BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
In our complex and ever changing world, there is a growing emphasis on the need for schools and teachers to place a high priority on empowering students with thinking skills. If students are to be worthwhile and active members of society, they need to be taught the tools for life-long learning, such as the ability to critically evaluate information and think creatively. Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a comprehensive list of question starters, activities and strategies that will encourage students to be better thinkers. Bloom’s Taxonomy can be used in a variety of ways to improve both teaching and learning. It can be used to plan or devise: 1. Questions that encourage students to think critically. 2. Lessons and units that require students to demonstrate different levels of thinking and engage in a variety of intellectually challenging activities. 3. Assessment item(s) that require students to analyse, synthesise and evaluate knowledge they have learnt. Asking students to think at higher levels, beyond simple recall, is an effective way of stimulating students’ thought processes. Other ways of implementing Bloom’s Taxonomy into the classroom include: ! Discussion starters ! Small group activities ! Independent research tasks ! Contract sheets with allocate a different proportion of questions at different levels ! Pre-tests ! Post-tests ! Learning Centres
(p.34 Gifted and Talented Education: Professional Package for Teachers, Module 5.)

In 1990, Lorin Anderson, a former student of Blooms, made some significant changes to Bloom’s Taxonomy. Of particular note was the changing of the nouns of the six major categories into verbs. The objective of this was to better reflect thinking as an active process. Anderson’s revised Taxonomy is included in the following pages (see brackets).

Bloom’s Taxonomy can be used to reflect on the intellectual quality of a task
(Adapted from the work of Benjamin Bloom, 1956)

Description

Useful verbs: arrange, collect, define, describe, duplicate, examine, find, how many, identify, label, list, locate, memorize, name, order, quote, recognize, relate, recall, remember, repeat, reproduce, show, state, tabulate, tell, when, where, write Question starters:
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Knowledge: (Remember) Exhibiting memory of previously learned material by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts and answers.

The student can RECALL information

What happened after…? What did the ____ say about _____? How many? Who invented _______? Who was it that _____? When did ________ discover ______? Can you name the ____? Who spoke to _______? Describe what happened at ______? Can you tell why _____? Which is true or false? Find the meaning of _______? What is a _______? Can you recall ___? Can you list three ______? Which one …? Who was ……? When did _______ happen?

Suggested activities and products:
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Draw a …… Make a timeline of events Make a facts chart Write a list of information you remember Make a chart showing Write an acrostic poem Recite a poem List all the _____ in the story Write a list of the main events Memorize _____ Write the definition for _____ Locate ______ on the map Label this diagram of a ______ Describe the main character Drill and practice /question and answer sessions Memory games and quizzes

(Adapted from the work of Benjamin Bloom, 1956)

Description

Useful verbs: classify, contrast, compare, demonstrate, describe, differentiate, discuss, distinguish, estimate, explain, express, extend, identify, illustrate, indicate, infer, interpret, locate, outline, predict, recognize, report, rephrase, restate, review, select, summarise, translate Question starters:
• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Comprehension (Understand) Demonstrating understanding of facts and ideas by organizing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions, and stating main ideas.

What do you think ______? What was the main ideas? Write