According to the Great Schools Partnership website, “Bloom’s taxonomy is a classification system used to define and distinguish different levels of human cognition—i.e., thinking, learning, and understanding. Educators have typically used Bloom’s taxonomy to inform or guide the development of assessments (tests and other evaluations of student learning), curriculum (units, lessons, projects, and other learning activities), and instructional methods such as questioning strategies” (Bloom’s Taxonomy paragraph 1). In 1956, Bloom’s Taxonomy was published by a group of cognitive psychologists. The classification system is separated into the following domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. The cognitive part has six levels, such as Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation (Bloom’s Taxonomy paragraph 2). I feel that when educators utilize the cognitive component in their classrooms, this gives students the best opportunity to learn, students learning invaluable skills that they can use throughout their lives.
Bloom’s Taxonomy’s system states that higher levels of learning cannot be accomplished by students until basic, lower levels of learning are mastered (Atherton paragraph 1), which I agree with. As I learned about this classification system, it made sense to me. Bloom’s Taxonomy is similar to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs that focuses on how people’s basics needs of shelter, food, and belonging needs have to be take care of before self-actualization can be achieved (Ciccarelli and White 351-352). Bloom’s lowest level of taxonomy is the Knowledge category, which describes one’s memory of material that has been learned in the past, such basic facts, terms, concepts, and answers. For example, a young grammar school student would need to learn multiplication tables, the alphabet, the sounds of letters, and the basic rules of adding, subtraction, and division. In addition to this, basic knowledge, such as knowing who the president is and what state one lives in is also important. Obviously, this is an important area to master. Without students retaining basic facts and concepts, they will not be able to read, perform algebra, understand money, and build on other areas of knowledge. As we get older, we need to write checks, pay bills, grocery shop, read signs while driving, and decipher work related memos, tasks we cannot achieve without knowing basic concepts and skills in the Knowledge component (Bloom’s Taxonomy Questions paragraph 4).
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At the next level of Comprehension, the student shows that one understands specific facts and ideas by organizing, comparing, translating, interpreting, providing descriptions, as well as being able to pick out main ideas. Some ways that teachers can help students learn skills is to ask them to draw a picture and visualize, visualizing something that we need to do as adults, especially when we set workplace and personal goals, such as completing more projects quicker and deciding to get in better physical shape. Another exercise that can help students is for teachers to ask kids to state what they think will happen in a story before finishing a book or asking to describe a protagonist’s feelings (Bloom’s Taxonomy Questions paragraph 8). As we get older and form relationships, we need to be able to gauge our partner’s and kid’s feelings and to predict how our actions and choices will affect us, our community, and our family. Perceiving other people’s feelings is important in the development of empathy, a crucial factor in life.
The third level of “Application” shows how to take knowledge, concepts, techniques, and rules and apply them to the real world. Students then solve problems in different situations in a new way. Teachers can teach application skills to students by telling them to pick an event in a story and write how the student would have dealt with the problem (Bloom’s Taxonomy Questions paragraph 12). This is a skill that is often required of college students who write papers, CEO’s who have to figure out why a new product did not sell well, and parents who have to pick a different way to motivate their kids to do chores because a chore sticker chart did not work. All these examples are skills that are used throughout one’s lifetime.
The “Analysis” level asks us to use more critical thinking skills, by dividing information into parts and finding causes and motives. In this level, individuals make inferences and look for evidence to back up generalizations. Here, teachers can ask students to identify facts and opinions (Bloom’s Taxonomy Questions paragraph 16). Analysis skills are useful skills that a lawyer needs when linking evidence to find proof of a crime and making inferences about what may have happened when trying to convince a jury of his client’s innocence. Students who take college entrance exams need to answer questions that ask one to infer, find evidence, and look for generalizations. Workplace managers and employees also need to do this. I realized how important this is when I thought of how crimes are solved and the shows such as “Forensic Files” and “CSI,” which rely on Analysis. I now understand that these skills make our society safer.
The”Synthesis” Level involves combining information together in a new way by seeing a new pattern or new solutions. Teacher of older students can ask them to make a poster or picture to advertise a story so people will be motivated to read it (Bloom’s Taxonomy Questions paragraph 20). In the workplace, people use synthesis to combine demographic information about gender, income level, and age to create new products for a company. Psychologists use synthesis to devise a client’s diagnosis, examining their behaviors in relationships and the community, one’s thoughts, and levels of functioning. I realize how much a successful workplace and a successful home life revolves around synthesis.
In the last level, called “Evaluation,” we present opinions by making judgments about information. The validity of ideas and the quality of work are also judged. Teachers can ask students to read a story and justify the reasons for a protagonist’s choice (Bloom’s Taxonomy Questions paragraph 24). As an adult, we see ads and hear information daily that we need to weigh. For example, if we see a study about how people who smoke are more likely to get cancer, we need to look at the source of the research study, who is funding the study, and how many subjects were used in the study. The rape allegations against comedian Bill Cosby require people to examine evidence and the credibility of individuals involved in the case, these processes utilizing evaluative skills. By seeing recent cases in the news, such as the Michael Brown shooting and Treyvon Martin, I realize how crucial evaluative skills are.
As you can see from the explanation of Bloom Taxonomy’s Cognitive domain, learning skills and facts that students commit to their memories as basic knowledge is necessary to move into levels such as synthesis and evaluation. These skills are needed throughout one’s life, helping individuals to perform well in a job, complete activities of daily living, such as grocery shopping, following road rules, and reading about information that helps one make medical decisions. I now understand how important Bloom’s Taxonomy is in living a successful life, my view of intelligence as just facts, completely changed. This supports my argument that educators who incorporate the cognitive component in their classrooms, provide students with the best opportunity to learn, students learning important skills that they need throughout their lives.
