Bloom's Taxonomy

Summary

Bloom's Taxonomy, presented by Dave McAlinden, is a framework used to classify learning objectives, specifically within the cognitive domain. The video clarifies common misconceptions about the taxonomy, especially the misinterpretation of its framework as a strict hierarchical pyramid. Instead, it functions as a grid, encompassing the Cognitive Processing and Knowledge Dimensions. These dimensions help categorize learning objectives based on cognitive levels and types of knowledge. The taxonomy provides tools for analyzing already-written objectives to assess educational balance and highlight missed opportunities, ultimately aiding in creating effective instructional designs.

Highlights

• Bloom's Taxonomy often misunderstood as hierarchical pyramid, but it’s a grid-like structure 📊
• Cognitive domain's complexity discussed using a six-level framework, with subdivisions for each level 🧠
• Clarification on two primary dimensions: Cognitive Processing and Knowledge 🔍
• Tips on using the taxonomy to analyze learning objectives for better course design 🎓

Key Takeaways

• Bloom's Taxonomy isn't a strict hierarchy but a grid-like framework 🧩
• Cognitive domain in Bloom's includes six levels: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create 🔍
• The taxonomy is more about assessing existing objectives rather than creating new ones 📝
• The Knowledge Dimension helps categorize what students should learn 🧠

Overview

Bloom's Taxonomy is commonly seen as a framework for organizing educational goals, especially those within the cognitive domain. Presented in this video by Dave McAlinden, the taxonomy aims to debunk the myth of its hierarchy. Many educators mistake Bloom's framework as a pyramid where one level must precede another; however, it’s a more flexible grid that includes both Cognitive Processing and Knowledge Dimensions.

The Bloom's framework is essential in higher education for its systematic approach to assessing learning objectives. The six cognitive processing levels—Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create—illustrate how students interact with knowledge differently. These levels don’t necessarily follow a strict order but have varying overlaps, customized based on the learning objective.

Beyond just creating objectives, Bloom's Taxonomy serves as a powerful tool for analyzing existing ones. When the taxonomy grid is effectively utilized, it helps educators identify gaps in instructional design and highlights where objectives align or deviate from intended educational goals. This enables better course design, ensuring comprehensive and balanced learning experiences.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Bloom's Taxonomy The chapter introduces Bloom's Taxonomy, a widely used framework for classifying learning objectives. Bloom originally identified three taxonomic domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. This chapter specifically focuses on the cognitive domain, which involves learning objectives related to the recall or recognition of knowledge and the development of intellectual abilities and skills. This domain is the most commonly referenced and is particularly relevant in higher education contexts.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Misconceptions and Hierarchy The chapter discusses common misconceptions about Bloom's taxonomy, particularly the representation of the taxonomy as a pyramid. It is highlighted that this pyramidal representation does not exist in the original or revised versions of the taxonomy and is considered misleading and incomplete. The chapter aims to clarify these misunderstandings by discarding the pyramid model and explaining the true nature of Bloom's taxonomy regarding educational objectives.
• 01:00 - 02:00: Levels Explained – Complexity vs. Difficulty The chapter discusses the misconception about levels being prerequisites for each other and clarifies that the original taxonomy, first introduced in 1956 and later revised in 2001, indicates hierarchy but not in a strict order. In the revised version, it's suggested that while 'understand', 'apply', and 'analyze' can form a cumulative hierarchy, the progression is based on general complexity rather than a fixed sequence.
• 02:00 - 04:00: Cognitive Dimensions: Processing and Knowledge This section discusses cognitive dimensions, focusing on the varying levels of complexity involved in different tasks. It explains that tasks can range from lower to higher levels in terms of interactions and requirements. However, this does not necessarily imply that lower levels are easier or higher levels are more difficult. The complexity of a task is not solely determined by its level but also by the nature of the task and the learner's capability. For instance, lifting a heavy object may be straightforward yet challenging in effort.
• 04:00 - 06:00: Application of Bloom's Taxonomy Chapter discusses the application of Bloom's Taxonomy in understanding the complexity of tasks and behaviors. It explores how certain tasks like baking cookies might seem complex but are generally straightforward. It highlights the overlapping nature of different cognitive levels in Bloom's Taxonomy, noting that tasks do not always require a sequential understanding of each level. For instance, one can ride a bicycle without the need to name its parts, and similarly, evaluating a bicycle doesn't necessitate riding it. However, when fixing a bicycle, understanding its parts and their functions becomes essential. The chapter emphasizes that the application of Bloom's Taxonomy varies based on the specific task or behavior under consideration.
• 06:00 - 08:00: Identifying Gaps and Improving Instruction The chapter titled 'Identifying Gaps and Improving Instruction' discusses the cognitive domain in the revised version of a taxonomy, which is represented as a grid instead of a pyramid. It focuses on two dimensions: the cognitive processing dimension and the knowledge dimension. The cognitive processing dimension consists of six levels, each with subdivisions that help in identifying specific, measurable, and observable behaviors at that level.

