Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives

Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive objectives, originated by Benjamin Bloom and collaborators in the 1950's, describes several categories of cognitive learning.

 Category
 Description
 Knowledge

Ability to recall previously learned material.

 Comprehension

Ability to grasp meaning, explain, restate ideas.

 Application

Ability to use learned material in new situations.

 Analysis

Ability to separate material into component parts and show relationships between parts.

 Synthesis

Ability to put together the separate ideas to form new whole, establish new relationships.

 Evaluation

Ability to judge the worth of material against stated criteria.

Many people also call the analysis, synthesis, and evaluations categories "problem solving." 

 BEHAVIORAL VERBS APPROPRIATE FOR EACH LEVEL OF BLOOMS’ TAXONOMY
(Cognitive Domain)


Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation

Define
Identify
List
Name
Recall
Recognize
Record
Relate
Repeat
Underline

Choose
Cite examples of
Demonstrate use of
Describe
Determine
Differentiate between
Discriminate
Discuss
Explain
Express
Give in own words
Identify
Interpret
Locate
Pick
Report
Restate
Review
Recognize
Select
Tell
Translate
Respond
Practice
Simulates

Apply
Demonstrate
Dramatize
Employ
Generalize
Illustrate
Interpret
Operate
Operationalize
Practice
Relate
Schedule
Shop
Use
Utilize
Initiate

Analyze
Appraise
Calculate
Categorize
Compare
Conclude
Contrast
Correlate
Criticize
Deduce
Debate
Detect
Determine
Develop
Diagram
Differentiate
Distinguish
Draw conclusions
Estimate
Evaluate
Examine
Experiment
Identify
Infer
Inspect
Inventory
Predict
Question
Relate
Solve
Test
Diagnose

Arrange
Assemble
Collect
Compose
Construct
Create
Design
Develop
Formulate
Manage
Modify
Organize
Plan
Prepare
Produce
Propose
Predict
Reconstruct
Set-up
Synthesize
Systematize
Devise

Appraise
Assess
Choose
Compare
Critique
Estimate
Evaluate
Judge
Measure
Rate
Revise
Score
Select
Validate
Value
Test


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