Bloom's Taxonomy

Benjamin Bloom, an educational researcher at the University of Chicago, led a committee that formulated a taxonomy, or classification, of "educational objectives." The taxonomy is a list of six skill categories or levels; each category of skills is considered to be necessary for success at the next level. When the taxonomy is applied to school work, we can see that much high school and community college work is at the Knowledge, Comprehension, and Application levels. University work tends to emphasize Application, Synthesis, and sometimes Evaluation. University students are often expected to operate at these higher levels, especially on exams, without being explicitly instructed to do so.

1. Knowledge is the ability to remember ideas, facts, or concepts and being able to recognize or recall them. It is the foundation for all other activities.

Examples:
Name the capital of France.
List the causes of WWII.
State the Pythagorean Theorem.

2. Comprehension is the ability to understanding a communication, whether it's a lecture, a reading selection, a lab demonstration, or a piece of music. It entails understanding what is being communicated, as well as being able to express the information in your own words, summarize it, or make generalizations or predictions based upon it.

Examples:
Interpret a circle graph.
Explain the outcome of a lab experiment.
Answer questions on a reading selection.

3. Application is t he ability to (1) take a new problem and use your knowledge and comprehension to decide which rule, principle, or equation applies to a new situation, and (2) then use the rule to solve a problem that you haven't seen before, on your own.

Examples:
Answers to most math and physics problems.
Predict the probable effect of a change in temperature on a chemical.

4. Analysis is the breaking down of material into its parts and seeing how the parts are organized or related. It could be distinguishing fact from opinion, identifying a conclusion and the statements that support it, or finding main themes in music or poetry.

   Examples:
   Identifying symbols used by a poet in a particular poem.
   Compare and contrast essay questions.

5. Synthesis is the ability to drawing together what you know from many sources and putting it together to make something new. Work within some rules or methodology but also exercise some creativity.

   Examples:
   Write a research paper.
   Formulate a hypothesis
   Draw up a marketing plan.

6. Evaluation

   is the ability to make judgments about the value of ideas, solutions, methods, etc. These judgments are based on knowledge and definite criteria; they are not simply opinions.

   Examples:
   Point out fallacies in an argument or debate.
   Judge the merit of a research project.

   Sources: Benjamin S. Bloom et al. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Handbook l, Cognitive Domain. Allan C. Ornstein. Strategies for Effective Teaching. 1995.