Rekha is a master’s student of history who’s terrified at the prospect of having to write a dissertation. After struggling for weeks, she chances upon something called Bloom’s taxonomy in a book. When Rekha devotes a couple of hours studying Bloom’s taxonomy, she realises this is exactly the model she needs to apply to be able to complete her assignment.
Bloom’s taxonomy allows Rekha to create a robust blueprint for her dissertation and her compact and engaging essay eventually fetches her a good grade.
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What Is Bloom’s Taxonomy?
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The Levels Of Bloom’s Taxonomy
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Examples Of Bloom’s Taxonomy
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Experience In-Depth Learning
What Is Bloom’s Taxonomy?
Bloom’s Taxonomy, originally devised by Benjamin Bloom in the book Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (1954), provides a clear and comprehensive framework of learning for both teachers and learners. Divided into three domains—cognitive, affective and psychomotor—Bloom’s taxonomy is extremely useful in providing a set of objectives and outcomes around which the learning process can take shape.
Over time, the cognitive domain has become synonymous with the phrase ‘Bloom’s taxonomy’. The six levels of the cognitive domain have come to be known as the six levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.
The Levels Of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Before studying some examples of Bloom’s taxonomy, let’s familiarize ourselves with the six levels of Bloom’s taxonomy:
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Knowledge:
Involves use of memorization techniques to retain past information as well as acquire and arrange new information. These form the building blocks of cognition, as we’ll see in the examples of Bloom’s taxonomy below
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Comprehension:
Involves a detailed understanding of the knowledge obtained previously from multiple angles
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Application:
Involves applying information to a particular context or scenario, something which will become more evident when encountering real life examples of Bloom’s taxonomy
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Analysis:
Involves scrutinizing a subject, theme or item of study in order to detect patterns, embedded meanings and parallels with other such items
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Synthesis:
Involves combining multiple ideas in order to create something that’s original—a product of critical thinking
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Evaluation:
Involves forming judgments regarding the values and methods of learning in a particular program.
In 2001, Bloom’s model was revised with a couple of changes. The “Synthesis” stage of the cognitive domain was replaced with “Create”, the highest level of learning possible in Bloom’s taxonomy. The second change involved changing the nouns to verbs. The levels of the revised model of Bloom’s taxonomy came to be denoted as follows:
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Remember
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Understand
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Apply
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Analyze
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Evaluate
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Create
Let’s explore two instances of the revised Bloom’s taxonomy with examples.
Examples Of Bloom’s Taxonomy
To understand the examples of Bloom’s taxonomy objectives as well as examples of Bloom’s taxonomy activities, let’s consider the following situations.
First, to demonstrate an instance from real life examples of Bloom’s taxonomy, consider an essay that needs to be written by a college fresher analyzing their personal communication techniques. To complete this assignment, the student must make use of the levels of Bloom’s taxonomy as stated below:
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Remember:
Use prior memory as well as new knowledge to make a list of the different kinds of communication required in daily life
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Understand:
Understand how each of these kinds of communication fits into a particular technique or style, such as candid communication, distant communication or spontaneous communication
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Apply:
Take any academically credible communication theory and test its application with respect to their personal communication style
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Analyze:
Notice how their communication style changes with respect to situations, audiences and intentions
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Evaluate:
Assess the process of communication itself from a macro-perspective and talk about its contemporary challenges
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Create:
Come up with an original model or framework that uniquely describes one’s communication style
For the second example of Bloom’s taxonomy, consider the following passage and the subsequent questions that are structured to test the cognitive skills of learners based on the different levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.
(From: British Museum is World’s Largest Receiver of Stolen Goods, says QC- The Guardian, Dalya Alberge)
The British Museum has been accused of exhibiting “pilfered cultural property” by a leading human rights lawyer. Geoffrey Robertson QC said: “The trustees of the British Museum have become the world’s largest receivers of stolen property.”
Robertson’s views appear in his book, Who Owns History? Elgin’s Loot and the Case for Returning Plundered Treasure.
Robertson observes that the French president, Emmanuel Macron has “galvanised the debate” by declaring that “African cultural heritage can no longer remain a prisoner of European museums”.
Questions:
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Remember:
Name any two books apart from the one by Robertson mentioned above which address the issue of artefacts stolen by colonial powers
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Understand:
Describe in your own words the meaning of “pilfered cultural property”
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Apply:
Do you think stealing cultural legacy influences social or political legacy?
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Analyze:
How has the practice of colonial cultural stealing impacted India?
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Evaluate:
What moral values do museums represent?
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Create:
Devise some benchmarks which must be met for a stolen cultural item to be returned to its place of origin
Experience In-Depth Learning
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Explore Harappa Diaries to learn more about topics such as Bloom’s Taxanomy, Six Levels Of Blooms Taxanomy, All About Personalized Learning and Tips To Become An Effective Learner that will help organizations tap into their employee’s potential.