Bloom’s levels of cognitive skills are provided in the table below, along with definitions for each skills, and related behaviors. The terms can be used to create student learning outcomes that tap into each of the ability levels.
| Bloom's Classification of Cognitive Skills | ||
|---|---|---|
Category |
Definition |
Related Behaviors |
| Knowledge | recalling or remembering something without necessarily understanding, using, or changing it | define, describe, identify, label, list, match, memorize, point to, recall, select, state |
| Comprehension | understanding something that has been communicated without necessarily relating it to anything else | alter, account for, annotate, calculate, change, convert, group, explain, generalize, give examples, infer, interpret, paraphrase, predict, review, summarize, translate |
| Application | using a general concept to solve problems in a particular situation; using learned material in new and concrete situations | apply, adopt, collect, construct, demonstrate, discover, illustrate, interview, make use of, manipulate, relate, show, solve, use |
| Analysis | breaking something down into its parts; may focus on identification of parts or analysis of relationships between parts, or recognition of organizational principles | analyze, compare, contrast, diagram, differentiate, dissect, distinguish, identify, illustrate, infer, outline, point out, select, separate, sort, subdivide |
| Synthesis | reating something new by putting parts of different ideas together to make a whole. | blend, build, change, combine, compile, compose, conceive, create, design, formulate, generate, hypothesize, plan, predict, produce, reorder, revise, tell, write |
| Evaluation | judging the value of material or methods as they might be applied in a particular situation; judging with the use of definite criteria | accept, appraise, assess, arbitrate, award, choose, conclude, criticize, defend, evaluate, grade, judge, prioritize, recommend, referee, reject, select, support |
Source: The information table above was derived from information presented on the Ball State University's web site ( http://web.bsu.edu/IRAA/AA/WB/chapter2.htm), which was accessed in the summer of 2005.
Additional Links Related to Bloom’s Taxonomy