Lorin Anderson University of South Carolina

The Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview

Lorin AndersonUniversity of South Carolina

A Fundamental Truth

We don’t see the world as it is; we see the world through the lens through which we look at

it.

Bloom’s Taxonomy as a Framework

A taxonomy of educational objectives “could do much to bring order out of chaos in the field of education. It could furnish the conceptual framework around which our descriptions of educational programs and experiences could be oriented. It could furnish a framework for the development of educational theories and research. It couldfurnish the scheme needed for training our teachers and for orienting them to the varied possibilities of education” (Bloom, 1949)

Who were the taxonomists?Post World War IIStudents received course credit by

passing the examinations (credit-by-examination)

Quite obviously, the exams had to be based on course objectives (validity) and of sufficient length to be reliable.

University ExaminersResponsible for designing or helping

to design end-of-course examinations

They Needed a Set of Categories that Cut-Across Subject Areas

“Although the objectives … may be specified in an almost unlimited number of ways, the student behaviors involved in these objectives can be represented by a relatively small number of classes. Therefore, the taxonomy is designed to be a classification of the student behaviors which represent the intended outcomes of the educational process” (p. 18).

Looking Through a New Lens

Evaluation

Synthesis

Analysis

Application

Comprehension

Knowledge

The Original “Bloom’s TaxonomyThe Original “Bloom’s TaxonomyThe Original Bloom’s Taxonomy

Without the Lens

The student will recall the names of

the parts of a flower.

With the Lens

The student will recall the names of

the parts of a flower.

This is a knowledge objective.

Objectives were used to form categories; then categories

were used to classify objectives.

80 % of the objectives fell into the Knowledge category

The Revision Began in November 1996 Led by David Krathwohl Involved cognitive psychologists,

curriculum theorists, teacher educators, and measurement and assessment specialists.

Group met twice a year for four years. Draft completed in 2000; text published in

2001. Two books – soft cover for teachers and

other “practitioners” and hard cover for academicians.

In education, objectives are statements of what we want

students to learn as a result of the instruction we provide.

Standards are simply mandated objectives.

The Common Format of Objectives

Subject Verb Object

S V O

The SUBJECT is the Learner or the Student.

The student (will)The student (should)The students (might)

Quite often, the subject is implicit or understood.

The verbs provide clues as to the cognitive process category

intended by the person or persons writing the standard.

Adopted from the original Bloom’s taxonomy of

educational objectives, there are six cognitive process

categories.

Bloom Revised Bloom

• Remember

• Apply

• Understand

• Analyze

• Evaluate

• Create• Evaluation

• Analysis

• Synthesis

• Application

• Comprehension• Knowledge

Each of the six cognitive process categories was divided into specific cognitive processes. Nineteen (19) specific cognitive processes were identified.

Cognitive Processes Remember

Understand

Recognizing Recalling Interpreting Exemplifying Classifying Summarizing Inferring Comparing Explaining

Cognitive Processes (continued)

Apply Analyze

Evaluate

Create

Executing Implementing Differentiating Organizing Attributing Checking Critiquing Generating Planning Producing

THE TAXONOMY TABLECOGNITIVE PROCESS DIMENSION

1. REMEMBERRecognizing

Recalling

2.UNDERSTAND

InterpretingExemplifyingClassifying

SummarizingInferring

ComparingExplaining

3.APPLY

ExecutingImplementing

4.ANALYZE

DifferentiatingOrganizingAttributing

5.EVALUATECheckingCritiquing

6.CREATE

GeneratingPlanning

Producing

Unlike the verbs, the objects of the standards are subject-specific (e.g., math, science, social studies). The objects specify the CONTENT of the standard. For several reasons, CONTENT was replaced by KNOWLEDGE.

What are Differences Between Content and Knowledge?

Content is subject-matter specific. If you focused on content, then, you would need as many taxonomies as there are subject matters (e.g., one for science, one for history, etc.).

Content exists outside the student. A major problem, then, is how to get the content inside the student. When content gets inside the student, it becomes knowledge. This transformation of content to knowledge takes place through the cognitive processes used by the student.

