Bloom’s taxonomy

Educational Goals can be classified using Bloom’s taxonomy (below), which categorizes student performance into six cognitive levels, organized from basic (“Knowledge”) to complex (“Evaluation”). The action verbs can be matched to each cognitive level and provide a helpful starting point for writing program level Educational Goals (see below).

Bloom’s taxonomy: Level of thinking and task complexity

Three domains of learning

Bloom’s taxonomy: Lower division Educational Goals

Action verbs for lower division courses; the white area captures action verbs typically associated with lower division courses.

Bloom’s taxonomy: Upper division Educational Goals

Action verbs for lower division courses; the white area captures action verbs typically associated with upper division courses.

Bloom’s taxonomy reference table

Could be used to design educational goals or assignment/exam questions.

Bloom’s taxonomy reference table, continued

Could be used to design educational goals or assignment/exam questions.