B l o o m ' s T a x o n o m y : T h e O r i g i n a l C o g n i ti v e D o m a i n

C o g n i ti v e D o m a i n

T a b l e o f T h e C o g n i ti v e D o m a i n ( o r i g i n a l )
Example, Key Words (verbs), and Technologies for Learning
Category
(activities)

Examples: Recite a policy. Quote prices from memory

to a customer. Know the safety rules. Define a term.

Key Words: arranges, defines, describes, identifies,

Knowledge: Recall data or
knows, labels, lists, matches, names, outlines, recalls,
information.
recognizes, reproduces, selects, states

Technologies: bookmarking, flash cards, Internet

search, reading

Examples: Rewrites the principles of test writing.

Explain in one's own words the steps for performing a
complex task. Translates an equation into a computer

Comprehension: Understand the spreadsheet.

meaning, translation, interpolation, and

Key Words: comprehends, converts, diagrams, defends,
interpretation of instructions and
distinguishes, estimates, explains, extends, generalizes,
problems. State a problem in one's
gives an example, infers, interprets, paraphrases,
own words.
predicts, rewrites, summarizes, translates

Technologies: create an analogy, participating

in cooperative learning , taking notes, story telling

Examples: Use a manual to calculate an employee's

vacation time. Apply laws of statistics to evaluate the
reliability of a written test.
Application: Use a concept in a new
situation or unprompted use of an Key Words: applies, changes, computes, constructs,
abstraction. Applies what was learned demonstrates, discovers, manipulates, modifies,
in the classroom into novel situations operates, predicts, prepares, produces, relates, shows,
in the work place. solves, uses

Technologies:  collaborative learning , create a process,

material good, etc.), blog, practice

Analysis: Separates material or Examples: Troubleshoot a piece of equipment by using

concepts into component parts so that logical deduction. Recognize logical fallacies in
its organizational structure may be reasoning. Gathers information from a department and
understood. Distinguishes between selects the required tasks for training.
facts and inferences.
Key Words: analyzes, breaks down, compares,
 contrasts, diagrams, deconstructs, differentiates,
discriminates, distinguishes, identifies, illustrates, infers,
outlines, relates, selects, separates

Technologies: fishbowls, debating, questioning what

happened, run a test

Examples: Write a company operations or process

manual. Design a machine to perform a specific task.
Integrates training from several sources to solve a

Synthesis: Builds a structure or problem. Revises and process to improve the outcome.

pattern from diverse elements. Put

Key Words: categorizes, combines, compiles,
parts together to form a whole, with
composes, creates, devises, designs, explains,
emphasis on creating a new meaning
generates, modifies, organizes, plans, rearranges,
or structure.
reconstructs, relates, reorganizes, revises, rewrites,
summarizes, tells, writes

Technologies: essay, networking

Examples: Select the most effective solution. Hire the

most qualified candidate. Explain and justify a new
budget.

Evaluation: Make judgments about the Key Words: appraises, compares, concludes, contrasts,
value of ideas or materials. criticizes, critiques, defends, describes, discriminates,
evaluates, explains, interprets, justifies, relates,
summarizes, supports

Technologies: survey, blogging

Bloom's Revised Taxonomy

Lorin Anderson, a former student of Bloom, and David Krathwohl revisited the cognitive domain in
the mid-nineties and made some changes, with perhaps the three most prominent ones being
(Anderson, Krathwohl, Airasian, Cruikshank, Mayer, Pintrich, Raths, Wittrock, 2000):

o changing the names in the six categories from noun to verb forms
o rearranging them as shown in the chart below
o creating a processes and levels of knowledge matrix
The chart shown below compares the original taxonomy with the revised one:
 T a b l e o f t h e R e v i s e d C o g n i ti v e D o m a i n
Examples, key words (verbs), and technologies for learning
Category
(activities)

Examples: Recite a policy. Quote prices from memory to

a customer. Recite the safety rules.

Key Words: defines, describes, identifies, knows, labels,

Remembering: Recall or retrieve
lists, matches, names, outlines, recalls, recognizes,
previous learned information.
reproduces, selects, states

Technologies: book marking, flash cards, rote learning

based on repetition, reading

Examples: Rewrite the principles of test writing. Explain

in one's own words the steps for performing a complex
task. Translate an equation into a computer spreadsheet.

Understanding: Comprehending the

Key Words: comprehends, converts, defends,
meaning, translation, interpolation,
distinguishes, estimates, explains, extends, generalizes,
and interpretation of instructions and
gives an example, infers, interprets, paraphrases,
problems. State a problem in one's
predicts, rewrites, summarizes, translates
own words.

