A Guide to Obseruatior,

participatior], and Reflection

in the Classroom
FIFTH EDITION

Arthea J.S. Reed

Unfi"rtity of I'lorthCarolinaat Asheville
Verna E. Bergemann
Uniu"rrityof Xinl, Carolinaat Asheville

BostonBurrRidge,ILDubuque,IAlvladison'W
I N e w YLondon
o r k S a n FMadrid
r a n c i s cMexico
o S t . L ocity
uis
Lisbon
Lumpur
Bangkok Bogo-t5. Caracas ttl^t.
MilarrMontrealNewDelhis"'.*g.s.o.,tsingaporeSydneyTaipeiToronto

tserving Questioning Techniquel

A codingsystemcanhelp
askedby reachers'
foi'eii.amining.qu_estions
by N9r1is
Therearemanyapproaches
o.r ,..hnique developed.
*i[?o.*
"
cognrtlve
Bloom's
you examinefie'rype.sof q,ro.iJr-;1.?l\(.
Bloom'
raxonomyoFBenjamin
2.1),basedon the cognicive
underwords'
sanders(seeTabte
ocher
ln
i, r,i.r"r.rricar.
fiil
rhar deverop*..r, of cog.riti.rr.
or recall
raxonomyassurnes
callsknowledge
rro- r*olt ""lt"t*a'"g'*l1',Bloo*
standingof concep*Progresr.,
cailsthis transladonand interpreta*if"^preh.eyr.on,(i*dti'
syncallsdri; ,rrl*o.y),
(Sanders
levelsof cognitiot T analysis'
labers.il;;gier
;d"t
abilthe
is
tion) to morecomplexknowledg..
.""r"pr* reversoF,rrid.rr.anding
In berweerr'rlr.to, "rra *or.
cognirivetaxfiesis,and evaruari,on.
probr.*, *i newsituarions.Broorns
high levels
iry coappry(appiication)ones;il;;iro
olce
cyclical'.
irh. .h"r*no*r, knowledgeis
by
knowledge
onomyis diagrammedin F!eu., t.i.
this
ro
an individuarmusrbegin,o "id
of knowredgeof a concepr"r. ,iri.".a,
1
developing new concePts'

32

OBSERVIT\iGIN THE SCHOOLS

'.f

Sanders,using Bloomt raxonomy, identifies seven levelsoF questions, from least to

complex.
1. Memoryn The srudent recallsor recognizesinformation.
2. Tianslation: The srudent changesinformation into a different symbolic fo:- or language.
3. Interpretation: The studenr discoversrelationshipsamong facts,generdizations,definitions,
values,and skills.
4. Application: The student solvesa real-life problem that requiresidentification of fie issue
and r}reselectionand use of appropriate generalizationsan{.skifls
5. Analysis:The student solvesa problem in the light oFconsciousknowledge of rhe paru and
forms of riinking.
6. Synthesis:The student solvesa problem that requiresoriginal, creativethinking.
7. Evaluation: The student makes a judgment of good or bad, right or wrong, according to
standardshe designates(Sanders,1966, 3).
If you compareSanders'levels
of questionsto Blooms taxonomy,you will note a Fewminor
differences.Sanderscails the lowest level of questioningmemlry rather rhan recall,as it is desiginro wo
nated by Bloom. And Sandersdivides the second level of rhe domain, comprehensiott"
levels of questions: transhtion and interpretation.
To recognizethe levelof question asked,you must be able to examinefie quesdon and place
it at r}reappropriatelevel.The besrway ro do this is to list all questionsaskedby r}reteacher,oral
andwritten, and examinethem basedon examplesof eachlevelprovided inTable 2.1. You can
alsousethe verbsprovidedin the centralcircleof Bloomt cognitivedomain in Figure2.1 ro identif' the level of a question.The useof a cassefterecorderis very helpful in this process.Caution:
simply list or recordthe questionswithour arremptingcheexaminationprocessundl each quesdon askedcan be carefi.rllycompared wifi sample questions.It is important to note *rat if two
observerslisten to the samelesson,it is likely rhat even if the questionsare identically recorded,
the observers'placementof them within levelswill differ to someextent.
Sincemost educarors,including Bloom and Sanders,agreethat too many lower-levelquestions (memory translation,interpretation)and not enough higher-levelquestions(application,
anall'sis,synthesis,evaluation) are asked,it is helpful to note the frequenry of the rype of question asked.Keep in mind, however,thar in a well-plannedlesson,the levelof questionsaskedwill
directly relateto the teacher'sobjecrivcfor.the students.For exa.mple,
if the teacher'sobjectiveis,
"The studentswill examinethe feud in Romeoand Juliet," it is likely that chequestionsu'ill be at
the loq,er levels.If, however,the objective is, "The studentswill compare and contrast the feud
in Romeoand Juliet with other literary and nonliterary feuds," the questions will move from
memory ro analysis.

