Bloom’s Taxonomy is the most important education framework and every teacher needs to know how

to use it in their class! Find out here!

Who was Benjamin Bloom?

Benjamin Samuel Bloom (February 21, 1913 – September 13, 1999) was an American educational
psychologist who examined and then restructured the way teaching should be approached, to
maximise learners’ performance. His book, The Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The
Classification of Educational Goals (1956), set out a series of learning objectives that became known
as Bloom’s taxonomy. It continues to impact the way educational curricula are structured to this day.
Bloom’s taxonomy divided learning into three psychological domains – cognitive (processing
information), affective (attitudes and feelings) and psychomotor (physical skills).

Who was Benjamin Bloom?

Bloom’s revised taxonomy: what is it, and how is it used?
Video introduction to Bloom’s Taxonomy
Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

The six cognitive levels of Bloom’s taxonomy

Level one – Remembering
Level two – Understanding
Level three – Applying
Level four – Analysing
Level five – Evaluating
Level six – Creating

Bloom’s taxonomy in different learning situations

Example 1: Primary English-language classroom
Example 2: Secondary school biology class
Within those domains, his taxonomy progressed from Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) to Higher
Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), through six levels: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis,
synthesis and then evaluation. Essentially, Bloom’s model evolved education from being a case of
learners just memorising information they had been taught to first remembering it; then understanding
it; then applying it (in exercises); then analysing it and, finally, being able to evaluate it at a complex
level. Bloom’s taxonomy was updated by former students of his in 2001, and the updated version is
now widely used in all spheres of education. I go into a deep-dive on Bloom’s taxonomy on this page,
for those who want some more information. In 2008, a variation of Bloom’s was created for use
specifically in the modern, digitally-enabled classroom (see Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy: A reference
guide for teachers).

Bloom’s revised taxonomy: what is it, and how is it used?

Bloom’s taxonomy is a multi-layered model for encouraging learning by progressing through six
levels of increasing complexity.

Video introduction to Bloom’s Taxonomy

Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a learning framework that moves a student from lower-order thinking to
higher-order thinking. The six levels are remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating
and creating. Remembering is the act of recalling information from long-term memory, while
understanding involves constructing meaning from interpreting and summarising data. The
implementation of what was learnt in these first levels takes place at level 3, applying. Analysing is
the next level where information is broken into its constituent parts to establish its relationships.
Evaluation is the process of making judgements based on criteria and standards by checking and
critiquing. The last level, creating, involves putting all elements together to form a new, coherent and
functioning whole.

Bloom's Taxonomy Cognitive Levels Explained

Bloom’s Taxonomy Cognitive Levels Explained
Bloom’s taxonomy encourages learners to engage with knowledge at a deeper and more interactive
level, working with what they are learning in the real-world sense, rather than just passively taking
information on board. See Bloom’s Taxonomy Questions Stems for practical guidance on how to
implement this in the classroom.

While Bloom’s taxonomy arranges learning into six cognitive levels in order of hierarchy and
complexity, it also sees each level as being interdependent on the other levels, with all levels
contributing to the final, holistic learning outcome. This is why, while Bloom’s taxonomy is
traditionally rendered as a pyramid or even an inverted pyramid, it is also rendered in other forms that
place more emphasis on the interdependence of the levels:

Bloom's Taxonomy
Bloom’s Taxonomy
The interdependence of Bloom’s different learning levels can be articulated through logic:

Before we can understand a concept, we must be able to remember it.

Before we can apply the concept, we must be able to understand it.
Before we analyse it, we must be able to apply it.
Before we can evaluate its impact, we must have analysed it.
Before we can create something based on the concept, we must have remembered, understood,
applied, analysed and evaluated the concept.
The non-pyramid forms for expressing Bloom’s taxonomy indicate that learning may not always
progress linearly up through the six levels. Rather, learners might move back and forth between
different levels depending on the learning situation, or they might spend more time in some levels of
the taxonomy than in others. The human brain, by nature, tends to behave in a lateral manner rather
than a set linear manner.

The six cognitive levels of Bloom’s taxonomy

Now let’s examine the six cognitive levels of Bloom’s taxonomy in more detail, with examples of
their application in the classroom. Certain verbs are ascribed to the different levels, to clarify further
the kind of thinking involved at each level.

