Jenna Graziadei

EDUC 539 Response Essay 2

“Education should focus on the integration that occurs within the child” (Clements & Wachowiak, 2010).

Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives was a turning point in that context for the guiding
principles of lesson design. These principles were intended to help ensure that the teacher can “plan and deliver

appropriate instruction, design valid assessment tasks and strategies, and ensure that instruction and assessment
are aligned with the objectives” (Armstrong), as well as remind educators of these domains that could
sometimes be overlooked. With the constantly evolving realm of education, Bloom’s taxonomy’s initial focus

on the three principles of “cognitive, affective, and psychomotor” (Coffey) learning was expanded upon in a
more detailed categorical system that includes “knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and

evaluation” (Coffey). “The cognitive domain covered ‘the recall or

recognition of knowledge and the development of intellectual abilities and
skills’, the affective domain covered ‘changes in interest, attitudes, and

values, and the development of appreciations and adequate adjustment’, and

the psychomotor domain encompassed ‘the manipulative or motor-skill

area’” (Coffey). The necessity to include these domains became apparent,

while perceptual and aesthetic experiences also became critical for students.
Thus, the goal for the educator at that point would be involving one’s students in ‘real life’ experiences that

combine “knowledge, body movement, and emotions... (in order to make) the learning in that subject very
powerful and ‘real’” (Clements & Wachowiak, 2010). Educators must remain positive and motivated in their

roles utilizing these concepts in order to prevent learning from being “‘just boring facts,’ ‘just jumpin’ around,’
or ‘just a bunch of talk about our feelings’” (Clements & Wachowiak, 2010).
It is the goal of a teacher to not only educate the young minds in our classroom, but also provide them

with the experiences that will make them well-rounded and motivated learners. It is through affective,
psychomotor, cognitive, perceptual, and aesthetic experiences that the learning of the students can be enhanced.

The manner in which one goes about this can vary. A rather simple approach that can be used on a daily basis
would be “group projects (and activities) in which students use their minds, feelings, eyes, hands, and bodies to
solve problems... (causing) the results (to be) remembered for a lifetime” (Clements & Wachiowak, 2010). This

encompasses the necessity to make purposefulness evident to the students while reinforcing the applications of
their knowledge in the world outside of the classroom. Through group work the students will develop socially

by means of collaboration, emotionally in the opportunities to communicate, express opinions, and exhibit
emotions creatively, physically through the hands-on activities, cognitively in regard to the expansion of

knowledge that will be a part of this growth experience, flexibly by means of the combinations of perspectives
that will help stray from rigidity, and artistically through the freedom that the group projects will provide

associated with student choice. This can all be made possible through an integrated curriculum in which the
students have opportunities to carry their skills across the subject areas.
Bloom’s educational theory is amongst the many that exist and have been proven to be relevant through

research. Another involves the multiple intelligences that is popular within education due to the uniqueness of
each child that an educator has the opportunity to work with. “Many teachers utilize multiple intelligences in

their teaching philosophy and work to integrate Gardner’s theory into the classroom” (Cherry, 2017). The
intelligences refer to the types of learning styles and preferences that includes visual-spatial, linguistic-verbal,
logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. Comparing

these two theories, it becomes evidence that both Bloom and

Gardner considered the psychomotor, affective, and cognitive

development of individuals. However, while Bloom reinforces the

importance of including these domains in daily lessons, Garden
accepts that each individual is diverse such that they will be able

learn and express themselves best in a manner that may differ

from a peer. Therefore, the incorporation of the three domains

conceptualized by Bloom encourages challenge and braveness. In

the classroom students are actively reminded to be brave and try new things in order to provide them with more
well-rounded experiences, while accepting that there will always be characteristics unique to each of them. This

encompasses Bloom’s and Gardner’s ideas. In the role of a teacher, one must “provide authentic
experiences” (Edwards, 2010) through organizing “challenging materials along with a great deal of

encouragement” (Edwards, 2010) from which the students will “gain the confidence they need to express
themselves” (Edwards, 2010) through psychomotor-, affective-, and cognitive-based means. The consideration
of educational theories and the application of their principles is rooted in the motivational force of becoming the

teacher the students need, and teaching concepts to the students in the manner that provides them with the most
authentic experiences.

As it has become evident, the authentic activities that students can be involved in are extensive and
creative in themselves. Previously observed was a non-fiction unit during which the students studied a topic of
their choice. This integrated unit involved readings of information texts, data collections based on real and
hypothetical situations, mathematical analyses of data, the creative and information writing of a booklet

teaching the reader about the topic, the listening to audiobook and videos, and finally, the creation of a sculpture
associated with the topic. Evidence of the teacher’s consideration of Bloom’s taxonomy and the multiple

intelligences is extensive, making it a useful model for future lesson planning. In order to be guided more by art,
the teacher could follow an activity template similar to the clay dinosaurs plan offered by Clements and
Wachowiak. The study of dinosaurs is a great unit for history during which the children can be involved in

emotional, psychomotor, intellectual, perceptual, and aesthetic experiences. Not only would they be learning
about the historical context of these creatures, they would also be involved in art production, perceptual

discussions, respectful criticism, aesthetic conceptualizing, affective brainstorming, cognitive and functional
growth, and psychomotor and multisensory development (Clements & Wachowiak, 2010). Art skills would be
learned, creativity would be put into a real-world perspective, artistic interpretations would be encouraged,

thoughtful discussions about art and the associated emotions would take place, facts would be provided, and
students could express their learning, emotions, and interests through a physical means. A more simplistic

approach can be taken in light of this integrated activity described. Music can be used during classroom
transitions. During lessons on understand the feelings and traits of characters, the students can act them out
based on their interpretations. Social dilemmas and internal emotions can be expressed creatively, whether in a

non-verbal and safe manner, or through something like creative writing. Students can vent on a piece of paper
that can then be used to creative a narrative incorporating the affective and cognitive domains. The applications

of educational theories will become habit as the teacher actively considers their benefits and inclusion
throughout each lesson.
The consideration of educational theories such as Bloom’s taxonomy and Gardner’s multiple intelligences

enhances the classroom experiences of the students while establishing a sense of creativity given the freedoms
and diversity that these concepts encompass. It is the consideration and interest for the integration of emotional,

psychomotor, intellectual, perceptual, and aesthetic experiences that will result in “authentic
experiences” (Edwards, 2010) for the students. These possibilities exist when the teacher actively recalls and
incorporates these concepts into lesson plan through a structured approach in order to prevent a dull educational

experience that includes “‘just boring facts,’ ‘just jumpin’ around,’ or ‘just a bunch of talk about our
feelings’” (Clements & Wachowiak, 2010). Students will thrive in an environment that no longer neglects their

affective and psychomotor needs, while allowing them to experience their “higher-order thinking” (Clements &
Wachowiak, 2010) in new, creative contexts.
 Works Cited

Cherry, K. (2017, October 26). Which Type of Intelligence Do You Have? Retrieved January 30, 2018, from
https://www.verywell.com/gardners-theory-of-multiple-intelligences-2795161

Armstrong, P. (n.d.). Bloom's Taxonomy. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-
sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

Coffey, H. (n.d.). Bloom's Taxonomy. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/4719

Wachowiak, F., & Clements, R. D. (2010). Emphasis Art (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Edwards, L. C. (2010). The creative arts: a process approach for teachers and children (5th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson Education.