Let’s look at using Bloom’s Taxonomy to write learning outcomes. Benjamin Bloom was an influential American educational psychologist. In 1956, he published his taxonomy, a major landmark in the education field. Educators and instructional designers can use Bloom’s Taxonomy to:
- Envision and communicate the level of cognitive complexity of a course
- Enhance learner engagement and improve overall knowledge retention
- Decide what learning activities would be appropriate
- Check the overall consistency of a course
In this blog, we will dive into the taxonomy, examine how it works and how you can use it to write custom learning outcomes.
What is Bloom’s Taxonomy and how does it work?
Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification system that ranks learning tasks according to the cognitive effort they require. It is visualised as a pyramid and consists of six levels of difficulty. The ‘easiest’ cognitive tasks are at the bottom with each layer above getting more difficult. Bloom was inspired by a constructivist approach to learning and the idea that new pieces of knowledge are added to a set of pre-existing knowledge, where learners play an active part in this building process . Like building blocks stacking on top of each other, learners need to master each level before moving up the next level. Bloom maintains that learning at higher levels of the pyramid relies heavily upon the prerequisite skills and knowledge acquired at lower levels .
Writing learning outcomes using Bloom’s Taxonomy
Each level of the taxonomy corresponds to specific action verbs you can use to write learning outcomes. Let’s have a closer look at each level through the lens of a course about music harmony.
Remember
At the Remembering level of Bloom’s, learners can recall facts and information from long-term memory.
Action verbs to use for the Remembering level: List, recall, retrieve, identify
Example learning outcome: ‘List the three chord types of a II-V-I cadence progression’
Understand
At the Understanding level of Bloom’s, learners can construct meaning. Learners build connections between the new knowledge and their prior knowledge. They are able to:
- elaborate
- give examples
- compare
- classify
- summarise
- rephrase
Action verbs to use for the Understanding level: Summarise, discuss, explain, express, clarify
Example learning outcome: ‘Explain how chord progressions work in the major scale’
Apply
At the Applying level, learners are able to use the concepts, rules, theories or processes to execute tasks or solve problems.
Action verbs to use for the Applying level: Use, predict, calculate, demonstrate, manipulate, solve
Example learning outcome: ‘Apply different voicings to standard II-V-I progressions in both major and minor keys’
Analyse
At the Analysing level of Bloom’s, learners are able to break down information and distinguish singular parts from an overall structure. They can draw connections between them, spot the most important pieces and retrieve underlying messages.
Action verbs to use for the Analysing level: Organise, differentiate, distinguish, establish, contrast
Example learning outcome: ‘Differentiate between various types of seventh chords by examining their interval structures’
Evaluate
At the Evaluating level of Bloom’s, learners are able to make judgements based on specific criteria and standards.
Action verbs to use for the Evaluating level: Argue, conclude, assess, recommend, decide
Example learning outcome: ‘Assess the effectiveness of chord substitutions in a given harmonic progression’
Create
Creating is the highest level of Bloom’s taxonomy. The learners are able to draw from their experience and create a new coherent production.
Action verbs to use for the Creating level: Design, develop, construct, produce, compose, invent
Example learning outcome: ‘Compose an original 8-bar progression incorporating multiple II-V-I cadences, chord substitutions and seventh chords’
Tips on writing learning outcomes
Bloom argued that defining clear learning outcomes are an essential part of learners’ success. He encouraged educators to think in terms of ‘intended behaviours’. When you use the taxonomy to write learning outcomes, you reflect on what is expected of your learners and check if it’s consistent with the tools you’ve given them so far. Learn about writing learning outcomes on our instructional design online course.
Here are a few tips to get started when writing learning outcomes using Bloom’s Taxonomy:
- Make sure that your learning outcomes are measurable and meaningful. Avoid using vague verbs such as ‘understand’, ‘learn’ or ‘know’. Focus on what your learners will be able to achieve. You can use the SMART approach to guide you. SMART outcomes are Specific (clear and unambiguous), Measurable (trackable progress), Achievable (realistic), Relevant (aligned with learners’ needs) and Time-bound (with a clear timeframe).
- Contextualise your learning outcome: Action verb + specific topic of your course + context. Here’s an example of a contextualised learning outcome: Describe how (action verb) nutrition and hydration can enhance alertness and productivity (specific topic of the course) at work (context).
- Check the level of your learning outcome: ‘Describe how nutrition and hydration can enhance alertness and productivity at work’. In this example, the cognitive effort corresponds to the second level of Bloom’s taxonomy (Understand).
Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a structured way to map out the different levels of cognitive complexity in learning. Following these guidelines and choosing appropriate action verbs for each cognitive level guides you to create learning outcomes that truly reflect what your learners need to achieve.
References
- Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman.
- Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. Longmans, Green.
- University of Arkansas. Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Write Effective Learning Outcomes.
- University of Limerick. Quick Tips for Teaching Online: Constructive alignment: using Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy in curriculum design to align teaching, learning and assessment.
- University of Waterloo. Bloom’s Taxonomy.
