Writing Objectives Using Bloom's Taxonomy

Sourced from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte:  MJ's old College no less.

Various researchers have summarized how to use Bloom’s Taxonomy. Following are four interpretations that you can use as guides in helping to write objectives using Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Bloom’s Taxonomy divides the way people learn into three domains. One of these is the cognitive domain, which emphasizes intellectual outcomes. This domain is further divided into categories or levels. The key words used and the type of questions asked may aid in the establishment and encouragement of critical thinking, especially in the higher levels.

Level	Level Attributes	Keywords	Questions
1: Knowledge	Exhibits previously learned material by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts and answers.	who, what, why, when, omit, where, which, choose, find, how, define, label, show, spell, list, match, name, relate, tell, recall, select	What is ...? How is ...? Where is ...? When did _______ happen? How did ______ happen? How would you explain ...? Why did ...? How would you describe ...? When did ...? Can you recall ...? How would you show ...? Can you select ...? Who were the main ...? Can you list three ...? Which one ...? Who was ...?
2: Comprehension	Demonstrating understanding of facts and ideas by organizing, comparing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions and stating main ideas.	compare, contrast, demonstrate, interpret, explain, extend, illustrate, infer, outline, relate, rephrase, translate, summarize, show, classify	How would you classify the type of ...? How would you compare ...? contrast ...? Will you state or interpret in your own words ...? How would you rephrase the meaning ...? What facts or ideas show ...? What is the main idea of ...? Which statements support ...? Can you explain what is happening . . . what is meant . . .? What can you say about ...? Which is the best answer ...? How would you summarize ...?
3: Application	Solving problems by applying acquired knowledge, facts, techniques and rules in a different way.	apply, build, choose, construct, develop, interview, make use of, organize, experiment with, plan, select, solve, utilize, model, identify	How would you use ...? What examples can you find to ...? How would you solve _______ using what you have learned ...? How would you organize _______ to show ...? How would you show your understanding of ...? What approach would you use to ...? How would you apply what you learned to develop ...? What other way would you plan to ...? What would result if ...? Can you make use of the facts to ...? What elements would you choose to change ...? What facts would you select to show ...? What questions would you ask in an interview with ...?
4: Analysis	Examining and breaking information into parts by identifying motives or causes; making inferences and finding evidence to support generalizations.	analyze, categorize, classify, compare, contrast, discover, dissect, divide, examine, inspect, simplify, survey, take part in, test for, distinguish, list, distinction, theme, relationships, function, motive, inference, assumption, conclusion	What are the parts or features of ...? How is _______ related to ...? Why do you think ...? What is the theme ...? What motive is there ...? Can you list the parts ...? What inference can you make ...? What conclusions can you draw ...? How would you classify ...? How would you categorize ...? Can you identify the difference parts ...? What evidence can you find ...? What is the relationship between ...? Can you make a distinction between ...? What is the function of ...? What ideas justify ...?
5: Synthesis	Compiling information together in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern or proposing alternative solutions.	build, choose, combine, compile, compose, construct, create, design, develop, estimate, formulate, imagine, invent, make up, originate, plan, predict, propose, solve, solution, suppose, discuss, modify, change, original, improve, adapt, minimize, maximize, delete, theorize, elaborate, test, improve, happen, change	What changes would you make to solve ...? How would you improve ...? What would happen if ...? Can you elaborate on the reason ...? Can you propose an alternative ...? Can you invent ...? How would you adapt ________ to create a different ...? How could you change (modify) the plot (plan) ...? What could be done to minimize (maximize) ...? What way would you design ...? What could be combined to improve (change) ...? Suppose you could _______ what would you do ...? How would you test ...? Can you formulate a theory for ...? Can you predict the outcome if ...? How would you estimate the results for ...? What facts can you compile ...? Can you construct a model that would change ...? Can you think of an original way for the ...?
6: Evaluation	Presenting and defending opinions by making judgments about information, validity of ideas or quality of work based on a set of criteria.	award, choose, conclude, criticize, decide, defend, determine, dispute, evaluate, judge, justify, measure, compare, mark, rate, recommend, rule on, select, agree, interpret, explain, appraise, prioritize, opinion, ,support, importance, criteria, prove, disprove, assess, influence, perceive, value, estimate, influence, deduct	Do you agree with the actions ...? with the outcomes ...? What is your opinion of ...? How would you prove ...? disprove ...? Can you assess the value or importance of ...? Would it be better if ...? Why did they (the character) choose ...? What would you recommend ...? How would you rate the ...? What would you cite to defend the actions ...? How would you evaluate ...? How could you determine ...? What choice would you have made ...? What would you select ...? How would you prioritize ...? What judgment would you make about ...? Based on what you know, how would you explain ...? What information would you use to support the view ...? How would you justify ...? What data was used to make the conclusion ...? Why was it better that ...? How would you prioritize the facts ...? How would you compare the ideas ...? people ...?

