Research Guides: Faculty Resources: Bloom's Taxonomy

Using Bloom's Taxonomy to Create Higher Order Thinking

Benjamin Bloom, while working at the University of Chicago in 1956, developed his theory on Educational Objectives. In 2001, the taxonomy was revised. Below you will see the changes:

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The revised Bloom's also addresses the Cognitive Domain and the Knowledge Domain. It is the cognitive domain that helps us write learning objectives. Notice the hierarchical levels. Undergraduate students are expected to move up through the three lower levels while graduate students are expected to work at the higher cognitive levels.

The cognitive process dimension represents a continuum of increasing cognitive complexity—from remember to create. The table below lists categories, cognitive processes, and alternative names.

Remember	Understand	Apply	Analyze	Evaluate	Create
recognizing (identifying) recalling (retrieving)	interpreting (clarifying, paraphrasing, representing, translating) exemplifying (illustrating, instantiating) classifying (categorizing, subsuming) summarizing (abstracting, generalizing) inferring (concluding, extrapolating, interpolating, predicting) comparing (contrasting, mapping, matching) explaining (constructing models)	executing (carrying out) implementing (using)	differentiating (discriminating, distinguishing, focusing, selecting) organizing (finding, coherence, integrating, outlining, parsing, structuring) attributing (deconstructing)	checking (coordinating, detecting, monitoring, testing) critiquing (judging)	generating (hypothesizing) planning (designing) producing (construct)

Bloom's Cognitive Processes

Source: Revised Bloom's Taxonomy, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Iowa State University

Learning Objective Verbs

Remember	Define, recall, recognize, list Remember, identify… was, is, did Who, what, where, when / how many, how much Acquire
Understand	Describe, compare, rephrase, contrast (abstract) Put into your own words Give an example, explain the main idea What is most important, What caused this What will probably happen Translate, interpret, convert, transform, abstract
Apply	Apply, use, prepare, employ, classify, generalize, choose Solve… which… how would you Write an example Explain, sequence, repair plan, operate
Analyze	Analyze, compare, detect, discover, identify, distinguish, order, outline, classify, discriminate, catalog, recognize Investigate, explore, determine, estimate, observe Identify motives or causes… support Draw conclusions Determine evidence… why What reasons are given What method is used What words suggest, breakdown ideas
Evaluate	Evaluate, judge, measure, test, appraise Select, verify, rank, check, argue Assess… give your opinion and reasons Decide which is the better picture/solution
Create	Integrate, propose, theorize, build, plan, formulate, specify, organize, systematize Predict, construct, produce How can we improve… write What would happen if… develop Design a plan, devise a model How can we solve… synthesize

Modified from Faculty Orientation Handbook by George Drops 2006

Learning Objective Verbs

Related Readings

The Autumn 2002 issue of Theory Into Practice (Volume 41, Issue 4) includes the following articles on Bloom's Taxonomy:

Author	Title	Pages
Krathwohl, D. R.	A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview	212-218
Pintrich, P. R.	The Role of Metacognitive Knowledge in Learning, Teaching, and Assessing	219-225
Mayer, R. E.	Rote Versus Meaningful Learning	226-232
Raths, J.	Improving Instruction	233-237
Ferguson, C.	Using the Revised Taxonomy to Plan and Deliver Team-Taught, Integrated, Thematic Units	238-243
Byrd, P. A.	The Revised Taxonomy and Prospective Teachers	244-248
Airasian, P. W. & Miranda, H.	The Role of Assessment in the Revised Taxonomy	249-254
Anderson, L. W.	Curricular Alignment: A Re-Examination	255-260

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy
A thorough orientation to the revised taxonomy by Andrew Churches with practical recommendations for a wide variety of ways mapping the taxonomy to the uses of current online technologies; and associated rubrics
Bloom et al.'s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain
Webpage created by Dr. William G. Huitt at Valdosta State University in 2011.
The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom
Posted on Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day site in May 2009.
A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
Book by David Krathwohl, James D. Raths, Kathleen A. Cruikshank, Merlin Wittrock, Paul Pintrich, Peter W Airasian, and Richard E. Mayer. Available in print at the Library. Request delivery outside San Diego through Books Direct.

Source: Revised Bloom's Taxonomy, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Iowa State University