WORKSHOP AIMS

AT THE END OF THIS SESSION

THE PARTICIPANTS WILL BE
ABLE TO WRITE LESSON
OBJECTIVES BASED ON
BLOOM TAXONOMY.
 Teaching with
the Revised
Bloom’sTaxonomy
Janet Giesen
Faculty Development and
Instructional Design Center
 What is a learning outcome?

• Learning outcomes are statements of

what students will learn in a class or
period. These statements should include
a verb phrase and an impact ("in order to")
phrase -- what students will do/be able
to do and how they will apply that skill
or knowledge.
• The statements are focused
on student learning (What will
students learn today?) rather
than instructor teaching (What
am I going to teach today?).
 Why use Bloom’s taxonomy?
• Write and revise • Incorporate
learning objectives knowledge to be
• Plan curriculum learned (knowledge
dimension) and
• Identifies simple to cognitive process to
most difficult skills learn
• Effectively align • Facilitate questioning
objectives to (oral language =
assessment important role within
techniques and framework)
standards
 How do I write learning
outcomes?

• Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational

Objectives (published in 1956 and revised
in 2001) gives you a way to express
learning outcomes in a way that
reflects cognitive skills.
 What do I use Bloom
Taxonomy for when writing
my objectives?

• You can use Bloom's

taxonomy to identify verbs to
describe student learning
outcomes.
 Characteristics of a good
objective
1. Answers the question: “What should
the students be able to do?
2. Specific
3. Clear
4. Measurable
5. Describes learning outcome
6. It doesn´t have “prohibited verbs or
phrases”
 Prohibited Phrases

• To appreciate • To become familiar

• To be exposed to with
• To understand • To gain knowledge in
• To be introduced to • To survey
• To sensitize • To be acquainted with
• To examine • To remember
• To know • To learn
• To perceive
Taxonomy = Classification

Classification of thinking

Six cognitive levels

of complexity
 Original Revised

Evaluation Creating
Synthesis Evaluating
Analysis Analyzing
Application Applying
Comprehension Understanding
Knowledge Remembering
Noun Verb
 Original Revised

Evaluation Creating
Synthesis Evaluating
Analysis Analyzing
Application Applying
Comprehension Understanding
Knowledge Remembering

Noun Verb
 Creating
Evaluating
Analyzing
Applying
Understanding
Remembering
NOW YOUR TURN. DO YOU REMEMBER?

C
E
A
A
U
R
 Remembering
The learner is able to recall, restate and
remember learned information
– Describing – Retrieving
– Finding – Naming
– Identifying – Locating
– Listing – Recognizing

Can students recall information?

 Understanding
Student grasps meaning of information
by interpreting and translating
what has been learned
– Classifying – Inferring
– Comparing – Interpreting
– Exemplifying – Paraphrasing
– Explaining – Summarizing

Can students explain ideas or concepts?

 Applying
Student makes use of information in a context
different from the one in which it was learned

– Implementing – Using
– Carrying out c = – Executing

Can students use the information in

another familiar situation?
 Analyzing
Student breaks learned information into
its parts to best understand that information

– Attributing – Integrating
– Comparing – Organizing
– Deconstructing – Outlining
– Finding – Structuring

Can students break information into parts to

explore understandings and relationships?
 Evaluating
Student makes decisions based on in-depth
reflection, criticism and assessment

– Checking – Hypothesising
– Critiquing – Judging
– Detecting – Monitoring
– Experimenting – Testing

Can students justify a decision or

a course of action?
 Creating
Student creates new ideas and information
using what previously has been learned

– Constructing – Making
– Designing – Planning
– Devising – Producing
– Inventing

Can students generate new products,

ideas, or ways of viewing things?
 “Remembering” stems
What happened after...?
How many...?
What is...?
Who was it that...?
Name ...
Find the definition of…
Describe what happened after…
Who spoke to...?
Which is true or false...?
(Pohl, 2000)
 “Understanding” stems
Explain why…
Write in your own words…
How would you explain…?
Write a brief outline...
What do you think could have happened next...?
Who do you think...?
What was the main idea...?
Clarify…
Illustrate…

