Bloom's Taxonomy 

is a classification of learning objectives within education proposed in 1956 by a committee of educators chaired by Benjamin Bloom, who also edited the first volume of the standard text, Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals (1956). Although named after Bloom, the publication followed a series of conferences from 1949 to 1953, which were designed to improve communication between educators on the design of curricula and examinations. At this meeting, interest was expressed in a theoretical framework which could be used to facilitate communication among examiners. This group felt that such a framework could do much to promote the exchange of test materials and ideas about testing. In addition, it could be helpful in stimulating research on examining and on the relations between examining and education. After considerable discussion, there was agreement that such a theoretical framework might best be obtained through a system of classifying the goals of the educational process, since educational objectives provide the basis for building curricula and tests and represent the starting point for much of our educational research."

It refers to a classification of the different objectives that educators set for students (learning objectives). Bloom's Taxonomy divides educational objectives into three "domains": 

Cognitive, 

Affective,

Psychomotor 

(sometimes loosely described asknowing/head, feeling/heart and doing/hands respectively). Within the domains, learning at the higher levels is dependent on having attained prerequisite knowledge and skills at lower levels.^[7] A goal of Bloom's Taxonomy is to motivate educators to focus on all three domains, creating a more holistic form of education.

A revised version of the taxonomy was created in 2000.

Bloom's Taxonomy is considered to be a foundational and essential element within the education community as evidenced in the 1981 surveySignificant writings that have influenced the curriculum: 1906-1981, by H.G. Shane and the 1994 yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education.

A mythology has grown around the taxonomy, possibly due to many people learning about the taxonomy through second hand information. Bloom himself considered the Handbook"One of the most widely cited yet least read books in American education."

Cognitive

Categories in the cognitive domain of Bloom's Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

Skills in the cognitive domain revolve around knowledge, comprehension, and critical thinking on a particular topic. Traditional education tends to emphasize the skills in this domain, particularly the lower-order objectives.

There are six levels in the taxonomy, moving through the lowest order processes to the highest:

Knowledge

Exhibit memory of previously learned materials by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts and answers

• Knowledge of specifics - terminology, specific facts

• Knowledge of ways and means of dealing with specifics - conventions, trends and sequences, classifications and categories, criteria, methodology

• Knowledge of the universals and abstractions in a field - principles and generalizations, theories and structures

Questions like: What are the health benefits of eating apples?

Comprehension

Demonstrate understanding of facts and ideas by organizing, comparing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions, and stating the main ideas

• Translation

• Interpretation

• Extrapolation

Questions like: Compare the health benefits of eating apples vs. oranges.

Application

Using new knowledge. Solve problems in new situations by applying acquired knowledge, facts, techniques and rules in a different way

Questions like: Which kinds of apples are best for baking a pie, and why?

Analysis

Examine and break information into parts by identifying motives or causes. Make inferences and find evidence to support generalizations

• Analysis of elements

• Analysis of relationships

• Analysis of organizational principles

Questions like: List four ways of serving foods made with apples and explain which ones have the highest health benefits. Provide references to support your statements.

Synthesis

Compile information together in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern or proposing alternative solutions

• Production of a unique communication

• Production of a plan, or proposed set of operations

• Derivation of a set of abstract relations

Questions like: Convert an "unhealthy" recipe for apple pie to a "healthy" recipe by replacing your choice of ingredients. Explain the health benefits of using the ingredients you chose vs. the original ones.

Evaluation

Present and defend opinions by making judgments about information, validity of ideas or quality of work based on a set of criteria

• Judgments in terms of internal evidence

• Judgments in terms of external criteria

Questions like: Do you feel that serving apple pie for an after school snack for children is healthy?

Affective

Skills in the affective domain describe the way people react emotionally and their ability to feel other living things' pain or joy. Affective objectives typically target the awareness and growth in attitudes, emotion, and feelings.

There are five levels in the affective domain moving through the lowest order processes to the highest:

Receiving

The lowest level; the student passively pays attention. Without this level no learning can occur. Receiving is about the student's memory and recognition as well.

Responding]

The student actively participates in the learning process, not only attends to a stimulus; the student also reacts in some way.

Valuing

The student attaches a value to an object, phenomenon, or piece of information. The student associates a value or some values to the knowledge he acquired.

Organizing

The student can put together different values, information, and ideas and accommodate them within his/her own schema; comparing, relating and elaborating on what has been learned.

Characterizing

The student holds a particular value or belief that now exerts influence on his/her behavior so that it becomes a characteristic.

Psychomotor

Skills in the psychomotor domain describe the ability to physically manipulate a tool or instrument like a hand or a hammer. Psychomotor objectives usually focus on change and/or development in behavior and/or skills.

Bloom and his colleagues never created subcategories for skills in the psychomotor domain, but since then other educators have created their own psychomotor taxonomies. Simpson (1972) among other contributors, such as Harrow (1972) and Dave (1967), created a Psychomotor Taxonomy that helps to explain the behaviour of typical learners or high performance athletes. The proposed levels are: