3.2 - How to Write Learning Objectives Using Bloom's Taxonomy

Course Design on a Shoestring Budget

22 Dec 201410:52

Summary

TLDRThis video introduces Bloom's Taxonomy, a framework created by Dr. Benjamin Bloom in 1956 to promote higher-order thinking skills in education. It explains the six levels of cognitive domains, each associated with specific action verbs, to help educators create learning objectives. The video also discusses how the taxonomy's hierarchy can guide course design, emphasizing the importance of aligning learning objectives with the complexity of content and students' mastery levels. It concludes with a practical guide on constructing measurable learning objectives using Bloom's Wheel, a tool for selecting appropriate verbs and activities.

Takeaways

📚 Bloom's Taxonomy was created in 1956 by Dr. Benjamin Bloom to promote higher forms of thinking in education.
📈 It is a hierarchical model with six levels of cognitive domains, starting from lower to higher order thinking skills.
🔍 Each level of Bloom's Taxonomy has associated action verbs that can be used to create learning objectives.
🧠 The six levels are: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating.
🔑 Remembering involves retrieving and recalling relevant knowledge, while Understanding is about constructing information from various sources.
🛠️ Applying is the execution of procedures or concepts, and Analyzing involves breaking down material into parts and understanding their relationships.
⚖️ Evaluating requires making judgments based on criteria and standards.
🎨 Creating involves putting elements together to form a new pattern or structure, demonstrating a synthesis of knowledge.
📈 The hierarchical nature of Bloom's Taxonomy suggests that learning at higher levels depends on mastering prerequisite knowledge and skills at lower levels.
🏛️ Course design should consider the complexity of content and the learning level of students, with introductory courses focusing more on lower order skills and advanced courses on higher order skills.
📘 The 'Bloom's Wheel' is a helpful tool for instructors to select appropriate verbs and activities for learning objectives, available for download online.
📝 Constructing measurable learning objectives involves starting with a stem sentence, identifying learning outcomes, consulting the Bloom's Wheel, and writing out the objective with specific, measurable verbs.

Q & A

What is Bloom's taxonomy and why was it created?
-Bloom's taxonomy is a multi-tiered model created in 1956 by educational psychologist Dr. Benjamin Bloom to classify thinking according to six cognitive domains. It was designed to promote higher forms of thinking in education, such as analyzing and evaluating, beyond just remembering facts.
How is Bloom's taxonomy structured?
-Bloom's taxonomy is hierarchically structured with six levels of learning, each associated with specific action verbs that can be used to create learning objectives.
What are the six levels of learning in Bloom's taxonomy?
-The six levels are Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating, with each level representing a different cognitive process.
How can Bloom's taxonomy be used in course design?
-Bloom's taxonomy can guide the design of learning objectives by ensuring that they cover a range of cognitive processes, from lower-order thinking skills like remembering and understanding to higher-order skills like analyzing, evaluating, and creating.
What is the significance of the hierarchical nature of Bloom's taxonomy in learning?
-The hierarchical nature implies that learning at higher levels depends on having attained prerequisite knowledge and skills at lower levels, emphasizing a progressive development of cognitive abilities.
How does Bloom's taxonomy relate to the complexity of course content and the learning level of students?
-Introductory courses often focus on lower-order thinking skills to introduce new concepts, while advanced courses assume foundational knowledge and focus on higher-order thinking skills, although both types of courses should include objectives from each domain.
What is a 'Bloom's wheel' and how can it assist instructors?
-The 'Bloom's wheel' is a visual tool that contains the six levels of learning with associated action verbs and examples of activities and assessments for each domain. It helps instructors select appropriate verbs and design activities and assessments aligned with the learning objectives.
How can Bloom's taxonomy be used to construct a measurable learning objective?
-It involves starting with a stem sentence, determining the learning outcome, consulting the Bloom's wheel to select an appropriate verb, and then writing out a student-centered, measurable learning objective.
Why is it important to avoid vague terms in learning objectives?
-Vague terms like 'understand' or 'know' are not measurable and make it difficult to assess student performance. Using specific action verbs from Bloom's taxonomy ensures objectives are clear, measurable, and observable.
Can you provide an example of how to apply Bloom's taxonomy in writing a learning objective?
-An example given in the script is to classify learning objectives within the six cognitive domains of Bloom's taxonomy, which demonstrates that learners can remember, understand, and apply the knowledge of Bloom's taxonomy.
What is the purpose of the 'Bloom's will' mentioned in the script?
-The 'Bloom's will' is a tool containing the levels of Bloom's taxonomy with associated verbs and activity suggestions. It helps instructors to select verbs and design activities that align with each level of learning, making learning objectives more effective.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Bloom's Taxonomy

This paragraph introduces Bloom's taxonomy, a cognitive classification model developed in 1956 by Dr. Benjamin Bloom to promote higher-order thinking skills in education. It explains that the taxonomy consists of six levels of learning, each associated with specific action verbs that can guide the creation of learning objectives. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of moving beyond basic memorization to more complex cognitive processes such as analysis, evaluation, and creation. It also mentions the hierarchical nature of the taxonomy, suggesting that higher levels of learning build upon the foundational knowledge and skills acquired at lower levels. The concept is visually represented by a pyramid graphic, illustrating the progression from lower to higher order thinking skills.

