8.1: Bloom’s Taxonomy

Last updated
Save as PDF

Page ID: 82010

Education Department
SUNY Oneonta via LumenLearning

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

Bloom’s hierarchical classification from low-level to high-level thinking has proven invaluable for classroom instruction. The taxonomy provides a way to classify objectives and learning outcomes while showing its versatility as its use spread to a variety of educational applications. An important resource for writing objectives with verbs classified by level, the taxonomy helps teachers to track whether students are using higher-order thinking skills while engaged in a lesson.

Bloom’s taxonomy underwent a major revision by Krathwohl & Anderson (2001), as depicted in the Figure One. This revision allows teachers to identify the complexity of thinking required of the students by a lesson. The image below shows the increasing cognitive load and provides a short definition of each level.

Bloom's Technology pyramid from base to tip: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, Creating. — Figure 1. Revised Bloom’s Technology

The verbs associated with differing levels of thinking skills required for any given task provide guidance as a teacher writes outcomes of any lesson for a class. For instance, a lower order outcome may be: The student will recall multiplication tables one through four . A higher order outcome might be: The student will differentiate between nutritious foods and foods with processed ingredients . When teachers understand the complexity of thinking levels required by the lesson, they may ensure that students have a good balance among all skills in the spectrum.

alt — Table 1. Verbs for planning with Bloom’s Taxonomy

Contributors and Attributions

Foundations of Education. Authored by: SUNY Oneonta Education Department. License: CC BY: Attribution