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The Revised Taxonomy
The Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives was created by Benjamin Bloom in the 1950’s as
a means of expressing qualitatively different kinds of thinking.
Bloom’s Taxonomy has since been adapted for classroom use as a
planning tool and continues to be one of the most universally applied
models across all levels of schooling and in all areas of study.
During the 1990’s,
Lorin Anderson (a former student of Benjamin Bloom) led a team of
cognitive psychologists in revisiting the taxonomy with the view to
examining the relevance of the taxonomy as we enter the twenty-first
century.
As a result of the
investigation a number of significant improvements were made to the
existing structure. Before turning to examples of how the newly
revised Taxonomy may be applied, it would be appropriate at this point
to make both the revisions and reasons for the changes explicit.Figure1
below describes both the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ taxonomies:
REMEMBERING
Recognise, list,
describe, identify retrieve, name ….
Can the student RECALL
information?
UNDERSTANDING
Interpret, exemplify,
summarise, infer, paraphrase …..
Can the student
EXPLAIN ideas or concepts?
APPLYING
Implement, carry out,
use …
Can the student USE the
new knowledge in another familiar situation?
ANALYSING
Compare, attribute,
organise, deconstruct …
Can the student
DIFFERENTIATE between constituent parts?
EVALUATING
Check, critique, judge
hypothesise ...
Can the student JUSTIFY
a decision or course of action?
CREATING
Design, construct,
plan, produce ...
Can the student
GENERATE new products, ideas or ways of viewing things ?
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Bloom’s
Original Taxonomy
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Anderson’s
Revised Taxonomy
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Knowledge
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Remembering
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Comprehension
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Understanding
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Application
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Applying
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Analysis
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Analysing
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Synthesis
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Evaluating
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Evaluation
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Creating
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Figure 1 – The original
taxonomy and the revised taxonomy
Some of the more
significant changes include changes in terminology, structure and
emphasis. Summarising each in turn –
Changes in Terminology
1. As depicted in the
previous table, the names of six major categories were changed from noun
to verb forms. The reasoning behind this is that the taxonomy
reflects different forms of thinking and thinking is an active process.
Verbs describe actions, not nouns, hence the change.
2. The subcategories of
the six major categories were also replaced by verbs and some
subcategories were reorganised.
3. The knowledge
category was renamed. Knowledge is an outcome or product of thinking
not a form of thinking per se. Consequently, the word
knowledge was inappropriate to describe a category of thinking and was
replaced with the word remembering instead.
4. Comprehension and
synthesis were retitled to understanding and creating respectively,
in order to better reflect the nature of the thinking defined in each
category.
Changes in Structure
1. The one- dimensional
form of the original taxonomy becomes a two-dimensional table with the
addition of the products of thinking ( i.e. various forms of
knowledge). Forms of knowledge are listed in the revised taxonomy as
factual, conceptual, procedural and metacognitive. See Learning to
think / Thinking to learn (Pohl, 2000) for further information about
this.
2 The major categories
were ordered in terms of increased complexity. As a result, the order
of synthesis (create) and evaluation (evaluate) have been
interchanged. This is in deference to the popularly held notion that
if one considers the taxonomy as a hierarchy reflecting increasing
complexity, then creative thinking (i.e creating level of the
revised taxonomy) is a more complex form of thinking than critical
thinking (i.e. evaluating level of the new taxonomy).
Put quite simply, one
can be critical without being creative (i.e judge an idea and justify
choices) but creative production often requires critical thinking (i.e
accepting and rejecting ideas on the path to creating a new idea,
product or way of looking at things.)
Changes in emphasis
1. The revision's
primary focus is on the taxonomy in use. Essentially, this
means that the revised taxonomy is a more authentic tool for
curriculum planning, instructional delivery and assessment.
2. The revision is
aimed at a broader audience. Bloom’s Taxonomy was traditionally viewed
as a tool best applied in the earlier years of schooling (i.e. primary
and junior primary years). The revised taxonomy is more universal and
easily applicable at elementary, secondary and even tertiary levels.
3. The revision
emphasizes explanation and description of subcategories.
For example,
sub-categories at the Remembering level of the taxonomy
include :
Recognising /
Identifying - Locating knowledge in
memory that is consistent with presented material.
Recalling / Retrieving
/ Naming
– Retrieving relevant knowledge from long-term memory.
The figure below gives
a comprehensive overview of the sub-categories, along with some
suggested question starters that aim to evoke thinking specific to
each level of the taxonomy. Suggested potential activities and student
products are also listed.
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Category
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Sample sentence starters
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Potential activities
and products
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REMEMBER
Recognising
Locating
knowledge in memory that is consistent with presented material.
Synonyms:
Identifying...
Recalling
Retrieving
relevant knowledge from long-term memory.
Synonyms
: Retrieving….
Naming…...
REMEMBER
Recognising
Locating
knowledge in memory that is consistent with presented material.
Synonyms:
Identifying...
Recalling
Retrieving
relevant knowledge from long-term memory.
Synonyms
: Retrieving….
Naming…...
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What
happened after...?
How
many...?
What
is...?
Who
was it that...?
Can
you name ...?
Find
the meaning of…
Describe
what happened after…
Who
spoke to...?
Which
is true or false...?
Identify
who….
Name
all the…..
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Make
a list of the main events of the story.
Make
a time line of events.
Make
a facts chart .
Write
a list of any pieces of information you can remember.
What
animals were in the story.
Make
a chart showing…
Make
an acrostic.
Recite
a poem.
