Started his doctoral studies at Chicago Met and married his wife, Sophie 1942 While completing his doctoral program, Bloom was a research assistant in the Office of the University’s Board of Examinations under Tyler’s supervision Received his Ph.D. in 1942

1940’s – 1950’s 1943-1959 Bloom served as University Examiner. It was here where he developed tests to determine if undergraduates had mastered the material for graduation. Bloom started to question the education system With Tyler as his mentor, Bloom directed his attention to the development of specifications through which educational objectives could be organized according to their cognitive complexity.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Creation 1948- 1956 Bloom and colleagues with the American Psychological Association began discussions which led to the taxonomy of educational goals. They developed a common classification for learning outcomes The creation of the staircase with six steps, six learning levels. The book Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals, Handbook I: Cognitive Domain The book deals with knowledge and the development of intellectual skills.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Bloom’s Taxonomy consists of 6 levels pertaining to thinking, or cognitive domain. The levels are thought to build on their self, starting with factual and building to higher order thinking. The terms are reformulated and simplified in the figure.

Bloom’s model has been updated Click on the picture to hear about the new version

For more information on the revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy click here

1964 Bloom was a co-author for Taxonomy of Education Objections, Volume II: The Affective Domain It showed the importance of attitudes in the development of learning. Bloom also published Stability and Change in Human Characteristics.  led to the of interest in early childhood education, the Head Start program was created 1960’s

Stability and Change in Human Characteristics cont. The book focused on Intelligence, achievement, and personality. It stated that the environmental factors to influence change in human characteristics decreases over time, as their life became more stable. Bloom was asked to talk before Congress about the importance of early education

1968 – 1970’s Mastery of Learning Bloom declared that 90% of students could Master what they were suppose to learn and the teachers are required to provide instruction to retrieve these results. Instruction should be: (1) clearly communicating the learning expectations; (2) giving students specific feedback as to their progress in achieving them (3) providing additional time and help as needed by students. He ‘throughout’ the idea of Normal Distribution Stated students should be measured on Goal Attainment and not compared to other students. 1968 – 1970’s

Mastery of Learning continued… Bloom understood that students are complex and can not be measured merely on numbers One needs to understand … The amount of time allocated to the study of the subject The resources provided to schools The quality of the teaching that was available -Bloom believes that Environment matters 1970’s cont. Click on the book to hear more

His book All Our Children Learning summarized that with the appropriate environment (home and school), ALL children can learn at high levels His book Developing talent in Young People, published in 1985 focused on talented students and their process to become accomplished Stated in the book “The people who reach top levels in athletics, arts and academics are those who work hard and have challenging but affectionate parents and top teachers” 1980’s

Educational Objectives Benjamin Bloom passed away in his home in Chicago on September 13, 1999 He will be remembered for his practices and theories of curriculum and education. Environment Matters Taxonomy All Children can learn Talent is Developed Theory of School Learning Education Matters Educational Objectives

References Clark D., Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains, (2015), Retrieved Sept 2, 2015 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html Eisner, E. , Benjamin Bloom 1913-99, (2000), Retrieved Sept 1, 2015 from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/publications/ThinkersPdf/bloome.pdf Kinnes, T,. & Phil, M., Levels of Learning (2015), Retrieved Sept 3, 2015 from http://oaks.nvg.org/taxonomy-bloom.html Learning Theories, Bloom’s Taxonomy (N.D.) Retrieved Sept 2, 2015 from http://www.learning-theories.com/blooms-taxonomy-bloom.html Medallion Learning, Benjamin Bloom (N.D.). Retrieved Sept 2, 2015 from http://www.medallionlearning.com/research_and_results/calibrate_research_base#bloom-anchor Unknown Author, (1999), The University of Chicago Chronicle, Bloom Influential education researcher 19 (1) Retrieved from http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/990923/bloom.shtml