Bloom's taxonomy

It discusses the hierarchy required to classify educational learning objectives based on levels of complexity and
specificity. The models were named after Benjamin Bloom, who chaired the committee of educators that
devised the taxonomy. Furthermore, it covers the learning objectives in the cognitive, affective and
sensory/psychomotor domains.
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. 

The cognitive domain focuses on education and is used to structure curriculum learning objectives,
assessments and activities.

The Original Taxonomy (1956) was described as follows:

 Knowledge: which is based on recalling and using long term memory.

 Comprehension: which is based on understanding and communicating key ideas.
 Application: which is based on using what you know in particular situations
 Analysis: which is based on breaking down information, judging it and creating relations with it.
 Synthesis: which is based on making links and coming up with a cohesive whole.
 Evaluation: which is based on giving value to the situation at hand.

The Revised Taxonomy (2001)

A group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers, and testing and
assessment specialists published in 2001 a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy with the title A Taxonomy for
Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.

1. Remembering: Retrieving, recognizing, and recalling relevant knowledge from long‐term memory.

2. Understanding: Constructing meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting,
exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining.
3. Applying: Carrying out or using a procedure for executing, or implementing.
 4. Analyzing: Breaking material into constituent parts, determining how the parts relate to one another and
to an overall structure or purpose through differentiating, organizing, and attributing.
5. Evaluating: Making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing.
6. Creating: Putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; reorganizing elements into
a new pattern or structure through generating, planning, or producing.

The affective domain (emotional) includes:

Skills in this domain describe are based on the way people react. Affective objectives typically target the
awareness and growth in attitudes, emotion, and feelings.
There are five levels in the affective domain moving through the lowest-order processes to the highest.
Receiving: The lowest level; the student passively pays attention.
Responding: The student actively participates in the learning process, not only attends to a stimulus; the
student also reacts in some way.
Valuing: The student attaches a value to an object, phenomenon, or piece of information.
Organizing: The student can put together different values, information, and ideas, and can accommodate them
within his/her own schema; the student is comparing, relating and elaborating on what has been learned.
Characterizing: The student at this level tries to build abstract knowledge.

The psychomotor domain (action) includes:

Skills in the psychomotor domain describe the ability to physically manipulate a tool.
The levels include:
Perception: The ability to use sensory cues to guide motor activity.
Set: Readiness to act: It includes mental, physical, and emotional sets.
Guided response: It includes imitation and trial and error: Adequacy of performance is achieved by practicing.
Mechanism: Learned responses have become habitual and the movements can be performed with some
confidence and proficiency.
Complex overt response: The skillful performance of motor acts that involve complex movement patterns:
Proficiency is indicated by a quick, accurate, and highly coordinated performance, requiring a minimum of
energy.
Adaptation: Skills are well developed and the individual can modify movement patterns to fit special
requirements.
Origination: Creating new movement patterns to fit a particular situation or specific.

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy as an educator is very important. Based on the hierarchy, we can write out well
developed objectives, and plan out our lessons, the type of activities and assessment based on the required level.
Furthermore, by following the levels, we ensure that proper learning takes place. Students need to meet the
requirements of the lower levels before they can move on the a higher level. With this method we ensure that
steps are not missed, gaps in cognitive levels are not produced and most students achieve a higher level of
thinking eventually.

Steps towards writing effective learning objectives:

General Objectives:
A general educational objective relates to gaining an ability, a skill, some knowledge, a new attitude etc. rather
than having merely completed a given task. An objective is a (relatively) shorter term goal which successful
learners will achieve within the scope of the course itself. Objectives are often worded in course documentation
in a way that explains to learners what they should try to achieve as they learn.

Specific Objectives:
Specific objectives are statements that describe results in terms of knowledge, attitude, skill, aspiration, and
behavior to be achieved.
Operational Objectives:
Operational objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time constrained.
Specific: It is focused, well defined and clear. It should state the expected actions and outcomes.
Measurable (quantifiable): This will let you know whether the objective has been met or not.
Achievable (feasible): If the objective is too difficult and un-achievable, students might get demotivated.
Realistic (as well as challenging): Can the objective be achieved with your given resources?
Time (deadline to achieve objective): This would prevent the work from dragging on, and would help increase
productivity.

Verbs used in objectives that address the various cognitive domains