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Usi
ngBl
oom’
sTaxonomyt
oWr
it
eEf
fect
iveLear
ningObj
ect
ives

byj
shabat
u|Mar19,
2018|
BestPr
act
ices,
Cour
seDesi
gn|

Bloom’
sTaxonomyisaclassi
fi
cati
onoft
hedi
ff
erentobj
ect
ivesandski
l
lst
hateducat
orssetf
or
thei
rst
udent
s(lear
ningobj
ect
ives)
.

Shar
e671

Bloom’
sTaxonomyisaclassi
fi
cati
onoft
hedi
ff
erentobj
ect
ivesandski
l
lst
hateducat
orssetf
or
thei
rst
udent
s(lear
ningobj
ect
ives)
.

Whati
sBl
oom’
sTaxonomy

Bloom’sTaxonomyi saclassifi
cationofthedifferentobj ecti
vesandskill
sthateducatorssetfor
thei
rstudents(
lear
ningobj ect
ives).Thetaxonomywaspr oposedin1956byBenj aminBloom,
aneducational
psychologistattheUni v
ersit
yofChi cago.Thet erminol
ogyhasbeenr ecentl
y
updatedtoincl
udethef ol
lowingsi xl
evelsoflearning.These6l evel
scanbeusedt ost r
uctur
e
thelear
ningobject
ives,
lessons, andassessment sofy ourcourse.:

Remember
ing:
Ret
ri
evi
ng,
recogni
zi
ng,
andr
ecal
l
ingr
elev
antknowl
edgef
rom l
ong‐
ter
m memor
y.

Under
standi
ng:Constr
ucti
ngmeani ngfrom or
al,wr
it
ten,andgraphi
cmessagesthrough
i
nter
preti
ng,
exemplif
ying,
classi
fyi
ng,summar i
zi
ng,inf
erri
ng,
compar i
ng,
andexplaini
ng.

Appl
yi
ng:
Car
ryi
ngoutorusi
ngapr
ocedur
eforexecut
ing,
ori
mpl
ement
ing.

Anal
yzi
ng:Br
eaki
ngmateri
ali
ntoconst
it
uentpart
s,det
ermininghowthepart
srel
atetoone
anot
herandt
oanover
allstr
uctur
eorpurposethr
oughdif
ferenti
ati
ng,
organi
zi
ng,andat
tri
but
ing.

Ev
aluat
ing:
Maki
ngj
udgment
sbasedoncr
it
eri
aandst
andar
dst
hroughchecki
ngandcr
it
iqui
ng.
Cr
eat
ing:Putt
ingel
ementstoget
hert
ofor
m acoherentorf
uncti
onalwhol
e;r
eorgani
zing
el
ementsint
oanewpatternorstr
uct
uret
hroughgener
ati
ng,pl
anni
ng,orpr
oducing.

Likeothert
axonomies,Bloom’si shier
ar chi
cal,
meani ngthatl
earni
ngatthehigherlevelsis
dependentonhavingattainedpr er
equisiteknowledgeandskill
satlowerl
evels.Youwi llsee
Bloom’sTaxonomyof t
endi splayedasapy ramidgraphictohel
pdemonst r
atethishierarchy.We
haveupdatedthi
spy r
ami dintoa“ cake-styl
e”hierar
chytoemphasizethateachlevelisbui l
tona
foundati
onoftheprevi
ousl evels.

Bl
oom'
sTaxonomycakest
ylegr
aphi
c

Youmayuset hi
sgraphi
cforeducat
ional
ornon-
prof
itusei
fyoui
ncl
udeacr
edi
tforJessi
ca
Shabat
uraandcit
ati
onbacktothiswebsi
te.

HowBl
oom’
scanai
dincour
sedesi
gn

Bl
oom’staxonomyisapower
ful
tool
tohel
pdev
elopl
ear
ningobj
ect
ivesbecausei
texpl
ainst
he
pr
ocessoflearni
ng:

Bef
orey
oucanunder
standaconcept
,youmustr
ememberi
t.

