BLOOM’S TAXONOMY OF
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
The word taxonomy means classification. It
is the classification of ideas and objectives. Taxonomy of educational
objectives means an analysis of instructional objectives in terms of the
learning outcomes resulting from appropriate teaching learning situations. The
classification of educational objectives assumes that the modification of the
behaviour of the learner is the result of the learning experiences generated by
the teaching learning process. Taxonomy means a categorization of an object.
The taxonomy of instructional objectives implies categorization of
instructional objectives. It means an analysis of instructional objectives in
terms of the precise and specific teaching outcome. The taxonomy, of
educational and instructional objectives has worked out on the assumption that
the teaching -learning ocess may be conceived as an attempt to change the
behaviour the pupils with respect to some subject matter. Behaviour of the
divided into three domains-Cognitive (knowing), reflective (feeling) and
Psychomotor (doing). They are related to id, heart and hand. The taxonomy of
educational and rctional objectives have also been considered to belong to
three domains. The behavior modification of the learner is divided into
domains.
·
Cognitive domain
·
Affective domain
·
Psychomotor domain
Taxonomy of the educational objectives is
useful as
·
Objective tool of
an evaluation
·
Helps in proper
coverage of all aspects of learners' growth.
·
Helps in the meaningful understanding of
various dimensions of learner's development.
·
Helps in identifying and grading the teaching learning
situations, which can be an important source for selecting proper evaluation
tools
·
It acts as a link for
communication between teachers, evaluators, research workers, psychologists and
behavioural scientists.
·
Opens new avenues for research in the field of education.
In 1948, the convention of American
Psychological Association considered classifying educational goals for
evaluating the performance of students. The educational objectives provide the
basis for building the curricula and tests for the measuring the understanding
of those curricula by the students. These educational objectives have been
classified into three major domains based on the behaviour modification they
bring in the learner. This classification of objectives is called as the
"Taxonomy of Educational Objectives".
The advantages of the Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives are:
• It helps in clarifying the doubts
pertaining to the objectives of education.
• It acts as a convenient system for
describing and ordering test items, examination techniques and evaluation
procedures.
• The taxonomy of educational objectives
would help in comparing the various educational programmes.
• It would provide an order for the
educational objectives.
In the year 1965 Benjamin
Bloom – A professor, University of Chicago along with a few others published a
book on "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives". The book influenced
every aspect of formal education; from the way the curriculum designed to the
way performances of the students were evaluated at class level. As a follow up
they also pub1ished two handbooks
- one on the cognitive domain and other on
the affective domain.
According to them most of the educational
objectives could be placed in one of the three major domains of classification,
cognitive, affective and psychomotor.
The cognitive domain includes those
objectives that deal with recall or recognition of knowledge and development of
the intellectual abilities and skills.
The objectives of affective domain
describe "changes in interest, attitudes, · and values and the development
of appreciations and adequate adjustment".
The. psychomotor domain pertains to "
the manipulative or motor skill area".
Domains
The
educational objectives were divided into three major parts- the cognitive, the
affective, and the psychomotor domains.
Cognitive Domain
The largest proportion of educational
objectives falls in this domain. Bloom has divided this domain into six major
classes. They are --
• Knowledge
• Comprehension
• Application
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Evaluation
1.
Knowledge
Knowledge is defined as the remembering of previously
learnt material. It stresses the process of remembering. This may involve the
recall of a wide range of material, from specific facts to complete theories,
but all that is required is the bringing mind of the appropriate information.
Knowledge represents the lowest level of learning outcomes in the cognitive
domain.
Knowledge is the recall of specifics, methods and
processes, recall of a pattern, structure or settings. It includes:
Knowledge
of terminology
Knowledge
of facts
Knowledge
of conventions
Knowledge
of trends and sequences
Knowledge
of classifications and categories
Knowledge
of methodology
Knowledge
of universals and abstractions
Knowledge
of principles and generalizations and
Knowledge
of theories and structures
Verbs
Related to Knowledge
Defines;
describes; enumerates; identifies; labels; lists; matches; names; reads;
records;
2.Comprehension
–
It means
understanding of new knowledge to the pupils. Comprehension is defined as the
ability to grasp the meaning of material. These learning outcomes go one step
beyond simple remembering of material, and represent the lowest level
understanding.
Comprehension
includes:
•
Translation
•
Interpretation
• Extrapolation
3.Application-
Application is the ability to use learned material in
the new situations. It involves the ability to apply the knowledge of
concepts gained in the classroom to new situations outside. It requires
the higher levels of understanding than those of the comprehension
Verbs
Related to Application
Acts; administers;
articulates; assesses; charts; collects; computes; constructs; contributes;
controls; determines; develops; discovers; establishes; extends; implements;
includes; informs; instructs; participates; predicts; prepares; preserves;
produces; provides; relates; reports; shows; transfers; uses; utilizes.
4.Analysis
–
Analysis refers to the ability to break down material into
its component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood.
This may include the identification of parts, analysis the relationship between
• parts, and recognition of the organizational principles involved. Learning
outcomes here present a higher intellectual level than comprehension and
application because they require an understanding of both the tent and the
structural form of the material.
