FRAMINGHAM STATE COLLEGE SANTIAGO, PANAMA March 23-27 2009

BLOOMS TAXONOMY PRESENTATION MODIFIED BY YESSENIA GONZALEZ M.A. From Original presentation by Dr. Larry Creedon RESEARCH AND EVALUATION COURSE

Benjamin Bloom and Colleagues Six Category Cognitive Taxonomy Revisited and Expanded

Four Considerations: Recall the six categories of Blooms taxonomy Allude to the original purpose and structure of the taxonomy Comment on the application of the taxonomy to education and schools today. Propose applications a synthesis for the taxonomy beyond that intended by Bloom and his colleagues, or recommended in current revisions of the taxonomy.

WHAT IS BLOOMS TAXONOMY?

According to Mary Forehand from the University of Georgia, Bloom's Taxonomy is a multi-tiered model of classifying thinking according to six cognitive levels of complexity.

The Six Categories of the Taxonomy

Knowledge. Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

Original Purpose of Blooms Taxonomy.

To create a taxonomy for learning objectives for college level students.

WHAT IS ITS GOAL?

The major idea of the taxonomy is that what educators want students to know (encompassed in statements of educational objectives) can be arranged in a hierarchy from less to more complex A goal of Bloom's Taxonomy is to motivate educators to focus on all three domains, creating a more holistic form of education.

Revisited Blooms Taxonomy

Source: http://www.odu.edu/educ/llschult/blooms_taxonomy.htm

Higher-Order vs. Lower-Order skills

Knowledge:

Data, cognitive input .

Is Knowledge the same as information?

Comprehension: Understanding Whatever that means?

Translation: Putting a communication into other language, other terms or another form of communication. Interpretation: Where comprehension may require a reordering of fresh ideas into a new configuration Extrapolation: Making estimates, predictions or inferences based on the understanding of trends, tendencies or conditions described in the original communication

Application:

Understanding requires application

Analysis: Compare and contrast

Analysis is the ability to: Breakdown a communication into its parts identifying or classifying its elements. Make explicit the relationship among elements of a communication. Recognize the organizational principles of a communication

Synthesis: Now commonly referred to as creativity

The category within the cognitive domain which most clearly provides for creative behavior on the part of the learner.

Synthesis to Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues in their 1956 six category cognitive taxonomy was defIned as: [Bloom p. 162]. the cognitive domain which most clearly provides for creative behavior on the part of the learnerIn synthesis the student must draw upon elements from many sources and put these together into a pattern not clearly there before.

Evaluation: Value judgments about ideas, works, solutions, methods and materials
Piet Hein: The road to wisdom is plain and simple to express, To err and err and err again, But less and less and less

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Expanding Blooms Taxonomy Beyond Its Original Intent

Application is not limited to the cognitive structuring of learning objectives Among the Applications, It works as a guide for:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Practitioners working with learners at all levels in assisting them in: Understanding the structure of knowledge Developing critical thinking skills Understanding the specific purpose of a learning experience Curriculum developers to structure learning experiences consistent with a cognitive structure. Determining when and under what circumstances a particular instructional strategy or tactic is appropriate Facilitating the purposeful activity of learners in group and team situations Learners to follow in conducting research on a given topic. Developing competence based assessment and evaluative instruments Structuring the agenda of faculty meetings and professional development activities. Add your own initiatives for using the taxonomy

Blooms Taxonomy Today

The Internet cites several instances where Blooms Taxonomy has been revised and up dated. Go to: Google Blooms Taxonomy Revisited.

Conclusion

Blooms taxonomy was first developed to respond to a then current need. It never caught on at the college level It is seldom adequately applied at the public school level It is more applicable now then when originally proposed

For more information, revise

Complete Creedon Monograph: Blooms Taxonomy Revisited. For Creedons complete monograph go to web site: www.larrycreedon.wordpress.com under Learning Theory.

Ipse dixit Lawrence P. Creedon, Ed.D. New England Philosophy of Education Association Annual meeting, October 4, 2008. lpcreedon@aol.com www.larrycreedon.wordpress.com (703) 731 8114