Level one – Remembering

Verbs: Describe, Identify, Label, List, Name, Recite, Repeat.
Remembering is the act of retrieving knowledge and can be used to produce things like definitions or
lists. It is the lowest of the taxonomic levels but is essential for the learning process because learners
need to have knowledge in place before they can engage with it at higher cognitive levels. Examples
of Remembering include reciting the times’ table, naming different parts of the human anatomy,
answering true or false questions, recalling critical events on a historical timeline or even naming the
six cognitive levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Remembering requires no understanding of the knowledge,
only to have it accurately and thoroughly in mind.

Level two – Understanding

Verbs: Examine, Generalize, Group, Order, Paraphrase, Rephrase, Sort.
The next level in the taxonomic structure is Understanding, which is defined as the construction of
meaning and the building of relationships. Understanding can be demonstrated by, for example,
grouping a list of different animals into the right categories (marine, avian, terrestrial, amphibian);
explaining how one event on a historical timeline impacted on another, discussing the moral of a story
or being able to explain why Bloom’s has different cognitive levels and the logic behind their
hierarchy.

Level three – Applying

Verbs: Compute, Demonstrate, Direct, Dramatise, Formulate, Make, Present.
The third level in Bloom’s taxonomy, Applying, marks a fundamental shift from the pre-Bloom’s
learning era because it involves remembering what has been learnt, having a good understanding of
the knowledge, and then being able to apply it to real-world exercises, challenges or situations.
Examples of Applying in action could include making repairs to a computer’s components; role-
playing mediation and conflict resolution between two warring countries; demonstrating the steps that
take place in HIV counselling and testing, or presenting a talk on solutions to climate change.

Level four – Analysing

Verbs: Simplify, Criticise, Distinguish, Explain, Illustrate, Inspect, Question.
Analysing is the cognitive level where a learner can take the knowledge they have remembered,
understood and applied, then delve into that knowledge to make associations, discernments or
comparisons. Analysing would mean a learner can take complex information, and simplify it or
summarise it. As other examples, a learner would be able to give reasons why one historic military
campaign failed and why another succeeded, or critically examine aspects of Bloom’s original
taxonomy and explain why his students later updated them.

Level five – Evaluating

Verbs: Decide, Forecast, Judge, Prioritise, Revise, Value, Weigh.
The fifth level in Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy is evaluation. This level requires the learner to make
criteria-based judgements through the processes of critiquing and checking. Evaluating could involve
reading a book and writing a review on its merits; looking at the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and deciding which rights are more or less relevant to a given country; suggesting ways to
introduce digital technology into the classroom environment, or making an informed judgement in a
role play of court case proceedings.

Level six – Creating

Verbs: Construct, Write, Develop, Design, Invent, Originate, Set up.
The final taxonomic level is concerned with taking various elements and creating a new, coherent
product. This level draws on all of the other levels, with the learner remembering, understanding and
applying knowledge; analysing and evaluating outcomes and processes, and then constructing the end
product, which may be either physical or conceptual. For example, designing and building a house out
of wooden segments, and designing a 3D model of a house on a computer would both be examples of
Creating. Another example would be a Learner taking the knowledge of Bloom’s taxonomy which
they have remembered, understood, applied, analysed and evaluated, and creating a brand new model
for the tiers of cognitive thinking and learning.

Bloom’s taxonomy in different learning situations

Example 1: Primary English-language classroom
Remembering – Teaching learners the letters of the alphabet through rote learning.
Understanding – Learners realise how words, for example, their names, are constructed by combining
letters.
Applying – Learners use the letters of the alphabet to write words they are shown.
Analysing – Learners appraise a list of words and can point out correctly and incorrectly spelt words.
Evaluating – Learners determine that the alphabet can be used to form written communication.
Creating – Learners construct simple pieces of communication from the words and phrases learnt.
Example 2: Secondary school biology class
Remembering – Teaching learners the scientific parts of a flowering plant using a diagram.
Understanding – Learners realise how different parts of the plant relate and work together.
Applying – Learners are divided into groups and given plants to cultivate for a set period. Each group
is instructed to give their plant different amounts of water and sunlight and to use different soils.
Analysing – The groups examine their own and each other’s plants under microscopes, to see the
effects of variable cultivation on the plants’ different parts.
Evaluating – Learners propose optimal cultivating guidelines and their likely outcome.
Creating – Learners plant a vegetable garden at the school and create a cultivation roster.
Example 3: University-level politics class

Remembering – Teaching learners history’s most prominent political movements.

