In the year 1956, Benjamin Bloom along with his colleagues Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill, and David Krathwohl published the Framework for categorizing educational goals named Taxonomy of Educational Objectives popularly known as Bloom's Taxonomy.
The model organized learning objectives into 3 different domains: cognitive domain (related to head), affective domain (related to heart), sensory/conative/psychomotor domain (related to hand).
It is a set of 3 hierarchical models used to classify educational learning objectives into levels of complexity and specificity.
The taxonomy was proposed by Benjamin Bloom in 1956 he was an educational psychologist at the University of Chicago.
The first volume of Taxonomy Handbook 1: cognitive was published in 1956.
The second volume of Taxonomy Handbook 2: affective was published in 1964.
The Framework was revised in 2001 and also called the Revised Bloom taxonomy.
These domains are interconnected and influence each other. Thus, none can be ignored in the process of learning.
3 Divisions in Bloom’s Taxonomy
Cognitive Domain- Benjamin Bloom (1956)
Affective Domain- Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia (1964)
Psychomotor Domain- Simpson and Harrow (1989)
In this post I will be specifically talking about cognitive domain
The Cognitive Domain
It is concerned with the processes that are associated with the brain and thinking, such as memory, thus it is related to the head. Benjamin Bloom is known for his contribution in the cognitive domain. The cognitive domain consisted of 6 sub domains: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. In 2001 the levels are slightly different from the original taxonomy they are remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create (rather than synthesize) the name is changed from noun to the verb form.
These six subdomains are divided into two categories known as lower-level domains in which knowledge, comprehension and application are included and higher-level domains in which analysis, evaluation and synthesis are included based on the amount of Thinking required in them. The lowest amount of thinking is required in the first sub domain knowledge hence it is known as the lowest level of cognitive domain. A little higher thinking is required in the second sub domain comprehension and so on does the highest amount of thinking is required in the sixth sub domain synthesis/create and hence it is known as the highest level of cognitive domain.
Lower-Level Domains | Higher-Level Domains |
| 4) Analyze |
2) Understanding | 5) Evaluate |
3) Apply | 6) Create |
Revised Bloom Taxonomy of the cognitive domain (2001)
Remembering: Retrieving, recognizing, and recalling relevant knowledge from long term memory.
Understanding: Constructing meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining.
Applying: Carrying out or using a procedure through executing, or implementing.
Analyzing: Breaking material into constituent parts, determining how these parts relate to one another and to an overall structure, or purpose through differentiating, organizing, and attributing.
Evaluating: Making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing.
Creating: Putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; recognizing elements into a new pattern of structure through generating, planning, or producing.
Educational Implications
Helpful in framing the objectives in lesson plans.
HOTS- Higher Order Thinking Skills questions are originated from the Bloom’s Taxonomy, because it lays emphasis on the higher level of thinking.
Helps the educators in classification of the learning material.
Helpful for curriculum designers in designing the curriculum from LOTS (Lower Order Thinking Skills) to HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills).
Thanks for reading!!!
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