Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a framework for educators to classify different levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. Developed by Benjamin Bloom in 1956, this taxonomy outlines the progression of learning objectives and skills we set for students. The revised Bloom’s Taxonomy features six levels, offering a structured approach to designing learning objectives, lessons, and assessments for any course. Understanding the right Verbs For Objectives Of Learning is crucial for effective teaching and curriculum design.
The six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, crucial for defining effective learning objectives, are:
- Remembering: This foundational level involves retrieving, recognizing, and recalling basic knowledge from memory. It’s about students’ ability to remember facts and information.
- Understanding: Moving beyond simple recall, this level focuses on constructing meaning from various forms of communication. It includes interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining concepts.
- Applying: At this level, students begin to use learned material in new and concrete situations. It involves carrying out or using a procedure, executing, or implementing knowledge in practical scenarios.
- Analyzing: Analysis involves breaking down material into its constituent parts and understanding the relationships between these parts and the overall structure. Skills here include differentiating, organizing, and attributing.
- Evaluating: This level requires students to make judgments based on criteria and standards. It involves checking, critiquing, and forming opinions based on evidence.
- Creating: The highest level, creating, involves putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole. It includes reorganizing elements into new patterns or structures through generating, planning, and producing original work.
Bloom’s Taxonomy is structured hierarchically, visualized often as a pyramid or, as we prefer, a “cake-style” hierarchy. This structure emphasizes that mastery at higher levels depends on building a solid foundation of knowledge and skills from the lower levels. Each level is built upon the previous one, highlighting the progressive nature of learning.
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Leveraging Bloom’s Taxonomy in Course Design
Bloom’s Taxonomy is invaluable for designing effective learning objectives because it clarifies the learning process. The hierarchy underscores a natural progression:
- Before you can understand a concept, you must first remember it.
- To effectively apply a concept, you must first understand it thoroughly.
- To evaluate a process critically, you must have first analyzed it in detail.
- To create a valid conclusion, you must have conducted a thorough evaluation.
However, effective course design doesn’t always require a linear progression through each level of the taxonomy for every concept. Such an approach could become monotonous. Instead, consider the level of your learners:
- Introductory Courses & Foundational Knowledge: For freshmen or introductory courses, many learning objectives may naturally focus on the lower levels of Bloom’s, such as remembering and understanding. This is because students are building a foundational knowledge base. However, even in introductory courses, it’s beneficial to incorporate objectives that encourage applying and analyzing skills to avoid purely rote learning. Pushing too quickly to higher levels can lead to student frustration.
- Advanced Courses & Higher-Order Thinking: For junior and senior level courses, or graduate programs, students typically possess a stronger foundation. In these cases, learning objectives should predominantly target higher-order skills. While some remembering and understanding objectives may be necessary for new course-specific concepts, advanced courses should challenge students with analyzing, evaluating, and creating tasks. Too many lower-level objectives can lead to student disengagement.
Selecting Action Verbs for Learning Objectives within Bloom’s Taxonomy
Fortunately, resources like “verb tables” are available to assist in choosing appropriate action verbs for objectives of learning that align with each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. These verbs are key to writing measurable learning objectives.
It’s important to note that some verbs can be “multilevel verbs,” applicable to different Bloom’s levels depending on the context. For instance, the verb “explain” can be used for both understanding and analyzing objectives. “Students will explain the causes of World War I” is an understanding-level objective. However, “Students will explain the complex interplay of factors that led to the outbreak of World War I, differentiating between long-term and short-term causes” is an analyzing-level objective.
You might find Bloom’s verb charts that categorize verbs differently. The key is to focus on the skill, action, or activity you intend to teach using that verb, as this ultimately determines the Bloom’s Taxonomy level of your learning objective.
