University-Wide Undergraduate Curriculum Handbook
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Bloom's Taxonomy

	In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. Bloom found that over 95 % of the test questions students encounter require them to think only at the lowest possible level...the recall of information. Bloom identified six levels within the cognitive domain, from the simple recall or recognition of facts, as the lowest level, through increasingly more complex and abstract mental levels, to the highest order which is classified as evaluation. Verb examples that represent intellectual activity on each level are listed here.
1. Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce state. 2. Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate, 3. Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write. 4. Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test. 5. Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write. 6. Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate. (from http://www.officeport.com/edu/blooms.htm, May 2002)

Bloom's Taxonomy

Competence	Skills Demonstrated	Question Cues:
Knowledge	observation and recall of information  knowledge of dates, events, places  knowledge of major ideas mastery of subject matter	list, define, tell, describe, identify, show, label, collect, examine, tabulate, quote, name, who, when, where, etc.
Comprehension	understanding information grasp meaning  translate knowledge into new context interpret facts, compare, contrast  order, group, infer causes  predict consequences	summarize, describe, interpret, contrast, predict, associate, distinguish, estimate, differentiate, discuss, extend
Application	use information  use methods, concepts, theories in new situations  solve problems using required skills or knowledge	apply, demonstrate, calculate,  complete, illustrate, show, solve, examine, modify, relate,  change, classify, experiment, discover
Analysis	seeing patterns  organizations of parts  recognition of hidden meanings  identification of components	analyze, separate, order, explain, connect, classify, arrange, divide, compare, select, explain, infer
Synthesis	use old ideas to create new ones  generalize from given facts  relate knowledge from several areas  predict, draw conclusions	combine, integrate, modify, rearrange, substitute, plan, create, design, invent, what if?, compose, formulate, prepare, generalize, rewrite
Evaluation	compare and discriminate between ideas assess value of theories, presentations make choices based on reasoned argument verify value of evidence recognize subjectivity	assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend, convince, select, judge, explain, discriminate, support, conclude, compare, summarize
(from http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/cetl/Bloomtable.htm, November, 2000)

Possible Action Verbs For Course Outcomes

Domain:  Cognitive

 1.      Knowledge

 2.      Comprehension

3.      Application

4..      Analysis

5.      Synthesis

 6.      Evaluation

Domain:  Affective

1.      Receiving

2.      Responding

3.   Value

4.      Organization

5.      Characterization