There are six levels of cognitive learning according to the revised version of Bloom's Taxonomy. Each level is conceptually different. The six levels are remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.
Using Bloom's Revised Taxonomy in Assessment
These levels can be helpful in developing learning outcomes because certain verbs are particularly appropriate at each level and not appropriate at other levels [though some verbs are useful at multiple levels]. A student might list presidents or proteins or participles to demonstrate that they remember something they learned, but generating a list does not demonstrate [for example] that the student is capable of evaluating the contribution of multiple presidents to American politics or explaining protein folding or distinguishing between active and passive participles.
Remember
Definition: retrieve, recall, or recognize relevant knowledge from long-term memory [e.g., recall dates of important events in U.S. history, remember the components of a bacterial cell]. Appropriate learning outcome verbs for this level include: cite, define, describe, identify, label, list, match, name, outline, quote, recall, report, reproduce, retrieve, show, state, tabulate, and tell.
Understand
Definition: demonstrate comprehension through one or more forms of explanation [e.g., classify a mental illness, compare ritual practices in two different religions]. Appropriate learning outcome verbs for this level include: abstract, arrange, articulate, associate, categorize, clarify, classify, compare, compute, conclude, contrast, defend, diagram, differentiate, discuss, distinguish, estimate, exemplify, explain, extend, extrapolate, generalize, give examples of, illustrate, infer, interpolate, interpret, match, outline, paraphrase, predict, rearrange, reorder, rephrase, represent, restate, summarize, transform, and translate.
Apply
Definition: use information or a skill in a new situation [e.g., use Newton's second law to solve a problem for which it is appropriate, carry out a multivariate statistical analysis using a data set not previously encountered]. Appropriate learning outcome verbs for this level include: apply, calculate, carry out, classify, complete, compute, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, examine, execute, experiment, generalize, illustrate, implement, infer, interpret, manipulate, modify, operate, organize, outline, predict, solve, transfer, translate, and use.
Analyze
Definition: break material into its constituent parts and determine how the parts relate to one another and/or to an overall structure or purpose [e.g., analyze the relationship between different flora and fauna in an ecological setting; analyze the relationship between different characters in a play; analyze the relationship between different institutions in a society]. Appropriate learning outcome verbs for this level include: analyze, arrange, break down, categorize, classify, compare, connect, contrast, deconstruct, detect, diagram, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, divide, explain, identify, integrate, inventory, order, organize, relate, separate, and structure.
Evaluate
Definition: make judgments based on criteria and standards [e.g., detect inconsistencies or fallacies within a process or product, determine whether a scientist's conclusions follow from observed data, judge which of two methods is the way to solve a given problem, determine the quality of a product based on disciplinary criteria]. Appropriate learning outcome verbs for this level include: appraise, apprise, argue, assess, compare, conclude, consider, contrast, convince, criticize, critique, decide, determine, discriminate, evaluate, grade, judge, justify, measure, rank, rate, recommend, review, score, select, standardize, support, test, and validate.
Create
Definitions: put elements together to form a new coherent or functional whole; reorganize elements into a new pattern or structure [design a new set for a theater production, write a thesis, develop an alternative hypothesis based on criteria, invent a product, compose a piece of music, write a play]. Appropriate learning outcome verbs for this level include: arrange, assemble, build, collect, combine, compile, compose, constitute, construct, create, design, develop, devise, formulate, generate, hypothesize, integrate, invent, make, manage, modify, organize, perform, plan, prepare, produce, propose, rearrange, reconstruct, reorganize, revise, rewrite, specify, synthesize, and write.
Source: Anderson, Lorin W., and David R. Krathwohl, eds. 2001. A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.
Revised Bloom's Taxonomy
A group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers, and testing and assessment specialists published in 2001 a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy with the title A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. This title draws attention away from the somewhat static notion of “educational objectives” [in Bloom’s original title] and points to a more dynamic conception of classification.
Overview
The authors of the revised taxonomy underscore this dynamism, using verbs and gerunds to label their categories and subcategories [rather than the nouns of the original taxonomy]. These “action words” describe the cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge.
A statement of a learning objective contains a verb [an action] and an object [usually a noun].
- The verb generally refers to [actions associated with] the intended cognitive process.
- The object generally describes the knowledge students are expected to acquire or construct. [Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001, pp. 4–5]
The cognitive process dimension represents a continuum of increasing cognitive complexity—from remember to create. Anderson and Krathwohl identify 19 specific cognitive processes that further clarify the bounds of the six categories [Table 1].
