Learning Domains or Bloom's Taxonomy
The Three Types of Learning
There is more than one type of learning. A committee of
employee is vacation time. Apply laws of statistics to
colleges, led by Benjamin Bloom, identified three domains
evaluate the reliability of a written test.
of educational activities:
Key Words: applies, changes, computes, constructs,
demonstrates, discovers, manipulates, modifies, operates,
 Cognitive: mental skills (Knowledge)
predicts, prepares, produces, relates, shows, solves, uses.
 Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas
Analysis: Separates material or concepts into component
(Attitude)
parts so that its organizational structure may be
 Psychomotor: manual or physical skills (Skills)
understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences.
Since the work was produced by higher education, the
Examples: Troubleshoot a piece of equipment by using
words tend to be a little bigger than we normally use.
logical deduction. Recognize logical fallacies in
Domains can be thought of as categories. Trainers often
reasoning. Gathers information from a department and
refer to these three domains as KSA (Knowledge, Skills,
selects the required tasks for training.
and Attitude). This taxonomy of learning behaviours can
Key Words: analyzes, breaks down, compares,
be thought of as "the goals of the training process." That
contrasts, diagrams, deconstructs, differentiates,
is, after the training session, the learner should have
discriminates, distinguishes, identifies, illustrates, infers,
acquires new skills, knowledge, and/or attitudes.
outlines, relates, selects, separates.
The committee also produced an elaborate compilation for
Synthesis: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse
the cognitive and affective domains, but none for the
elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with
psychomotor domain. Their explanation for this oversight
emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.
was that they have little experience in teaching manual
Examples: Write a company operations or process
skills within the college level (I guess they never thought
manual. Design a machine to perform a specific task.
to check with their sports or drama department).
Integrates training from several sources to solve a
This compilation divides the three domains into
problem. Revises and process to improve the outcome.
subdivisions, starting from the simplest behaviour to the
Key Words: categorizes, combines, compiles, composes,
most complex. The divisions outlined are not absolutes
creates, devises, designs, explains, generates, modifies,
and there are other systems or hierarchies that have been
organizes, plans, rearranges, reconstructs, relates,
devised in the educational and training world. However,
reorganizes, revises, rewrites, summarizes, tells, writes.
Bloom's taxonomy is easily understood and is probably
Evaluation: Make judgments about the value of ideas or
the most widely applied one in use today.
materials.
Examples: Select the most effective
(1)
Cognitive
solution.
Hire
the
most qualified candidate. Explain and
The cognitive domain involves knowledge and the
justify
a
new
budget.
development of intellectual skills. This includes the recall
Key Words: appraises, compares, concludes, contrasts,
or recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns, and
criticizes, critiques, defends, describes, discriminates,
concepts that serve in the development of intellectual
evaluates, explains, interprets, justifies, relates,
abilities and skills. There are six major categories, which
summarizes, supports.
are listed in order below, starting from the simplest
Affective (2)
behaviour to the most complex. The categories can be
This
domain
includes
the manner in which we deal with
thought of as degrees of difficulties. That is, the first one
things
emotionally,
such
as feelings, values, appreciation,
must be mastered before the next one can take place.
enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes. The five major
Category Example and Key Words
categories listed the simplest behaviour to the most
Knowledge: Recall data or information. Examples:
complex:
Recite a policy. Quote prices from memory to a customer.
Category Example and Key Words
Knows the safety rules.
Receiving Phenomena: Awareness, willingness to hear,
Key Words: defines, describes, identifies, knows, labels,
selected attention.
Examples: Listen to others with
lists, matches, names, outlines, recalls, recognizes,
respect. Listen for and remember the name of newly
reproduces, selects, states.
introduced people.
Comprehension: Understand the meaning, translation,
Key Words: asks, chooses, describes, follows, gives,
interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and
holds, identifies, locates, names, points to, selects, sits,
problems. State a problem in one's own words.
erects, replies, uses.
