Bloom’s Taxonomy and Classroom ...



Bloom’s Taxonomy and Classroom AssessmentNikki Patrick and Tracee McManusAppalachian State UniversityRequirement for RES 5560 Bloom’s Taxonomy and Classroom Assessment Literature ReviewClassroom assessment is necessary to facilitate learning. “Most efficient and effective student learning will result when classroom instruction and materials align with objectives or standards” (Bumen, 2007, p. 442). One way to challenge students in the classroom is through the use of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Eber and Parker (2007) state, “Bloom’s Taxonomy is a tool that can help human services educators broaden the depth of their student learning” (p.45). In schools today, there is a lack of higher-order thinking skills utilized by teachers for assessment purposes. Gettinger and Lyon state,From the perspective of Bloom’s taxonomy, three different types of tasks appear with regularity in most schools’ curricula. These are (a) tasks that require knowledge of specific facts, (b) tasks that require comprehension of basic concepts and principles, and (c) tasks that require application of facts, concepts, and principles to novel problem-solving situations. (1985, p.13)Educators have often used basic recall to assess student learning. There is a demand for more in-depth knowledge than rote memory can indicate through assessment. “While there is a recognized demand to have higher-order thinking practice in the classroom, there is also a recognized instructional struggle with bringing higher-order thinking to life in the classroom” (Marimuthu, Michael, Muthusamy, & Veeravagu, 2010, p. 211). Bloom’s Taxonomy is a vehicle for enhancing these higher-order thinking skills for classroom teachers.History of Bloom’s Taxonomy“To help teachers incorporate critical thinking in the classroom is to help them ask questions that call for analysis, synthesis, and evaluation” (Paul, 1985, p. 36-37). Analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are pieces of the Bloom’s Taxonomy used to guide teachers. Benjamin Bloom in 1956 developed Bloom’s Taxonomy. “The framework was conceived as a means of facilitating the exchange of test items among faculty at various universities in order to create banks of items, each measuring the same educational objective” (Krathwohl, 2002, p. 212). The original taxonomy was a hierarchy of thinking skills. Krathwohl states, “One of the most frequent uses of the original taxonomy has been to classify curricular objectives and tests items in order to show the breadth, or lack of breadth, of the objectives and test items” (2002, p. 213). Bloom’s Taxonomy has been revised in recent years.In 2002, a two-dimensional, non-linear progression model was introduced with David Krathwohl (one of Bloom’s colleagues) a contributing editor. The revised taxonomy is intended for use in planning curriculum while the original focused on assessment; broadens the audience; uses sample assessment tasks to convey the meaning-given that the original has stood the test of time in this report; and uses an extensive description and illustration of subcategories as a way of providing context for the major category. (Leach, 2007, p. 352)The original Bloom’s Taxonomy included the following categories: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. “The original taxonomy was intended to provide for classification of educational system goals, especially to help teachers, administrators, professional specialists, and research workers to discuss curricular and evaluation problems with greater precision” (Bumen, 2007, p. 440). The Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy used by educators today includes the following categories: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. If implemented correctly, the educator can evaluate the depth of knowledge the student has learned in regards to specific learning targets. Utilizing Bloom’s for Classroom AssessmentMany times teachers fail to assess students’ higher order thinking skills. “In order to improve higher order thinking skills, teachers should both employ suitable teaching and assessment methods and techniques” (Ayvaci & Turkdogan, 2010, p. 26). High stakes testing and 21st Century Skills require teachers to prepare their students to be critical thinkers once they leave their classroom. In order to meet these demands, “there should be an alignment between how teachers teach and how they assess the level of questions they ask” (Ayvaci & Turkdogan, 2010, p. 28). Classroom teaching practices should include these higher levels of thinking. “If students are not given an opportunity to learn within the higher levels of cognition, it does not make sense to test them in that area” (Eber & Parker, 2007, p. 45). As teachers plan and develop instruction, it is imperative to utilize the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy to ensure both teaching and assessing are addressing each level within the hierarchy. “In order to ensure accurate measurement of student achievement, it is important to assess the student across each of the six levels at some point within the framework of the curriculum” (Eber & Parker, 2007, p. 47). Teachers must ensure what they teach matches what they are assessing. Therefore, if classrooms demand higher-order thinking to occur, assessments to measure the student’s knowledge must also reflect critical thinking. The use of Bloom’s Taxonomy as an assessment framework and the content-by-process matrix as a tool for constructing and analyzing instruction and assessment yield significant information for the teacher. First, the tool can make the teacher more aware of the content and the processes that he or she is teaching and assessing. Second, it can point out mismatches between what is taught and what is assessed. Third, the framework can serve as a guideline for developing and revising instruction and assessment activities by providing a physical reminder of the content and processes that a teacher identifies as important in the growth of the students’ mathematical thinking. (Kastberg, 2003, p. 405)Summary“One of the greatest challenges for teachers today is to provide a curriculum that effectively caters to their diverse student population” (Noble, 2004, p. 201). The use of Bloom’s Taxonomy allows teachers to provide instruction and assessments that challenge students of all ability types. As schools develop 21st Century Learners, teachers must remember that critical thinking is essential because higher-order skills are also essential (Paul, 1985). ReferencesAyvaci, H. S., & Turkdogan, A. (2010). Analysing "science and technology course exam questions" according to Revised Bloom's Taxonomy. Turkish Science Education, 7(1), 13-25. Bumen, N. T. (2007). Effects of the original versus revised bloom's taxonomy on lesson planning skills: a Turkish study among pre-service teachers. Review of Education, 53, 439-455. Eber, P. A., & Parker, T. S. (2007). Assessing student learning: applying Bloom's Taxonomy. Human Service Education, 27(1), 45-53. Gettinger, M., & Lyon, M. A. (1985). Differences in student performance on knowledge, comprehension, and application tasks: implications for school learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 77(1), 12-19. Kastberg, S. E. (2003). Using Bloom's Taxonomy as a framework for classroom assessment. The Mathematics Teacher, 96(6), 402-405. Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy: an overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(4), 212-218. Leach, E. (2007). Instruction-based action guidelines built on Bloom's Revised Framework: setting objectives for entrepreneurship teaching. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 20(4), 351-368. Marimuthu, R., Michael, A. S., Muthusamy, C., & Veeravagu, J. (2010). Using Bloom's Taxonomy to gauge students' reading comprehension performance. Canadian Social Science, 6(3), 205-212. Noble, T. (2004). Integrating the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy with multiple intelligences: a planning tool for curriculum differentiation. Teachers College Record, 106(1), 193-211. Paul, R. W. (1985). Bloom's Taxonomy and critical thinking instruction. Educational Leadership, May, 36-39. ................
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