Download Bloom and Objectives edit

To the Course Directors:
It was suggested that a set of useful vocabulary be made available for the generation of learning
objectives for your classes. It is hoped that the following will help toward that end.
Educationally, we tend to think of objectives as driving the learning, and when we want to drive
learning well, we look to Bloom’s taxonomy. Bloom’s work outlined six cognitive levels of
abstraction dealing with the learning process:
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Knowledge—recall of data
Comprehension—understanding the meaning of data
Application—use data in a new or unprompted way
Analysis—understand the organizational structure of the data
Synthesis—use data to create structures/patterns from diverse elements
Evaluation—critically examines the value of data in context
Of course, the goal is to create learning engagements that move well beyond the first two levels
whenever practical, but clearly there are times when abstraction can properly remain on the
Knowledge and Comprehension levels.
Implied in the hierarchy is the nested nature of each level. In other words, if a student is asked to
evaluate, she almost surely will have to synthesize, analyze, apply, comprehend, and know the
material. However, what Bloom points out most clearly is that knowing is different from
analyzing, is different from evaluating. Consequently, different objectives require different
wording to indicate the level of abstraction we will measure in our students.
The following set of verbs can be helpful in the preparation and writing of those objectives
Knowledge: arrange, define, label, order, describe, locate, identify, memorize
Comprehension: classify, discuss, explain, compare, paraphrase, select, identify
Application: apply, choose, dramatize, illustrate, interpret, demonstrate, employ, operate
Analysis: appraise, deduce, calculate, contract, critique, differentiate, argue
Synthesis: arrange, organize, create, develop, formulate, modify, combine, design, assemble,
manage
Evaluate: argue, defend, judge, predict, support, weigh, consider, assess, appraise
You will notice that some verbs appear in more than one of Bloom’s levels, which means at
times you will have to be clearer than just applying the proper verb. For example, an objective
asking the student to argue for a particular treatment or test is at a different level from an
objective asking the student to argue for the value for a kind of treatment or test. The former
assesses the learner’s understanding of the treatment or test, while the latter assesses the learner’s
appreciation and understanding of the interactions that occur within and because of that
treatment of test.