Examples: Rewrites the principles of test writing.
Responding to Phenomena: Active participation on
Explain in one is own words the steps for performing a
the part of the learners. Attends and reacts to a particular
complex task. Translates an equation into a computer
phenomenon. Learning outcomes may emphasize
spreadsheet.
compliance in responding, willingness to respond, or
Key Words: comprehends, converts, defends,
satisfaction in responding (motivation). Examples:
distinguishes, estimates, explains, extends, generalizes,
Participates in class discussions. Gives a presentation.
gives Examples, infers, interprets, paraphrases, predicts,
Questions new ideals, concepts, models, etc. in order to
rewrites, summarizes, translates.
fully understand them. Know the safety rules and
Application: Use a concept in a new situation or
practices them.
unprompted use of an abstraction. Applies what was
Key Words: answers, assists, aids, complies, conforms,
learned in the classroom into novel situations in the work
discusses, greets, helps, labels, performs, practices,
place. Examples: Use a manual to calculate an
presents, reads, recites, reports, selects, tells, writes.
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Valuing: The worth or value a person attaches to a
particular object, phenomenon, or behaviour. This ranges
from simple acceptance to the more complex state of
commitment. Valuing is based on the internalization of a
set of specified values, while clues to these values are
expressed in the learner is overt behaviour and are often
identifiable.
Examples: Demonstrates belief in the
democratic process. Is sensitive towards individual and
cultural differences (value diversity). Shows the ability to
solve problems. Proposes a plan to social improvement
and follows through with commitment. Informs
management on matters that one feels strongly about.
Key Words: completes, demonstrates, differentiates,
explains, follows, forms, initiates, invites, joins, justifies,
proposes, reads, reports, selects, shares, studies, works.
Organization: Organizes values into priorities by
contrasting different values, resolving conflicts between
them, and creating an unique value system. The emphasis
is on comparing, relating, and synthesizing
values. Examples: Recognizes the need for balance
between freedom and responsible behaviour. Accepts
responsibility for one is behaviour. Explains the role of
systematic planning in solving problems. Accepts
professional ethical standards. Creates a life plan in
harmony with abilities, interests, and beliefs. Prioritizes
time effectively to meet the needs of the organization,
family, and self.
Key Words: adheres, alters, arranges, combines,
compares, completes, defends, explains, formulates,
generalizes, identifies, integrates, modifies, orders,
organizes, prepares, relates, synthesizes.
Internalizing values (characterization): Has a value
system that controls their behaviour. The behaviour is
pervasive, consistent, predictable, and most importantly,
characteristic of the learner. Instructional objectives are
concerned with the student's general patterns of
adjustment (personal, social,
emotional).Examples: Shows self-reliance when
working independently. Cooperates in group
activities (displays teamwork). Uses an objective approach
in problem solving. Displays a professional commitment
to ethical practice on a daily basis. Revises judgments and
changes behaviour in light of new evidence. Values people
for what they are, not how they look.
Key Words: acts, discriminates, displays, influences,
listens, modifies, performs, practices, proposes, qualifies,
questions, revises, serves, solves, verifies.
Psychomotor (3)
The psychomotor domain includes physical movement,
coordination, and use of the motor-skill areas.
Development of these skills requires practice and is
measured in terms of speed, precision, distance,
procedures, or techniques in execution. The seven major
categories listed the simplest behaviour to the most
complex:
Category Example and Key Words
Perception: The ability to use sensory cues to guide
motor activity. This ranges from sensory stimulation,
through cue selection, to translation.
Examples:
Detects non-verbal communication cues. Estimate where
a ball will land after it is thrown and then moving to the
correct location to catch the ball. Adjusts heat of stove to
correct temperature by smell and taste of food. Adjusts
the height of the forks on a forklift by comparing where
the forks are in relation to the pallet.
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Key Words: chooses, describes, detects, differentiates,
distinguishes, identifies, isolates, relates, selects.
