- Knowledge: remembering of previously learned material; recall (facts or whole theories); bringing to mind.
- Terms: defines, describes, identifies, lists, matches, names.
- Comprehension: grasping the meaning of material; interpreting (explaining or summarizing); predicting outcome and effects (estimating future trends).
- Terms: convert, defend, distinguish, estimate, explain, generalize, rewrite.
- Application: ability to use learned material in a new situation; apply rules, laws, methods, theories.
- Terms: changes, computes, demonstrates, operates, shows, uses, solves.
- Analysis: breaking down into parts; understanding organization, clarifying, concluding.
- Identify parts; See Related Order; Relationships; Clarify.
- Terms: distinguish, diagrams, outlines, relates, breaks down, discriminates, subdivides.
- Synthesis: ability to put parts together to form a new whole; unique communication; set of abstract relations.
- Terms: combines, complies, composes, creates, designs, rearranges.
- Evaluation: ability to judge value for purpose; base on criteria; support judgment with reason. (No guessing).
- Terms: appraises, criticizes, compares, supports, concludes, discriminates, contrasts, summarizes, explains.
Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor Domains
Bloom’s Taxonomy was published in 1956 under the leadership of American academic and educational expert Dr Benjamin S Bloom. Bloom’s Taxonomy was originally created in and for an academic context, when Benjamin Bloom chaired a committee of educational psychologists, based in American education, whose aim was to develop a system of categories of learning behaviour to assist in the design and assessment of educational learning.
Bloom’s Taxonomy was primarily created for academic education, however it is relevant to all types of learning.Interestingly, at the outset, Bloom believed that education should focus on ‘mastery’ of subjects and the promotion of higher forms of thinking, rather than a utilitarian approach to simply transferring facts. Bloom demonstrated decades ago that most teaching tended to be
focused on fact-transfer and information recall – the lowest level of training – rather than true meaningful personal development, and this remains a central challenge for educators and trainers in modern times. This is reason alone to consider the breadth and depth approach exemplified in Bloom’s model.
| Cognitive | Affective | Psychomotor |
| Knowledge | Attitude | Skills |
| 1. Recall data | 1. Receive (awareness) | 1. Imitation (copy) |
| 2. Understand | 2. Respond (react) | 2. Manipulation (follow instructions) |
| 3. Apply (use) | 3. Value (understand and act) | 3. Develop Precision |
| 4. Analyse (structure/elements) | 4. Organise personal value system | 4. Articulation (combine, integrate related skills) |
| 5. Synthesize (create/build) | 5. Internalize value system (adopt behaviour) | 5. Naturalization (automate, become expert) |
| 6. Evaluate (assess, judge in relational terms) |