Bloom’s Taxonomy

Definition:

Is a classification system used to define and distinguish different levels of human cognition.

The framework elaborated by Bloom and his collaborators consisted of six major categories: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. The categories after Knowledge were presented as “skills and abilities,” with the understanding that knowledge was the necessary precondition for putting these skills and abilities into practice.

The Original Taxonomy (1956):

• Knowledge “involves the recall of specifics and universals, the recall of methods and processes, or the recall of a pattern, structure, or setting.”

• Comprehension “refers to a type of understanding or apprehension such that the individual knows what is being communicated and can make use of the material or idea being communicated without necessarily relating it to other material or seeing its fullest implications.”

• Application refers to the “use of abstractions in particular and concrete situations.”

• Analysis represents the “breakdown of a communication into its constituent elements or parts such that the relative hierarchy of ideas is made clear and/or the relations between ideas expressed are made explicit.”

• Synthesis involves the “putting together of elements and parts so as to form a whole.”

• Evaluation engenders “judgments about the value of material and methods for given purposes.”

The Revised Taxonomy (2001):

• Factual Knowledge

  • Knowledge of terminology

  • Knowledge of specific details and elements

• Conceptual Knowledge

  • Knowledge of classifications and categories

  • Knowledge of principles and generalizations

  • Knowledge of theories, models, and structures

• Procedural Knowledge

  • Knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms

  • Knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods

  • Knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures

• Metacognitive Knowledge

  • Strategic Knowledge

  • Knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge

  • Self-knowledge

Why Use Bloom’s Taxonomy?

1. Objectives (learning goals) are important to establish in a pedagogical interchange so that teachers and students alike understand the purpose of that interchange.
2. Organizing objectives helps to clarify objectives for themselves and for students.
3. Having an organized set of objectives helps teachers to:
   • “plan and deliver appropriate instruction”;
   • “design valid assessment tasks and strategies”;and
   • “ensure that instruction and assessment are aligned with the objectives.”