Bloom's Taxonomy is a framework for classifying educational goals and objectives. Developed in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom and collaborators, it provides a structured way to categorize cognitive skills and learning outcomes in education. The taxonomy is widely used by educators to design curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessment methods.
Original Bloom's Taxonomy (1956)
Bloom's original taxonomy categorized cognitive skills into six levels, arranged hierarchically from the simplest to the most complex:
Knowledge: Recalling facts, terms, basic concepts, or answers (e.g., listing, defining, or identifying).
Comprehension: Understanding information and explaining it in one’s own words (e.g., summarizing or interpreting).
Application: Using knowledge in new situations (e.g., solving problems or applying techniques).
Analysis: Breaking information into parts to explore relationships or patterns (e.g., comparing, contrasting, or organizing).
Synthesis: Combining parts to create something new (e.g., designing, formulating, or constructing).
Evaluation: Judging the value or effectiveness of information or ideas (e.g., critiquing or assessing).
Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (2001)
The revised version, created by Anderson and Krathwohl, updates the original to reflect modern educational practices. Key changes include:
Renaming Levels: The categories are now expressed as action verbs instead of nouns to emphasize active learning.
Revised Order: The top two levels are swapped to reflect the view that "Creating" is a more complex skill than "Evaluating."
Revised Levels:
Remembering: Recall or retrieve knowledge (e.g., listing, naming, or recognizing).
Understanding: Explain ideas or concepts (e.g., summarizing, interpreting, or classifying).
Applying: Use information in new situations (e.g., implementing, carrying out, or using).
Analyzing: Break down concepts into parts to explore relationships (e.g., differentiating, organizing, or attributing).
Evaluating: Make judgments based on criteria (e.g., critiquing or assessing).
Creating: Generate new ideas or products (e.g., designing, constructing, or producing).
Applications of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Curriculum Design: Helps educators structure learning activities to progress from basic to advanced skills.
Assessment: Guides the creation of assessments that target various cognitive levels.
Lesson Planning: Assists teachers in aligning objectives, activities, and evaluations.
Skill Development: Encourages learners to move beyond rote memorization to higher-order thinking.