Toappl
yaconcepty
oumustf
ir
stunder
standi
t.

I
nor
dert
oev
aluat
eapr
ocess,
youmusthav
eanal
yzedi
t.

Tocr
eat
eanaccur
ateconcl
usi
on,
youmusthav
ecompl
etedat
hor
oughev
aluat
ion.

Howev er
,wedon’ tal
waysstartwit
hloweror derski
ll
sandst epallt
hewaythroughtheenti
re
t
axonomyf oreachconceptyoupresentinyourcourse.Thatapproachwoul
dbecome
t
edious–forbothy ouandyourstudents!I
nstead,st
artbyconsideri
ngthel
evelofl
earner
sin
yourcourse:

Arelotsofyourstudent sfr
eshman?Ist hisan“ Introducti
onto…”course?Ifso,manyy our
l
earningobject
ivesmayt ar
gettheloweror derBl oom’ sski
ll
s,becauseyourstudentsare
bui
ldingfoundati
onal knowledge.Howev er,eveni nthissit
uati
onwewoul dstrivetomov eafew
ofyourobjecti
vesintot heapply
ingandanal yzingl evel,
butgetti
ngtoofarupint hetaxonomy
couldcreatefr
ustrat
ionandunachi evablegoals.

Aremostofyourstudent
sjunior
sandseni
ors?Gr
aduatestudents?Doyourstudentshavea
soli
dfoundat
ioni
nmuchoft hetermi
nol
ogyandprocessesyouwi l
lbeworki
ngony ourcour
se?
Ifso,t
henyoushouldnothavemanyrememberi
ngandunder st
andingl
evelobject
ives.Youmay
needaf ew,f
oranyr adi
call
ynewconceptsspeci
fi
ctoyourcour
se.However
,theseadvanced
student
sshouldbeabl etomasterhi
gher-
orderl
ear
ningobj
ecti
ves.Toomanylowerl
evel
object
ivesmightcauseboredom orapat
hy.

HowBl
oom’
swor
kswi
thl
ear
ningobj
ect
ives

Fortunat
ely
,ther
ear
e“v
erbt
abl
es”t
ohel
pident
if
ywhi
chact
ionv
erbsal
i
gnwi
theachl
evel
in
Bloom’sTaxonomy.

Youmaynot i
cethatsomeoft hesev er
bsont het ableareassociatedwithmul t
ipl
eBloom’s
Taxonomyl evel
s.These“ mult
ilevel
-verbs”areactionsthatcouldapplytodiff
erentacti
vit
ies.For
example,youcouldhav eanobj ecti
vethatstates“ Attheendoft hisl
esson,studentswil
lbeable
toexpl
ainthediffer
encebet weenH2OandOH- .
”Thi swouldbeanunder standinglevel
objecti
ve.
However,ifyouwantedt hestudentst obeabl eto“ …expl
aintheshifti
nthechemi calst
ructure
ofwaterthroughoutit
sv ari
ousphases. ”Thiswoul dbeananal yzinglev
el v
erb.

Addingtothisconfusi
on,youcanlocateBloom’sver
bchar t
sthatwi
lll
istver
bsatl
evels
diff
erentfr
om whatwel i
stbelow.Justkeepinmindthatiti
stheski
ll
,acti
onoract
ivi
tyyouwi
l
l
teachusingthatverbt
hatdeterminestheBloom’sTaxonomylevel
.

Bl
oom’
sLev
elKeyVer
bs(
key
wor
ds)Exampl
eLear
ningObj
ect
ive

Createdesi
gn, f
ormulate,
buil
d,invent
,create,
compose,gener
ate,
derive,
modi
fy,
devel
op.
Bytheendoft hi
slesson,thestudentwil
l beabletodesi
gnanori
ginal
homeworkprobl
em
deali
ngwiththeprinci
pleofconservat
ionofener gy.