From: http://www.umuc.edu/ugp/ewp/bloomtax.html

Bloom’s Ranking of Thinking Skills

Knowledge	Comprehension	Application	Analysis	Synthesis	Evaluation
List, Name, Identify, Show, Define, Recognize, Recall, State, Visualize	Summarize, Explain, Interpret, Describe, Compare, Paraphrase, Differentiate, Demonstrate, Classify	Solve, Illustrate, Calculate, Use, Interpret, Relate, Manipulate, Apply, Modify	Analyze, Organize, Deduce, Contrast, Compare, Distinguish, Discuss, Plan, Devise	Design, Hypothesize, Support, Schematize, Write, Report, Justify	Evaluate, Choose, Estimate, Judge, Defend, Criticize

From: http://www.stedwards.edu/cte/bwheel.htm

Task Oriented Question Construction Wheel Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy

Task Oriented Question Construction Wheel Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy.
©2001 St. Edward’s University Center for Teaching Excellence.
http://www.stedwards.edu/cte/bwheel.htm

From: http://epitome.ce.gatech.edu/iowa/how.html

According to Benjamin Bloom, and his colleagues, there are six levels of cognition:

1. Knowledge: rote memorization, recognition, or recall of facts
2. Comprehension: understanding what the facts mean
3. Application: correct use of the facts, rules, or ideas
4. Analysis: breaking down information into component parts
5. Synthesis: combination of facts, ideas, or information to make a new whole
6. Evaluation: judging or forming an opinion about the information or situation

Ideally, each of these levels should be covered in each course and, thus, at least one objective should be written for each level. Depending on the nature of the course, a few of these levels may need to be given more emphasis than the others.

Below are examples of objectives written for each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy and activities and assessment tools based on those objectives. Common key verbs used in drafting objectives are also listed for each level.

Level	Level Attributes	Keywords	Example Objective	Example Activity	Example Assessment
1: Knowledge	Rote memorization, recognition, or recall of facts.	list, recite, define, name, match, quote, recall, identify, label, recognize	“By the end of this course, the student will be able to recite Newton’s three laws of motion.”	Have students group up and perform simple experiments to the class showing how one of the laws of motion works.	Use the following question on an exam or homework. “Recite Newton’s three laws of motion.”
2: Comprehension	Understanding what the facts mean.	describe, explain, paraphrase, restate, give original examples of, summarize, interpret, discuss	“By the end of this course, the student will be able to explain Newton’s three laws of motion in his/her own words.”	Group students into pairs and have each pair think of words that describe motion. After a few minutes, ask pairs to volunteer some of their descriptions and write these descriptions on the board.	Assign the students to write a simple essay that explains what Newton’s laws of motion mean in his/her own words.
3: Application	Correct use of the facts, rules, or ideas.	calculate, predict, apply, solve, illustrate, use, demonstrate, determine, model	“By the end of this course, the student will be able to calculate the kinetic energy of a projectile.”	After presenting the kinetic energy equation in class, have the students pair off for just a few minutes and practice using it so that they feel comfortable with it before being assessed.	On a test, define a projectile and ask the students to “Calculate the kinetic energy of the projectile.”
4: Analysis	Breaking down information into component parts.	classify, outline, break down, categorize, analyze, diagram, illustrate	“By the end of this course, the student will be able to differentiate between potential and kinetic energy.”	Present the students with different situations involving energy and ask the students to categorize the energy as either kinetic or potential then have them explain in detail why they categorized it the way they did, thus breaking down what exactly makes up kinetic and potential energy.	Give the students an assignment that asks them outline the basic principles of kinetic and potential energy. Ask them to point out the differences between the two as well as how they are related.
5: Synthesis	Combining parts to make a new whole.	design, formulate, build, invent, create, compose, generate, derive, modify, develop	By the end of this section of the course, the student will be able to design an original homework problem dealing with the principle of conservation of energy.”	Tie each lecture or discussion to the previous lectures or discussions before it, thus helping the students assemble all the discreet classroom sessions into a unified topic or theory.	Give the students a project in which they must design an original homework problem dealing with the principle of conservation of energy.
6: Evaluation	Judging the value or worth of information or ideas.	choose, support, relate, determine, defend, judge, grade, compare, contrast, argue, justify, support, convince, select, evaluate	“By the end of the course, the student will be able to determine whether using conservation of energy or conservation of momentum would be more appropriate forsolving a dynamics problem.”	Have different groups of students solve the same problem using different methods, then have each group present the pros and cons of the method they chose.	On a test, describe a dynamic system and ask the students which method they would use to solve the problem and why.

Attachment: Writing Objectives Using Bloom's Taxonomy [PDF, 323 KB]

Forget Wordle & check out TagXedo: Word clouds with style!

Wordle has long been the staple of many educators and I have to say I use it a lot .  I even put together the ultimate guide to Wordle for educators earlier this year with heaps of great Wordle activities and alternatives.  But I think I am about to jump ship from Wordle to Tagxedo.

Tagxedo turns words -- famous speeches, news articles, slogans and themes, even your love letters -- into a visually stunning tag cloud, words individually sized appropriately to highlight the frequencies of occurrence within the body of text.

