Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy as a teaching tool
This week’s EDFD548 – Teaching and Professional Practice tutorial focus has been on Bloom’s Taxonomy, more specifically Anderson and Krathwohl’s (2001) revised version of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Figure 1: Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. Reprinted from getsmarter blog post ‘Unpacking Bloom’s Taxonomy | Part 1’ by G.Langdon.(2017). Retrieved from
https://www.getsmarter.com/blog/research-hub/unpacking-blooms-taxonomy-part-1
During our tutorial time today we were asked to work in groups with other members of our KLA to consider how we might use Blooms Revised Taxonomy in relation to our syllabus content.
My group chose to look at how we might use Blooms when creating a unit of project based work for the 2018 Stage 4Technology Mandatory syllabus context area, Materials Technology. The project concept we came up with involves students taking on the role of T-shirt print designers. This is the result:-
Remember
• Teacher generates and guides class discussion about previous related learning experiences / expected student content area knowledge and assessing pre-knowledge as relates to T-shirt printing.
eg. Has anyone here previously had any experience with screen printing or direct digital printing of T-shirts?
• Teacher provides examples of screen printed and / or DDP printed T-shirts and discusses / provides information about the process of undertaking each technique.
Understand
• Teacher undertakes informal assessment of student learning either individually or in groups eg. Kahoot quiz, comprehension exercise, Padlet task
Apply
• Students are given a brief specifying they are to take on the role of a T-shirt print designer / printer. They are to design a print for a particular event eg. Vivid Sydney, School Art / Design exhibition, Student Design Awards etc.
This design must include certain given features that relate to the event eg. certain texts, logos, images etc.
Analyse
• Students analyse each other’s design work eg. Class exhibition of student’s design is held. Each student is given a specific student’s work to analyse re. their adherence to the given brief. This could be done using a set of critical analysis questions provided by the teacher.
Evaluate
• Students undertake a personal evaluation of their work and its suitability / adherence to the brief. Going based on the review of their peers and their own personal evaluation they may then chose to rework their designs if desired.
Create
• Students print their finished work
• Students may then potentially re-evaluate their designs and the quality of their prints for re-design
NB. For TAS projects there is usually a final stage of evaluating of finished work after a final product is produced. The atypical style of problem based project work required for TAS subjects usually follows a Blooms Taxonomy style of approach in the way it is undertaken. The atypical project design and creation process usually occurs in roughly something similar to one of these orders:-
• Analyse, design, create, evaluate
• Research, analyse, design, create, evaluate
• Research, analyse, design, evaluate, create, evaluate
If we look at the AITSL Australian Professional Standards for Teachers we could say that the following standards are being met by our use of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy:-
Standard 1: Know students and how they learn
Focus area 1.2 Understand how students learn
Focus area 1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities
Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a good method of scaffolding the learning process from lower order to higher order thinking which can be more readily adapted for students of different learning needs.
Standard 2: Know the content and how to teach it
Focus area 2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
Focus area 2.2 Content selection and organisation
Focus area 2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting
As per the example of problem based learning project work for stage 4 Tech Mandatory above, TAS syllabuses require project based work to be undertaken which atypically requires a Blooms style inquiry based approach to teaching and learning. These projects form a majority of the work assessed in all Technology and Applied Studies subjects. Assessing students work and providing feedback throughout the progress of these assessments allows those students who don’t necessarily do well in examination conditions and / or require ongoing teacher assistance throughout the learning process to have a better chance of success.
Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
Focus area 5.1 Assess student learning
Focus area 5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning
As mentioned when discussing how Blooms’ approach relates to TAS problem based project work, when work is undertaken in different stages like this it allows for different set points at which a teacher can assess and provide feedback on student work. Assessment marks along with feedback are very often provided at set points along the project’s progression at the end of each learning stage. This allows students to better assess their own progress as they progress through the different stages of the project and consider how they might improve their overall finished result based on the feedback provided as they go. This style of assessment allows for a greater opportunity for students to improve the quality of their work as they go based on the relevant feedback at each stage which gives them a better chance at achieving the best possible finished result. This style of ongoing feedback throughout the learning process works wonderfully for students with greater learning support needs as allows for a variety of points at which support can be provided and these students guided and supported towards ways they can achieve the best possible results.
Figure 2: Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy by R.Carranza. Reprinted from Boston College Libraries Technology tools for lesson plans guide‘Technology Tools for Lesson Plans: Bloom's Taxonomy & Technology Integration’. Retrieved 19/3/2020 from
https://libguides.bc.edu/c.php?g=628962&p=4506921
Above is a particular example of Bloom’s Taxonomy as applied to ICT and Digital technology that I have seen floating around online in various places in both this form and a number of slight variations
This is a wonderful example of how Bloom's Taxonomy can be adapted to incorporate digital technologies in meaningful ways to aid in guiding students toward higher order thinking. This could be of great help when considering methods for incorporating information and communications technologies in the creation of engaging authentic learning experiences as opposed to more tokenistic use of ICTs to fulfil syllabus requirements. In other words, rather than simply fulfilling AITSL standard 2.6 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) - Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students, deeper consideration of how best to incorporate digital technologies for meaningful and engaging learning experiences by using strategic methodologies such as this could also help to fulfil standard 3.4 Select and use resources - Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.
The above Digital Taxonomy I see of particular value as an aid for myself as a potential future ICT & Digital Technologies TAS teacher when considering how I might go about teaching different concepts by incorporating relevant technologies in ways that promote higher order thinking.
