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Bloom's Taxonomy

Mon, 12/17/2007 - 16:37 — bxb11

Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive objectives, originated by Benjamin Bloom and collaborators in the 1950's, describes several categories of cognitive learning.

Bloom's Taxonomy for Learning Objectives
Category Description
Knowledge Ability to recall previously learned material.
Comprehension Ability to grasp meaning, explain, restate ideas.
Application Ability to use learned material in new situations.
Analysis Ability to separate material into component parts and show relationships between parts.
Synthesis Ability to put together the separate ideas to form new whole, establish new relationships.
Evaluation Ability to judge the worth of material against stated criteria.

Note: Many people also call the analysis, synthesis, and evaluations categories "problem solving."

Key Verbs

Below are key verbs associated with each cognitive domain. Using verbs such as these is beneficial to writing effective learning objectives.

Knowledge

  • Define
  • Identify
  • List
  • Name
  • Recall
  • Recognize
  • Record
  • Relate
  • Repeat
  • Underline/Circle

Comprehension

  • Choose
  • Cite examples of
  • Demonstrate use of
  • Describe
  • Determine
  • Differentiate between
  • Discriminate
  • Discuss
  • Explain
  • Express
  • Give in own words
  • Identify
  • Interpret
  • Locate
  • Pick
  • Report
  • Restate
  • Review
  • Recognize
  • Select
  • Tell
  • Translate
  • Respond
  • Practice
  • Simulates

Application

  • Apply
  • Demonstrate
  • Dramatize
  • Employ
  • Generalize
  • Illustrate
  • Interpret
  • Operate
  • Operationalize
  • Practice
  • Relate
  • Schedule
  • Shop
  • Use
  • Utilize
  • Initiate

Analysis

  • Analyze
  • Appraise
  • Calculate
  • Categorize
  • Compare
  • Conclude
  • Contrast
  • Correlate
  • Criticize
  • Deduce
  • Debate
  • Detect
  • Determine
  • Develop
  • Diagram
  • Differentiate
  • Distinguish
  • Draw conclusions
  • Estimate
  • Evaluate
  • Examine
  • Experiment
  • Identify
  • Infer
  • Inspect
  • Inventory
  • Predict
  • Question
  • Relate
  • Solve
  • Test
  • Diagnose

Synthesis

  • Arrange
  • Assemble
  • Collect
  • Compose
  • Construct
  • Create
  • Design
  • Develop
  • Formulate
  • Manage
  • Modify
  • Organize
  • Plan
  • Prepare
  • Produce
  • Propose
  • Predict
  • Reconstruct
  • Set-up
  • Synthesize
  • Systematize
  • Devise

Evaluation

  • Appraise
  • Assess
  • Choose
  • Compare
  • Critique
  • Estimate
  • Evaluate
  • Judge
  • Measure
  • Rate
  • Revise
  • Score
  • Select
  • Validate
  • Value
  • Test

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