B l o o m ' s Ta x o n o m y o f L e a r n i n g D o m a i n s

Bloom's Taxonomy was created in 1956 under the

leadership of educational psychologist Dr Benjamin
Bloom in order to promote higher forms of thinking in
education, such as analyzing and evaluating concepts,
processes, procedures, and principles, rather than just
remembering facts (rote learning). It is most often
used when designing educational, training, and
learning processes.

The Three Do mains of Learning

The committee identified three domains of educational
activities or learning (Bloom, et al. 1956):
o Cognitive: mental skills (knowledge)
o Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas
(attitude or self)
o Psychomotor: manual or physical skills (skills)

Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Development

Bloom identified six levels within the cognitive domain,
from the simple recall or recognition of facts, as the
lowest level, through increasingly more complex and
abstract mental levels, to the highest order which is
Classified as evaluation. A description of the six levels as
well as verb examples that represent intellectual activity
are listed here.
Knowledge is defined as
remembering of previously
learned material. This may
involve the recall of a wide
range of material, from
specific facts to complete
theories, but all that is
required is the bringing to
mind of the appropriate information. Knowledge
represents the lowest level of learning outcomes in the
cognitive domain.
Comprehension is defined as the ability to grasp the
meaning of material. This may be shown by translating
material from one form to another (words to numbers),
by interpreting material (explaining or summarizing), and
by estimating furture trends (predicting consequences or
effects). These learning outcomes go one step beyond the
simple remembering of material, and represent the lowest
level of understanding.
Application refers to the ability to use learned material in
new and concrete situations. This may include the
application of such things as rules, methods, concepts,
principles, laws, and theories. Learning outcomes in this
area require a higher level of understanding than those
under comprehension.
Analysis refers to the ability to break down material into
its component parts so that its organizational structure
may be understood. This may include the identification of
the parts, analysis of the relationships between parts, and
recognition of the organizational principles involved.
Learning outcomes here represent a higher intellectual
level than comprehension and application becasue they
require an understanding of both the content and the
structural form of the material.
Synthesis refers to the ability to put parts together to form
a new whole. This may involve the production of a unique
communication (theme or speech), a plan of operations
(research proposal), or a set of abstract relations (scheme
for classifying information). Learning outcomes in this
area stress creative behaviors, with major emphasis on the
formulation of new patterns or structures.
Evaluation is concerned with the ability to judge the
value of material (statement, novel, poem, research
report) for a given purpose. The judgements are to be
based on definite criteria. These may be internal criteria
(organization) or external criteria (relevance to the
purpose) and the student may determine the criteria or be
given them. Learning outcomes in this area are highest in
the cognitive hierarchy because they contain elements of
all the other categories, plus conscious value judgments
based on clearly defined criteria.

Bloom' s Revised Taxono my

Lorin Anderson, a former student of Bloom, and
David Krathwohl revisited the cognitive domain in the
mid-nineties and made some changes, with perhaps
the three most prominent ones being (Anderson,
Krathwohl, Airasian, Cruikshank, Mayer, Pintrich,
Raths, Wittrock, 2000):
o changing the names in the six categories from noun
to verb forms
o rearranging them as shown in the chart below
o creating a processes and levels of knowledge matrix
The chart shown below compares the original taxonomy
with the revised one:

This new taxonomy reflects a more active form of

thinking and is perhaps more accurate. The new
version of Bloom's Taxonomy, with examples and
keywords is shown below, while the old version may
be found here

Table of the Revised Cognitive Domain

 Examples, key words (verbs), and
Category technologies for learning
(activities)
Examples: Recite a policy.
Quote prices from memory to a
customer. Recite the safety
rules.
Remembering: Key Words: defines, describes,
Recall or retrieve identifies, knows, labels, lists,
previous learned matches, names, outlines,
information. recalls, recognizes, reproduces,
selects, states
Technologies: book marking,
flash cards, rote learning based
on repetition, reading
Understanding: Examples: Rewrite the
Comprehending the principles of test writing.
meaning, Explain in one's own words the
translation, steps for performing a complex
interpolation, and task. Translate an equation into
interpretation of a computer spreadsheet.
instructions and
problems. State a Key Words: comprehends,
problem in one's converts, defends, distinguishes,
own words. estimates, explains, extends,
generalizes, gives an example,
infers, interprets, paraphrases,
predicts, rewrites, summarizes,
translates
Technologies: create an
analogy, participating
in cooperative learning, taking
notes, storytelling, Internet
search
Examples: Use a manual to
calculate an employee's
vacation time. Apply laws of
Applying: Use a statistics to evaluate the
concept in a new reliability of a written test.
situation or
unprompted use of Key Words: applies, changes,
an abstraction. computes, constructs,
Applies what was demonstrates, discovers,
learned in the manipulates, modifies, operates,
classroom into predicts, prepares, produces,
novel situations in relates, shows, solves, uses
the work place.
Technologies: collaborative
learning, create a process, blog,
practice
 Examples: Troubleshoot a piece
of equipment by using logical
deduction. Recognize logical
fallacies in reasoning. Gathers
Analyzing: information from a department
Separates material and selects the required tasks
or concepts into for training.
component parts so
Key Words: analyzes, breaks
that its
down, compares,
organizational
contrasts, diagrams,
structure may be
deconstructs, differentiates,
understood.
discriminates, distinguishes,
Distinguishes
identifies, illustrates, infers,
between facts and
outlines, relates, selects,
inferences.
separates
Technologies: Fishbowls,
debating, questioning what
happened, run a test
Examples: Select the most
effective solution. Hire the most
Evaluating: Make qualified candidate. Explain and
judgments about the justify a new budget.
value of ideas or
materials. Key Words: appraises,
compares, concludes, contrasts,
criticizes, critiques, defends,
 describes, discriminates,
evaluates, explains, interprets,
justifies, relates, summarizes,
supports
Technologies: survey, blogging
Examples: Write a company
operations or process manual.
Design a machine to perform a
specific task. Integrates training
from several sources to solve a
Creating: Builds a problem. Revises and process to
structure or pattern improve the outcome.
from diverse
elements. Put parts Key Words: categorizes,
together to form a combines, compiles, composes,
whole, with creates, devises, designs,
emphasis on explains, generates, modifies,
creating a new organizes, plans, rearranges,
meaning or reconstructs, relates,
structure. reorganizes, revises, rewrites,
summarizes, tells, writes
Technologies: Create a new
model, write an essay, network
with others