Design of assignments using the 21st century bloom’s revised taxonomy model for development of critical thinking skills

Abstract

Studies on the development of critical thinking skills with specific curriculum materials and instructional methods are few and have been highly theoretical and far removed from practical concerns and applications. This paper contributes to the existing literature on critical thinking pedagogy by providing examples of written assignments that are designed using the 21st century Bloom’s taxonomy model to contribute to critical thinking development. The step-wise development of critical thinking skills approach is provided. The paper argues that both focus on real problems and issues and provision of clear unambiguous instructions are critical fundamentals of critical thinking skills development. The paper also illustrates how to develop critical thinking assignments by providing five examples of course assignments within business education.

Keywords

• assignments
• Bloom’s taxonomy
• critical thinking development
• problem solving
• projects