Bloom's Taxonomy in Action

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Bloom's Taxonomy has become a gold standard for writing learning objectives. Originally developed in the 1950's by Benjamin Bloom and revised in the 1990's by Lorin Anderson, Bloom's Taxonomy is a hierarchical model for organizing thinking skills to write clear learning objectives. Within the taxonomy's six categories build from the most basic to the most complex kinds of thinking. In order to help faculty who already use Bloom's Taxonomy use it more effectively, this online adaptation of “Bloom's Cognitive Taxonomy Slide Chart” was created at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (VCUSOM). Methods This interactive tool was used during a workshop on instructional strategy alignment. During this 2-hour session, small groups of faculty rotated between multiple tables, each of which focused on a specific strategy. The table that featured the Bloom's Taxonomy in Action tool required a laptop. At this table, a faculty developer spent 15 minutes demonstrating the tool features including: verb lists of measurable objectives for all six categories, outcome verbs, instructional strategies, and sample assessment questions. Results Feedback from the session indicated that faculty found the tool to be useful and that they planned to reference it during their course planning. Additionally, while this tool was originally implemented behind a password protected VCUSOM site, the popularity soon demanded it be shared more widely and has now been used by faculty and graduate students at multiple institutions. Discussion This interactive tool assists faculty who are formulating outcomes-based learning objectives and provides guidance for integrating instructional strategies with expected outcomes, and ways to assess student achievement.

Keywords

• Teaching
• Educational Measurement
• Goals
• Bloom