Evaluate choose, suppor

t,r
elate,deter
mine,defend,
judge,grade,
compare,contr
ast
,ar
gue,
j
ustify,
support,
convince,sel
ect,
ev aluat
e. Byt heendofthislesson,t
hest
udentwi l
lbeabl
eto
determinewhetherusingconservationofenergyorconservat
ionofmoment um wouldbemor e
appropriat
eforsol
vingady namicspr obl
em.

Analyz
e cl
assi
fy,br
eakdown,categori
ze,anal
yze,di
agr
am,i
ll
ustr
ate,
cri
ti
cize,si
mpli
fy,
associ
ate. Byt heendofthi
slesson,thest
udentwill
beablet
odiff
erent
iat
ebet ween
potent
ialandki
neti
cenergy.

Apply calculat
e,predi
ct,
appl
y,sol
ve,i
ll
ustr
ate,
use,demonstr
ate,det
ermine,
model,
perf
orm,
present. Bytheendofthi
slesson,t
hestudentwil
lbeabl
et ocal
culat
etheki
net
icener
gy
ofapr oj
ecti
le.

Underst
and descr i
be,expl
ain,
paraphr
ase,r
estat
e, gi
veori
ginalexampl
esof,summari
ze,
cont
rast,i
nterpr
et,
discuss. Bytheendofthi
slesson,thestudentwil
lbeabl
etodescr
ibe
Newton’
st hreel
awsofmot i
ontoinher/
hisownwor ds
Remember l i
st,
reci
te,
outl
i
ne, def
ine,
name,match,quot
e,r
ecal
l
,ident
if
y,l
abel
,recogni
ze.
Bytheendoft
hisl
esson,t
hestudentwil
lbeabl
etorecit
eNewton’
sthreel
awsofmot ion.

Lear
ningobject
iveexamplesadapt
edf
rom,
Nel
sonBakeratGeor
giaTech:
nel
son.baker
@pe.gatech.
edu

HowBl
oom’
swor
kswi
thQual
i
tyMat
ter
s

Foracour setomeett heQual i

tyMattersstandardsitmusthav elearningobj ecti
vesthatar e
measur abl
e.Usingav erbtableli
ketheoneabov ewi ll
helpyouav oidv erbst hatcannotbe
quanti
fied,l
ike:understand,lear
n,appreci
ate,orenjoy.Quali
tyMat tersalsor equiresthatyour
courseassessment s( acti
vit
ies,proj
ects,
andexams)al i
gnwithy ourlearningobj ecti
ves.For
example, i
fyourlearni
ngobj ecti
vehasanappl i
cati
onlevelverb,suchas“ present”,t
heny ou
cannotdemonst r
atethaty ourstudentshavemast eredthatl
earningobj ectivebysi mplyhaving
amul t
iplechoicequiz.

Cour
sel
evel
andl
essonl
evel
obj
ect
ives

Thebi ggestdifferencebet weencour seandl essonlevel objecti

vesist hatwedon’ tdir
ectl
y
assesscour selevelobjectives.Courselevel objecti
vesar ejusttoobr oad.Inst ead, weuse
severallessonl evelobjectivestodemonst r
at emast er
yofonecour sel ev elobject i
ve.Tocr eat
e
goodcour selevelobject i
ves, weneedt oaskour sel
ves:“whatdoIwantt hestudent stohav e
master yofatt heendoft hecour se?”Then, afterwef i
nalizeourcour sel evelobj ecti
ves,wehav e
tomakesur et hatmast eryofal lofthelessonl evelobjectivesunderneat hconf ir
mt hatastudent
hasmast eryoft hecour selev el
objecti
ve—inot herwords, i
fyourstudent scanpr ove(thr
ough
assessment )thattheycandoeachandev eryoneoft hel essonlevelobj ecti
vesi nt hatsecti
on,
theny ouasani nstruct
oragr eetheyhav emast eryofthecour selev
el objective.

