Anderson and Krathwohl’s Taxonomy

Anderson and Krathwohl’s Taxonomy

Before starting discussion on new taxonomy, let us have a look at original Bloom’s

Taxonomy. In Bloom’s taxonomy, there were 6 categories under cognitive domain

i.e. Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation.

Except Application, all other 5 main categories were further divided into

subcategories. It was a hierarchical structure where categories were arranged

from simple to complex and concrete to abstract. It was assumed that attainment

of one category is a prerequisite for next category

KNOWLEDGE Science Teaching-Learning

·          Knowledge of specifics

·         Knowledge of terminology

·         Knowledge of specific facts

·         Knowledge of ways and means of dealing with specifics

·         Knowledge of conventions

·         Knowledge of trends and sequences

·         Knowledge of classifications and categories

·         Knowledge of criteria

·         Knowledge of methodology

·          Knowledge of universals and abstractions in a field

·         Knowledge of principles and generalizations

·         Knowledge of theories and structures

COMPREHENSION

1.      Translation

2.      Interpretation

3.       Extrapolation

APPLICATION

ANALYSIS

·         Analysis of elements

·         Analysis of relationships

·         Analysis of organizational principles

SYNTHESIS

1.       Production of a unique communication

2.      Production of a plan, or proposed set of operations

3.       Derivation of a set of abstract relations

EVALUATION

1.      Evaluation in terms of internal evidence

2.      Judgments in terms of external criteria

Exhibit 2.1: Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain

If you recall the objective statements, you will find that there were two major

components of an objective:

a) Some subject matter content (A Noun or Noun phrase)

b) A description of what is to be done with or to that content (A verb or verb

phrase)

For example, “a learner will be able to define motion.” In this objective

statement the noun phrase is “motion” and the verb is “define.” In original

taxonomy, noun and verb aspects was part of knowledge dimension.

In the revised taxonomy, first change is that noun and verb dimensions are

separate. The noun is providing the basis for the Knowledge dimension and the

verb is forming the basis for the Cognitive Process dimension.

The Knowledge Dimension

The new knowledge dimension contains four categories i.e. factual, conceptual,

procedural and metacognitive. Metacognitive Knowledge involves knowledge

about cognition in general as well as awareness of and knowledge about one’s

own cognition.

A) FACTUAL KNOWLEDGE – The basic elements that learners must

know to be acquainted with a discipline or solve problems in it.

a)       Knowledge of terminology

b)      Knowledge of specific details and elements

B) CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE – The interrelationships among the

basic elements within a larger structure that enable them to function

together.

·          Knowledge of classifications and categories

·          Knowledge of principles and generalizations

·         Knowledge of theories, models, and structures

C) PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE – How to do something; methods

of inquiry, and criteria for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and

methods.

·          Knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms

·         Knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods

·         Knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate

procedures

D) METACOGNITIVE KNOWLEDGE – Knowledge of cognition in

general as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s own cognition.

·         Strategic knowledge

·         Knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual

·         and conditional knowledge

·         Self-knowledge

Exhibit 2.2: The Knowledge Dimension

The Cognitive Process Dimension

In this dimension, like the original taxonomy, same number exists in the revised

taxonomy also. Let us see the following table to understand the changes in revised

taxonomy.

In attach table

, you can see that ‘knowledge’ category is renamed as ‘remember’,

‘comprehension’ is renamed as ‘understand’, ‘Application, Analysis and

Evaluation’ are retained but in their verb form i.e. ‘apply, analyze and evaluate’.

Evaluation was last category in original taxonomy but here it is at 5th place and

‘synthesis’ is replaced by a new category named as ‘create’.

All these 6 categories are further divided into 19 subcategories and renamed as

cognitive processes. Let us have an overview of these cognitive processes