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UNDERSTAND
Interpreting
Changing
from one form of representation to another
Synonyms:
Paraphrasing…
Translating,...Representing,… Clarifying...
Exemplifying
Finding
a specific example or illustration of a concept or principle
Synonyms
:
Instantiating…
Illustrating...
Classifying
Determining
that something belongs to a category (e.g., concept or principle).
Synonyms
:
Categorising...Subsuming...
Summarising
Drawing
a logical conclusion from presented information.
Synonyms
:
Abstracting…
Generalising...
Inferring
Abstracting
a general theme or major point
Synonyms
:
Extrapolating…
Interpolating.. Predicting… Concluding….
Comparing
Detecting
correspondences between two ideas, objects, etc
Synonyms
:
Contrasting…
Matching ...Mapping...
Explaining
Constructing
a cause-and-effect model of a system.
Synonyms
:
Constructing
models...
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Can you write in
your own words?
How
would you explain…?
Can
you write a brief outline...?
What
do you think could have happened next...?
Who
do you think...?
What
was the main idea...?
Clarify
why….
Illustrate
the ………
Does
everyone act in the way that …….. does?
Draw
a story map.
Explain
why a character acted in the way that they did.
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Cut
out, or draw pictures to show a
particular
event.
Illustrate
what you think the main idea may have been.
Make
a cartoon strip showing the sequence
of
events.
Write
and perform a play based on the story.
Retell
the story in your own words.
Write
a summary report of the event
Prepare
a flow chart to illustrate the
sequence
of events.
Make
a colouring book.
Cut
out, or draw pictures to show a particular event. Illustrate what
you think the main idea was.
Make
a cartoon strip showing the sequence of events.
Write
and perform a play based on the story.
Retell
the story in your own words.
Write
a summary report of the event
Prepare
a flow chart to illustrate the sequence of events.
Cut
out, or draw pictures to show a particular event. Illustrate what
you think the main idea was.
Make
a cartoon strip showing the sequence of events.
Write
and perform a play based on the story.
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APPLY
Executing
Applying
knowledge (often procedural) to a routine task.
Synonyms
: Carrying out….
Implementing
Applying
knowledge (often procedural) to a non-routine task.
Synonyms
: Using…..
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Can
you write in your own words?
How
would you explain…?
Can
you write a brief outline...?
What
do you think could have happened next...?
Who
do you think...?
What
was the main idea...?
Clarify
why….
Illustrate
the ………
Does
everyone act in the way that …….. does?
Draw
a story map.
Explain
why a character acted in the way that they did.
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Construct
a model to demonstrate how it works
Make
a diorama to illustrate an event
Make
a scrapbook about the areas of study.
Make
a papier-mache map / clay model to include relevant information
about an event.
Take
a collection of photographs to demonstrate a particular point.
Make
up a puzzle game.
Write
a textbook about this topic for others.
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ANALYSE
Differentiating
Distinguishing
relevant from irrelevant parts or important from unimportant parts of
presented material.
Synonyms
: Discriminating, Selecting, Focusing, Distinguishing,
Organising
Determining
how elements fit or function within a structure.
Synonyms
: Outlining, Structuring, Integrating, Finding coherence
Attributing
Determining
the point of view, bias, values, or intent underlying presented
material. Synonyms : Deconstructing
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Which
events could not have happened?
If.
..happened, what might the ending have been?
How
is...similar to...?
What
do you see as other possible outcomes?
Why
did...changes occur?
Can
you explain what must have happened when...?
What
are some or the problems of...?
Can
you distinguish between...?
What
were some of the motives behind..?
What
was the turning point?
What
was the problem with...?
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Design
a questionnaire to gather information.
Write
a commercial to sell a new product
Make
flow chart to show the critical stages.
Construct
a graph to illustrate selected information.
Make
a family tree showing relationships.
Devise
a play about the study area.
Write
a biography of a person studied.
Prepare
a report about the area of study.
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EVALUATE
Checking
Detecting
inconsistencies or fallacies within a process or product.
Determining
whether a process or product has internal consistency.
Synonyms : Testing,
Detecting, Monitoring
Critiquing
Detecting
the appropriateness of a procedure for a given task or problem.
Synonyms
:Judging
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Is
there a better solution to...?
Judge
the value of... What do you think about...?
Can
you defend your position about...?
Do
you think...is a good or bad thing?
How
would you have handled...?
What
changes to.. would you recommend?
Do
you believe...? How would you feel if. ..?
How
effective are. ..?
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Conduct
a debate about an issue of special interest.
Make
a booklet about five rules you see as important. Convince others.
Form
a panel to discuss views.
Write
a letter to. ..advising on changes needed.
Write
a half-year report.
Prepare
a case to present your view about...
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CREATE
Generating
Coming
up with alternatives or hypotheses based on criteria
Synonyms
: Hypothesizing
Planning
Devising
a procedure for accomplishing some task. producing
Synonyms
: Designing
Producing
Inventing
a product.
Synonyms
: Constructing
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Can
you design a...to...?
Can
you see a possible solution to...?
If
you had access to all resources, how would you deal with...?
Why
don't you devise your own way to...?
What
would happen if ...?
How
many ways can you...?
Can
you create new and unusual uses for...?
Can
you develop a proposal which would...?
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Invent
a machine to do a specific task.
Design
a building to house your study.
Create
a new product. Give it a name and plan a marketing campaign.
Write
about your feelings in relation to...
Write
a TV show play, puppet show, role play, song or pantomime
about..
Design
a record, book or magazine cover for...
Sell
an idea
Devise
a way to...
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