Educational Psychology
….Name and define the six levels in
Bloom's Taxonomy for the Cognitive
Domain ....
Developed by W. Huitt (1998)
Writing Instructional Objectives
Instructional objectives, including behavioral
objectives, can be written for any of the domains
of instruction
• Cognitive
• Affective
• Psychomotor
The Cognitive Domain
Bloom's Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain
(started in 1948 and completed in 1956) was one
of the most influential statements about levels of
knowing.
The official title of the book is Taxonomy of
educational objectives: The classification of
educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive
domain with the text having 4 other authors
(M. Englehart, E. Furst, W. Hill, and D
Krathwohl).
The Cognitive Domain
The major idea of the taxonomy is that what
educators want students to know (and,
therefore, statements of educational objectives)
can be arranged in a hierarchy from less to
more complex.
The taxonomy contains six levels, with
sublevels identified for each.
Cognitive Learning
The mental or intellectual thinking
behaviors demonstrated by an
individual
The Cognitive Domain
A mnemonic device for remembering the six
levels:
K Knowledge
C Comprehension
A Application
A Analysis
S Synthesis
E Evaluation
The Cognitive Domain
Student recalls or
recognizes information,
Knowledge
ideas, and principles in the
approximate form in which
they were learned.
The Cognitive Domain
Write
List
Knowledge
Label
Name
State
Define
The Cognitive Domain
The student will define the 6
Knowledge levels of Bloom's taxonomy
of the cognitive domain.
The Cognitive Domain
Student translates,
Comprehension comprehends, or interprets
information based on prior
learning.
The Cognitive Domain
Explain
Summarize
Comprehension Paraphrase
Describe
Illustrate
The Cognitive Domain
The student will explain
Comprehension the purpose of Bloom's
taxonomy of the cognitive
domain.
The Cognitive Domain
Student selects, transfers,
Application and uses data and
principles to complete a
problem or task with a
minimum of direction.
The Cognitive Domain
Use
Compute
Application Solve
Demonstrate
Apply
Construct
The Cognitive Domain
The student will write an
Application instructional objective for
each level of Bloom's
taxonomy.
The Cognitive Domain
Student distinguishes,
classifies, and relates the
Analysis assumptions, hypotheses,
evidence, or structure of a
statement or question.
The Cognitive Domain
Analyze
Categorize
Analysis Compare
Contrast
Separate
The Cognitive Domain
The student will compare
Analysis and contrast the cognitive
and affective domains.
The Cognitive Domain
Student originates,
integrates, and combines
Synthesis
ideas into a product, plan
or proposal that is new to
him or her.
The Cognitive Domain
Create
Design
Synthesis Hypothesize
Invent
Develop
The Cognitive Domain
The student will design a
classification scheme for
Synthesis writing educational
objectives that combines
the cognitive, affective, and
psychomotor domains.
The Cognitive Domain
Student appraises,
Evaluation assesses, or critiques on a
basis of specific standards
and criteria.
The Cognitive Domain
Judge
Evaluation Recommend
Critique
Justify
The Cognitive Domain
The student will judge the
Evaluation effectiveness of writing
objectives using Bloom's
taxonomy.
The Cognitive Domain
In general, research over the last 40 years has
confirmed the taxonomy as a hierarchy with the
exception of the last two levels.
It is uncertain at this time whether synthesis
and evaluation should be reversed (i.e.,
evaluation is less difficult to accomplish than
synthesis) or whether synthesis and evaluation
are at the same level of difficulty but use
different cognitive processes.
The Cognitive Domain
I believe the latter is more likely as it relates to the
differences between creative and critical thinking.
Creative Thinking Critical Thinking
Synthesis Evaluation
Analysis
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge
Affective Learning
An individual’s emotions, attitudes,
appreciations, interests, and/or
values about “something” or
someone
Affective Behaviors are indicated
by attitudes of . . .
Awareness
Caring
Interest
Attention
Concern
Responsibility
The Affective Domain
Being aware of or attending to
Receiving
something in the environment
Showing some new behaviors as
Responding
a result of experience
Showing some definite
Valuing
involvement or commitment
Krathwohl, D., Bloom, B., & Masia, B. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives.
