Learning Objectives Resources
Bloom's Taxonomy
In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. During the 1990's a new group of cognitive psychologist, lead by Lorin Anderson (a former student of Bloom's), updated the taxonomy reflecting relevance to 21st century work. The graphic is a representation of the NEW verbiage associated with the long familiar Bloom's Taxonomy. Note the change from Nouns to Verbs to describe the different levels of the taxonomy.
Note that the top two levels are essentially exchanged from the Old to the New version.
New Version
Old Version
| Remembering: can the student recall or remember the information? |
define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall, repeat, reproduce state |
| Understanding: can the student explain ideas or concepts? |
classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate, paraphrase |
| Applying: can the student use the information in a new way? |
choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write. |
| Analyzing: can the student distinguish between the different parts? |
appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test. |
| Evaluating: can the student justify a stand or decision? |
appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate |
| Creating: can the student create new product or point of view? |
assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, write. |
Recommended External Resources:
Bloom's Digital Taxonomy by Andrew Churches takes into account the new behaviors and actions emerging as technology advances and becomes more ubiquitous. Bloom's Revised Taxonomy describes many traditional classroom practices, behaviors and actions, but does not account for the new processes and actions associated with Web 2.0 technologies, infowhelm (the exponential growth in information), increasing ubiquitous personal technologies or cloud computing.
A Model of Learning Objectives created by Rex Heer at Iowa State University, aligns Bloom's taxonomy
along four knowledge dimensions: factual, conceptual, procedural, and
metacognitive. This mouse-over 3-D model allows users to view learning
objectives aligned to the four knowledge dimensions and Bloom's
cognitive process dimensions.
An Overview of Bloom's Taxonomy and Designing Activities (Colorado Community College System Faculty Wiki)
Kathy Shrock's "Google Tools to Support Bloom's Revised Taxonomy"