It
includes the breakdown of a communication into its constituent elements or
parts so that the ideas and concepts remain. It involves the
•
Analysis of elements
•
Analysis of relationships
•
Analysis of organizational principles
Verbs
related to Analysis
Breaks
down; correlates; diagrams; differentiates; ruminates; distinguishes; focuses; illustrates;
infers; limits; lines, points out; prioritizes; recognizes; separates;
subdivides
5.Synthesis –
A plan of operations (research proposal), or a set of
abstract relations (scheme for classifying information). Learning outcomes in
this area stress creative behaviours, with major emphasis on the formulation of
new patterns or structure. Synthesis includes putting together elements and
parts into a new whole. It involves
•
Developing unique communication
•
Developing a new set of operations
• Arriving
at a new set of abstract relations
Verbs
Related to Synthesis
Adapts; anticipates;
categorizes; collaborates; combines; communicates; compares; compiles;
composes; contrasts; creates; designs; devises; expresses; facilitates; formulates;
generates; incorporates; individualizes; initiates; integrates; intervenes;
models; modifies; negotiates; plans; progresses; rearranges; reconstructs;
reinforces; reorganizes; revises; structures; substitutes; validates
6.Evaluation–Evaluation, the highest level of the cognitive
domain, is a continuous process. Evaluation is concerned with the ability to
judge the value of material for a given purpose. The judgments are to be based
on definite criteria. These may be internal criteria (organization) or external
criteria (relevance to the purpose) and the student may determine the criteria
or be given to them. Learning outcomes in this area are highest in the
cognitive hierarchy because they contain elements of all the other categories,
plus conscious value judgments based on clearly defined criteria. Evaluation
judges the values of the materials and methods for the given objectives. They
are
• Judging the evidences internally
• Judging the criteria externally
Verbs
Related to Evaluation
Appraises;
compares & contrasts; concludes; criticizes; critiques; decides; defends;
interprets; judges; justifies; reframes; supports.
|
Objectives |
Ability |
Associated Verbs |
|
1.
Knowledge |
Recall,
Recognize |
Define,
state, list, name, write, recall, recognize, label, underline, , reproduce,
measure |
|
2.Comprehension |
Sees
relationship, cites examples, Discriminate, Verify, Generalize |
Identify,
justify, select, illustrate, formulate, explain, classify, judge, justify |
|
3.
Application |
Analyse |
Identify,
conclude, differentiate, separate, compare, contrast, break down, resolve,
criticise |
|
5.
Synthesis |
Synthesise |
Combine,
summarise, organize, derive, relate, conclude, generalise |
|
6.
Evaluation |
Evaluate |
Determine
define, criticise, evaluate |
Affective Domain
Affective
objective is concerned with the interests, emotions, mental tendencies, and
values of the pupils. The development of affective domain is not easy because
interests, emotions, mental tendencies, and sentiments are individual
conditions, first concerned with a particular person and then with other
persons. It is not easy to understand their nature and determine elements.
Since our interests, sentiments, and mental tendencies are taken as the
criteria for our personality, these occupy important place in education. It is
the duty of the teacher to develop the affective domain of the pupils by
affective objectives i.e. their interest, emotions, mental tendencies, and
sentiments. Bloom has divided affective objectives into the following categories
in order to develop the affective domain of the pupils:
1.
Receiving
2.
Responding
3.
Valuing
4.
Conceptualization
5.
Organization
6.
Characterization of a value System
1. Receiving
- Receiving means pupil’s will to receive. It is directly concerned with the
sensitivity of the pupils which occurs in the presence of some activity or
stimulus. Receiving has the following three levels:
·
Awareness of the phenomena
·
Willingness to receive phenomena
·
Controlled or selected scheme
2. Responding
- In this, pupils actively receive new knowledge under the influence of
motivation. Responding has three levels:
·
Acquiescence in responding
·
Willingness to respond
·
Satisfaction in response
3. Valuing
- Valuing means those values in which the pupils have their belief and they
give special importance to those in their life. It enables the pupils in
showing the sentiments or stable feelings in their behaviour with the change in
the circumstances. It has three levels:
·
Acceptance of a value
·
Preference for a value
·
Commitment
4. Conceptualization
- As the conviction regarding those values starts forming in the pupils,
situations can also arise where more than one value is appropriate. In such
situations, pupils think which value they should retain.
5. Organization
- When such a situation changes before the pupils in which there is more than
one value is appropriate, then they organize these received values in an order
or sequence.
6. Characterization of a
Value System - It is that level in which the
consistency in the hierarchy of values of the pupil occurs. At this level, the
teacher can characterise the knowledge of the value system of the pupils very
easily. The characterisation of a value system has two levels:
·
Generalized set
·
Characterization
Psychomotor Domain.
1. Perception:
Skill of keen observation, skill of sensing a problem and skill of developing
self motivation are the specific objectives under this category.
2. Imitation:
Skill of repeating the actions and skill of reflective thinking are the
specific objectives under this category.
3. Manipulation:
Skill to operate upon with intelligence and manage cleverly are the specific
activities that fall in this category.
4. Precision:
Skill of experimentation, skill of precise movements and neat execution of
skills are the activities which fall under these objectives.
5. Articulation:
Skill of logical thinking, reflective thinking, skill of mind and body and
development of mathematical skill are specific objectives to attain this step.
6. Naturalization:
As we practice a skill, in due course it becomes our natural habit. Skill of
attaining success and skill of multiple actions are the specific activities
under this objective. Since science is a study usually involving direct
experimentation, the psycho-motor domain has got great relevance.
Limitations
of Bloom's Taxonomy
Blooms
taxonomy has been criticized for its total commitment to the behavioral objectives.
It is difficult to convert the theoretical concepts into behavioral objectives.
The behaviour
specification of the
objectives may not enhance student learning as specified by Bloom. They may
also reduce the learner's individuality. Bloom's classification is not
applicable to all areas of the curriculum. This classification lays emphasis
more on measurable behavior and does not give importance to work of the pupils.
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