S t r e t c h i n g

Every Student, Every Day

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised) to examine HOW we teach

Beachwood City Schools

Move from WHAT to HOW

Two years’ PD spent examining curriculum – WHAT we teach

Shift the PD focus from WHAT we are teaching to HOW we are teaching

The Taxonomy Table

Taken from: “A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing – A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives”

- Anderson et al. (2001)

Taxonomy Table utilizes two “Dimensions”: Knowledge Dimension – Factual, Conceptual, Procedural,

and Meta-cognitive Cognitive Process – Remember, Understand, Apply,

Analyze, Evaluate, and Create

Starts with Assessment,Backs into Instruction

Step 1: Apply the taxonomy to an assessment

What type of knowledge will be assessed? What type of cognition will be assessed?

Step 2: Examine the teaching that will prepare students for that assessment

What type of knowledge will be taught? What type of cognition will students be taught to

use/engage in?(Verb Tense is Intentional)

Starts with Assessment,Backs into Instruction

Step 3: Ask about the teaching unit…

Does HOW I will teach this align with WHAT I am assessing?

Is my teaching differentiated? Does it offer students opportunities to engage at an appropriate level/in an appropriate manner given their prior knowledge and/or skill set?

Am I stretching every student, every day?

If any answer is “No” – ADJUST!

Starts with Assessment,Backs into Instruction

Step 4: Ask more broadly…

Do my assessments, formal and informal, over the course of a unit/grading period/semester/school year land in enough places on the taxonomy?

Does my instruction land in enough places on the taxonomy?

Am I stretching every student, every day?

If any answer is “No” – ADJUST!

What this PD Initiative Presumes

This PD work presumes that examining one’s teaching closely against a taxonomy of knowledge and cognitive processes will lead to instructional improvements in differentiation and rigor.

It also presumes that working in collaboration with one’s grade level or content area peers (in a PLC) will aid in this process.

Moving forward

In PLCs throughout the year, we are looking to our team leaders and coordinators to lead this effort. We want them to facilitate meetings that follow these steps utilizing their own assessments and lesson plans as examples and utilizing our teachers’ own work as well.

Principals are critical to this effort too – they will tie this initiative in with the evaluation

cycle, making sure that everyone remains focused on stretching every student, every day.

The Taxonomy Table

Source: Anderson et al. (2001)

Nouns

Verbs

Examples

Learning Objective – “Students will be able to differentiate between different forms ofgovernment.”

…or as an Assessment Question – “Explain the differences between republican and

democratic forms of government.”

Verb – “differentiate” – Cognitive Process Dimension 4 – Analyze, Section 1 – “Differentiating”

Noun – “forms” of government – Knowledge Dimension B – Conceptual, Section A – “Knowledge of classifications and categories”

The Taxonomy Table

Source: Anderson et al. (2001)

Nouns

Verbs

X

Examples

Multiple Choice Assessment Question – “Which of the following is a strategy for decoding a word? Circle the best choice.”

Verb – “Circle” – Cognitive Process Dimension 1 - Remember, Section 1 – “Recognizing”

Noun – “strategy” – Knowledge Dimension D – Meta-cognitive, Section A – “Strategic knowledge”

The Taxonomy Table

Source: Anderson et al. (2001)

Nouns

Verbs

X

Examples

Assessment Question – “Calculate the lengths of each side of this right triangle. Show your work.”

Verb – “Calculate” – Cognitive Process Dimension 3 - Apply, Section 1 – “Executing”

Noun – “lengths” – Knowledge Dimension C – Procedural, Section B – “Knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods.”

The Taxonomy Table

Source: Anderson et al. (2001)

Nouns

Verbs

X

Examples

Staying with this Assessment Question – “Calculate the lengths of each side of this right triangle. Show your work.”

What prior knowledge does this require?

Cognitive Process Dimension 1 - Remember / Knowledge Dimension A – Factual – Remembering mathematical terminology - “right triangle”

Cognitive Process Dimension 2 - Understand / Knowledge Dimension B – Conceptual – Understanding a mathematical principle – “Pythagorean theorem”

The Taxonomy Table

Source: Anderson et al. (2001)

Nouns

Verbs

XX

X

Taking it further

After examining your assessment, look at the teaching that will prepare students for it… What types of knowledge will be taught? What types of cognition will students be taught to

use/engage in?

Ask about the teaching you’ve planned Does HOW I will teach this align with WHAT I am

assessing? Is my teaching differentiated? Does it offer students

opportunities to engage at an appropriate level/in an appropriate manner given their prior knowledge and/or skill set?

Am I stretching every student, every day?

S t r e t c h i n g

Every Student, Every Day

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised) to examine HOW we teach

Afternoon Session

Your Assessment

Recall of factual knowledge has its place – no value judgment being made

Over the course of any one curriculum unit, would you find that your assessments did not span across several areas of the taxonomy table?

What about your teaching? If you looked closely at your teaching over a unit, quarter or semester, would you find that you asked students to engage in cognitive processes across the table?

Do you teach your students to think meta-cognitively? Do they know how they know what they know?

The Taxonomy Table

Source: Anderson et al. (2001)

Nouns

Verbs

To be completed INDIVIDUALLY

Apply the taxonomy to your assessment

What type of knowledge will be assessed? Are there different types of knowledge

assessed?

What type of cognition will be assessed? Are there different types of cognitive

processes being tapped?

Present to your Department

Describe your assessment to your colleagues

Describe how you came to your conclusions about the type of knowledge and cognitive process assessed

Open up for discussion Alternative explanations? Questions about instruction leading up to this? Ideas about prior knowledge needed? Other…

Where we are headed…

Department Meetings – move this from a focus on assessment to a focus on instruction

Evaluations – evaluators will keep the focus on rigorous, differentiated instruction

November and January Inservice – continue emphasis on “Stretching Every Student, Every Day.”