HowBl
oom’
swor
kswi
thcour
sel
evel
andl
essonl
evel
obj
ect
ives:

Courselevel
object
ivesar
ebroad.Youmayonl
yhav
e3-5cour
sel
evelobj
ect
ives.Theywoul
dbe
di
ffi
culttomeasuredir
ect
lybecauset
heyov
erar
chthet
opi
csofy
ourenti
recourse.

Lessonlevelobj
ecti
vesarewhatweuset odemonst r
atethatastudenthasmast eryoft
he
courselevelobj
ect
ives.Wedot hi
sbybuil
dingl
essonlevelobj
ectiv
est hatbuil
dtowardt
he
courselevelobj
ect
ive.Forexample,
astudentmightneedtodemonst r
at emasteryof8l
esson
l
evel obj
ecti
vesinordertodemonstrat
emasteryofonecourselevelobject
ive.

Becausethelessonlevelobj
ecti
vesdi
rect
lysupportt
hecoursel
evelobj
ect
ives,t
heyneedto
bui
lduptheBl oom’staxonomytohelpyourstudent
sreachmast
eryofthecourselev
el
obj
ecti
ves.UseBl oom’sTaxonomytomakesur ethatthever
bsyouchooseforyourl
essonl
evel
object
ivesbuil
dupt ot
heleveloftheverbthati
sinthecour selevelobj
ectiv
e.Thel essonl evel
verbscanbebel oworequaltothecourselevel
verb,buttheyCANNOTbehi gherinlevel.For
example,yourcoursel
evelv
erbmi ghtbeanAppl y
inglevelverb,“
ill
ustr
ate.
”Yourlessonl evel
verbscanbef r
om anyBloom’slevelt
hatisequalorbelowt hi
slevel(apply
ing,understanding,or
remember i
ng).

St
epst
owar
dswr
it
ingef
fect
ivel
ear
ningobj
ect
ives:

Makesur
ether
eisonemeasur
abl
ever
bineachobj
ect
ive.

Eachobj
ecti
veneedsonev er
b.Eitherastudentcanmastertheobject
ive,
ortheyfai
ltomasteri
t.
I
fanobject
ivehastwoverbs(say,defi
neandappl y
),whathappensifastudentcandefi
ne,
but
notappl
y?Aretheydemonstr
atingmast er
y?

Ensur
et hatt
heverbsinthecourselev
el obj
ecti
veareatl
eastatt
hehighestBloom’
sTaxonomy
asthehighestl
essonlevelobj
ecti
vesthatsupporti
t.(
Becausewecan’tv
erif
ytheycaneval
uat
e
i
fourlessonsonlytaughtt
hem (andassessed)todefi
ne.
)

St
ri
vet
okeepal
lyourl
ear
ningobj
ect
ivesmeasur
abl
e,cl
earandconci
se.

Wheny ouarereadytowrit
e,i
tcanbehel
pful
tol
i
stt
hel
evel
ofBl
oom’
snextt
othev
erby
ou
chooseinparent
heses.Forexampl
e:

Coursel
evel
obj
ect
ive1.(
appl
y)Demonst
rat
ehowt
ranspor
tat
ioni
sacr
it
ical
li
nki
nthesuppl
y
chai
n.

1.
1.(underst
and)Discussthechangi
nggl
oballandscapef
orbusi
nessesandot
her
or
ganizat
ionsthatar
edrivi
ngchangeint
heglobalenvir
onment
.

1.
2.(apply
)Demonstr
atet
hespeci
alnat
ureoft
ranspor
tat
iondemandandtheinf
luenceof
tr
anspor
tati
ononcompani
esandthei
rsuppl
ychai
nsoperati
nginagl
obaleconomy.

Thistri
ckwil
lhelpyouqui
cklyseewhatl
evel
verbsy
ouhave.I
twil
lal
sol
etyoucheckthatt
he
courselev
elobject
ivei
satleastashi
ghofaBloom’
slev
elasanyoft
hel
essonlevel
object
ives
underneat
h.