Table 1 - Taxonomies of learning (Cognitive Domain). Anderson and Krathwohl's revision of Bloom’s
Level Cognitive Domain
Expectation
Applicable Action Verbs
Remembering
Retrieving, recalling, or recognizing
knowledge from memory. Remembering is
when memory is used to produce definitions,
facts, or lists, or recite or retrieve material.
Define, describe, identify, label, list,
match, name, outline, reproduce, select,
state, recall, record, recognise, repeat,
draw on, or recount.
Understanding
The student shows understanding of
Convert, defend, distinguish, estimate,
something; showing they have grasped the
explain, extend, generalise, give
meaning. Students could show understanding examples, infer, paraphrase, predict,
by translating what they learned in a book into rewrite, summarise, clarify, restate, locate,
actual practice or by interpreting what is
recognise, express, review, or discuss,
known in one context when used in another locate, report, express, identify, describe
context.
how, infer, illustrate, interpret, draw,
represent, differentiate.
Applying
Carrying out or using a procedure through
Apply, change, compute, calculate,
executing, or implementing. Applying related demonstrate, discover, manipulate,
and refers to situations where learned
modify, operate, predict, prepare,
material is used through products like models, produce, relate, show, solve, use,
presentations, interviews or simulations.
schedule, employ, sketch, intervene,
practise, or illustrate.
Analyzing
Breaking material or concepts into parts,
Analyse, break down, make a diagram,
determining how the parts relate or interrelate classify, contrast, categorise, differentiate,
to one another or to an overall structure or
discriminate, distinguish, appraise, test,
purpose. Mental actions included in this
inspect, illustrate, infer, outline, relate,
function are differentiating, organizing, and
select, survey, investigate, make an
attributing, as well as being able to distinguish inventory, calculate, question, contrast,
between the components or parts. When one debate, compare, or criticise.
is analyzing he/she can illustrate this mental
function by creating spreadsheets, surveys,
charts, or diagrams, or graphic
representations.
Evaluating
Making judgments based on criteria and
standards through checking and critiquing.
Critiques, recommendations, and reports are
some of the products that can be created to
demonstrate the processes of evaluation. In
the newer taxonomy evaluation comes before
creating as it is often a necessary part of the
precursory behavior before creating
something.
Appraise, assess, argue, compare,
conclude, contrast, criticise, discriminate,
judge, evaluate, choose, rate, revise,
select, estimate, measure, justify,
interpret, relate, value, measure the
extent, validate, summarise.
Creating
Putting elements together to form a coherent
or functional whole; reorganizing elements
into a new pattern or structure through
generating, planning, or producing. Creating
requires users to put parts together in a new
way or synthesize parts into something new
and different a new form or product. This
process is the most difficult mental function in
the new taxonomy.
Compose, design, plan, assemble,
prepare, construct, propose, formulate,
set up, predict, deriver, elaborate, invent,
develop, devise, rearrange, summarise,
tell, revise, rewrite, write, modify,
organise, produce, or synthesise.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Evaluating Learning Outcomes for EQAL
1. Are there an appropriate number of LOs? (5 or less)
2. Do the LOs contain any ambiguous terminology (e.g understand(ing), awareness?
3. Can you identify the action verb and the level of Bloom’s taxonomy for each LO? Is the level appropriate?
4. Can you determine the context of the learning for each LO?
5. Do the learning outcomes make it clear to the student what they will be able to DO on completion of the unit?
6. Can you map each LO to one or more of the MMU graduate outcomes?
7. Is it possible to measure/assess the learning outcomes in 2 summative pieces of work?
8. Are the LOs fit for purpose based on 1-7?