| Bloom’s Level | Key Verbs (keywords) | Example Learning Objective |
|---|---|---|
| Create | design, formulate, build, invent, create, compose, generate, derive, modify, develop. | By the end of this lesson, students will be able to develop a unique marketing campaign for a new product. |
| Evaluate | choose, support, relate, determine, defend, judge, grade, compare, contrast, argue, justify, support, convince, select, evaluate. | By the end of this lesson, students will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of different leadership styles in a team setting. |
| Analyze | classify, break down, categorize, analyze, diagram, illustrate, criticize, simplify, associate. | By the end of this lesson, students will be able to analyze the key components of a business plan. |
| Apply | calculate, predict, apply, solve, illustrate, use, demonstrate, determine, model, perform, present. | By the end of this lesson, students will be able to use accounting principles to prepare a basic financial statement. |
| Understand | describe, explain, paraphrase, restate, give original examples of, summarize, contrast, interpret, discuss. | By the end of this lesson, students will be able to explain the principles of supply and demand in economics. |
| Remember | list, recite, outline, define, name, match, quote, recall, identify, label, recognize. | By the end of this lesson, students will be able to define key terms related to the French Revolution. |
Learning objective examples adapted from Nelson Baker at Georgia Tech: [email protected]
Bloom’s Taxonomy and Quality Matters Standards
For courses aiming to meet Quality Matters standards, measurable learning objectives are essential. Using verb tables aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy helps avoid vague, non-quantifiable verbs such as “understand,” “learn,” “appreciate,” or “enjoy.” Quality Matters also emphasizes the alignment of course assessments with learning objectives. If a learning objective uses an application-level verb like “present,” assessment should go beyond simple recall, such as a multiple-choice quiz. Application-level objectives require assessments that demonstrate application, such as presentations, projects, or case studies.
Differentiating Course-Level and Lesson-Level Objectives
A key distinction exists between course-level and lesson-level objectives. Course-level objectives are broader and typically not directly assessed. They represent the overarching learning goals for the entire course. Lesson-level objectives, on the other hand, are specific, measurable outcomes that contribute to achieving course-level objectives. Mastery of several lesson-level objectives demonstrates progress towards a course-level objective.
To develop effective course-level objectives, ask: “What key competencies should students master by the end of this course?” Once course-level objectives are defined, ensure that the sum of lesson-level objectives adequately supports and demonstrates achievement of these broader course goals.
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Linking Course and Lesson Objectives
- Course-level objectives are broad, typically numbering only 3-5 per course. They are challenging to measure directly due to their comprehensive nature.
- Lesson-level objectives are specific, measurable steps that demonstrate student mastery of course-level objectives. Multiple lesson-level objectives often contribute to a single course-level objective.
- Lesson-level objectives should be designed to progressively build skills within Bloom’s Taxonomy, supporting the achievement of course-level objectives. Verbs for objectives of learning at the lesson level should align with or be lower than the Bloom’s level of the verbs used in course-level objectives. For example, if a course-level objective uses an applying verb, lesson-level objectives can use remembering, understanding, or applying verbs, but not verbs from higher levels like analyzing or evaluating.
Steps to Writing Effective Learning Objectives Using Action Verbs
- Use one measurable verb per objective. Each objective should focus on a single, demonstrable skill. Avoid combining multiple verbs in one objective to ensure clear assessment.
- Ensure each objective has only one verb. Clarity is key. If an objective includes two verbs (e.g., “define and apply”), it becomes unclear how to assess partial mastery.
- Align verb levels. Course-level objective verbs should be at least as high on Bloom’s Taxonomy as the highest lesson-level objective verbs supporting them. This ensures that lesson objectives adequately build towards the broader course goals. You cannot assess evaluation skills if lessons only focus on definition and recall.
- Strive for measurable, clear, and concise objectives. Well-written learning objectives guide instruction and assessment effectively.
A helpful practice is to indicate the Bloom’s level of the verb in parentheses when writing objectives:
Course level objective 1. (Apply) Demonstrate the application of critical thinking skills in problem-solving scenarios.
1.1. (Understand) Discuss the core principles of critical thinking and their relevance in various contexts.
1.2. (Apply) Utilize critical thinking techniques to analyze complex problems and propose effective solutions.
This method helps quickly verify the Bloom’s level of each objective and ensures alignment between course and lesson-level objectives.
Before Writing Your Objectives
Review examples of effective and ineffective learning objectives to further refine your understanding. Consider consulting resources like Learning Objectives: Before and After Examples for practical guidance.
Additional External Resources:
For a comprehensive list of Bloom’s Verbs – TIP: Use the “find” function (Ctrl+F or Command+F) to quickly locate specific verbs.