Four Types of Knowledge Factual Knowledge Conceptual Knowledge Procedural Knowledge Metacognitive Knowledge

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FACTUAL KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGEDIMENSION


Recalling

2.UNDERSTAND



ComparingExplaining

3.APPLY


4.ANALYZE



6.CREATE

GeneratingPlanning

Producing

CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE

PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE

METACOGNITIVE KNOWLEDGE

THE TAXONOMY TABLE

D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1D. Metacognitive

Knowledge

C6 C5 C4 C3 C2 C1C. ProceduralKnowledge

B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1B. Conceptual Knowledge

A6 A5 A4 A3 A2 A1 A. Factual Knowledge


Recalling

2.UNDERSTAND



ComparingExplaining

3.APPLY


4.ANALYZE



6.CREATE

GeneratingPlanning

Producing

How it Works

Explain the political alliances and policies that impacted the United States in the latter part of the 20th Century, including NATO, the UN,

and OPEC

Verb = Explain

Object = the political alliances and policies that impacted the United States in the latter part of the 20th Century

including NATO, the UN, and OPEC [Extraneous information]

Verb = Explain = Understand

Object = the political alliances and policies that impacted the United States in the latter part of the 20th Century = Conceptual Knowledge

Summarize the provisions of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, including how the amendments protected the rights of

African Americans and sought to enhance their political, social, and

economic opportunities

Verb = SummarizeObject = Provisions of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution Including how the amendments protected the rights of African Americans and sought to enhance their political, social, and economic opportunities [Extraneous information]

Verb = Summarize = Understand

Object = Provisions of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution = Factual Knowledge


Standard 1

FACTUAL KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGEDIMENSION


Recalling

2.UNDERSTAND



ComparingExplaining

3.APPLY


4.ANALYZE



6.CREATE

GeneratingPlanning

Producing

CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE

PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE

METACOGNITIVE KNOWLEDGE

Standard 2

The SVO format of standards in combination with the two-

dimensional structure of the Taxonomy Table allows us to

classify standards so we better understand their intent and meaning in terms of student

learning.

Additional Benefits Increase curriculum alignment Improve validity of assessments Improve quality of instruction

Curriculum AlignmentAssessments

Objectives

Instructional Activities/ Materials

Curriculum Alignment

Why is Alignment Important?

Increases validity of assessment

Increases students’ opportunity to learn

Provides more accurate estimates of teaching effectiveness

Permits better instructional decisions to be made

Traditional Alignment What content is included in the

objective? What content is included on the

assessment(s)? Is the content included in the

objective and/or on the assessment included in the instructional materials?

If the content is the same, there is a high level of alignment.

ALIGNMENTUSING THETAXONOMY TABLE

Objectives Assessments

Instructional Activities

Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create

Factual

Conceptual

Procedural

Meta-Cognitive

INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL

(1) Written (2) Pictorial (3) Realia

STEM

(1) Question (2) Incomplete Statement (3) Directive

RESPONSE

(1) Short-Answer (2) Extended Response * Supply (Fill in the blank) * Written * Select (Multiple-choice, * Performance Matching, True-False)

THE ANATOMY OF AN ASSESSMENT TASK

Remember Factual Knowledge

No Introductory Material Stem as Question or Incomplete

Statement Supply (Recall) or Select (Recognize)

Format

Apply Procedural Knowledge

Introductory Material is Present Stem as Directive Extended Response Format

1. Focus students’ attention on important facts and terms, using, among other things, study guides, colors, and verbal markers.

2. Structure the information to be remembered (e.g., outlines, diagrams, pictures).

3. Use repetition, incorporating songs and rhythmic activities (e.g., clapping, chanting, cheering).

4. Use mnemonic devices & acronyms; teach memory strategies (e.g., rehearsal, elaboration, making connections with familiar places and things).

5. Use distributed practice.

Teaching Students to "Remember Factual Knowledge"

Teaching Students to "Understand Conceptual Knowledge“

1. Emphasize defining features or key characteristics; ask "what makes X, X?"

2. Give examples, non-examples, and “near” examples.

3. Teach concepts in relation to one another; show connections and relationships using visual representations and graphic organizers.

4. Use metaphors and similes.

5. Use “hands-on” activities and manipulatives; build models.

Why the Revised Taxonomy? Historical link (1949 to the present) Two dimensions match the structure of all

objectives: subject-verb-object. Complete “crossing” of rows with columns

makes knowledge and cognitive processes equally important

The use of verbs is critical since the verbs represent the cognitive processes that students use on or with the content so that learning occurs

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Lorin Anderson University of South Carolina