Bloom’s Taxonomy And we don’t mean Evan Bloom!

Have you ever wondered… How do we really learn information? What is the goal of learning? What do our teachers expect of us? How can we challenge ourselves in school?

Then we need to learn… Bloom’s Taxonomy!

Bloom’s Taxonomy is… 6 levels of thinking and/or questioning within the cognitive domain The brain child of Benjamin Bloom – educational psychologist ( ) A way to think deeper about our learning To be used by teachers and students in and out of school!

KNOWLEDGE COMPREHENSION APPLICATION ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUTATION

KNOWLEDGE Lowest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy – lowest level of thinking Common question stems: What is…? Can you name…? How many….? True or False…? Look for these verbs: List, Tell, Describe, locate, define, name, state, arrange, label, memorize, order, etc.

COMPREHENSION Second lowest order of thinking Common question stems: What do you think…? What differences are there between…? Provide an example for… What was the main idea of…? Look for these verbs: Explain, interpret, restate, translate, restate, outline, Describe, predict, discuss, classify, identify, etc.

APPLICATION Third lowest level of Bloom’s Common question stems: Could this have happened if…? Would this information be useful if…? What factors would you change if…? Can you apply this information to an experience of your own…? Look for these verbs: Complete, examine, illustrate, solve, show, use, construct, choose, apply, practice, etc.

ANALYSIS Third highest level of thinking Common question stems: Why did… change? What are some of the problems of…? Can you distinguish between…? What do you see as other possible outcomes…? Look for these verbs: Compare, contrast, explain, analyze, distinguish, investigate, categorize, separate, differentiate, etc.

SYNTHESIS Second highest level of Bloom’s taxonomy Common question stems: What would happen if you…? How many ways can you…? Can you design a …. to…? Can you see a possible solution for…? Look for these verbs: Create, invent, compose, imagine, design, formulate, plan, predict, collect, construct, propose, plan, organize, etc.

EVALUATION Highest order of thinking skills Common question stems: Judge the value of… ? How would you feel if…? How effective are…? What do you think about…? Do you believe…? Look for these verbs: Defend, argue, recommend, rate, select, decide, judge, debate, appraise, assess, predict, evaluate, etc.

KNOWLEDGE COMPREHENSION APPLICATION ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUTATION

So… ? What do you think are the “higher order” thinking skills? Why are these important? What level of Bloom’s taxonomy do you use in your other classes? Think of a career you may be interested in; what level of thinking do you imagine they use?

So…? How can we utilize higher order thinking into SEEK assignments or even in our other classes? Think of potential activities and product ideas using – Analysis – Synthesis – Evaluation