Technology and Bloom’s Taxonomy: Analysis
January 8, 2007
Benjamin Bloom’s taxonomy of learning domains, originally developed in 1956, is one of the most well-known and widely-used schemas of educational objectives. Though three distinct schemas were originally created, the one dealing with the cognitive domain remains the most important and most applied.
The fourth category in Bloom’s Taxonomy, Analysis, is the focus of the January newsletter. Analysis has to do with an individual’s ability to think critically and in an in-depth manner, enabling them to observe and characterize organizational schemes and patterns, as well as meanings that may be derived from them. For example, the Analysis category would find a student comparing and contrasting two sets of findings or products, categorizing results into meaning-based groups, differentiating between substances or findings using an established set of criteria, and drawing conclusions as to why an event occurred.
Many technologies can assist you with enabling students to develop their abilities in the Analysis domain:
- Using the
Classroom Performance System (CPS) (a.k.a. "clickers") in your classroom allows you to prompt students to forecast outcomes of novel situations and problems you pose. Because responses are anonymous with the CPS, students are more honest with their answers, often providing grounds for interesting debates about the conclusions they have drawn. Similarly, using
Interwise to connect classes and guest speakers from different locations would create opportunities for debate grounded in geographic and contextual differences that may change one’s analysis.
- Use a digital camera or video camera, available through the
Academic Technology Center, to collect images or recordings that can be subsequently compared and classified.
- Create multimedia simulations that pose unique situations to students, requiring them to apply their learning in explaining why a particular chemical reaction, structural failure, or sprinkler system occurred or acted as it did. The Technology for Teaching & Learning group of the
Academic Technology Center provides simulation development services.
- Using Microsoft Excel or a statistical analysis software package such as SPSS enables students to analyze data and assist them in the drawing of conclusions and making of recommendations.
Reference
- Bloom, B.S., Engelhart, M.D., Furst, E.J., Hill, W.H., & Krathwohl, D.R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: Handbook I, cognitive domain. New York: Longman.