A Glimpse of My School

          Here are some snapshots of my alma mater now my workplace, the A. Bonifacio Elementary School. This is where I learned my first ABCs and 123s and now I am giving back what I owe to this place.

The statue of the great Andres Bonifacio. One of the great heroes who fought for Philippine freedom.

The way to the covered court. One of the improvements in our school. This was before a pond filled with swamp cabbages during rainy seasons.

Bloom's Taxonomy of Objectives: New and Revised

      Back in college, when we discussed about Bloom's Taxonomy, I was skeptical why is it that "Evaluation" is higher than the "Synthesis" level in the taxonomy. I thought that synthesizing requires a lot of thinking and creativity than just evaluating among the alternatives. I was a bit shy to ask my teacher that time because I was afraid that she can't answer my question and might sound arrogant.(To be honest, one of my weaknesses is that I'm afraid to ask questions like this because of fear that I may sound arrogant or will be mistaken as a student who "tests my teacher's competence". Until now, I have the same weakness in my graduate studies. hehehe. Perhaps this is because when I was in high school, I am very inquisitive to my teachers that I ended up being scolded and be labeled as "pilosopo" or philosophizer.) However, when I was preparing for the Licensure Examinations of Teachers, I was very grateful that one of our review lecturers at University of Iloilo presented a new Bloom's Taxonomy in cognitive domain. And to my mixed surprise and expectation , Evaluation is no longer at the top of the hierarchy.
        As a sort of background, this newly revised taxonomy was published last 2001. Benjamin Bloom was already in the advanced stage of his Alzheimer's disease during the process of revision and died before the new taxonomy was published. However, David Krathwohl, one of the original contributing authors of the taxonomy (specifically on the affective domain which is the reason why the taxonomy of affective domain is commonly referred to as Krathwohl Taxonomy of Affective Domain), was one of the two editors of the new version. By the way, Lorin Anderson, one of students of Bloom, inititiated the changes.
        Here is the new taxonomy of cognitive domains retrieved from this site.(If your the owner of this image, kindly inform me if you want your image to be removed). The most obvious changes that were made are changing the names from nouns to verbs and interchanging the upper two levels in the taxonomy.

For a more comprehensive explanation of the new taxonomy, this pdf file can surely help.

Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy

          Benjamin Bloom's name is never absent in our college textbooks in most of, if not all, professional education subjects. Who doesn't know Bloom? His name with his taxonomy is always there especially if we are talking not only about instructional objectives but as well as in different dimensions of learning like questioning, assessment and many more. As education students we always repeatedly saying his six levels of objectives or just saying KCAASI as an acronym. Just like Piaget, his name is already a "cliche" in the Licensure Examinations for Teachers. But most of all, it cannot be ignored how significantly Bloom and his taxonomy has contributed to the field of teaching and learning.
          The taxonomy tells us that we must teach in an hierarchical order, emphasizing on the HOTS or higher-order thinking skills. However, this doesn't mean that the lower levels are frivolous, rather are important foundations to achieve the upper levels of the taxonomy. We cannot apply, analyse, evaluate or create if we cannot remember or comprehend in the first place.
        One thing that must also be noted is that Bloom's Taxonomy is not only for the cognitive domain of the objectives. There are also for both the psychomotor and affective domains.
       The following tables summarizes the taxonomy on the three domains: cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains. The tables were retrieved from Big Dog and Little Dog's Performance Juxtaposition. (If you are the owner of this site, kindly inform me if you want your image to be removed.)

