Bloom's taxonomy of psychological assessment
Bloom's taxonomy is a set of three hierarchical models used to classify educational learning objectives
into levels of complexity and specificity. The three lists cover the learning objectives in cognitive,
affective and sensory domains. The cognitive domain list has been the primary focus of most traditional
education and is frequently used to structure curriculum learning objectives, assessments and activities.
The models were named after Benjamin Bloom, who chaired the committee of educators that devised
the taxonomy. He also edited the first volume of the standard text, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives:
The Classification of Educational Goals.
References
1. Bloom, B. S.; Engelhart, M. D.; Furst, E. J.; Hill, W. H.; Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of
educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York:
David McKay Company.
Shane, Harold G. (1981). "Significant writings that have influenced the curriculum: 1906-1981". Phi Delta
Kappan. 62 (5): 311–314
History
Although named after Bloom, the publication of Taxonomy of Educational Objectives followed a series of
conferences from 1949 to 1953, which were designed to improve communication between educators on
the design of curricula and examinations.
References
Simpson, Elizabeth J. (1966 Economics. 10 (4): 110–144
Harrow, Anita J. (1972). A taxonomy of the psychomotor). "The classification of educational objectives:
Psychomotor domain". Illinois Journal of Home
domain: A guide for developing behavioral objectives. New York: David McKay Company.
Dave, R. H. (1975). Armstrong, R. J. (ed.). Developing and writing behavioral objectives. Tucson:
Educational Innovators Press
The cognitive domain (knowledge-based)
In the original version of the taxonomy, the cognitive domain is broken into the following six levels of
objectives. In the 2001 revised edition of Bloom's taxonomy, the levels are slightly different: Remember,
Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create (rather than Synthesize).
Reference
Anderson, Lorin W.; Krathwohl, David R., eds. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A
revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 978-0-8013-1903-7.
Hoy, Anita Woolfolk (2007). Educational psychology (10th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. pp.
530–531, 545. ISBN 0205459463. OCLC 68694368.
Armstrong, Patricia. "Bloom's Taxonomy". Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Vanderbilt
University. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
Knowledge:
Knowledge nvolves recognizing or remembering facts, terms, basic concepts, or answers without
necessarily understanding what they mean. Its characteristics may include:
· Knowledge of specifics—terminology, specific facts
· Knowledge of ways and means of dealing with specifics—conventions, trends and sequences,
classifications and categories, criteria, methodology
· Knowledge of the universals and abstractions in a field—principles and generalizations, theories
and structures
Example:
Name three common varieties of apple.
Comprehension:
Comprehension involves demonstrating an understanding of facts and ideas by organizing, comparing,
translating, interpreting, giving descriptions, and stating the main ideas.
Example:
Compare the identifying characteristics of a Golden Delicious apple with a Granny Smith apple.
Application:
Application involves using acquired knowledge—solving problems in new situations by applying acquired
knowledge, facts, techniques and rules. Learners should be able to use prior knowledge to solve
problems, identify connections and relationships and how they apply in new situations.
Example:
Would apples prevent scurvy, a disease caused by a deficiency in vitamin C?
Analysis:
Analysis involves examining and breaking information into component parts, determining how the parts
relate to one another, identifying motives or causes, making inferences, and finding evidence to support
generalizations. Its characteristics include:
· Analysis of elements
· Analysis of relationships
· Analysis of organization
Example:
List four ways of serving foods made with apples and explain which ones have the highest health
benefits. Provide references to support your statements.
Synthesis:
Synthesis involves building a structure or pattern from diverse elements; it also refers to the act of
putting parts together to form a whole. Its characteristics include:
· Production of a unique communication
· Production of a plan, or proposed set of operations
· Derivation of a set of abstract relations
Example:
Convert an "unhealthy" recipe for apple pie to a "healthy" recipe by replacing your choice of
ingredients. Explain the health benefits of using the ingredients you chose vs. the original ones.
Evaluation:
Evaluation involves presenting and defending opinions by making judgments about information, the
validity of ideas, or quality of work based on a set of criteria. Its characteristics include:
· Judgments in terms of internal evidence
· Judgments in terms of external criteria
Example:
Which kinds of apples are best for baking a pie, and why?
Reference
Bloom, B.S. (Ed.). Engelhart, M.D., Furst, E.J., Hill, W.H., Krathwohl, D.R. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay
Implications:
Bloom's taxonomy serves as the backbone of many teaching philosophies, in particular, those that lean
more towards skills rather than content. These educators view content as a vessel for teaching skills. The
emphasis on higher-order thinking inherent in such philosophies is based on the top levels of the
taxonomy including analysis, evaluation, synthesis and creation. Bloom's taxonomy can be used as a
teaching tool to help balance assessment and evaluative questions in class, assignments and texts to
ensure all orders of thinking are exercised in students' learning, including aspects of information
searching.
References
BJ Jansen, D Booth, B Smith (2009) Using the taxonomy of cognitive learning to model online searching,
Information Processing & Management 45 (6), 643-663
1. Anderson, Lorin W.; Krathwohl, David R., eds. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and
assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 978-0-8013-
1903-7.
Armstrong, Patricia. "Bloom's Taxonomy". Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Vanderbilt
University. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
Armstrong, Patricia. "Bloom's Taxonomy". Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Vanderbilt
University. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
Bloom, B. S.; Engelhart, M. D.; Furst, E. J.; Hill, W. H.; Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational
objectives: The classification of educational goals. Ha
Bloom, B. S.; Engelhart, M. D.; Furst, E. J.; Hill, W. H.; Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational
objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York: David
McKay Company.
Dave, R. H. (1975). Armstrong, R. J. (ed.). Developing and writing behavioral objectives. Tucson:
Educational Innovators Press
Harrow, Anita J. (1972). A taxonomy of the psychomotor domain: A guide for developing behavioral
objectives. New York: David McKay Company.
