Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of the different objectives and skills that educators set for their students (learning outcomes). Show
What is Bloom’s TaxonomyBloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of the different outcomes and skills that educators set for their students (learning outcomes). The taxonomy was proposed in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist at the University of Chicago. The terminology has been recently updated to include the following six levels of learning. These 6 levels can be used to structure the learning outcomes, lessons, and assessments of your course. :
Like other taxonomies, Bloom’s is hierarchical, meaning that learning at the higher levels is dependent on having attained prerequisite knowledge and skills at lower levels. You will see Bloom’s Taxonomy often displayed as a pyramid graphic to help demonstrate this hierarchy. We have updated this pyramid into a “cake-style” hierarchy to emphasize that each level is built on a foundation of the previous levels. You may use this graphic for educational or non-profit use if you include a credit for Jessica Shabatura and citation back to this website. How Bloom’s can aid in course designBloom’s taxonomy is a powerful tool to help develop learning outcomes because it explains the process of learning:
However, we don’t always start with lower order skills and step all the way through the entire taxonomy for each concept you present in your course. That approach would become tedious–for both you and your students! Instead, start by considering the level of learners in your course:
How Bloom’s works with learning outcomesFortunately, there are “verb tables” to help identify which action verbs align with each level in Bloom’s Taxonomy. You may notice that some of these verbs on the table are associated with multiple Bloom’s Taxonomy levels. These “multilevel-verbs” are actions that could apply to different activities. For example, you could have an outcome that states “At the end of this lesson, students will be able to explain the difference between H2O and OH-.” This would be an understanding level outcome. However, if you wanted the students to be able to “…explain the shift in the chemical structure of water throughout its various phases.” This would be an analyzinglevel verb. Adding to this confusion, you can locate Bloom’s verb charts that will list verbs at levels different from what we list below. Just keep in mind that it is the skill, action or activity you will teach using that verb that determines the Bloom’s Taxonomy level.
Learning outcome examples adapted from, Nelson Baker at Georgia Tech: How Bloom’s works with Quality MattersFor a course to meet the Quality Matters standards it must have learning outcomes that are measurable. Using a verb table like the one above will help you avoid verbs that cannot be quantified, like: understand, learn, appreciate, or enjoy. Quality Matters also requires that your course assessments (activities, projects, and exams) align with your learning outcomes. For example, if your learning outcome has an application level verb, such as “present”, then you cannot demonstrate that your students have mastered that learning outcome by simply having a multiple choice quiz. Course level and lesson level outcomesThe biggest difference between course and lesson level outcomes is that we don’t directly assess course level outcomes. Course level outcomes are just too broad. Instead, we use several lesson level outcomes to demonstrate mastery of one course level outcome. To create good course level outcomes, we need to ask ourselves: “what do I want the students to have mastery of at the end of the course?” Then, after we finalize our course level outcomes, we have to make sure that mastery of all of the lesson level outcomes underneath confirm that a student has mastery of the course level outcome–in other words, if your students can prove (through assessment) that they can do each and every one of the lesson level outcomes in that section, then you as an instructor agree they have mastery of the course level outcome. How Bloom’s works with course level and lesson level outcomes:
Steps towards writing effective learning outcomes:
When you are ready to write, it can be helpful to list the level of Bloom’s next to the verb you choose in parentheses. For example:
This trick will help you quickly see what level verbs you have. It will also let you check that the course level outcome is at least as high of a Bloom’s level as any of the lesson level outcomes underneath. Before you begin constructing your outcomes:Please read our Learning Outcome : Before and After Examples page. Additional External Resources:For a longer list of Bloom’s Verbs – TIPS tip: You can also use the “find” function (press: Ctrl-f or command-f on a mac) in your browser to locate specific verbs on this list. To see how Bloom’s can be applied specifically to distance education: Digital Approaches to Bloom’s Taxonomy Is main idea a skill or strategy?Skills would include things like identifying the main idea, recognizing supporting details, drawing conclusions, inferencing, comparing and contrasting, evaluating critically, knowing vocabulary meaning, and sequencing events.
What is the role of identifying the main idea in developing reading comprehension skills?Being able to determine the main idea helps readers to recall important information. Locating the main idea and significant details helps the reader understand the points the writer is attempting to express. Identifying the relationship between these will improve comprehension.
What is the most important factor of comprehension?Background knowledge plays an essential role in reading comprehension. In an effort to comprehend a text, students rely on their background knowledge to link what they already know to the text they are reading. Background knowledge includes both a reader's real-world experiences and literary knowledge.
How does the stepping stone approach work?The stepping stone activity is a co-learning process that encourages participants to think about their own knowledge and lived experiences in relation to the issue at hand. This approach enables participants to develop their own solutions which are specifically relevant to their contexts.
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