Cognitive Domain

Category	Example and Key Words (verbs)
Remembering: Recall previous learned information.	Examples: Recite a policy. Quote prices from memory to a customer. Knows the safety rules. Key Words: defines, describes, identifies, knows, labels, lists, matches, names, outlines, recalls, recognizes, reproduces, selects, states.
Understanding: Comprehending the meaning, translation, interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and problems. State a problem in one's own words.	Examples: Rewrites the principles of test writing. Explain in one's own words the steps for performing a complex task. Translates an equation into a computer spreadsheet. Key Words: comprehends, converts, defends, distinguishes, estimates, explains, extends, generalizes, gives an example, infers, interprets, paraphrases, predicts, rewrites, summarizes, translates.
Applying: Use a concept in a new situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Applies what was learned in the classroom into novel situations in the work place.	Examples: Use a manual to calculate an employee's vacation time. Apply laws of statistics to evaluate the reliability of a written test. Key Words: applies, changes, computes, constructs, demonstrates, discovers, manipulates, modifies, operates, predicts, prepares, produces, relates, shows, solves, uses.
Analyzing: Separates material or concepts into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences.	Examples: Troubleshoot a piece of equipment by using logical deduction. Recognize logical fallacies in reasoning. Gathers information from a department and selects the required tasks for training. Key Words: analyzes, breaks down, compares, contrasts, diagrams, deconstructs, differentiates, discriminates, distinguishes, identifies, illustrates, infers, outlines, relates, selects, separates.
Evaluating: Make judgments about the value of ideas or materials.	Examples: Select the most effective solution. Hire the most qualified candidate. Explain and justify a new budget. Key Words: appraises, compares, concludes, contrasts, criticizes, critiques, defends, describes, discriminates, evaluates, explains, interprets, justifies, relates, summarizes, supports.
Creating: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.	Examples: Write a company operations or process manual. Design a machine to perform a specific task. Integrates training from several sources to solve a problem. Revises and process to improve the outcome. Key Words: categorizes, combines, compiles, composes, creates, devises, designs, explains, generates, modifies, organizes, plans, rearranges, reconstructs, relates, reorganizes, revises, rewrites, summarizes, tells, writes.

Psychomotor Domain

Category	Example and Key Words (verbs)
Perception: The ability to use sensory cues to guide motor activity.  This ranges from sensory stimulation, through cue selection, to translation.	Examples:  Detects non-verbal communication cues. Estimate where a ball will land after it is thrown and then moving to the correct location to catch the ball. Adjusts heat of stove to correct temperature by smell and taste of food. Adjusts the height of the forks on a forklift by comparing where the forks are in relation to the pallet. Key Words: chooses, describes, detects, differentiates, distinguishes, identifies, isolates, relates, selects.
Set: Readiness to act. It includes mental, physical, and emotional sets. These three sets are dispositions that predetermine a person's response to different situations (sometimes called mindsets).	Examples:  Knows and acts upon a sequence of steps in a manufacturing process. Recognize one's abilities and limitations. Shows desire to learn a new process (motivation). NOTE: This subdivision of Psychomotor is closely related with the “Responding to phenomena” subdivision of the Affective domain. Key Words: begins, displays, explains, moves, proceeds, reacts, shows, states, volunteers.
Guided Response: The early stages in learning a complex skill that includes imitation and trial and error. Adequacy of performance is achieved by practicing.	Examples:  Performs a mathematical equation as demonstrated. Follows instructions to build a model. Responds hand-signals of instructor while learning to operate a forklift. Key Words: copies, traces, follows, react, reproduce, responds
Mechanism: This is the intermediate stage in learning a complex skill. Learned responses have become habitual and the movements can be performed with some confidence and proficiency.	Examples:  Use a personal computer. Repair a leaking faucet. Drive a car. Key Words: assembles, calibrates, constructs, dismantles, displays, fastens, fixes, grinds, heats, manipulates, measures, mends, mixes, organizes, sketches.
Complex Overt Response: The skillful performance of motor acts that involve complex movement patterns. Proficiency is indicated by a quick, accurate, and highly coordinated performance, requiring a minimum of energy. This category includes performing without hesitation, and automatic performance. For example, players are often utter sounds of satisfaction or expletives as soon as they hit a tennis ball or throw a football, because they can tell by the feel of the act what the result will produce.	Examples:  Maneuvers a car into a tight parallel parking spot. Operates a computer quickly and accurately. Displays competence while playing the piano. Key Words: assembles, builds, calibrates, constructs, dismantles, displays, fastens, fixes, grinds, heats, manipulates, measures, mends, mixes, organizes, sketches. NOTE: The Key Words are the same as Mechanism, but will have adverbs or adjectives that indicate that the performance is quicker, better, more accurate, etc.
Adaptation: Skills are well developed and the individual can modify movement patterns to fit special requirements.	Examples:  Responds effectively to unexpected experiences.  Modifies instruction to meet the needs of the learners. Perform a task with a machine that it was not originally intended to do (machine is not damaged and there is no danger in performing the new task). Key Words: adapts, alters, changes, rearranges, reorganizes, revises, varies.
Origination: Creating new movement patterns to fit a particular situation or specific problem. Learning outcomes emphasize creativity based upon highly developed skills.	Examples:  Constructs a new theory. Develops a new and comprehensive training programming. Creates a new gymnastic routine. Key Words: arranges, builds, combines, composes, constructs, creates, designs, initiate, makes, originates.