Set: Readiness to act. It includes mental, physical, and
emotional sets. These three sets are dispositions that
predetermine a person is response to different situations
(sometimes called mindsets).
Examples: Knows and
acts upon a sequence of steps in a manufacturing process.
Recognize one ís abilities and limitations. Shows desire to
learn a new process (motivation). NOTE: This subdivision
of Psychomotor is closely related with the "Responding to
phenomena" subdivision of the Affective domain.
Key Words: begins, displays, explains, moves, proceeds,
reacts, shows, states, volunteers.
Guided Response: The early stages in learning a
complex skill that includes imitation and trial and error.
Adequacy of performance is achieved by practicing.
Examples: Performs a mathematical equation as
demonstrated. Follows instructions to build a model.
Responds hand-signals of instructor while learning to
operate a forklift.
Key Words: copies, traces, follows, react, reproduce,
responds
Mechanism: This is the intermediate stage in learning a
complex skill. Learned responses have become habitual
and the movements can be performed with some
confidence and proficiency.
Examples: Use a personal computer. Repair a leaking
faucet. Drive a car.
Key Words: assembles, calibrates, constructs,
dismantles, displays, fastens, fixes, grinds, heats,
manipulates, measures, mends, mixes, organizes,
sketches.
Complex Overt Response: The skilful performance of
motor acts that involve complex movement
patterns. Proficiency is indicated by a quick, accurate, and
highly coordinated performance, requiring a minimum of
energy. This category includes performing without
hesitation, and automatic performance. For example,
players are often utter sounds of satisfaction or expletives
as soon as they hit a tennis ball or throw a football,
because they can tell by the feel of the act what the result
will produce.
Examples: Manoeuvres a car into a tight parallel
parking spot. Operates a computer quickly and accurately.
Displays competence while playing the piano.
Key Words: assembles, builds, calibrates, constructs,
dismantles, displays, fastens, fixes, grinds, heats,
manipulates, measures, mends, mixes, organizes,
sketches.
NOTE: The Key Words are the same as Mechanism, but
will have adverbs or adjectives that indicate that the
performance is quicker, better, more accurate, etc.
Adaptation: Skills are well developed and the individual
can modify movement patterns to fit special
requirements. Examples: Responds effectively to
unexpected experiences. Modifies instruction to meet the
needs of the learners. Perform a task with a machine that
it was not originally intended to do (machine is not
damaged and there is no danger in performing the new
task).
Key Words: adapts, alters, changes, rearranges,
reorganizes, revises, varies.
Origination: Creating new movement patterns to fit a
particular situation or specific problem. Learning
outcomes emphasize creativity based upon highly
developed skills.
Examples: Constructs a new
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theory. Develops a new and comprehensive training
programming. Creates a new gymnastic routine.
Key Words: arranges, builds, combines, composes,
constructs, creates, designs, initiate, makes, originates.
Other Psychomotor Domains
As mentioned earlier, the committee did not produce a
compilation for the psychomotor domain model, but
others have. The one discussed above is by Simpson
(1972). There are two other popular versions:
Dave's(4):
 Imitation: Observing and patterning behaviour
after someone else. Performance may be of low
quality. Example: Copying a work of art.
 Manipulation: Being able to perform certain
actions by following instructions and practicing.
Example: Creating work on one's own, after
taking lessons, or reading about it.
 Precision: Refining, becoming more exact. Few
errors are apparent. Example: Working and
reworking something, so it will be "just right."
 Articulation: Coordinating a series of actions,
achieving harmony and internal consistency.
Example: Producing a video that involves music,
drama, colour, sound, etc.
 Naturalization: Having high level performance
become natural, without needing to think much
about it. Examples: Michael Jordan playing
basketball, Nancy Lopez hitting a golf ball, etc.