Technologies: create an analogy, participating

in cooperative learning , taking notes, storytelling,
Internet search

Applying: Use a concept in a new Examples: Use a manual to calculate an employee's

situation or unprompted use of an vacation time. Apply laws of statistics to evaluate the
 reliability of a written test.

Key Words: applies, changes, computes, constructs,

abstraction. Applies what was learned demonstrates, discovers, manipulates, modifies,
in the classroom into novel situations operates, predicts, prepares, produces, relates, shows,
in the work place. solves, uses

Technologies:  collaborative learning , create a process,

blog, practice

Examples: Troubleshoot a piece of equipment by using

logical deduction. Recognize logical fallacies in
reasoning. Gathers information from a department and

Analyzing: Separates material or selects the required tasks for training.

concepts into component parts so that

Key Words: analyzes, breaks down, compares,
its organizational structure may be
contrasts, diagrams, deconstructs, differentiates,
understood. Distinguishes between
discriminates, distinguishes, identifies, illustrates, infers,
facts and inferences.
outlines, relates, selects, separates

Technologies: Fishbowls , debating, questioning what

happened, run a test

Examples: Select the most effective solution. Hire the

most qualified candidate. Explain and justify a new
budget.

Evaluating: Make judgments about Key Words: appraises, compares, concludes, contrasts,
the value of ideas or materials. criticizes, critiques, defends, describes, discriminates,
evaluates, explains, interprets, justifies, relates,
summarizes, supports

Technologies: survey, blogging

Examples: Write a company operations or process

manual. Design a machine to perform a specific task.
Integrates training from several sources to solve a
problem. Revises and process to improve the outcome.
Creating: Builds a structure or pattern
from diverse elements. Put parts Key Words: categorizes, combines, compiles,
together to form a whole, with composes, creates, devises, designs, explains,
emphasis on creating a new meaning generates, modifies, organizes, plans, rearranges,
or structure. reconstructs, relates, reorganizes, revises, rewrites,
summarizes, tells, writes

Technologies: Create a new model, write an essay,

network with others

C o g n i ti v e P r o c e s s e s a n d L e v e l s o f K n o w l e d g e M a t r i x
Bloom's Revised Taxonomy not only improved the usability of it by using action words, but added a
cognitive and knowledge matrix.

While Bloom's original cognitive taxonomy did mention three levels of knowledge or products that
could be processed, they were not discussed very much and remained one-dimensional:

o Factual - The basic elements students must know to be acquainted with a discipline or solve problems.
o Conceptual – The interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that enable them to
function together.
o Procedural - How to do something, methods of inquiry, and criteria for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and
methods.

o Metacognitive – Knowledge of cognition in general, as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s own
cognition. 

When the cognitive and knowledge dimensions are arranged in a matrix, as shown below, it makes
a nice performance aid for creating performance objectives:

          The Cognitive Dimension

The Knowledge Dimension Remember Under-stand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create
Factual            
Conceptual            
Procedural            
Metacognitive            

B l o o m ' s Ta x o n o m y : T h e P s y c h o m o t o r D o m a i n

The seven major categories are listed from the simplest behavior to the most complex:
Category Example and Key Words (verbs)

Perception (awareness): The ability to use Examples:  Detects non-verbal communication

sensory cues to guide motor activity.  This cues. Estimate where a ball will land after it is
ranges from sensory stimulation, through cue thrown and then moving to the correct location to
selection, to translation. catch the ball. Adjusts heat of stove to correct
temperature by smell and taste of food. Adjusts
the height of the forks on a forklift by comparing
 where the forks are in relation to the pallet.

Key Words: chooses, describes, detects,

differentiates, distinguishes, identifies, isolates,
relates, selects.

Examples:  Knows and acts upon a sequence of

steps in a manufacturing process. Recognize
one's abilities and limitations. Shows desire to
Set: Readiness to act. It includes mental,
learn a new process (motivation). NOTE: This
physical, and emotional sets. These three sets
subdivision of Psychomotor is closely related
are dispositions that predetermine a person's
with the “Responding to phenomena” subdivision
response to different situations (sometimes
of the Affective domain.
called mindsets).

Key Words: begins, displays, explains, moves,

proceeds, reacts, shows, states, volunteers.

Examples:  Performs a mathematical equation

as demonstrated. Follows instructions to build a
Guided Response: The early stages in
model. Responds hand-signals of instructor while
learning a complex skill that includes imitation
learning to operate a forklift.
and trial and error. Adequacy of performance
is achieved by practicing.
Key Words: copies, traces, follows, react,
reproduce, responds

Examples:  Use a personal computer. Repair a

Mechanism (basic proficiency): This is the leaking faucet. Drive a car.
intermediate stage in learning a complex
skill. Learned responses have become Key Words: assembles, calibrates, constructs,
habitual and the movements can be performed dismantles, displays, fastens, fixes, grinds,
with some confidence and proficiency. heats, manipulates, measures, mends, mixes,
organizes, sketches.

