Alan Bloom’s taxonomy (1956) is a classification system used to define and distinguish different levels of human cognition (thinking, learning, understanding). Teachers use Bloom’s taxonomy to guide assessments, curriculum, and instructional methods.
- Knowledge: Learner’s ability to recall information
- Comprehension: Learner’s ability to understand information
- Application: Learner’s ability to use information in a new way
- Analysis: Learner’s ability to break down information into its essential parts
- Synthesis: Learner’s ability to create something new from different elements of information
- Evaluation: Learner’s ability to judge or criticize information
Benjamin Bloom’s classic 1956 learning taxonomy was revised and refined by Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl in 2000.
- Remember: Learner’s ability to recall information
- Understand: Learner’s ability to understand information
- Apply: Learner’s ability to use information in a new way
- Analyze: Learner’s ability to break down information into its essential parts
- Evaluate: Learner’s ability to judge or criticize information
- Create/Design: Learner’s ability to create something new from different elements of information
Theses updates reflect of a more active thought process and include three main changes:
- Category names were revised from nouns to verbs.
- The last two stages of Bloom’s Taxonomy were switched so that evaluation (evaluating) comes before synthesis (creating).
- The knowledge (remembering) category was updated to reflect four knowledge dimensions instead of three.
More specific to foreign language learning it is important to recognize that these skills are not a hierarchy, but are interrelated and dependent on each other to function most efficiently and effectively. Language creation is dependent on understanding, analyzing, evaluating and applying knowledge.
Here are questions to use when creating tasks, activities & assessments in the world language classroom using the updated Bloom’s taxonomy categories:
- Remember: Can the student recall or remember the information?
- Understand: Can the student explain ideas or concepts?
- Apply: Can the student use the information in a new way?
- Analyze: Can the student distinguish between the different parts?
- Evaluate: Can the student justify a stand or decision?
- Create/Design: Can the student create or design a new product or point of view?
Download a pdf with a list of over 60 verbs to use when creating tasks, activities & assessments in the world language classroom using the updated Bloom’s taxonomy.
Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl : A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York : Longman, ©2001.