Understanding – Students gain an understanding of their different values, priorities and manifestos.
Applying – Students divide into groups where each group represents a different political movement
and conduct a class debate on a topical issue, taking the standpoint of the different movements.
Analysing – Students appraise how the different political parties addressed the same issue and identify
which parties shared the most common ground with each other.
Evaluating – Students give reasons for the merits and relevance of the different political movements
for today’s society.
Creating – In groups, the students create new fictional political parties with their own names, values,
priorities and manifestos.

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Example 4: English as a second language training course

Remembering – Teaching learners to recite commonly used English phrases.

Understanding – There is a realisation of when and how these phrases are used in everyday life.
Applying – In pairs, the students role-play using the phrases in everyday situations.
Analysing – The students are able to group English phrases into different categories – greeting,
question, request, order, praise, criticism, warning, complaint, etc.
Evaluating – The students are able to assess different messages written in English and put forward
better or clearer ways to express what is being said.
Creating -The students can create a written conversation between two people in English.
Example 5: Training in the workplace

Remembering – Employees remember and recite the steps of a trust-building training session.
Understanding – Employees grasp why each step is important and how they build on each other.
Applying – The employees put the steps of the training session into action.
Analysing – Afterwards, they discuss the impact and benefits they experienced from each of the steps
and rank the steps from most impactful to least.
Evaluating – The employees suggest changes to the training, and put forward related training topics
that would be relevant for their workplace.
Creating – In their different departments, the employees map out tailored trust-building sessions that
they can take their different teams through.
Table of Specification

The purpose of a Table of Specifications is to identify the achievement domains being measured and
to ensure that a fair and representative sample of questions appear on the test. Teachers cannot
measure every topic or objective and cannot ask every question they might wish to ask. A Table of
Specifications allows the teacher to construct a test which focuses on the key areas and weights those
different areas based on their importance. A Table of Specifications provides the teacher with evidence
that a test has content validity, that it covers what should be covered.
Designing a Table of Specifications
Tables of Specification typically are designed based on the list of course objectives, the topics covered
in class, the amount of time spent on those topics, textbook chapter topics, and the emphasis and
space provided in the text. In some cases a great weight will be assigned to a concept that is extremely
important, even if relatively little class time was spent on the topic. Three steps are involved in
creating a Table of Specifications: 1) choosing the measurement goals and domain to be covered, 2)
breaking the domain into key or fairly independent parts- concepts, terms, procedures, applications,
and 3) constructing the table. Teachers have already made decisions (or the district has decided for
them) about the broad areas that should be taught, so the choice of what broad domains a test should
cover has usually already been made. A bit trickier is to outline the subject matter into smaller
components, but most teachers have already had to design teaching plans, strategies, and schedules
based on an outline of content. Lists of classroom objectives, district curriculum guidelines, and
textbook sections, and keywords are other commonly used sources for identifying categories for
Tables of Specification. When actually constructing the table, teachers may only wish to use a simple
structure, as with the first example above, or they may be interested in greater detail about the types of
items, the cognitive levels for items, the best mix of objectively scored items, open-ended and
constructed-response items, and so on, with even more guidance than is provided in the second
example.

How can the use of a Table of Specifications benefit your students, including those with special
needs?
A Table of Specifications benefits students in two ways. First, it improves the validity of teacher-made
tests. Second, it can improve student learning as well.
A Table of Specifications helps to ensure that there is a match between what is taught and what is
tested. Classroom assessment should be driven by classroom teaching which itself is driven by course
goals and objectives. In the chain below, Tables of Specifications provide the link between teaching
and testing.
Objectives Teaching Testing
Tables of Specifications can help students at all ability levels learn better. By providing the table to
students during instruction, students can recognize the main ideas, key skills, and the relationships
among concepts more easily. The Table of Specifications can act in the same way as a concept map to
analyze content areas. Teachers can even collaborate with students on the construction of the Table of
Specifications- what are the main ideas and topics, what emphasis should be placed on each topic,
what should be on the test? Open discussion and negotiation of these issues can encourage higher
levels of understanding while also modeling good learning and study skills.
References:
Research Articles
Chase, C.I. (1999). Contemporary assessment for educators. New York:
Longman.
Websites
http://www.sfsu.edu/~testing/MCTEST/testconstruction.html

PLANNING THE UNIT TEST

 Start with curriculum guide

 then operationalize by writing up series of objectives
 can do a quick review of writing Behavioral Objectives, if you would like.

