Title of Study:  Bloom’s Taxonomy Blooms Digitally

Author(s): Andrew Churches

Summary:

This online article from Technology & Learning reviews the evolution of Bloom’s Taxonomy since its development in the 1950’s, through a 1990”s revision that categorize the sequence by verbs rather than nouns.  The author then integrates technology-based learning activities into the various levels of the sequence.

Sponsoring entity(s): None

Date published online: 2008

Location of the article: This article can be accessed through the Technology & Learning website.

Setting(s) addressed:

• All educational settings with online access

Targeted population(s):

• All student populations

Primary sources of evidence used in the study or report:

• Literature review
• Discussion with other educators

Primary Technology Application(s) Addressed:

• Various technology applications

Major education topic(s) addressed:

• Higher order thinking skills

Major findings/conclusions:

The six levels of the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy include technology-based activities such as:

• Remembering – bulleting, highlighting, bookmarking, social networking, Googling
• Understanding – Boolean searching, blogging, twittering (tweeting), categorizing, annotating
• Applying – Running and operating software, gaming, uploading and sharing, hacking, editing
• Analyzing – Mashing, linking, reverse-engineering or cracking, validating information, tagging
• Evaluating – Blog/vlog commenting, posting comments, moderating, collaborating, testing applications
• Creating – Programming, animating, podcasting, producing products or performances, publishing

Practical implications of the findings:

• This updating of Bloom’s Taxonomy for the 21st century classroom will help teachers plan technology-based learning activities that incorporate the full range of cognitive skills.

Reviewer Comments:

This article should stimulate a lot of discussion among educators about ways to use technology to develop students’ higher order thinking skills.  Educators should recognize that some activities categorized, while requiring higher level thinking skills, should not be encouraged (i.e. cracking).