Bloom's Taxonomy

If you’ve taken my course (Elevate to eCourse), then you have probably heard of Bloom’s Taxonomy … as long as you paid attention.  Bloom’s Taxonomy is an educational practice and study of building up information over a period of time.  This is also called scaffolding. 

Scaffolding with Bloom’s Taxonomy starts learners off at the very beginning of the learning triangle, remembering.  

When a student needs to recall information, they have to go to their long-term memory. In order for smaller pieces of information to be pulled up quickly, students have to be familiar with what it is they have to recall. When you construct a course, it's important to remember that Bloom’s Taxonomy is a description of how the human mind builds information.

So, what exactly is this information-creating process? Let's dive into the different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy!

Level One: Remember

To remember information, a student has to be able to define, duplicate, and memorize the information that you're giving them. Remembering is being able to recall facts and basic concepts.  This level is also the one with the most repetition. You will probably have to do several activities that help the students quickly recall what they have learned.

Level Two: Understand

This part of the learning process can be very fun to watch. Understanding is where students begin to connect the pieces of information that they have learned. One of the best ways to test this is to see if your students can explain topics to one another. Students at this point should also be able to recognize, discuss, and locate the information in their notes.

Level Three: Apply

Application is a great way to help students engage with the lesson content and apply it to their own personal lives. For example, if a student is learning how to meditate, the application phase of Bloom's Taxonomy would indicate that it is time for students to put their meditation into practice.

Level Four: Analyze

The analysis level is where students begin to create an internal mind map of the information that they have learned. What this means, is that students are now drawing connections between their ideas. They can easily organize the information that they've learned to compare and question its validity.

Level Five: Evaluate

This is the point where students have learned enough to develop an opinion on the topic at hand. They can defend their standpoint, support their argument, critique the content, and argue their point in group discussions.  When a student has reached this point, they are able to fully engage with the material and then move on to the next level.

Level Six: Create

Hitting the creation level is extremely difficult. This isn't to say that you can't get your students to that level! A great way to see if your students are approaching creation is to see if they can design or incorporate their own ideas into what you have taught them.  The create level means that students can take agency and take charge of their knowledge to create new knowledge.

As you begin to develop your course further, start to incorporate the different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy into the structure of your course. Make sure that you're starting at the beginning so that way students aren't overwhelmed with the information.

Over time, build up your students to at least the evaluate level. You may personally be at the creation level, but that is because you have had years of study with your topic.  Don't expect your students to be able to be at your level at the end of a course. They are still learning and will still need your help!

Implementation: Look at one of your lessons, and see if it fits within Bloom's Taxonomy. If it does let us know how this lesson fits and if it doesn't we can help you figure out how to get that lesson scaffolded for your students. Don't forget to reach out to us!