Bloom’s Taxonomy is a learning framework that includes six major categories such as knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The categories that are presented after knowledge are called “skills and abilities,” with the understanding that knowledge is the crucial precondition for putting relevant skills and abilities into practice (Armstrong, 2010). Within the taxonomy, knowledge denotes the recalling of universals and specifics, methods and processes, as well as patterns, structures, and settings. Comprehension represents the type of understanding in which a person knows what is being said and can make use of materials and ideas without necessarily relating them to other materials. Application refers to the employment of abstractions in specific situations, while analysis denotes the breaking down of communication into certain elements that can be viewed in a hierarchy of ideas with specific relations between them. Synthesis refers to the putting together of elements and parts to form a whole, while evaluation is the process of making judgments about the value of materials and methods for given purposes.
Having a solid knowledge of taxonomy is of benefit in the context of assessment because it will allow for informed decisions about learning outcomes. Knowing the Taxonomy well will help identify the learning outcomes at each level and thus design assessments that will match those levels. Besides, it will become easier to create learning outcomes and assessments by matching them to the different levels of learners’ cognition. Finally, the grasp of the Taxonomy will make it easier for educators to accomplish the end results for which they strive. For example, when teaching tenses to students, educators can create assessments using the six stages of taxonomy. Drawing from these stages, a teacher may develop a test that includes six questions for each stage of the taxonomy.
For example, one of the questions may call for the implementation of the evaluation stage. The question will encourage students to use their judgment in order to make a conclusion about the appropriateness of using either present or present perfect tense in a sentence by evaluating the content and the context presented in that sentence. Another example is the use of the application stage of the taxonomy; for instance, students will be asked to use the past tense of certain verbs using the rule that if the principle clause is in the past tense, then the subordinate tense has to be in the same tense. The stage of analysis can be used to teach students how to differentiate between the use of tenses in different sentences and why a specific clause is being used. A question assessing students’ capacity to analyze may include the comparison of sentences and calling them to explain the differences between them. Finally, the stage of knowledge of tenses within assessments may include asking students to define the types of clauses in their own words. Instead of rote learning, it is important that students can explain the concepts being taught to them independently and in a way that is easier for them. Overall, the learning taxonomy may allow educators to transform theoretical knowledge into practical application within the context of assessments. Because Bloom’s Taxonomy includes six stages that represent various aspects of learning, they can be transformed into assessment questions that teach students certain concepts.
References
Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Web.