In 1956, Benjamin Bloom published a framework for grouping educational goals commonly referred to as Bloom's Taxonomy. The taxonomy consists of six major categories: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. The classification after Knowledge were presented as "skills and abilities," with the understanding that knowledge was the necessary precondition for putting these skills and abilities into practice.
While each classification contained sub-classification, all lying along a continuum from simple to complex and concrete to abstract, the taxonomy is popularly remembered according to the six main classifications. Below are definitions and corresponding active verbs associated with each classification:
Student recalls or recognizes information, ideas, and principles in the approximate form in which they were learned.
Examples Action Verbs: defines; describes; enumerates; identifies; labels; lists; matches; names; reads; records; reproduces; selects; states; views; writes.
Sample Learning Outcome: The student will define the 6 levels of Bloom's Taxonomy of the cognitive domain.