Harrow's(5):
 Involuntary movement - reaction
 Fundamental movements - basic movements
 Perception - response to stimuli
 Physical abilities - stamina that must be
developed for further development
 Skilled movements - advanced learned
movements
 No discursive communication - effective body
language
Reference
1. Bloom B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New
York: David McKay Co Inc.
2.Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., & Bertram, B. M. (1973).
Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, the Classification of
Educational Goals. Handbook II: Affective Domain. New
York: David McKay Co., Inc.
3. Simpson E. J. (1972). The Classification of Educational
Objectives in the Psychomotor Domain. Washington, DC:
Gryphon House.
4. Dave, R. H. (1975). Developing and Writing
Behavioural Objectives. (R J Armstrong, ed.) Educational
Innovators Press.
5. Harrow, A. (1972) A taxonomy of psychomotor domain
-- a guide for developing behavioural objectives. New
York: David McKay.
Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching
strategy in which small teams, each with students
of different levels of ability, use a variety of
learning activities to improve their understanding
of a subject. Each member of a team is
responsible not only for learning what is taught
but also for helping team mates learn, thus
creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students
work through the assignment until all group
members successfully understand & complete it.
Cooperative efforts result in participants striving
for mutual benefit so that all group members:
 gain from each other's efforts. (Your success
benefits me and my success benefits you.)
 recognize that all group members share a
common fate. (We all sink or swim together
here.)
 know that one's performance is mutually
caused by oneself and one's team members.
(We can not do it without you.)
 feel proud and jointly celebrate when a group
member is recognized for achievement. (We all
congratulate you on your accomplishment!).
Why use Cooperative Learning?
Research has shown that cooperative learning
techniques:
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
promote student learning and academic
achievement
 increase student retention
 enhance student satisfaction with their learning
experience
 help students develop skills in oral
communication
 develop students' social skills
 promote student self-esteem
 help to promote positive race relations
5 Elements of Cooperative Learning
It is only under certain conditions that cooperative
efforts may be expected to be more productive
than competitive and individualistic efforts. Those
conditions are:
1. Positive Interdependence
(sink or swim together)
 Each group member's efforts are required and
indispensable for group success
 Each group member has a unique contribution
to make to the joint effort because of his or
her resources and/or role and task
responsibilities
2. Face-to-Face Interaction
(promote each other's success)
 Orally explaining how to solve problems
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 Teaching one's knowledge to other
 Checking for understanding
 Discussing concepts being learned
 Connecting present with past learning
3. Individual & Group Accountability
( no hitchhiking! no social loafing)
 Keeping the size of the group small. The
smaller the size of the group, the greater
the individual accountability may be.
 Giving an individual test to each student.
 Randomly examining students orally by
calling on one student to present his or her
group's work to the teacher (in the
presence of the group) or to the entire
class.
 Observing each group and recording the
frequency with which each membercontributes to the group's work.
 Assigning one student in each group the
role of checker. The checker asks other
group members to explain the reasoning
and rationale underlying group answers.
 Having students teach what they learned to
someone else.
4. Interpersonal & Small-Group Skills
 Social skills must be taught:
o Leadership
o Decision-making
o Trust-building
o Communication
o Conflict-management skills
5. Group Processing
 Group members discuss how well they are
achieving their goals and maintaining effective
working relationships
 Describe what member actions are helpful and
not helpful
 Make decisions about what behaviours to
continue or change
Class Activities that use Cooperative Learning
1. Jigsaw - Groups with five students are set up.
Each group member is assigned some unique
material to learn and then to teach to his group
members. To help in the learning students across
the class working on the same sub-section get
together to decide what is important and how to
teach it. After practice in these "expert" groups
the original groups reform and students teach
each other. (Wood, p. 17) Tests or assessment
follows.
2. Think-Pair-Share - Involves a three step
cooperative structure. During the first step
individuals think silently about a question posed by
the instructor. Individuals pair up during the
second step and exchange thoughts. In the third
step, the pairs share their responses with other
pairs, other teams, or the entire group.
3. Three-Step Interview - Each member of a
team chooses another member to be a partner.
