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(Bloom's Taxonomy) |
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The use of critical
thinking is one of the most valuable skills we can pass on to our
children. However, in order to develop a child's thinking skill,
we need to ask questions. It is how we word the questions
that make a difference. Certain types of questions require
us to use different levels of thinking.
In 1956, Benjamin Bloom, a professor at
the University of Chicago, shared his famous "Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives" with the world. Bloom identified different levels of cognitive
complexity that have been used over the past four decades to make sure that
instruction stimulates and develops students' higher-order thinking skills.
According to Bloom's Taxonomy, this well-known classification system, thinking
skills or levels of learning can be placed in six categories.
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The Levels are: |
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| 1. |
Knowledge |
| 2. |
Comprehension |
| 3. |
Application |
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Concrete Thinking Skills |
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| 4. |
Analysis |
| 5. |
Synthesis |
| 6. |
Evaluation |
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Critical
Thinking Skills |
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1. Knowledge
(Remembering previously learned material.)
• Asking the Right Questions:
Use words such as: list, name, identify, show, define, recognize,
recall.
• Sample questions:
Who was Goldilocks?
Where did she live? With Whom?
What did her mother tell her not to do?
2. Comprehension
(Understanding the meaning of what was read.)
• Asking the
Right Questions:
Use words such as:
explain, describe, summarize, predict, interpret, differentiate,
review, explain, estimate, demonstrate, visualize, restate, paraphrase,
identify, and put into your own words,
• Sample
questions:
This story was about _____.(Topic)
The story tells us _____.(Main Ideas)
Why didn't her mother want her to go to the forest?
What did Goldilocks look like?
3. Application
(Use information in a new way.)
• Asking the
Right Questions:
Some words and phrases to use are:
demonstrate, apply, illustrate, show, solve, examine,
calculate, relate, manipulate.
• Sample
questions:
How were the bears like real people?
Why did Goldilocks go into the little house?
Write a sign that should be placed near the
edge of the forest.
Draw a picture of what the bear's house looked like.
Draw a map showing Goldilocks' house, the path in the forest,the bear's
house, etc.
Show through actions how Goldilocks sat in the chairs, ate the porridge,
etc.
4. Analysis
(Involves breaking down information into parts.)
•
Asking the
Right Questions:
Some words and phrases to use are: what are the differences,
analyze, explain, compare, separate, classify, arrange, choose, distinguish.
•Sample
questions:
How did each bear react to what Goldilocks did?
How would you react?
Compare Goldilocks to a friend.
How are they similar / different?
When did Goldilocks leave her real world for fantasy?
How do you
know?
5. Synthesis
(The organization of
thoughts, ideas, and information.)
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Asking the
Right Questions:
Some words and phrases to use are: devise, report, construct,
combine, rearrange, substitute, create, design, invent, what if?
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Sample
questions:
Draw a cartoon or write a story about bears.
Do they all act like
humans?
Make a puppet out of one of the characters.
Using the puppet, act
out his/her part in the story.
6. Evaluation
(Involves forming and presenting an opinion backed up by sound reasoning.)
• Asking the
Right Questions:
Some words and phrases to use are:
assess, decide, measure, select, explain, conclude, compare, summarize.
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Sample questions:
Why were the bear's angry with Goldilocks?
Why was Goldilocks happy to get home?
Why do you think she learned by going into that house?
Do parents have more experience and background than their children?
Do you think she will listen to her mother's
warnings in the future?
Would you have gone into that bear's house? Why or why not?
Why has the story of Goldilocks been told to children for many
years?
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