If you've read our ultimate guide to understanding Bloom's taxonomy, you may want to find out more about Bloom's levels of learning. This post will explain everything you need to know about these levels and help you develop a full understanding of what they are, how they help and how they can be used to improve the learning process. Show
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1. An introduction to Bloom’s taxonomyIn 1956, Benjamin Bloom and his team of collaborators published their book, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Their framework soon became known as Bloom’s Taxonomy and provides a way of categorizing educational goals. It went on to enjoy widespread popularity among generations of teachers and instructors and has been applied across a broad range of age groups, from kindergarten to college level. both at a K-12 school level and at a college level. Bloom’s taxonomy helps teachers and instructors create curricula, course, lesson plans, and learning activities, as well as formative and summative assessments. It helps ensure that the students have clear measurable goals and expectations. 2. The Original Bloom’s taxonomy 6 levels of learningThe original taxonomy featured six major categories of thinking. There were:
As a taxonomy, Bloom’s framework has to be followed in order; learners must start at the first stage – Knowledge – and master that level before moving on to the next. The first level – Knowledge – is a necessary precondition for the following five levels. For this reason, the taxonomy is often presented as a pyramid to show that knowledge acts as a foundation for all subsequent levels of learning: The five areas of learning above Knowledge are known as ‘skills and abilities’. Each category contains various subcategories, ranging from simple tasks to complex tasks. A brief explanation of each categoryThe following explanations are derived from the 1984 edition of Bloom’s Handbook One. Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation 3. The Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy 6 levels of learningA group of researchers, psychologists, and assessment specialists produced a revised version of Bloom’s Taxonomy, A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, in 2001. Their main goal was to move the focus away from purely educational objectives and make it clearer for learners to understand specifically what was required of them at each stage. In place of static objectives and nouns used in the original Bloom’s taxonomy, the revised version uses verbs and gerunds to describe the cognitive processes that students and learners are required to use. These are:
In common with Bloom’s original work, learners must still approach a topic or subject from the lowest level – Remember – and master that before moving on to higher levels of thinking. A brief explanation of each categoryThe revised Bloom’s taxonomy categories are briefly explained below. Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create 4. Types of knowledge in the revised Bloom’s taxonomyIn addition to the six cognitive processes, the authors of the revised taxonomy created a separate taxonomy for four distinct types of knowledge. These are: Factual Knowledge Conceptual Knowledge Procedural Knowledge Metacognitive Knowledge 5. How to use Bloom’s 6 levels of learningAt this point, you may be wondering, “Why use Bloom’s taxonomy?’ Here’s the deal: Bloom’s taxonomy is incredibly flexible and can be used in conjunction with most teaching philosophies and teaching styles. Its popularity stems from the fact that it is highly adaptability and versatile, making is well suited to a number of different tasks. These are:
Let’s look at each of these areas separately. Course or curriculum planning Setting learning goals or objectives Creating learning activities Creating assessments or evaluations 6. Examples of how to apply each level of learningIf you want to put Bloom’s taxonomy into practice, here are some examples of the ways you might apply each level of learning. Level 1: Remembering If you are teaching at this level, you may use verbs such as:
This will help you to measure the learner’s success in this stage. The purpose is to ensure that students memorize facts but doesn’t guarantee that they actually understand the material. Sample Level 1 learning activities Level 2: Understanding At this level, you may use verbs like:
Level 3: Applying This level of thinking asks learners to use and apply the material or skills that they have been studying. You may use verbs like
The goal is to measure whether students can make use of their learning. Sample Level 3 Learning Activities The range of learning activities at this level varies enormously. If the learning focuses on practical skills such as making phone calls or completing a form, the assessment would mirror that real-life activity. If the focus is on knowledge, such as a math formula, you might ask learners to make a calculation that demonstrates their understanding of the formula. Level 4: Analyzing Analyzing is the upper-half of the levels of learning in Bloom’s taxonomy. The goal is to assess whether students can draw connections between ideas and utilize their critical thinking skills. Verbs you may use include:
Sample level 4 learning activities You may ask students to find fallacies in the reasoning of various arguments or use logical deduction to determine how a particular piece of equipment works. These tasks allow the students to demonstrate that they can understand the material fully, and can break it down into its component parts. Level 5: Evaluating At the second-highest level of learning of Bloom’s taxonomy, you are assessing whether students can differentiate between facts, opinions, and inferences. Verbs you may use include:
Sample Level 5 Learning Activities You may ask learners to justify a specific decision or find an effective solution to a problem while backing up that decision with a justification. Blogs and surveys are popular learning activities at this level. Level 6: Creating The highest level of learning in Bloom’s taxonomy is asking the learner to create something either tangible or conceptual. You may use verbs such as:
Sample Level 6 Learning activities If the learning is practical in nature, you may ask learners to design a product or physical device such as a piece of machinery. If the learning is conceptual or intangible, a suitable learning activity may be writing a report, creating a manual, writing an essay or paper.
7. Problems with using Bloom’s taxonomyAs with any theoretical construct, Bloom’s taxonomy is open to interpretation and doesn’t have to be precisely followed or applied to every given situation. For instance, when designing a course, it may not be necessary to have the learners start at the lowest level – remembering – and work their way up. The solution? If you are creating a bespoke course or syllabus for a group of learners, you can use formative assessments to gauge learners’ abilities before you start designing. This will help you set appropriate learning goals and pitch the instruction at the right level. Creativity doesn’t have to be the end goal, either. You can use creativity as a tool to spark inspiration and learning. In a corporate learning environment, for example, you could ask the participants to create their own solution to a problem. This could act as an engaging and inspiring entry event, as you could deconstruct the solution and use it as a creative way of introducing facts, knowledge and basic concepts around a subject. 8. Further readingTo discover more about Bloom’s taxonomy and how to use it to improve the effectiveness of your training evaluation, consider getting in touch with us below. What is the lowest level of assessment?It can be divided into two levels -- Level I (the lower level) contains knowledge, comprehension and application; Level II (the higher level) includes application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (see the diagram below). Figure 1. Bloom's Taxonomy.
Which level of Bloom's taxonomy is the highest form of thought?Creating involves putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole. Creating includes reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through planning. This is the highest and most advanced level of Bloom's Taxonomy.
What are the sources of student learning outcomes?These sources of outcomes include regulatory bodies, institutional philosophy, industry demands, subject matter experts, curriculum benchmarks, and learning frameworks.
Which level of Bloom's taxonomy exhibits the most complex level of understanding?Bloom identified six levels within the cognitive domain, from the simple recall or recognition of facts, as the lowest level, through increasingly more complex and abstract mental levels, to the highest order which is classified as evaluation.
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