Posted on No Comments on Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Foster Critical Thinking

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Foster Critical Thinking

by Elizabeth Juneau
Co-presenter with Dr. Jerald Meadows
Webinar:  Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Foster Critical Thinking

Bloom’s Taxonomy was named for Benjamin Bloom, who created the taxonomy in 1956, revised in 2000. The taxonomy has different domains, but our focus is the cognitive learning domain. The cognitive domain has seven levels:

  1. Knowledge/Remembering- Basic recall and remembering of facts
  2. Comprehension/Understanding- Understanding of facts and ideas
  3. Application/Applying- Making use of the knowledge and information; problem solving
  4. Analysis/Analyzing- Examining and breaking apart information; making inferences and giving evidence to support a claim
  5. Synthesis/Evaluating- Making a judgement regarding the information; defending opinions and judgements
  6. Evaluate/Creating- Producing and generating ideas independently using knowledge and information; thinking abstractly

When using Bloom’s Taxonomy to plan lessons, begin with your end in mind. What is the goal for your lesson? Your unit? Do you want to cover more than one level in a lecture? What about the end of your course? What do you want your students to gain? By utilizing Bloom’s Taxonomy, you can create a road map of where you want to go throughout the course of your individual lectures, modules, and course as whole.

I currently teach sixth grade gifted students in Alabama. For the month of October, our focus in English was Edgar Allen Poe and scary stories, discussing character and plot development, figurative language, and analysis of a piece of literature. I knew, by the end of the unit, I wanted my students to create their own scary story (Level 6) to demonstrate mastery of the skills. I then used each level to scaffold my lessons to get my students to that level. Here are some sample questions I used to guide them through the levels of Bloom’s:

  1. Knowledge/Remembering: Tell me the main events in “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Masque of the Red Death”
  2. Comprehension/Understanding- Compare and contrast Montresor of “The Cask of Amontillado” and Prince from “The Masque of Red Death”
  3. Application/Applying- Sketch a picture of the Prince’s apartment according to the description in “The Masque of the Red Death.” Interpret what each color room represents.
  4. Analysis/Analyzing- Which story do you feel makes the best use of figurative language to create a feeling of uneasiness and suspense? Cite evidence from the text.
  5. Synthesis/Evaluating- Were Prince’s actions in “The Masque of the Red Death” noble? Why or why not?
  6. Evaluate/Creating- After several weeks reading selections by Poe, discussing plot and character development, mood, and tone, students will write their own scary/suspenseful short story.

Bloom’s Taxonomy also creates a level of accountability for the instructor and the students. By clearly laying out the goals for you students at each level, they can see how each part of the course works together and then how to relate what they are learning to other aspects of their coursework. As you move through your course, you can relate the information to other courses, recall back to previous levels if students are stuck “Remember this from a week ago, try thinking about it in a new way…”, and also reference the information and knowledge with clues to say “This bit of information will be used later in in your project this way….”

It is important to remember, the goal in using Bloom’s is to guide your learners up through the taxonomy, gaining and utilizing their knowledge at each level. You can’t skim over levels, then you may run the risk of students not fully grasping the information or knowing how to apply it. As students move forward, mastering each level, they are able to take control of their learning, take control of the information and knowledge presented, the student can be empowered, growing a student in their knowledge, but growing as an individual who is capable of so much more than we or they can believe.

For other information about using Bloom’s to enhance your Collaborative Learning Strategy (CLS) check out this matrix of verbs which identify the level of Blooms.  Also, if you weren’t able to attend the webinar, please check it out at the link above.

Posted on 2 Comments on There is ALWAYS More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

There is ALWAYS More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

I first became aware of scotomas through reading Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  (A book, by the way, that I consider a MUST read for anyone interested in personal improvement and professional competency.)  In Covey’s book, there is a picture that may be perceived by some as a fashionable young lady, or the face of an old crone.  Although the actual definition of scotoma has to do with a partial alteration in a field of vision, it can also be used metaphorically, “The common theme of all the figurative senses is of a gap not in visual function but in the mind’s perception, cognition, or world view.” (Wikipedia)

Since then I’ve run across the concept in various places and have referenced it in many presentations and sermons.  It is all about perspective.  The most interesting thing about this concept is how difficult it is to realize when you are locked into one way of perceiving a situation.  Take the picture above for instance.  When you first see the picture you immediately perceive either the young stylish woman or the old crone.  There is no thought in your mind that the other possibility even exists.

I find myself pondering this from time to time when faced with challenges at work, life in general,  or when I’m putting together my Collaborative Learning Strategy in preparation to teach.  In those times I try to allow my mind to open to new possibilities and other perspectives.  Usually with a little effort I can find a new path, often one better than the original.

I often wonder how many missed opportunities have come my way simply because I had a scotoma which kept me from seeing alternatives.  I am saddened to think of the number of students I’ve taught who could have embraced the material at a deeper level if I had only taken the time to come at it from a different direction, or using a different way of presenting the information.

The lesson for me, and one that I seem especially slow to learn, is to slow down consider other perspectives.  A good way to do this is to get other opinions.  I have to confess when I was younger I often avoided getting other opinions because I: a) already knew it all, b) didn’t want to listen to anyone else, or c) was afraid that someone would discover a flaw in my plan.  As I grown older and somewhat wiser I’ve learned to not feel as threatened by other’s ideas.  Taking the time to garner this kind of input is still a weakness for me . . . I typically want to move NOW.  But, the benefit is that in getting the input the decision is usually better.  For Instructors, take the time to brainstorm together on ways to present a topic, I’m confident you and your students will benefit from it.

 

Keep you eyes open, there is always a different perspective on any situation and a different way to do anything – even teach; to put it in layman’s terms, “there is always more than one way to skin a cat.”