Table 1. The Cognitive Process Dimension – categories, cognitive processes [and alternative names]
Remember
recognizing [identifying]
recalling [retrieving]
Understand
interpreting [clarifying, paraphrasing, representing, translating]
exemplifying [illustrating, instantiating]
classifying [categorizing, subsuming]
summarizing [abstracting, generalizing]
inferring [concluding, extrapolating, interpolating, predicting]
comparing [contrasting, mapping, matching]
explaining [constructing models]
Apply
executing [carrying out]
implementing [using]
Analyze
differentiating [discriminating, distinguishing, focusing, selecting]
organizing [finding, coherence, integrating, outlining, parsing, structuring]
attributing [deconstructing]
Evaluate
checking [coordinating, detecting, monitoring, testing]
critiquing [judging]
Create
generating [hypothesizing]
planning [designing]
producing [construct]
The knowledge dimension represents a range from concrete [factual] to abstract [metacognitive] [Table 2]. Representation of the knowledge dimension as a number of discrete steps can be a bit misleading. For example, all procedural knowledge may not be more abstract than all conceptual knowledge. And metacognitive knowledge is a special case. In this model, “metacognitive knowledge is knowledge of [one’s own] cognition and about oneself in relation to various subject matters . . . ” [Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001, p. 44].
Table 2. The Knowledge Dimension
Factual
- knowledge of terminology
- knowledge of specific details and elements
Conceptual
- knowledge of classifications and categories
- knowledge of principles and generalizations
- knowledge of theories, models, and structures
Procedural
- knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms
- knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods
- knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures
Metacognitive
- strategic knowledge
- knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge
- self-knowledge
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy Model [Responsive]
Note: These are learning objectives – not learning activities. It may be useful to think of preceding each objective with something like, “students will be able to…:
The Knowledge Dimension
Factual
The basic elements a student must know to be acquainted with a discipline or solve problems in it.
The Knowledge Dimension
Conceptual
The interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that enable them to function together.
The Knowledge Dimension
Procedural
How to do something, methods of inquiry, and criteria for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods.
The Knowledge Dimension
Metacognitive
Knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s own cognition
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Remember
Retrieve relevant knowledge from long-term memory.
List primary and secondary colors.
Recognize symptoms of exhaustion.
Recall how to perform CPR.
Identify strategies for retaining information.
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Understand
Construct meaning from instructional messages, including oral, written and graphic communication.
Summarize features of a new product.
Classify adhesives by toxicity.
Clarify assembly instructions.
Understand + Metacognitive
Predict one’s response to culture shock.
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Apply
Carry out or use a procedure in a given situation.
Respond to frequently asked questions.
Provide advice to novices.
Carry out pH tests of water samples.
Use techniques that match one's strengths.
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Analyze
Break material into foundational parts and determine how parts relate to one another and the overall structure or purpose
Select the most complete list of activities.
Differentiate high and low culture.
Integrate compliance with regulations.
Deconstruct one's biases.
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Evaluate
Make judgments based on criteria and standards.
Check for consistency among sources.
Determine relevance of results.
Judge efficiency of sampling techniques.
Reflect on one's progress.
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Create
Put elements together to form a coherent whole; reorganize into a new pattern or structure.
Generate a log of daily activities.
Assemble a team of experts.
Design efficient project workflow.
Create a learning portfolio.
Recommended resources
- Developing Student Learning Outcome Statements [Georgia Tech] page
- Churches, A. [2008]. Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy. A thorough orientation to the revised taxonomy; practical recommendations for a wide variety of ways mapping the taxonomy to the uses of current online technologies; and associated rubrics
- Download the Blooms Digital Taxonomy of Verbs poster [Wasabi Learning]
- Bloom et al.’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain [Dr. William G. Huitt, Valdosta State University]
- Stanny, C. J. [2016]. Reevaluating Bloom’s Taxonomy: What measurable verbs can and cannot say about student learning. Education Sciences, 6[4]. //doi.org/10.3390/educsci6040037
- The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom [Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…]
*Anderson, L.W. [Ed.], Krathwohl, D.R. [Ed.], Airasian, P.W., Cruikshank, K.A., Mayer, R.E., Pintrich, P.R., Raths, J., & Wittrock, M.C. [2001]. A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives [Complete edition]. New York: Longman.