Affective Domain

Category	Example and Key Words (verbs)
Receiving Phenomena: Awareness, willingness to hear, selected attention.	Examples: Listen to others with respect. Listen for and remember the name of newly introduced people. Key Words: asks, chooses, describes, follows, gives, holds, identifies, locates, names, points to, selects, sits, erects, replies, uses.
Responding to Phenomena: Active participation on the part of the learners. Attends and reacts to a particular phenomenon. Learning outcomes may emphasize compliance in responding, willingness to respond, or satisfaction in responding (motivation).	Examples:  Participates in class discussions.  Gives a presentation. Questions new ideals, concepts, models, etc. in order to fully understand them. Know the safety rules and practices them. Key Words: answers, assists, aids, complies, conforms, discusses, greets, helps, labels, performs, practices, presents, reads, recites, reports, selects, tells, writes.
Valuing: The worth or value a person attaches to a particular object, phenomenon, or behavior. This ranges from simple acceptance to the more complex state of commitment. Valuing is based on the internalization of a set of specified values, while clues to these values are expressed in the learner's overt behavior and are often identifiable.	Examples:  Demonstrates belief in the democratic process. Is sensitive towards individual and cultural differences (value diversity). Shows the ability to solve problems. Proposes a plan to social improvement and follows through with commitment. Informs management on matters that one feels strongly about. Key Words: completes, demonstrates, differentiates, explains, follows, forms, initiates, invites, joins, justifies, proposes, reads, reports, selects, shares, studies, works.
Organization: Organizes values into priorities by contrasting different values, resolving conflicts between them, and creating an unique value system.  The emphasis is on comparing, relating, and synthesizing values.	Examples:  Recognizes the need for balance between freedom and responsible behavior. Accepts responsibility for one's behavior. Explains the role of systematic planning in solving problems. Accepts professional ethical standards. Creates a life plan in harmony with abilities, interests, and beliefs. Prioritizes time effectively to meet the needs of the organization, family, and self. Key Words: adheres, alters, arranges, combines, compares, completes, defends, explains, formulates, generalizes, identifies, integrates, modifies, orders, organizes, prepares, relates, synthesizes.
Internalizing values (characterization): Has a value system that controls their behavior. The behavior is pervasive, consistent, predictable, and most importantly, characteristic of the learner. Instructional objectives are concerned with the student's general patterns of adjustment (personal, social, emotional).	Examples:  Shows self-reliance when working independently. Cooperates in group activities (displays teamwork). Uses an objective approach in problem solving.  Displays a professional commitment to ethical  practice on a daily basis. Revises judgments and changes behavior in light of new evidence. Values people for what they are, not how they look. Key Words: acts, discriminates, displays, influences, listens, modifies, performs, practices, proposes, qualifies, questions, revises, serves, solves, verifies.

    I hope these summarize everything. On my next post, I will discuss the new Bloom's Taxonomy of Objectives. The bottom line is, as teachers we need to emphasize more on the HOTS of the taxonomy. This way we will produce learners who are critical and creative.