A Hierarchical Model of the Cognitive Domain(Based on Bloom, et al, 1956 as revised by Anderson & Krathwohl et al, eds., 2001)

Bloom developed a similar model for the affective domain, and other researchers have created psychomotor taxonomies (see Dave, R. H. [1975] and Harrow, A. [1972].)

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References

Anderson, L., Krathwohl, D. R., Airasian, P. W., Cruikshank, K. A., Mayer, R. E., Pintrich, P. R., Raths, J., and Wittrock, M. C., Eds. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing — A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives; Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.

Bloom B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. David McKay Co Inc.

Dave, R. H. (1975). Developing and Writing Behavioural Objectives. (R J Armstrong, ed.) Educational Innovators Press.

Harrow, A. (1972) A taxonomy of psychomotor domain: a guide for developing behavioral objectives. New York: David McKay.

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Remember (Knowledge)

Description

Remembering procedures, terms, methods, facts, concepts, specific items of information

Recalling information

Listing or reciting learned information

Recognizing facts

Question/Statement Verbs

Arrange PickChoose Point toDefine RecallFind ReciteGroup RepeatIdentify SayLabel ShowList SortLocate SpellMatch TellName UnderlineOutline Write

Student Learning Examples

Remember an idea or fact in approximately the same form in which it was learned

Question and answer sessions in which there are clear right/wrong answers

Programmed instruction

Information searches

Drill and practice

Finding definitions

Memory games

Standard quizzes

Sample Questions/Activities

Label the parts of a plant

Group together all of the four-syllable words

List the Freedoms included in the Bill of Rights

Identify the food group each of these foods belong to

Match definitions to the following words

Locate different examples of capitalization in the following story

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Understand (Comprehension)

Description

Understanding concepts and principles

Summarizing material

Explaining ideas

Interpreting material

Understand the meaning of material

Seeing relationships among ideas/concepts

Question/Statement Verbs

Account forCalculateChangeContemplateDemonstrateDescribeExplainOfferProjectPropose

Student Learning Examples

Communicating an idea in a new or different form

Forming relationships (analogies, similes)

Giving examples

Paraphrasing

Show and Tell

Estimating

Giving reasons

Sample Questions/Activities

Give reasons for the energy crisis

Explain why we have bus safety rules

Outline the steps necessary for an idea to become a law

Restate the reasons for weather changes

Define the relationships you see between politics today and in the early 1800s

Interpret the chart showing the rate of inflation over the past ten years

Summarize the story

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Apply (Application)

Description

Making use of what is known

Using concepts and principles in new situations

Solving problems using a learned process

Demonstrating correct usage of a method or procedure

Using rules, methods, concepts, laws, principles, theories

Question/Statement Verbs

Apply OperateCollect OrganizeConstruct Put to useEmploy RelateExercise SortHandle SolveMake use of TryManipulate Use

Student Learning Examples

Using knowledge from various ideas to find solutions to problems

Applying ideas to new or unusual situations

Simulation activities

Role playing/Role reversal

Group presentations

Conducting experiments

Classifying objects

Practical application of learned knowledge

Suggest application of new ideas

Sample Questions/Activities

Collect examples of private citizens influencing government

Use the principle of estimation to decide how much carpet this room needs

Properly clean and put away all lab equipment.

Build a birdhouse based on the suggested design for the bird you chose during the nature hike.

If super-strong graphite material were available cheaply to anyone, what would you make with it?

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Analyze (Analysis)

Description

Breaking concepts down into component parts

Understanding organizational structure

Analyzing relationship between parts

Recognizing organizational principles involved

Question/Statement Verbs

Breakdown ReasonCheck ScreenCompare SearchContrast SeparateDiagram SimplifyDifferentiate StudyDissect SurveyInclude Take apartInspect Test forLook into Uncover

Student Learning Examples

Uncovering unique characteristics

Distinguishing between facts and inferences

Evaluating the relevance of data

Recognizing logical fallacies in reasoning

Recognizing unstated assumptions

Analyzing the organizational structure of a work (art, music, writing)

Comparing and contrasting

Outlining written material

Sample Questions/Activities

Simplify the ballet to its basic movements

Inspect a house for poor workmanship

Uncover as many principles of art as possible in a collection

Read a non-fiction book. Divide the book into its parts. Describe a new logical order for the parts. Explain why the parts are in the order you have placed them.

Examine two presidential addresses. Compare and contrast them for specific qualities

Think of a major concern facing our country. Identify several specific problems that contribute to this concern

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Evaluate (Evaluation)

Description

Using criteria to make a decision

Determining how closely an idea or work meets predefined standards

Judging the outcome

Question/Statement Verbs

Argue JudgeAppraise JustifyConclude MeasureCritique PredictDebate RankDecide RateDefend RecommendEstimate ScoreEvaluate Weigh

Student Learning Examples

Develop assessment criteria

Determine relative value

Justify decisions

Compare alternatives

Appraise data

Assess the correctness of conclusions

Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of various problem solutions

Sample Questions/Activities

Critique an experiment

Compare Communism and Capitalism

Assess two books on the same topic

Evaluate the efficiency of the school’s fire drill procedure

Identify dangerous consumer products

Debate school policy and its relationship to the First Amendment

Write an editorial

Create a peer review rubric for a class project

Participate in a mock trial

Conduct a self-evaluation

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Create (Synthesis)

Description

Putting parts together in a new way

Formulating new patterns and structures

Working with abstract relationships

Communicating an idea in a unique way

Developing a set of operations

Creating new or original things

Patterning items, ideas or concepts in a new way

Question/Statement Verbs

Blend InventBuild MakeCause Make upCombine ModifyCompose OriginateCreate PlanDesign ProduceDevelop ReorganizeForm Revise

Student Learning Examples

Developing an original plan

Hypothesizing

Creating an original story, poem, song

Formulating a new schema for classifying objects

Finding new combinations

Showing how an idea or product might be changed or improved

Sample Questions/Activities

Create a new song to the melody of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”

Develop a plan for your class to earn money

Create a new game that includes memory, luck, and teamwork

Fine a new way to communicate the plot of a book you have read

Given the preferences of a species of bird, design the optimum birdhouse for it

Write a new ending for one of the fairy tales we read this month

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