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During the first step individuals interview their
partners by asking clarifying questions. During
the second step partners reverse the roles. For
the final step, members share their partner's
response with the team.
4. Round Robin Brainstorming - Class is
divided into small groups (4 to 6) with one person
appointed as the recorder. A question is posed
with many answers and students are given time to
think about answers. After the "think time,"
members of the team share responses with one
another round robin style. The recorder writes
down the answers of the group members. The
person next to the recorder starts and each person
in the group in order gives an answer until time is
called.
5. Three-minute review - Teachers stop any
time during a lecture or discussion and give teams
three minutes to review what has been said, ask
clarifying questions or answer questions.
6. Numbered Heads - A team of four is
established. Each member is given numbers of 1,
2, 3, 4. Questions are asked of the group. Groups
work together to answer the question so that all
can verbally answer the question. Teacher calls
out a number (two) and each two is asked to give
the answer.
7. Team Pair Solo - Students do problems first
as a team, then with a partner, and finally on their
own. It is designed to motivate students to tackle
and succeed at problems which initially are beyond
their ability. It is based on a simple notion of
mediated learning. Students can do more things
with help (mediation) than they can do alone. By
allowing them to work on problems they could not
do alone, first as a team and then with a partner,
they progress to a point they can do alone that
which at first they could do only with help.
8. Circle the Sage - First the teacher polls the
class to see which students have a special
knowledge to share. For example the teacher may
ask who in the class was able to solve a difficult
math homework question, who had visited Mexico,
who knows the chemical reactions involved in how
salting the streets help dissipate snow. Those
students (the sages) stand and spread out in the
room. The teacher then has the rest of the
classmates each surround a sage, with no two
members of the same team going to the same
sage. The sage explains what they know while the
classmates listen, ask questions, and take notes.
All students then return to their teams. Each in
turn, explains what they learned. Because each
one has gone to a different sage, they compare
notes. If there is disagreement, they stand up as a
team. Finally, the disagreements are aired and
resolved.
9. Partners - The class is divided into teams of
four. Partners move to one side of the room. Half
of each team is given an assignment to master to
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be able to teach the other half. Partners work to
learn and can consult with other partners working
on the same material. Teams go back together
with each set of partners teaching the other set.
Partners quiz and tutor teammates. Team reviews
how well they learned and taught and how they
might improve the process.
Credits:
David and Roger Johnson. "Cooperative Learning."
[Online] 15 October 2001. http://
www.clcrc.com/pages/cl.html#interdependence>.
David and Roger Johnson. "An Overview of
Cooperative Learning." [Online] 15 October 2001.
http://www.clcrc.com/pages/overviewpaper.html
Howard Community College's Teaching Resources.
"Ideas on Cooperative Learning and the use of
Small Groups." [Online] 15 October 2001.
<http://www.howardcc.edu/profdev/resources/lea
rning/groups1.htm>.
Kagan, Spencer. "Kagan Structures for Emotional
Intelligence." [Online] 15 October 2001. <
"http://www.kagancooplearn.com/Newsletter/100
1/index.html>
Dynamics of Learning Groups-- Meeting the
Needs of All Students:
Plan!
Start by defining, in your own mind, the purpose
of using groups in your classroom. If you want a
type of temporary study group, then kids could
probably group themselves. If, however, you're
planning to have students do projects or review
activities throughout the year in groups, structure
the groups accordingly to achieve the best
possible results for all learners.
Structure!
Organize groups heterogeneously. It's often
helpful at the beginning of the term to give
informal, yet informative, personality profiles
and learning style inventories to help you assess
the individuals in your classroom.
Balance!
When you know the learning styles of each
student, you can then group your students so that
you include an auditory learner, visual learner,
and kinesthetic learner in each group. You want
to avoid having a group of all visual learners, for
instance, to best provide for all types of activities
you might choose to do. I have also grouped
students with a focus on their multiple
intelligences.
