Introduction to Bloom’s Taxonomy

The Idea Purpose ◦ Organize and classify educational goals ◦ Provide a systematized approach to course design Guided by four principles: ◦ Ought to be based on student behaviors ◦ Categories must have a logical relationship ◦ Reflect current psychological studies ◦ Describe values as opposed to imposing them tax·on·o·my [tak-son-uh-mee] noun, plural tax·on·o·mies. 1. the science or technique of classification. 2. a classification into ordered categories: a proposed taxonomy of educational objectives.

Domains Bloom’s original taxonomy divides learning into three distinct domains ◦ Cognitive (e.g. knowledge, understanding) ◦ Affective (e.g. attitude, emotional) ◦ Psychomotor ( e.g. physical skills) Cognitive domain applies to most classroom setting and e-learning courses.

Cognitive Domain: The Hierarchy Scales from more fact based to more critical/comprehensive based cognitive skills. Knowledge on the bottom represents the foundation for the higher order cognitive skills such as synthesis and evaluation.

Knowledge Comprehension The ability to process new information Identifying connections between facts Assembling knowledge into a coherent scheme Fact based Remembering and retrieving Defining key terms, listing steps in a process Repeating something heard or seen If something is flammable, how should it be handled? Can you identify the WHIMMIS symbols for hazardous materials?

Application Analysis Recognize relationship between parts Be able to break apart complex ideas into these parts Compare, Contrast, Differentiate, Criticize Learners can interpret information Solve a new problem Demonstrate mastery of concepts Why is it important to have workplace standards for hazardous material? What are some materials that might be hazardous in your workplace?

Synthesis Evaluation Making value judgments about the subject material Measure, value, estimate, choose, revise Creative behavior Able to construct new ideas based off of knowledge Learners should be able to plan, propose, design Is material safety in your workplace adequate?? How can material safety be improved at your workplace?

The Shift The taxonomy shifts learning from teaching oriented objectives, to objectives focused on the learners ◦ Objectives are core to the taxonomy ◦ ‘Verbs’ are used to signify what the learner ought to be doing at each stage in the cognitive hierarchy Objectives determine the structure of course design Promotion of critical thinking ◦ Objectives based on the top of the hierarchy are more comprehensive  Learners must be competent at the lower order verbs in order to have developed the higher order ability

VERBS Verbs describe what the behavior of the learner should be if the objectives have been met. verb (v ɜː b) — n (in traditional grammar) any of a large class of words in a language that serve to indicate the occurrence or performance of an action, the existence of a state or condition, etc. In English, such words as run, make, do, and the like are verbs

Summary: The Fit How does Bloom’s Taxonomy fit into Instructional Design? ◦ Provides objective based approach  A foundation from which to build courses ◦ Tools to evaluate  Systematizes evaluation through the verbs ◦ Conceptual shift  From thinking of learners as passive recipients of facts  To active participants of instruction