05:01

📝 Applying Bloom's Taxonomy in Course Design

The second paragraph delves into the practical application of Bloom's taxonomy in course design. It discusses the importance of aligning learning objectives with the taxonomy's levels to ensure a comprehensive learning experience. The paragraph provides guidance on how to construct measurable learning objectives, starting with a stem sentence and identifying the desired learning outcome. It introduces the 'Blooms Wheel,' a tool that lists verbs associated with each level of the taxonomy and suggests activities and assessments. The speaker uses an example to demonstrate how to determine the appropriate level of learning and select a suitable verb for a learning objective. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the need for strong, measurable objectives that are observable and specific, advising against the use of vague terms.

10:03

🎓 Crafting Measurable Learning Objectives

The final paragraph focuses on the process of writing strong, measurable learning objectives using Bloom's taxonomy. It stresses the importance of avoiding vague terms and instead selecting action verbs that precisely describe what learners will do. The paragraph outlines a step-by-step approach to developing learning objectives, from identifying the learning outcome to consulting the Blooms Wheel for appropriate verbs. It also highlights the need for objectives that are student-centered, measurable, and observable, which form a solid foundation for course design. The video concludes by reiterating the significance of clear learning objectives in the overall educational process.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Bloom's Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy is a classification system for educational goals, created by Dr. Benjamin Bloom in 1956. It categorizes thinking skills into six levels, starting from lower-order thinking skills like remembering and understanding, to higher-order skills like analyzing, evaluating, and creating. In the video, Bloom's Taxonomy is the central theme, used to explain how to rate learning objectives and to promote higher forms of thinking in education.

💡Cognitive Domains

Cognitive Domains refer to the six levels of learning within Bloom's Taxonomy. Each level represents a different cognitive process, ranging from basic knowledge recall to complex analytical and creative tasks. In the script, cognitive domains are used to structure the learning objectives and to show the progression from simple to complex thinking skills.

💡Action Verbs

Action verbs in the context of Bloom's Taxonomy are specific terms associated with each level of learning that describe the cognitive action expected of the learner. For example, 'remember' is associated with the basic level, while 'create' is linked to the highest level. The script uses action verbs to help educators formulate clear and measurable learning objectives.

💡Learning Objectives

Learning objectives are statements that define what students are expected to know or be able to do by the end of a learning activity. The video emphasizes the importance of creating measurable, observable learning objectives that align with the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, ensuring that the objectives are specific, clear, and assessable.

💡Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Higher-Order Thinking Skills are advanced cognitive processes such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, which are represented in the upper levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. The video script discusses the importance of promoting these skills in education to foster critical thinking and problem-solving abilities beyond simple memorization.

💡Lower-Order Thinking Skills

Lower-Order Thinking Skills, such as remembering and understanding, form the foundational levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. The script mentions that these skills are essential but should be built upon to reach higher levels of cognitive complexity in learning.

💡Course Design

Course design in the script refers to the process of planning and structuring educational content to meet specific learning objectives. It is discussed in relation to Bloom's Taxonomy, emphasizing how the hierarchical nature of the taxonomy can guide the progression of learning objectives within a course.

💡Measurable Learning Objective

A measurable learning objective is a clear, specific statement that describes what a learner will be able to do by the end of a learning session, in a way that can be assessed. The video script provides an example of how to construct such an objective using Bloom's Taxonomy, ensuring that the objective is student-centered and observable.

💡Bloom's Wheel

Bloom's Wheel is a visual representation of Bloom's Taxonomy, often depicted as a pyramid, showing the hierarchy of cognitive processes. The script mentions the wheel as a tool to help educators select appropriate action verbs and learning activities that correspond to each level of the taxonomy.

💡Educational Psychologist

An educational psychologist like Dr. Benjamin Bloom, who developed the taxonomy, is a professional who studies how individuals learn in educational settings and applies psychological principles to enhance learning. In the script, Dr. Bloom's work is highlighted as foundational to the understanding of cognitive domains in education.

💡Vague Terms

Vague terms are words or phrases that are not specific enough to be measured or assessed, such as 'understand' or 'know.' The video script advises against using such terms in learning objectives, as they do not provide clear guidance on what the learner is expected to achieve or how their performance will be evaluated.

Highlights

Bloom's taxonomy was created in 1956 by Dr. Benjamin Bloom to promote higher forms of thinking in education.

The taxonomy is a multi-tiered model classifying thinking according to six cognitive domains.

Each of the six levels of learning can be associated with specific action verbs.

The taxonomy starts with lower order thinking skills and progresses to higher order thinking skills.

Learning at higher levels is dependent on prerequisite knowledge and skills at lower levels.

Bloom's taxonomy is often displayed as a pyramid graphic to demonstrate the hierarchy.

Course design should consider the complexity of content and the learning level of students.

Introductory courses often focus on lower order thinking skills, while advanced courses emphasize higher order skills.

Every course should have a variety of objectives from each domain of Bloom's taxonomy.

Bloom's wheel is a tool containing levels, associated verbs, and activities for each level of the taxonomy.

Instructors can use Bloom's wheel to select verbs, activities, and assessments for course objectives.

Learning objectives should be measurable and observable statements of what students will be able to do.

Strong learning objectives avoid vague terms and use action verbs to describe learner actions.

The process of constructing a measurable learning objective includes starting with a stem sentence.

Determine the learning outcome and how it will be demonstrated by the learners.

Consult the Bloom's wheel to select an appropriate level of learning and verb.

Write out the actual learning objective, ensuring it is student-centered and measurable.

Use Bloom's taxonomy to design activities, assessments, and teaching strategies associated with learning objectives.

The video concludes by emphasizing the importance of writing strong, measurable learning objectives for effective course design.