Designate!
After observing the personalities in your
classroom, designate roles within each group. A
personality profile may help you determine which
student in each group would enjoy serving as
leader, which as spokesperson, which as
recorder, and which as helper (these roles are
based on Spencer Kagan's Cooperative Learning
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Methods).
Organize!
Arrange the desks or tables in your classroom in
sets of four if possible. Groups of four students
function best; groups of three or five are workable
but not as beneficial to individual students. If
desks are arranged in groups to start with and
remain that way daily, rather than requiring
adjustment of the room or seats, students become
part of those groups and respond naturally and
willingly to any group activity you choose to do.
This allows for spontaneous group discussions
when they happen, rather than having to defer a
discussion until groups are arranged.
Experiment!
The traditional use of groups is to have them
complete projects or assignments together. I
prefer to make groups an integral part of each
day's time in the classroom. Here are some ideas:
 - During reading out loud with students, I
pause and ask students to discuss an issue
question with their groups--this works well if
the question requires analysis of the text--it is
boring for everyone if used to discuss what is
directly stated in the text.
 - This type of group discussion can be adapted
and used during the course of any whole-class
instruction, regardless of content area. It can
be adjusted to pairs, also, and definitely
produces better results than whole-class drill
of phonics or math concepts, etc. because it
guarantees more individuals are actively
involved.
 - At the end of class, as a closure activity ask
groups to discuss and create a "Headline" for
the day's class session based on what they
learned. Then allow time for the spokesperson
of each group to share the headline with the
whole class. This could be adapted to an "end
of the week" or "end of the unit" activity. This
also works at the beginning of the period to
help students remember what they did the day
before so that you can easily continue the
lesson.
 - Peer response groups help writers and
speakers--use the groups to provide feedback
and a real audience for the students. Students
who fear sharing their ideas with large groups
develop confidence as they share with a wellchosen small group.
*These are just a few ways you can integrate
groups into daily activity, rather than thinking
of them as only useful for completing whole
projects or assignments--experiment!
Monitor!
You get to have much more "one-on-one" teaching
time with groups. As groups discuss, even just one
question, walk around the room and listen to the
conversations. Students will get used to your
"visits" and will use them as opportunities to ask
questions which they might not have asked in
front of the whole class. This also allows you to
give spontaneous and prompt praise when
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individuals show understanding or competence-you're right there next to them as they achieve.
You can also more easily and quickly assess which
individuals need more help because you can hear
their individual voices...or silences; whole-class
drill or instruction can obscure this assessment.
Trust!
Believe that pairs or groups will do what you ask
them to do. If they don't lunge into the activity,
look critically at what you've asked of them. I've
found that if my students don't participate
eagerly, then I've probably given them an activity
that requires little analytical thought (an "answer
the questions at the end of the chapter" type of
activity) or I have not given them a clear
understanding of why I'm asking them to do the
activity.
Present!
One of the hazards of group work is grades.
Grading group activities often creates more
problems than the activity is worth--and what gets
thrown out is the activity. Instead, throw out the
grades and have groups present or publish their
work for the class. Grades often skew the focus of
the activity and are very difficult to fairly assess.
On the other hand, when groups know that they
will be sharing their conclusions or products with
the class, they hold themselves accountable and
participate.
Change!
I form new groups at the beginning of every
quarter. I also try to give students varying roles
through the year. These changes develop
individuals' social and academic skills as they
work with others whom they might not have
chosen.
Enjoy!
This is the most important aspect of using groups-you get to enjoy your students because you're not
dealing with as many behavior problems.
Students who disrupt class, often do so because
they desire attention; with groups, every
individual gets a chance to talk at least once
during the class time. Just that one opportunity
alleviates the pressure for some kids--they know
they won't have to "sit still" for a long period of
time so they relax and participate more positively
in all activities.
All of the above written by Laurie Hagberg, 1999
http://adhd.kids.tripod.com/sitemap.html
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