It really looks a great deal better than Wordle and if nothing else is definitely worth a look.  Totally free loads of creative options for it so check it out here.

2024 Dreaming: Technology that will make tomorrow better

Explore options for houses, work, food and transport in 2024 in this multimedia presentation from Radio National. A useful resource for stimulating discussion about applications of science and implications for society and the environment as well as current issues and developments in science. Gives examples of how different groups in society may use different criteria to make decisions.  Check it out here.

The Ultimate Guide to Wordle for Educators

For the uninitiated Wordle is essentially a word cloud generator that creates word clouds from text you either manually enter or draw from websites, news feeds or utilise tags from a del.icio.us account to create a visually appealing word cloud which you can customise and stylize to suit your needs.

The beauty of Wordle is that there is no signup or login and the whole process can be completed in as little as a minute depending on how complex you wish to get.   Here is a Wordle I generated from my website at www.edgalaxy.com

Wordle is incredibly popular with teachers and students because of its simplicity and capacity to offer multiple open-ended opportunities across all curriculum areas.  So today I am going to share some of my knowledge of using Wordle and some Lesson ideas that will hopefully make Wordle your preferred option next time you do a class brainstorming session or you are looking for a tool to inspire some creativity in your lessons.

First off here are a few things you need to know about Wordle:

Wordle graphically emphasises words that have been repeated.  So if you are doing a class survey on your favourite sports teams always remember to enter terms that have been included, These emphasised terms appear larger and bolder on your finished word cloud depending upon the number of times entered.

Wordle does not understand multiple words such as Harry Potter.  This can be very annoying at times as Harry Potter will be recorded as two single words.  You can get around this by joining words.  Ie:  Harry-Potter, Harry~Potter, Harry_Potter or HarryPotter.

Managing Your Wordle

Your finished Wordle can be output in either three ways.  Printout, link to webpage to be viewed in a public Gallery or you have to manually screen capture it and create a digital image.  It is almost criminal that such a great program does not have a button to generate a Jpeg Image or something similar then and there but...  

You don’t have to stop with your customiisation just there as there are a few little tricks you can do to spice up your Wordle beyond randomizing colour schemes and fonts. Such as..

Overlaying Wordle on a background Image.  This can add some real impact to your Wordle.  Simply select an image to put in the background and then follow the instructions below.  The finished product looks like this.  This is Barack Obama's inaguration speech put over a soft White House Logo.

To do this : screen capture the Wordle and then open it in Paint Shop Pro (you can use any program) Import your background image as a new layer and moved it to layer 1.

Use the magic wand (the selection tool to erase all the excess white space on the Wordle. And lay it over the top of your Background Image.  Bingo!! You can also add effects such as drop shadows to your Wordle at this stage to further enhance.

 Importing and Cropping your Wordle.  There are numerous ways to do this depending upon the Platform and Software you are using but this video explains in detail how to do it in Microsoft Word.  It is a simple task in any language.

Turn your Wordle into a Coffee Mug or T-Shirt:  Why??? I am not really sure but it can actually look pretty cool and might be a great personalised gift.  Here are a couple of companies that will do it all for you online.  You just supply the image and the cash.

http://www.zazzle.com/

www.cafepress.com

www.spreadshirt.com

 Some Lesson Ideas:  The web is literally crawling with hundreds of brilliant ideas on how to use Wordle so consider the lesson ideas listed below as suggestions.  Take these ideas and alter them to suit your own needs.

• Go to an online discussion forum – paste the URL into Wordle to gain an understanding of the key points.

• Prior to a lesson go to a news website and create a Wordle from a topical news story or collection of headlines.  Put the contents of the story up for your class to see and get them to see if they can determine what the news event may be.

• Break down the lyrics to a song or dissect a poem to see what are the key components.  Below is a Beatles Wordle, Can you guess the title?

• Spice up a History lesson by finding a webpage outlining a historical event and create a word map from it.  What are the key factors of that event?  Below is a D-Day wordle.

• Weekly spelling words – From a test type in the word that was most frequently spelled incorrectly as a group. Your hardest words will be the largest.

• Convert a project into a Wordle and turn it into a Presentation.  All of your key points will right in front of you.

• Study an Authors vocabulary in depth by entering a single page or segment from a book you are reading.

• Class Rules and Expectations.  Remember to enter in the words you want to emphasise.

• Classroom Polls and Surveys:  Simple classroom Polls can take a new look.  Once again remember to re-enter multiple votes.

• Dissect a Famous Speech – Copy and Paste the entire Contents of a Speech into Wordle.  What points were trying to be emphasised.  Here is Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" Speech

• Character Analysis Mind map

• Create an all about me Poster sharing all the aspects that make up you.  The good, The bad and the Ugly.

• Convert a simple Recipe using the quantities in correct ratios as words.  Keep it real simple such as a sandwich.

As stated earlier Wordle's capacity in the classroom is only limited by your imagination.  I hope this guide has helped you get your head around some fresh or different ideas for using Wordle and I would love to hear some of the great ideas you may done with it also.