SPECIFICATIONS CONSTRUCTION
 A table that shows what will be tested (and taught)
 Theoretically, a completely detailed table of specifications would have every learning
objective listed for every lesson for the whole year
o things haven't gone quite that far here in Alberta
o not sure there is really a point to having a document that lists every single fact
students are to know
o not only is this too inflexible -- because it wouldn't allow for any room for teacher to
respond to student needs,

it is also reductionism
 try to reduce learning to individual skills, misses that education is more than
the sum of its parts
 part of difference between training and education I talk about in Social
Context
o currently this totally detailed approach is dominant one in England
o some movement toward that end of the continuum here: "competency based"
education is an attempt to move towards defining education in terms of a finite
number of specific competencies
o so we do not need that level of detail --> main topics for year, main concepts for a
unit plan good enough
Sample Table of Specifications

Bloom's Taxonomy
Subject Knowledge & Analysis, Synthesis
Application TOTALS
Content Comprehension &Evaluation
Topic A 10% 20% 10% 40%
Topic B 15% 15% 30% 60%
TOTALS 25% 35% 40% 100%
 usually a two sided chart used in construction of tests
 content down one side, cognitive levels across the top
 common format in Alberta, but no rule: could have content across the top, Bloom'down the
side
 o usually group Bloom'categories: in this example, knowledge, understanding, and
higher mental activity
o I prefer grouping knowledge/understanding (because straight recall usually too simple
to count as real learning) and than application, then analysis, synthesis and evaluation
as higher level
o for more on Bloom'Taxonomy, please see Glossary
 Content usually much more detailed than this, but will use two categories here to keep
illustration simple
 totals tell you at a glance what percenteage of course emphasis given to each topic and what
percentage lower and higher level mental processes

Here is an example of more detail

CANADA:
Economic Growth: TOT
CONTENT Economic Growth: USSR Respondind to
USA AL
Change
Centr
Mark Qual ally Qual Mixe Qual
Industrial et ity Geogr Industrial Plann ity Techno d ity
PROCESSES
ization Econo of aphy ization ed of logy Econo of
my Life Econo Life my Life
my
KNOWLED
GE AND
COMPREH
ENSION

Recall Facts 17% 17% 18% 52%

Understand
Concepts and
Generalizatio
ns
PROCESS
SKILLS A

Locating
8% 8% 8% 24%
Interpreting

Organizing
PROCESS
SKILLS B
Etc...
Analyzing
 Example of running content across the top, Bloom'down the side
 notice that some curriculum'translate Bloom into subject specific taxonomy, but principle is
the same

Table of Specifications Relates the Outcomes to the Content and Indicates the Relative weight of
each area
  weight is usually based on how much time devoted to teaching concept
o but also how important it is that students remember, transfer to other contexts,
courses --> some important ideas may be easy to teach but still important to include
o also determined by type of material --> don't put a lot of weight on higher mental
activity category for unit on memorizing state capitals --> don't put a lot into recall
for drama class on risk taking and creative dance
o weight -- start simple --> four topics, divide into 4, then maybe add bit more to topic
you are particularly interested in, or figure students will be interested in, etc.

of weighting with rationale.

 weight usually given in %, but you can use marks (e.g., 50) if you like
 usually out of 100%, but might make two separate blueprints, one for 70 multiple choice,
and second 30% for written response
 Acts as a:
 blueprint for teaching --> don't just start teaching page one on day one, or suddenly discover
that its Easter and you're still on first unit --> need to figure out how much time you're going
to allocate per unit, per concept within units
 blueprint for the test
 So that we get:
 representative sample of course content -->not all random sample
o this is important so that you don't just choose questions from last two weeks before
exam
 representative sample of skills, cognitive levels across content
o not just rote memorization; or just high level stuff
o often sabotage great course by teaching high level skills (sculpting, acting, playing
solo) then giving rote memorization test (date that Mozart composed 43rd symphony)
that does not reflect actual time spent

kids learn quickly what actually &#34counts"is stuff on test, so if you have rote
memorization test, don'try to get class discussion going!
 analyze results by level and content area
o if students getting all lower level questions but missing higher level, then you're not
doing your job; if all have got answers to one unit but not another, may have to
reteach that unit, etc.

