Bloom's Taxonomy

 


When writing course outlines, you should be stating the course “objectives” as LEARNING OUTCOMES in terms of what students will be able to DO after having completed your course.  A very handy guide is Bloom’s Taxonomy.  There are six major categories, which are listed in order below, starting from the simplest behaviour to the most complex. The categories can be thought of as degrees of difficulties. That is, the first one must be mastered before the next one can take place.

Knowledge: (finding out)

Recall of data.

Examples: Recite a policy. Quote prices from memory to a customer. Knows the safety rules.

Keywords: defines, describes, identifies, knows, labels, lists, matches, names, outlines, recalls, recognizes, reproduces, selects, states.

Comprehension: (understanding)

Understand the meaning, translation, interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and problems. State a problem in one's own words.

Examples: Rewrites the principles of test writing. Explain in one’s own words the steps for performing a complex task.

Keywords: Comprehends converts, defends, distinguishes estimates, explains, extends, generalizes, gives examples, infers, interprets paraphrases, predicts rewrites, summarizes, and translates.

Application: (making use of the knowledge)

Use a concept in a new situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Applies what was learned in the classroom into novel situations in the workplace.

Examples: Use a manual to calculate an employee’s vacation time. Apply laws of statistics to evaluate the reliability of a written test.

Keywords: applies, changes, computes, constructs, demonstrates, discovers, manipulates, modifies, operates, predicts, prepares, produces, relates, shows, solves, uses.

Synthesis: (putting things together in another way)

Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.

Examples: Write a company operations or process manual. Design a machine to perform a specific task. Integrates training from several sources to solve a problem. Revises and process to improve the outcome.

Keywords: categorizes, combines, compiles, composes, creates, devises, designs, explains, generates, modifies, organizes, plans, rearranges, reconstructs, relates, reorganizes, revises, rewrites, summarizes, tells, writes.

Evaluation: (judging outcomes)

Make judgments about the value of ideas or materials.

Examples: Select the most effective solution. Hire the most qualified candidate. Explain and justify a new budget.

Keywords: Appraises compares, concludes, contrasts, critiques, defends, describes, discriminates, evaluates, explains, interprets, justifies, relates, summarizes, supports.

Prepared by Helen Stavaris - 2003