3 Domains Of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Every subject has its own objectives and goals to be achieved. These objectives are kept in mind while preparing the syllabus or curriculum. The main objective of education is to bring about a change in the attitude of the child and develop knowledge and skills. Learning without aim and objective becomes uninteresting and results in a waste of energy, time, material, and resources. 

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a set of three models used to classify educational learning objectives into levels of specificity. Taxonomy is made up of two words: taxis and nomos. Taxis means arrangement, and nomos means law. So, we can say that it is a lawful arrangement. Benjamin Bloom, for the first time in 1956, gave this model.

Bloom and his associates at the University of Chicago gave the classification of objectives into three domains: 

1. Cognitive Domain 
2. Affective Domain 
3. Psychomotor Domain

All three domains of Bloom’s Taxonomy are inter related to each other. 

A) Cognitive Domain Bloom’s Taxonomy:

This domain was given by Bloom. It is concerned with mental reasoning and thinking. The cognitive domain has a total of six levels:

a) knowledge; b) comprehension; c) application; d) analysis; e) synthesis; and f) evaluation. 

a) Knowledge:

This aspect of Bloom’s taxonomy is the ability to recall data and information. It states that the students must acquire more and more knowledge related to theories, principles, terminology, and species. The students learn without understanding. It emphasizes rote memorization. For example, learning mathematical tables, English poems, etc. The keywords related to knowledge are define, identify, recognise, tell, quote, etc. 

b) Comprehension:

This aspect is the ability to learn the meaning of concepts. It means understanding basic methods, principles, and theories. The student interprets the concept in his own words and gives his own examples related to the concept. For example, the students understand how the days and nights are formed. The

keywords related to comprehension are interpret, summarize, extract, etc. 

c) Application:

It means to apply the ideas, learned material, and principles in daily use to solve the problem. The keywords related to application are discover, transfer, teach, use, etc. 

d) Analysis:

It includes the analysis of elements and the relationship between different elements. In it, we usually break down the whole concept into different parts so that the student can understand each part clearly. The student becomes capable of distinguishing between facts and opinions. The keywords related to analysis are categorize, correlate, connect, etc. 

e) Synthesis:

It is the ability of the student to develop or create a new idea, concept, theory, or principle by combining the components and materials. Innovation and redesign are the two basic elements of synthesis. The keywords related to synthesis are modify, invent, collaborate, role play, rewrite, etc.

f) Evaluation:

It is the highest-order objective. It checks what change has come in the attitude of a student after learning. The students at this level make judgments about the ideas and materials. For example, after teaching the concept of globalization, the students are asked to critically evaluate the impact of globalization. The keywords related to evaluation are judge, criticize, evaluate, appraise, etc. 

In 2001, student of Bloom revised the cognitive domain, and six aspects were changed into the verb form: 

1) Remembering (knowledge): Example activities are memorizing a poem and recalling the mathematical formulas. 

2) Understanding (comprehension): Example activities are to illustrate the difference between a triangle and a square and organize the animals on the basis of the food chain. 

3) Applying (application): An example activity is to use the mathematical formula to find the area of a square plot. 

4) Analyzing (analysis): An example activity is to identify the different types of government

5) Evaluating (evaluation): An example activity illustrates the importance of democracy. 

6) Creating (synthesis): An example activity is to write an essay with the help of material. 

Note: In this revised part, creating is the highest-order objective rather than evaluation. 

B) Affective Domain of Bloom’s Taxonomy:

This domain is concerned with the attitudes, emotions, and values of the students. But it is very difficult to express them, as they are internal feelings. Bloom, David Krathwohl, and Masia (1964) classified the objectives into the following categories: a) receiving; b) responding; c) valuing; d) organization; and e) characterization by a value. 

Receiving:

It is the lowest domain. In it, the students receive information and ideas. But the students must have the willingness to receive. They can receive the information through various activities. Examples are listening to a lecture, watching a movie, etc. The keywords related to receiving are listen, follow, attentive, and acknowledge. 

Responding:

It means the participation of the students in responding to the question asked by the teacher. They can respond by answering, writing, or participating in a discussion or presentation. The keywords related to responding are presents, tells, performs, discusses, and answers. 

Valuing:

It is the ability to see the worth of something. It can be understood with the help of an example. The teacher taught the students to always speak the truth. So they will implement it in their lives. So we can say that valuing means being worthy of an idea or behavior. The keywords related to valuing are respect, share, join, cherish, and appreciate. 

Organization:

It tells the students to organize their values, information, and ideas systematically on the basis of priority. In other words, students learn when to give importance to which value. For example, giving more time to study than playing games. The keywords related to organization are compare, relate, etc. 

Characterization by a value:

It is the highest level of the affective domain. All the earliest levels are included in this level. At this level, values become part of behavior. The keywords related to characterization by value are act, display, influence, and modify. 

C) Sensory Domain of Bloom’s Taxonomy:

This domain of bloom’s taxonomy is also called the psychomotor domain. It is related to reflex actions, body movement, skills, and physical actions like drawing, handwriting, etc. This domain was a contribution by Dave (1975). Its main aspects are as follows: 

Imitation:

In it, the child first observes things by watching. He or she replicates what is observed. For example, if the teacher is drawing a circle, he or she imitates or copies it to make the circle. The keywords related to imitation are mimic, repeat, copy, follow, and replicate. 

Manipulation:

The children try to modify or manipulate the learning according to their abilities. In other words, he or she tries to reproduce

activity through memory and instruction. For example, the child is taught how to throw a ball or how to kick the football with their feet. The keywords related to manipulation are act, execute, and perform. 

Precision:

In this stage, the student tries to bring accuracy and perfection to the learned skill through reproduction and control. The learner will perform the skill independently. The keywords related to precision are mast, demonstrate, and perfectionist. 

Articulation:

At this stage of bloom’s taxonomy, the students will become capable of coordinating a series of acts and sequences. They can perform various skills together in a way. The keywords related to articulation are combined, construct, and customise. 

Naturalization:

It is the highest level of the psychomotor domain. The child can showcase the learned skill naturally and automatically. Also, in this stage, efficiency increased to the highest level. 

Harrow, in 1972, developed this domain of Bloom’s taxonomy and gave the following six aspects: 

1. Reflex movements:

These movements are involuntary and controlled by the nervous system. For example, a sudden withdrawal of the hand occurs when we touch a hot pan. 

2. Basic fundamental movements:

The child learns these fundamental movements in daily life with time. Some examples of fundamental movements are crawling, walking, running, climbing, etc. 

3. Perceptual activities:

These activities include the interpretation of stimuli that help the child adapt to the environment. 

4. Physical activities:

Stamina is developed in children. For example, run a marathon. The related keywords are strength, energy, and power. 

5. Skilled movements:

The children learn advanced movements.

6. Non-discourse communication:

Here, the children use body language such as gestures and facial expressions. 

In the end, we can say that Bloom’s taxonomy helps the teachers identify the intellectual level of the learners and thus make learning more effective.