Examples:  Maneuvers a car into a tight parallel

Complex Overt Response (Expert): The parking spot. Operates a computer quickly and
skillful performance of motor acts that involve accurately. Displays competence while playing
complex movement patterns. Proficiency is the piano.
indicated by a quick, accurate, and highly
coordinated performance, requiring a minimum Key Words: assembles, builds, calibrates,
of energy. This category includes performing constructs, dismantles, displays, fastens, fixes,
without hesitation, and automatic grinds, heats, manipulates, measures, mends,
performance. For example, players are often mixes, organizes, sketches.
utter sounds of satisfaction or expletives as
soon as they hit a tennis ball or throw a NOTE: The Key Words are the same as
football, because they can tell by the feel of Mechanism, but will have adverbs or adjectives
the act what the result will produce. that indicate that the performance is quicker,
better, more accurate, etc.

Adaptation: Skills are well developed and the Examples:  Responds effectively to unexpected
individual can modify movement patterns to fit experiences.  Modifies instruction to meet the
 needs of the learners. Perform a task with a
machine that it was not originally intended to do
(machine is not damaged and there is no danger
special requirements. in performing the new task).

Key Words: adapts, alters, changes, rearranges,

reorganizes, revises, varies.

Examples:  Constructs a new theory. Develops a

new and comprehensive training programming.
Origination: Creating new movement patterns
Creates a new gymnastic routine.
to fit a particular situation or specific problem.
Learning outcomes emphasize creativity based
Key Words: arranges, builds, combines,
upon highly developed skills.
composes, constructs, creates, designs, initiate,
makes, originates.

B l o o m ' s T a x o n o m y : T h e A ff e c ti v e D o m a i n

Category Example and Key Words (verbs)

Examples: Listen to others with respect.

Listen for and remember the name of
newly introduced people.
Receiving Phenomena: Awareness, willingness to
hear, selected attention.
Key Words: acknowledge, asks, attentive,
courteous, dutiful, follows, gives, listens,
understands

Responds to Phenomena: Active participation on Examples: Participates in class

the part of the learners. Attend and react to a discussions. Gives a presentation.
 Questions new ideals, concepts, models,
etc. in order to fully understand them.
particular phenomenon. Learning outcomes may Know the safety rules and practice them.
emphasize compliance in responding, willingness to
respond, or satisfaction in responding (motivation). Key Words: answers, assists, aids,
complies, conforms, discusses, greets,
helps, labels, performs, presents, tells

Examples: Demonstrates belief in the

democratic process. Is sensitive towards
individual and cultural differences (value
Valuing: The worth or value a person attaches to a
diversity). Shows the ability to solve
particular object, phenomenon, or behavior.  This
problems. Proposes a plan to social
ranges from simple acceptance to the more complex
improvement and follows through with
state of commitment. Valuing is based on the
commitment. Informs management on
internalization of a set of specified values, while
matters that one feels strongly about.
clues to these values are expressed in the learner's
overt behavior and are often identifiable.
Key Words: appreciates, cherish,
treasure, demonstrates, initiates, invites,
joins, justifies, proposes, respect, shares

Examples: Recognizes the need for

balance between freedom and responsible
behavior. Explains the role of systematic
planning in solving problems. Accepts
Organization: Organizes values into priorities by
professional ethical standards. Creates a
contrasting different values, resolving conflicts
life plan in harmony with abilities,
between them, and creating an unique value system.
interests, and beliefs. Prioritizes time
The emphasis is on comparing, relating, and
effectively to meet the needs of the
synthesizing values. 
organization, family, and self.

Key Words: compares, relates,

synthesizes

Examples: Shows self-reliance when

working independently. Cooperates in
group activities (displays teamwork). Uses
an objective approach in problem solving.
Internalizes Values (characterization): Has a value
Displays a professional commitment to
system that controls their behavior. The behavior is
ethical  practice on a daily basis. Revises
pervasive, consistent, predictable, and most
judgments and changes behavior in light of
important characteristic of the learner. Instructional
new evidence. Values people for what they
objectives are concerned with the student's general
are, not how they look.
patterns of adjustment (personal, social, emotional).

Key Words: acts, discriminates, displays,

influences, modifies, performs, qualifies,
questions, revises, serves, solves, verifies