Bloom's taxonomy

1. BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
The word taxonomy is derived from Greek words ‘taxis’ and ‘nomos’. ‘Taxis’ means arrangement
or division and ‘nomos’ means law. Hence ‘taxonomy’ is the science of categorization in
accordance with a pre-determined system. Taxonomy is defined as a hierarchial classification of
various instructional objectives at suitable levels and in given spheres.
Bloom’s taxonomy makes use of a multi-layered sequence to state the level of proficiency
needed to attain each measurable student outcome. Arranging measurable student outcomes in this
manner will permit us to choose suitable classroom assessment practices for the course. Bloom’s
taxonomy was proposed by Benjamin S. Bloom. He proposed it in his book ‘Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives, Handbook 1: The Cognitive Domain’ published in 1956. A systematic
compilation for the cognitive domain was postulated by Bloom, and the affective domain by
Bloom, Krathwohl, and Masia. The common versions for the psychomotor domain are by
Simpson, Harrow and R.H. Dave. Cognitive domain gets more strees in higher education; though,
the affective and psychomotor domains find their application in counselling, sports and physical
therapy. The objective of an educator using Bloom’s taxonomy is to inspire higher-order thinking
in students by progressing from the lower-level cognitive skills.
Bloom’s taxonomy classifies human development into three domains namely,
1) Cognitive domain
2) Affective domain
3) Psychomotor domain
In each of the three domains, Bloom’s taxonomy is based on the principle that the categories are
ordered in the degree of difficulty. An important basis of Bloom’s taxonomy is that each level or
category should be mastered before proceeding to the next. Cognitive domain focuses on the
acquisition of knowledge. Affective domain focuses on the feelings, emotions, and attitudes of the
individual. Psychomotor domain focuses on manual or physical skills.

2. LEVELS OF BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
Knowledge:
Involves use of memorization techniques to retain past information as well as acquire and
arrange new information. These form the building blocks of cognition.
Comprehension:
Involves a detailed understanding of the knowledge obtained previously from multiple
angles.
Application:
Involves applying information to a particular context or scenario.
Analysis:
Involves scrutinizing a subject, theme or item of study in order to detect patterns, embedded
meanings and parallels with other such items.
Synthesis:
Involves combining multiple ideas in order to create something that’s original- a product
of critical thinking.
Evaluation:
Involves forming judgements regarding the values and methods of learning in a particular
program.
EXAMPLE
Knowledge- What is a plant?
Comprehension- Find a picture of a plant and say why you think it is a plant
Application- Collect pictures of 10 different plants. Arrange them into flowering plants and
conifers.
Analysis- Compare flowering plants with conifers. How are they alike? How are they different?

3. Synthesis- Using the characteristics of flowering plants, create a new plant
Evaluation- Do you think your plant would grow in your compound? Why?