Do classroom teachers actually do this?

 No, but most of them have not had the benefit of your training.
 Part of my job when I worked for Student Evaluation branch was to do inservice workshops
at PD days and teacher conventions and on item writing committees; teachers were always
surprised and pleased by this obvious concept.
 So more teachers are doing this each year.
 Now, most principals will want to see your year plans, and expect some evaluation
planning as part of it.
 It is becoming a standard part of unit planning

Strictly speaking there is a difference between a Table of Specifications and a Blueprint:

 Specifications refer to a plan of what is to be taught/tested by weighting
 A blueprint is the plan of the specific test, i.e., which questions test which concept
 So same specifications could give rise to several different blueprints
http://educ5let2012.blogspot.com/2012/08/table-of-specification_15.html

2. The definition of table of specification .  Table of specification is a chart that provides graphic
representations of a related to the content of a course or curriculum elements and the educational
objectives.  Table of specifications is a two –way chart which describes the topics to be covered in a
test and the number of items or points which will be associated with each topic . sometimes the types
of items are described as well.
3. Meaning of the table of specification Table of specification is a plan prepared by a classroom
teacher as a basis for test construction. It is important that this be carefully prepared because it  The
table of specification basically is like a table chart that goes over topic that will be on a test. This table
chart is split into two charts and each sub topic is numbered under the main topics that are being
covered for the test. This type of table is mainly used by teachers to help break down their outline on a
specific subject. Some teachers use this particular table as their teaching guideline by breaking the
table into subjects, the teacher’s main points, how much time spent on the point, and what assignment/
project can be done to help the student learn the subject to ensure the valid measure of the must
rational objective and course contents..
4. What is the purpose of table of specifications:  The most important of table of specifications is to
achieve balance in the test and to identify the achievement domains being measured and to ensure that
a fair and representative sample of questions appear on the test .  Table of specifications allow us to
ensure that our test focuses on the most important areas and weights different areas based on their
importance/time spent teaching . A table of specifications also gives us the proof we need to make
sure our test has content validity .
5. What are the benefits of table of specifications Helping in building a balance test . Achieve the
reliability and validity of the test Giving students self-confidence about the justice of the test
Selecting a representative sample Give true weight for each lesson
6. Things should be taken into account when building a table of specification s  Table of
specifications are designed based on :  1-course objective .  2-topics covered in class.  3-amount
of time spent on those topics .  4-textbook chapter topics .  5-emphasis and space provided in the
test .
7. A table of specification could be designed in 3simle steps:  1-identify the domain that is to be
assessed .  2-break the domain into levels (e.g knowledge, comprehension , application, analysis,
and synthesis and evalution)  3-construct the table
8. Formula A  Relative weight for the importance of content = ( The number of the class period for
one subject ÷total class period ) ×100%
9. Relative weight of the subjectClass period spent on subjectContent %303 %101Vocabulary
%101Speaking %202language %101Listening %202Writing 100%10Total class periods for teaching
the unit
10. Formula B Relative weight for the objectives = (The number of objectives in each level ÷ The
objectives of the Unit ) 100%
11. Objectives Topics Totals 100% Knowledge and Comprehension 45 % Application 35% Analysis,
Synthesis And Evaluation 20% Totals 100% Reading 30 % Vocabulary 10 % Speaking 10 % language
20 % Listening 10 % Writing 20 % Number of questions 9 7 4 20
12. Formula C Identify the number of questions in each topic for each level of objectives:- The total
number of questions x relative weight of the topics x relative weight of objectives
13. Objectives Topics Totals 100% Knowledge and Comprehension 45 % Application 35% Analysis,
Synthesis And Evaluation 20% Totals 100% Reading 30 % 2.7 2.1 1.2 6 Vocabulary 10 % 0.9 0.7 0.4
2 Speaking 10 % 0.9 0.7 0.4 2 language 20% 1.8 1.4 0.8 4 Listening 10 % 0.9 0.7 0.4 2 Writing 20%
1.8 1.4 0.8 4 Number of questions 9 7 4 20