week#1 - 3. better_learning_bloom

1. Better learning
(Bloom’s taxonomy)
G. K. Suraishkumar
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

2. What is better learning?
The most popular taxonomy/classification of learning (objectives/outcomes) is the Bloom’s
taxonomy – a result of committee work. Although popularly attributed to Bloom (committee
chairperson), the actual references:
Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., and Krathwohl, D. R., Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The
Classification of Educational Objectives. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain, David McKay, New York, 1956.
Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., and Masia, B., Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals.
Handbook II: The Affective Domain, David McKay, New York, 1964.
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives: Complete Edition. New York: Longman. 2001.
Krathwohl, D.R. A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview. Theory into Practice, 41, 212-218, 2002.
“THE TAXONOMY OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES is a framework for classifying statements of what we expect or intend
students to learn as a result of instruction. 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.
Benjamin S. Bloom, then Associate Director of the Board of Examinations of the University of Chicago, initiated the idea,
hoping that it would reduce the labor of preparing annual comprehensive examinations.” (Krathwohl, 2002)
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

3. Bloom’s (revised) taxonomy
Cognitive (loosely, “thinking”) domain:
Remember; Understand; Apply; Analyze; Evaluate; Create
Affective (loosely, “feeling” – likes/dislikes, attitudes, value systems, beliefs) domain:
Receiving and attending; Responding; Valuing; Organizing; Characterization by a value
Psychomotor (loosely, “doing” – motor skills, hand-eye coordination, fine and major
muscle movements, speech, etc.) domain:
Gross body movements; Finely coordinated body movements; Non-verbal
communication behaviours; Speech behaviours
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

4. Krathwohl, 2002
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

5. Examples
1. Remember: retrieving relevant knowledge from long-term memory
1.1 Recognizing
1.2 Recalling
1. Which of the following employs bioreactors?
(a) Production of ethyl alcohol from yeast
(b) Chemotherapy
(c) Production of petrol and kerosene
(d) None of the above
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

6. 2. Understand: Determine the meaning of instructional messages, including oral, written
and graphic communication
2.1 Interpreting
2.2 Exemplifying
2.3 Classifying
2.4 Summarizing
2.5 Inferring
2.6 Comparing
2.7 Explaining
Dexter is making a product P from the reaction 2A + B → P. He combines
3 moles of A and 2 moles of B. His sister Dee Dee accidentally drops two
moles of A into the mixture. Which reactant would limit P formation under
these conditions?
(a) A
(b) B
(c) P
(d) None are limiting
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

7. 3. Apply: Carrying out or using a procedure in a given situation
3.1 Executing
3.2 Implementing
A batch bioreactor is loaded with 50 litres of media.
Following sterilization, the reactor is inoculated with
five grams of bacteria. Assuming that the lag phase
is negligible, determine the cell concentration in
the bioreactor after two hours of growth. The specific
growth rate of the organism is 0.2 h-1 under these
conditions. For all problem based questions, choose
the option that is closest to your calculated answer.
(a) 6.73 g/L
(b) 1.27 g/L
(c) 0.15 g/L
(d) 0.58 g/L
Solution
Given
µ = 0.2 h-1
Since lag phase is negligible, the cell concentration xt
after two hours of growth can be given by
Substituting all the given values,
= 0.149 g L-1
𝑥0 =
5𝑔
50𝐿
= 0.1 𝑔 𝐿
𝑥𝑡 = 𝑥0𝑒𝜇𝑡
𝑥𝑡 = 0.1𝑒 0.2)2
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

8. 4. Analyze: Breaking material into its constituent parts and detecting how the parts relate
to one another and to an overall structure or purpose
4.1 Differentiating
4.2 Organizing
4.3 Attributing
What is the decimal reduction time of a single cell
suspension that retains only 35% of its viability after
4 minutes at 75°C? Choose the option closest to your
calculated answer.
(a) 7.53 seconds
(b) 8.79 seconds
(c) 527.4 seconds
(d) 3.85 minutes
Solution:
Let xo be the initial cell concentration
After 4 min, cell loses 65% of its viability at 75°C, 35% remains.
Cell concentration remaining = 0.35 xo
We know that
Thus,
= 0.262 min-1







x
x
k
t
d
0
log
303
.
2









0
0
35
.
0
log
4
303
.
2
x
x
kd
d
k
D
Therefore
303
.
2
,  = 8.79 min = 527.404 s
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

9. 5. Evaluate: Making judgments based on criteria and standards
5.1 Checking
5.2 Critiquing
More suited to be tested in `open-ended’ situations:
To maximally produce bio-oil from Chlorella vulgaris, what bioreactor and conditions would you employ?
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

10. 6. Create: Putting various elements together to form a novel, coherent whole or make an
original product
6.1 Generating
6.2 Planning
6.3 Producing
Bio-machine exercise: (In an introductory “Life Sciences for biological engineers” course)
Students need to conceptually design a machine to do something useful, based on the principles learnt in
class. This is an open-ended exercise and designed to develop many skills in students. The evaluation will be
based on
Originality in approach: 30%
Details : 30%
Do-ability : 30%
Presentation : 10%
A concise report submitted two weeks before the last day of classes will be evaluated.
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

11. CFA exercise:
Students need to choose a problem of relevance to the industry or any human endeavour and analyze it using
the principles learnt in class. This is an open-ended exercise and designed to develop the skills of choice,
focus and analysis in students. The evaluation will be based on
originality in approach: 15%
focus level: 15%
depth of analysis: 20%
quantum of work: 20%
original contribution: 20%
presentation: 10%
A concise report submitted two weeks before the last day of classes will be evaluated. It will help if the
problem is chosen well in advance and sufficient time, distributed throughout the course duration, is devoted.
Videos:
Think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1lc-GWtGII
Inside out and Bloom’s taxonomy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G40ANGIDGcw
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

12. Development in the affective domain
Not well addressed in engineering education, but important
Example: ethical behaviour
1. Receiving and attending:
Awareness of the concept
Sufficient intellectual development (maturity) to appreciate the concept
Openness to listen to that concept
Willingness to pay attention to that concept
2. Responding:
Passive compliance
Respond with own initiative
Personal satisfaction and motivation for further responses
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

13. 3. Valuing:
Acceptance of the value
Preference for the value
Commitment to the value
4. Organizing:
Organization of values into one’s own system of values
Finding interrelationships between those values
Establish a hierarchy of those values
5. Being characterized by others with the value:
The student’s behavior is congruent to the accepted value, and the value system becomes apparent to others
Others characterize the person with that value (e.g. `an ethical person’)
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras

14. Development in the psychomotor domain
Important for engineers, but has slowly moved out of the curriculum.
• Laboratory skills
• Workshop skills
• Engineering drawing
• Communication
• …
Even if done by computerized machines (workshop), or software (ED) one needs
to understand basic aspects, to be able to contribute at the highest levels.
1. Gross body movements
2. Finely coordinated body movements
3. Non-verbal communication behaviours - sensitivity
4. Speech behaviours - politeness
G K Suraishkumar, Dept of Biotechnology, IIT-Madras