Figure 1: Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. Reprinted from getsmarter blog post ‘Unpacking Bloom’s Taxonomy | Part 1’ by G.Langdon.(2017). Retrieved from
https://www.getsmarter.com/blog/research-hub/unpacking-blooms-taxonomy-part-1
During our tutorial time today we were asked to work in groups with other members of our KLA to consider how we might use Blooms Revised Taxonomy in relation to our syllabus content.
My group chose to look at how we might use Blooms when creating a unit of project based work for the 2018 Stage 4Technology Mandatory syllabus context area, Materials Technology. The project concept we came up with involves students taking on the role of T-shirt print designers. This is the result:-
Remember
• Teacher generates and guides class discussion about previous related learning experiences / expected student content area knowledge and assessing pre-knowledge as relates to T-shirt printing.
eg. Has anyone here previously had any experience with screen printing or direct digital printing of T-shirts?
• Teacher provides examples of screen printed and / or DDP printed T-shirts and discusses / provides information about the process of undertaking each technique.
Understand
• Teacher undertakes informal assessment of student learning either individually or in groups eg. Kahoot quiz, comprehension exercise, Padlet task
Apply
• Students are given a brief specifying they are to take on the role of a T-shirt print designer / printer. They are to design a print for a particular event eg. Vivid Sydney, School Art / Design exhibition, Student Design Awards etc.
This design must include certain given features that relate to the event eg. certain texts, logos, images etc.
Analyse
• Students analyse each other’s design work eg. Class exhibition of student’s design is held. Each student is given a specific student’s work to analyse re. their adherence to the given brief. This could be done using a set of critical analysis questions provided by the teacher.
Evaluate
• Students undertake a personal evaluation of their work and its suitability / adherence to the brief. Going based on the review of their peers and their own personal evaluation they may then chose to rework their designs if desired.
Create
• Students print their finished work
• Students may then potentially re-evaluate their designs and the quality of their prints for re-design
NB. For TAS projects there is usually a final stage of evaluating of finished work after a final product is produced. The atypical style of problem based project work required for TAS subjects usually follows a Blooms Taxonomy style of approach in the way it is undertaken. The atypical project design and creation process usually occurs in roughly something similar to one of these orders:-
• Analyse, design, create, evaluate
• Research, analyse, design, create, evaluate
• Research, analyse, design, evaluate, create, evaluate
If we look at the AITSL Australian Professional Standards for Teachers we could say that the following standards are being met by our use of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy:-
Standard 1: Know students and how they learn
Focus area 1.2 Understand how students learn
Focus area 1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities
Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a good method of scaffolding the learning process from lower order to higher order thinking which can be more readily adapted for students of different learning needs.
Standard 2: Know the content and how to teach it
Focus area 2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
Focus area 2.2 Content selection and organisation
Focus area 2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting
As per the example of problem based learning project work for stage 4 Tech Mandatory above, TAS syllabuses require project based work to be undertaken which atypically requires a Blooms style inquiry based approach to teaching and learning. These projects form a majority of the work assessed in all Technology and Applied Studies subjects. Assessing students work and providing feedback throughout the progress of these assessments allows those students who don’t necessarily do well in examination conditions and / or require ongoing teacher assistance throughout the learning process to have a better chance of success.
Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
Focus area 5.1 Assess student learning
Focus area 5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning
As mentioned when discussing how Blooms’ approach relates to TAS problem based project work, when work is undertaken in different stages like this it allows for different set points at which a teacher can assess and provide feedback on student work. Assessment marks along with feedback are very often provided at set points along the project’s progression at the end of each learning stage. This allows students to better assess their own progress as they progress through the different stages of the project and consider how they might improve their overall finished result based on the feedback provided as they go. This style of assessment allows for a greater opportunity for students to improve the quality of their work as they go based on the relevant feedback at each stage which gives them a better chance at achieving the best possible finished result. This style of ongoing feedback throughout the learning process works wonderfully for students with greater learning support needs as allows for a variety of points at which support can be provided and these students guided and supported towards ways they can achieve the best possible results.
Figure 2: Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy by R.Carranza. Reprinted from Boston College Libraries Technology tools for lesson plans guide‘Technology Tools for Lesson Plans: Bloom's Taxonomy & Technology Integration’. Retrieved 19/3/2020 from
https://libguides.bc.edu/c.php?g=628962&p=4506921
Above is a particular example of Bloom’s Taxonomy as applied to ICT and Digital technology that I have seen floating around online in various places in both this form and a number of slight variations
This is a wonderful example of how Bloom's Taxonomy can be adapted to incorporate digital technologies in meaningful ways to aid in guiding students toward higher order thinking. This could be of great help when considering methods for incorporating information and communications technologies in the creation of engaging authentic learning experiences as opposed to more tokenistic use of ICTs to fulfil syllabus requirements. In other words, rather than simply fulfilling AITSL standard 2.6 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) - Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students, deeper consideration of how best to incorporate digital technologies for meaningful and engaging learning experiences by using strategic methodologies such as this could also help to fulfil standard 3.4 Select and use resources - Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.
The above Digital Taxonomy I see of particular value as an aid for myself as a potential future ICT & Digital Technologies TAS teacher when considering how I might go about teaching different concepts by incorporating relevant technologies in ways that promote higher order thinking.
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