Program Models and Curricular Options
Bloom’s Taxonomy
When preparing to design curriculum to meet the diverse needs of the gifted (and all) students in your classroom, one place to begin is with Benjamin Bloom. In 1956, heading up a team of educational psychologists, he identified six levels of processing information within the cognitive domain. The levels ranged from simple recall or recognition of facts (knowledge) at the lowest point of learning through evaluation – at the top!
The following list of the six levels includes verbs and questions students can use to demonstrate mastery.
- Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce, state.
Examples: Who, what, where, when, how. . .?; How would you describe __________?
- Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate.
Example: Describe in your own words; Retell the events. . .
- Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.
Examples: How is ___ an example of ____?; How is _______ related to ________?; Why is _____ significant?
- Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.
Examples: What are the parts or features of. . .?; Classify ____ according to. . ; Outline/diagram; How does ________ compare/contrast to. . .?; What evidence can you list for ______?
- Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.
Examples: What would you infer/predict from. . .?; What ideas can you add to. . .?; How would you create/design a new. . .?; What might happen if you combined. . ?; What solutions would you suggest for. . .?
- Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate.
Examples: Do you agree?; What do you think about. . .?; What is the most important. . .?; Place the following in order of priority; How would you decide about. . .?
For more information, visit Bloom’s Taxonomy.