OBSERVING TEACHERS

FIGURE2.1 Cognitive Behaviors and Verbs"

Based on Bloom's

Coguitive Domain

Abiliry to rccall,co bring inro

mind appropriatc matcrid, and
knowledgc o[ spccGcs

II. Comprchensivcncss

rnd

jto

tnor
'<is-

(\uires
I, II, [[], M
and V.) Abiliry to makc
fudgmena about quali-

arc crircrir

orher idcas or marerials

COGNITTVE
DOIvIAIN

oral

rr leq-

t..-"

: rwo
-; -A

trare. escimate, cxPlain

Pfove

to pur rogedrcr clcmcnci or parc

a unificd

c.onstmcr,

(Rcquir3sI
sotve, usc, predicr,

comPosc'

rclarc, epol.v, diegrrrn.

organizc, dcsign' crcerc'

plan. pcrform,

or scc Fullcsc meening'

interpcec, dcscribe, illus-

apPrr'isc,

rlace

tion:

rnrutatc, e)Grn-

ine, disctrss, classifu'

sclccr. cr-ahnrc, solve,

weigh, raluc,

ien-

of the idcas it conrains

grup,

arguc, asscss, judgc,

(\uircs I, U, m,
and IV.) Thc abiliry

and makc usc

municarion

ry ,"elucs,proccduces
mcrhods, etc, b),
Lrsingr.hcapgropri-

rwo

can

(Rcquirest.) Thc abitirYro

cekca wrirten or oral com-

oudinc, disringuish,mcmorizc, recognizc, rccirc, abulece,idenrifr, nemc, ordec

d-raw, dcrronsr;lte

Predicr

to [orm

3 <i l . J . \ o r . i n
to

'-f-{c

in :' ncJ

organizrdoo

.l :lc*

2robtc:n, :Gcl. lr:nc:

pie, cr ::'lcc;-t. :jla isc
5ieJ:':ion

cornoare, conr3sr.

or wholc-

dcrivc, organizc'

crens-

hrc. discover,causc& eftct,

diffcrenrietc, scc rczrcns whY,
scc reledorshiPs

i r r e q -

a l I PQ-

j *ill
rveis,
be at
, ieud
:rom

(Rcquircs t, li, and III.) Abiliqf ro break down a

communicarion or maccrial into componcnt
parb and ro.dctcct rJrcrclacionship o[ rhc para
the waY thcY erc organizcd'

.: -

tV. Ana.lysis

:
behaviors;it also givesa sa'mThis diagram idencifiesand explains the six.levelso[cognitive
evaluadon to the proPer levelof cogniple list of ',r.ib, *rat may be used in reladng behavioral
i
tive behavior.
. r. : : :'
oFField Experienccs
Keidrley, and Brucc E- tong of rhc Florida Satc univcrsiry office
,Adaprcd by Sanchon s. Funlq J.Fr"rr L Hoffin;;'An"c
Longman S. Green and company, lnc.' 1985'
Donzit,
agnitirc
ohjcciua,
of
Eduatun
Tannom\
from Bcnjamin Broom er a- tJl,

34 OBSERVING IN THE SCHOOLS

TABLE 2.1

1. Memory

Examples of Levels of,Questions Based on Sanders

"'' ' '.. aand Bloom
Howmuchis...?
?
Vhg is
'!7henwas...?
O",tln.

2. Tiznslation

il,. chapter.

What does the definition say?

What is the English translation of thar passage?
look on page27; what does your text say about . . . ?
Draw a picture of the character in the story as we read.

3. Inteqpretation

In your own words, what does that passagemean?

'Wirlout
looking ac your tcxt, what is meant by ' . -.?
Write a sentence using *re vocabulary word . . .
Explain the meaning of fie graPh.
'lfhat
is rhe word probiem asking you to do?
Estimate the number of votes needed to win.

4. Application

'What

would happen if . . - ?
'$Chat
would you do in a similar situation?
How would you solve that problem?
Using this play as a model, write your own play based on rhe story we read.
Solve *re word problem.
Diagramthe...
Demonstrate . . .

5. Analysis

Compare this story to that story.

Consast this batde to that banle.
'lChat
was the effect of his decision?
\7'har caused the problem?
Is this story based on facr or opinion?
'What
is the major chemc of the novel?
'lfhat
conclusion would you derive from the following .

6. Svnthesis

'Write
'lZrirc

an essayabout . . .
an original shon srory.

Design your own experiment.

Using all you have learned about oil painting and ponraiture, paint a portrait
in oils.
Develop soiutions for the problem of . . .
'lfrite
a computer program.
7. Evaluation

'Write

a critiquc of rhe novel . . .

Evaluate dre qualiry of . . .

Atgr.

che following point . . .

Debate . . .
'Writc
a point-counterpoint

PaPer on . . .

Based on all you have learned, evaluate your own work.

Vhose solution proved tie most effecdve?