Handbook II: Affective domain. New York: David McKay.
The Affective Domain
Integrating a new value into
Organization one's general set of values,
giving it some ranking among
one's general priorities.
Characterization Acting consistently with the new
by Value value; person is known by the
value.
Psychomotor Learning
Physical activities involving gross
and/or fine motor skills, such as
coordination, dexterity, strength,
manipulation, and speed
Psychomotor Learning
Behaviors displayed when using
machinery and equipment or
precision tools indicate
psychomotor learning.
Psychomotor Behaviors are
demonstrated by students
when they . . .
Use
Handle/Manipulate
Operate
Build/Construct
Differentiate (by touch)
Perform skills & tasks
Three Domains of Learning
Cognitive Domain
“Thinking”
Affective Domain
“Feeling”
Psychomotor Domain
“Doing”
The Psychomotor Domain
Process of becoming aware of
Perception objects, qualities, etc by way of
senses. Basic in situation-
interpretation-action chain
leading to motor activity.
Readiness for a particular kind
Set
of action or experience; may be
mental, physical or emotional.
Simpson, J. S. (1966). The classification of educational objectives, psychomotor
domain. Office of Education Project No. 5-85-104. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois.
The Psychomotor Domain
Overt behavioral act under
Guided guidance of an instructor, or
Response following model or set criteria.
Learned response becomes
Mechanism habitual; learner has achieved
certain confidence and
proficiency or performance.
The Psychomotor Domain
Complex Performance of motor act
Overt considered complex because of
Response movement pattern required.
Adaptation Altering motor activities to
meet demands of problematic
situations.
The Psychomotor Domain
Creating new motor acts or
ways of manipulating
Origination materials out of skills, abilities
and understandings developed
in the psychomotor area.
Writing Instructional Objectives
While it is possible to write instructional
objectives of all types for each of the three
domains, the vast majority are written for
the cognitive domain.
The major exceptions include preschool,
physical education, and perhaps fine arts
courses such as sculpturing and drama.
Bloom’s Taxonomy
A hierarchical
classification of
six levels of
cognition or
thinking behaviors
Levels of Cognition = Thinking
Behaviors or Skills
Higher-Order Thinking Skills
(HOTS) 4
Lower-Order Thinking Skills
(LOTS) 2
Lower-Order Thinking Skills
The simplest or most “basic” forms of
cognition . . .
Comprehension (understanding)
Knowledge (knowing or remembering)
Knowing or Knowledge
The “lowest” or most fundamental level of
cognition (thinking)
Remembering or recalling information,
facts, data, etc.
However, the individual may not
understand, or be able to use the
knowledge correctly
Comprehension
The second level of cognition
“Understanding” what is known or
remembered
But the individual may not be able to
apply or use his (her) understanding
properly or consistently
Higher-Order Thinking Skills
Involve
increasingly
more complex
levels of
cognition
Higher-Order Thinking Skills
include four thinking behaviors . . .
Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis
Application
Application
“Applying” one’s learning to a given
circumstance or situation
“Doing” something with what is known
and understood
Analysis
Analyzing and interpreting data,
information, and facts to identify
relationships, trends, and
“connections”
This level of cognition is the “gateway” or
beginning of problem solving
Synthesis
“Connecting” related, and sometimes
unrelated, ideas, principles, and
concepts to form a coherent whole
Understanding that often the significance
of the “whole” may be greater than
the sum of its parts
Frequently, the ability to synthesize is
essential for arriving at solutions
correctly
Evaluation
Determining the “value” or “worth” of an
idea, concept, or practice with
consistency and accuracy
“Weighing” the merit of multiple solutions
and selecting one to implement
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: A
VOCABULARY FOR WRITING
OBJECTIVES
Cognitive Domain
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
ACTION VERBS
Use words that describe the
student behavior that is to be
demonstrated (observed).
The Action Verb should
represent one of the six levels of
the Cognitive Domain.
EXAMPLES OF ACTION
VERB USE
VAGUE BETTER
The student will be The student will be
able to . . . able to . . .
do list
compare
know
demonstrate
understand . . .
summarize
prepare
critique . . .