Bloom's Taxonomy Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Bloom's taxonomy is a common framework used to classify learning objectives according to Bloom's original text there are three taxonomic domains the cognitive domain the effective domain and the psycho motor domain in this video we will discuss the cognitive domain this covers learning objectives which deal with the recall or recognition of knowledge and the development of intellectual abilities and skills it is the domain most widely referred to and most relevant in the context of higher
• 00:30 - 01:00 education many of you have probably seen Bloom's taxonomy of the cognitive domain in the form of a pyramid like this before we really dive in here it's important to know that this pyramid does not appear anywhere in either the original or the revised taxonomies so we're going to go ahead and discard it it's a little misleading and quite incomplete for example one major misconception about Bloom's taxonomy is that it is a step hierarchy where in
• 01:00 - 01:30 each level is a requirement for the next this isn't exactly the case there is mentioned that the taxonomy is a hierarchy in the original 1956 text however after further investigation this was adjusted in the more recent 2001 version as stated in the revision the empirical evidence suggests that the middle three levels understand apply and analyze May create a cumulative hierarchy but not always the order that you see here from low to high is in terms of General complexity not steps to
• 01:30 - 02:00 each other that is the levels on the lower end tend to require less interactions and considerations and the levels on the higher end tend to have more working parts and requirements now this doesn't mean that the lower levels are easier and the higher levels are more difficult a simple or complex task can fall anywhere on the spectrum of difficulty it just depends on the nature of the task and the ability of the learner for example lifting a heavy weight is pretty simple yet can be quite
• 02:00 - 02:30 difficult on the other hand baking a batch of cookies is somewhat complex but relatively easy to do the levels do have varying degrees of overlap though it's really a case-by casee thing for example you weren't required to name and explain all the parts of a bicycle before you learn how to ride one and you don't need to know how to ride a bike to evaluate the quality of one however if you are going to fix a bicycle you might need to know what the parts do and why before taking the steps to fix it it all depends on the task or behavior indicated in the
• 02:30 - 03:00 objective in the revised version of the taxonomy which is what we will refer to moving forward the cognitive domain consists of two Dimensions the cognitive processing Dimension and the knowledge Dimension therefore this taxonomy is represented as a grid not a pyramid let's first break down the cognitive processing Dimension this consists of six levels but each of these levels have subdivisions that help you identify more specific measurable and observable behaviors within that level of
• 03:00 - 03:30 complexity please refer to the cognitive processing Dimension handout for more in-depth explanations and examples of these subdivisions knowing them will really help you identify the processing level of your objectives for now we will cover the general description of each level the first level is remember this is generally described as retrieving relevant Knowledge from long-term memory the next level of complexity is understand this involves constructing meaning from instru messages including
• 03:30 - 04:00 oral written and graphic communication the third level apply involves carrying out or using a procedure in a given situation the fourth level analyze includes breaking material into constituent parts and determining how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or purpose the fifth level evaluate involves making judgments based on criteria and standards and finally the sixth level of complexity in the cognitive processing
• 04:00 - 04:30 Dimension is create this involves putting elements together to form a coherent or functional ho or reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure the knowledge Dimension is separated into four distinct types with accompanying subtypes these undergird the elements of the cognitive processing Dimension that is the knowledge Dimension indicates the nature of what students will learn whereas the cognitive processing dimension indicates
• 04:30 - 05:00 how students will think about that learning please refer to the knowledge Dimension handout for a more detailed description of each type and subtype the first type is factual knowledge this is described as the basic elements students must know to be acquainted with a discipline or solve problems within it the second type is conceptual knowledge generally described as inter relationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that enable them to function together the third type is procedural knowledge and this
• 05:00 - 05:30 involves how to do something methods of inquiry and criteria for using skills algorithms techniques and methods and the final type is metacognitive knowledge this involves knowledge of thinking in general as well as awareness and knowledge of One's Own thinking it is often mistakenly assumed that the taxonomy is a tool for writing learning objectives however in fact it
• 05:30 - 06:00 is a tool to analyze objectives that have already been written we do this to determine which objectives are emphasized Andor missing this analysis leads to either a general satisfaction with the State of Affairs or a need to modify the course to achieve a more effective instructional design here are the basic steps to apply Bloom's taxonomy take an existing objective and determine its level of cognitive processing you can do this by focusing on the verb of the adjective for example
• 06:00 - 06:30 in the objective explain how bite gears work the verb explain is a subset of the processing level understand then determine which knowledge type the objective falls under you can do this by focusing on the noun or thing to be learned in this case how bik gears work this falls under the conceptual knowledge type subset knowledge of principles and generalizations now place the objective at that intersection on the grid we have now classified this as an objective for
• 06:30 - 07:00 explaining conceptual knowledge do the same for your remaining objectives once they are all placed on the grid the taxonomy gives us a bird's eyye view of two things one we get to see what type of learning we are emphasizing in the course for example if the course is about bicycle repair the majority of the objectives would be expected to fall under the processing levels understand and apply and the knowledge types of conceptual knowledge and procedural knowledge this allows us to assess whether or out the objectives align with
• 07:00 - 07:30 the intended instruction if your objective isn't where you want it to be this will help you find a more accurate verb or noun to inform the design of your activities the second thing the taxonomy reveals is missed instructional opportunities that is all of those blank cells left on the grid now the aim isn't to fill all the cells that would defeat the purpose the aim is to look at the blank cells and ask should there be learning at this intersection of processing and knowledge this this helps us identify any gaps and create a
• 07:30 - 08:00 stronger course also if you found all your objectives are overtly clustered in one area this can be an indicator that your class may be imbalanced or your objectives aren't written for what you intend always ask yourself of your objectives do the words I have chosen describe what I intend this helps inform us how to design or redesign more effective assessments this takes some effort in thinking but in the long run if you start with wellth thought out objectives before where you create
• 08:00 - 08:30 assessments and activities your course will have much less bloat show more value and make more sense to your students