(Pohl, 2000)
 “Applying” stems
Explain another instance where…
Group by characteristics such as…
Which factors would you change if…?
What questions would you ask of…?
From the information given, develop a set of
instructions about…

(Pohl, 2000)
 “Analyzing” stems
Which events could not have happened?
If. ..happened, what might the ending have been?
How is...similar to...?
What do you see as other possible outcomes?
Why did...changes occur?
Explain what must have happened when...
What are some or the problems of...?
Distinguish between...
What were some of the motives behind..?
What was the turning point?
What was the problem with...?
(Pohl, 2000)
 “Evaluating” stems
Judge the value of... What do you think about...?
Defend your position about...
Do you think...is a good or bad thing?
How would you have handled...?
What changes to… would you recommend?
Do you believe...? How would you feel if...?
How effective are...?
What are the consequences...?
What influence will....have on our lives?
What are the pros and cons of....?
Why is....of value?
What are the alternatives?
(Pohl, 2000)
Who will gain & who will loose?
 “Creating” stems
Design a...to...
Devise a possible solution to...
If you had access to all resources, how would you
deal with...?
Devise your own way to...
What would happen if ...?
How many ways can you...?
Create new and unusual uses for...
Develop a proposal which would...
(Pohl, 2000)
 Objective Writing Formats
Here are two formats used to write
objectives:

1. The easiest is: “Upon completion of

training…” (this helps you focus on what
the student will do, NOT what the teacher
does)

2. The more comprehensive way starts with

“Given or When…”
2 Learning Objective Templates
• “Upon completion of training, the [insert
job title] will [insert observable skill].”
– “Upon completion of training, the field officer
will write a complete report.”
• “Given/when [raw materials or triggering
event], the [insert job title] will [insert
observable skill].”
– “Given a field visit, the field officer will write a
comprehensive report.”
Multiple Objectives in Training Manual
EXAMPLES
Upon completion of this workshop
registry clerks will:
1. Classify correspondence according to the Public
Service standard.
2. Make portfolio entries correctly.
3. Forward incoming documents to the correct
office.
4. File correspondence in the correct files.
Let’s Practice!
 ANALYZE THESE
OBJECTIVES
• Bad: The student will demonstrate metric
measurement of length.
• Better: Given a metric ruler, the students
will measure the length of common linear
objects to the nearest millimeter.
• Bad: The students will learn about
objectives.
•
Better: The student will construct well-
written instructional objectives.
• Bad: The students will solve addition
problems with 80% accuracy.
•
Better: The student will correctly solve at
least 8 out of 10 addition problems that
require borrowing.
•
Best: Given two numbers not written in
equation form, the students will place the
numbers in equation form and add them
together.
 References and Resources
Cruz, E. (2003). Bloom's revised taxonomy. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational
Technology. http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/bloomrev/start.htm

Dalton, J. & Smith, D. (1986) Extending children’s special abilities: Strategies for primary classrooms.
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm

Ferguson, C. (2002). Using the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy to plan and deliver team-taught, integrated,
thematic units. Theory into Practice, 41(4), 239-244.

Forehand, M. (2008). Bloom’s Taxonomy: From emerging perspectives on learning, teaching and
technology. http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy

Mager, R. E. (1997). Making instruction work or skillbloomers: A step-by-step guide to designing and
developing instruction that works, (2nd ed.). Atlanta, GA: The Center for Effective Performance,
Inc.

Mager, R. E. (1997). Preparing instructional objectives: A critical tool in the development of effective
instruction, (3rd ed.). Atlanta, GA: The Center for Effective Performance, Inc.

Pohl, Michael. (2000). Learning to think, thinking to learn: Models and strategies to develop a
classroom culture of thinking. Cheltenham, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow.

Tarlinton (2003). Bloom’s revised taxonomy.

http://www.kurwongbss.qld.edu.au/thinking/Bloom/bloomspres.ppt.

University of Illinois, Center for Teaching Excellence (2006). Bloom’s taxonomy.

www.oir.uiuc.edu/Did/docs/QUESTION/quest1.htm