Assessment and differentiation
with Bloom’s Taxonomy
Developing thinking skills through RE
Cognitive and affective learning
Levels of knowledge and thinking
The levels of thinking:
 Remembering Recall of information
 Understanding Understanding the meaning of this
information and stating it in one’s own words
 Applying Using this information in a new situation or
context.
 Analysing breaking the ideas into parts to explore
understanding and relationships
 Evaluating
Making judgments about ideas, choosing a
course of action and justifying this.
 Creating
Generating new ideas or a new product, eg
story, song or play, based on the information given.
Questions . . . .
. . . . according to levels
Blooming Questions
 Your questioning should be purposeful
with well-defined goals.
 Blooms Taxonomy is a classification of
skills arranged in levels of complexity.
 The taxonomy involves all categories
of questions.
 Typically you would use all levels of
question in a single lesson.
Lower and Higher Order Questions
 Lower level questions are those at the
remembering and understanding and
simpler application levels.
 Lower level questions would be used
for:
 Evaluation preparation and comprehension
 Diagnosing pupils’ strengths and
weaknesses
 Reviewing and/or summarising lesson
content
Lower and higher Order Questions
 Higher order questions require
complex application, analysis,
evaluation or creation skills.
 Higher order questions are useful for:
 Encouraging pupils to think more deeply
and critically
 Problem solving
 Encouraging discussions
 Stimulating pupils to seek more information
for themselves.
Remembering 







Recognising
Listing
Describing
Identifying
Retrieving
Naming
Locating
Finding
recall, restate and remember
Remembering questions








What happened after?
How many?
What is?
Who was it that?
Can you name?
Find the definition of . . .
Who spoke to . . ?
Which is true or false . . ?
(Pohl, Learning to think, learning to learn p12)
Remembering activities
 Make a story map
 Make a timeline of a typical school
day
 List the keywords that you know
about this topic
 Make an acrostic about . . .
 Recite a poem you have learned.
 Label an illustration
Understanding – explaining ideas







Research
Annotate
Give examples of . .
Paraphrase . . .
Label . .
Report . .
Recognise . . .
Understanding questions







How would you explain . . ?
What was the main idea of this story?
Why were they told. . . .?
Why did they want to . . . .?
What kind of person was . . . .?
What might have happened next?
Who do you think . . ?
(Pohl, Learning to think, learning to learn p12)
Understanding - activities
 Write in your own words . .
 Make a colouring book about . . .
 Write and perform a play based on
this story
 Make a cartoon strip showing the
events
 Compare characters
 Decide why an event happened
Applying – using information in a
new situation
Skills include:
 Manipulating information
 Interviewing
 Carrying out
 Suggest alternatives
 Suggest changes
Applying - questions





Do you know another example of . . ?
Can you group the characters by . . ?
Which factors would you change if. . ?
What questions would you ask if . . ?
From the information given can you
develop a set of instructions for . . ?
(Pohl, Learning to think, learning to learn p13)
Applying - activities
 Write a diary entry
 Make up a puzzle or game about the
topic
 Continue the story
 Make a model to demonstrate . . .
 Explain the topic to your friend
 Interview a character
Analysing – breaking down
information







Compare
Contrast
Investigate
Criticize
Group
Sequence
Survey
Analysing - questions








Were all the events possible?
How is . . . similar to . . . ?
What were other possible outcomes?
What was the problem with . . ?
Can you distinguish between . . ?
Why did . . . . changes occur?
If . . . what might the ending have been?
What were the motives?
(Pohl, Learning to think, learning to learn p13)
Analysing - activities
 Use a Venn diagram to show
similarities and differences
 Classify the actions of the characters
 Write a biography collect information
to support a particular view
 Write a review that explains . . .
 Prepare a report about . . . .
Evaluating – organise thoughts and
ideas









Predict
Infer
Prioritise
Defend
Justify
Debate
Recommend
Rank
Criticise
Evaluating - questions






Is there a better solution to . . ?
What was the value of . . .?
Do you think . . is a good or bad thing?
What are the alternatives?
What are the benefits or disadvantages of. . ?
What would the consequences be if. . ?
(Pohl, Learning to think, learning to learn p14)
Evaluating - activities
Debate
Investigate
Persuade
Make a puppet out of one of the
characters. Using the puppet, act out
his/her part in the story.
 Make a diorama of the place where the
story took place.




Creating








Designing
Planning
Constructing
Producing
Inventing
Making
Imagine
Set up
Creating - questions
Why don’t you think of a way to . .?
What would happen if . . . ?
How many ways can you . . . ?
Can you create a new way to . . . ?
What could be a new use for . . . ?
What do you think the different people
learned?
 What else could they have learned if. . ?






(Pohl, Learning to think, learning to learn p14)
Creating - activities
 Make a film about . . .
 Write about your feelings in relation
to . . .
 Write a newspaper article to be read
by . . .
 Devise a way to . . .
 Design a DVD cover for . . .
 Write a jingle to persuade . . .
The story of Siddhartha
Remember –
Where did Siddhartha grow up?
Who did he live with?
What did his father do?
Who was Channa?
How old was Siddhartha when he left
the palace for the first time?
 How many palaces did Siddhartha have?





Prince Siddhartha
Understanding
 Why did his parents not want him to
leave the palace?
 What kind of person was Siddhartha?
 What does the story tell us about?
 Why had he not seen anyone old or
sick?
Prince Siddhartha
Applying
 Why did Siddhartha want to see the world
outside his palace?
 How did Siddhartha feel when he saw the
old man?
 How did Channa know the answer to
Siddhartha’s questions?
 Do you know another time when . . . ?
 What questions would you ask Siddhartha?
Prince Siddhartha
Analysing
 How did Siddhartha react when he saw
unhappiness?
 How do you react when people you know
are unhappy?
 What about when people you do not know
are unhappy?
 How might Channa have felt when
Siddhartha asked to go outside?
 What was the problem now Siddhartha
knew about suffering?
Prince Siddhartha
Evaluating
 Do you know any other stories about
someone witnessing suffering?
 How was Siddhartha like an ordinary
person?
 How was he different from an ordinary
person?
 What were his choices when he saw
suffering?
 How might this story influence us?
Prince Siddhartha
Creating
 Write the conversation between Siddhartha
and Channa.
 Write a short play to show what happened
next.
 List the truths that Siddhartha learned.
 Write a definition of ‘truth’
 In what ways could Siddhartha help old and
sick people?
What is higher order thinking?
analysing
evaluating
creating
 Information and ideas are
transformed
 Facts and ideas are combined and
explained
 Information is manipulated to solve
problems and gain meaning
Higher order questions . .
 Encourage children to think more
deeply
 Encourage problem solving
 Encourage discussion
 Stimulate children to seek more
information independently
www.oir.uiuc.edu/Did/docs.QUESTION/quest1.htm
Different Ways of Using Blooms
 All children work through
remembering and understanding and
then select an activity from another
level according to ability group
 Different groups work at different
levels
 Some activities are tagged essential
while others are optional
 Children select tasks from any level
Based on a presentation by Denise
Tarlington, 2003
http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/
thinking/Bloom/bloomspres.ppt