Step 1: Applying Bloom's Taxonomy of Thinking Skills
The following activity is designed
to help you analyze—using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy—the
thinking processes that are involved in problem solving. Read the
following scenario and predict the answer.
The Glass is Half Full Problem
Two glasses are each filled half-way
with soda—one with cola, the other with lemon. A small
amount of the lemon is removed from the glass and put into the
cola glass. The glass is stirred thoroughly so that the lemon is
completely mixed into the cola. Then the same amount of the mixture is
removed from the cola glass and put back into the glass with the
Question: After the soda has been exchanged, is there more cola in the lemon glass or more lemon in the cola glass?
- Look over the problem and predict which of the following is most likely to be correct:
- More cola in the lemon.
- More lemon in the cola.
- The same in both glasses.
- Join a group that has the same prediction as yours. An observer will be assigned to your group who will:
- Observe the group solving the problem and record in the
checklist on the next page what is observed about the strategies and
processes your group uses as they work.
- Make check marks or brief comments when observing any of the behaviors listed in the chart.
- Discuss your individual strategies
for determining your answer and then, as a group, come to a final
decision on the answer. If at any time during your group’s
discussion you change your mind as to what you believe is the correct
answer, you may change groups.
- After discussing the problem in your small group, use the Demonstrated Thinking Skill
checklist to check those skills you think you and your colleagues used
during the activity. Compare your list with your observer.
- As a whole group, discuss the following questions:
- Which levels of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy did you use? What could you have done differently to come up with your answer?
- By applying Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy in
this way, how did it affect your reflection about your problem solving
process and the thinking skills employed?
- What was it like being observed? What
was it like observing? What issues about assessment of thinking did
your experiences generate?
- What kind of information could you get from a checklist like this one? How might educators and learners use this information?
- Consider how Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
can be used in project planning and the assessment of learners'
thinking skills. The table of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy of Thinking Skills
helps to define the categories of Bloom’s Taxonomy and the
actions that often surround and encompass the use of these
skills—by both educator and learner. You will reflect back on this
list as you build your own “Habits of Learning Taxonomy” in
the next activity.
At a Glance: Bloom's Revised Taxonomy
Bloom's Revised Taxonomy is distinguished by the way it categorizes thinking skills
from the simplest learning behavior to the most complex. He and his team created a
hierarchical system of thinking skills where the higher thinking levels include all of the
cognitive skills from the lower levels. Anderson and Krathwohl revised the taxonomy
categories into verb forms and created a two dimensional table: The Knowledge
Dimension (or the kind of knowledge to be learned, identified above) and The Cognitive
Process Dimension (or the process used to learn: factual, conceptual, procedural, and
Next: Proceed to Step 2 of Activty 1.3