The Revised Taxonomy and It’s Uses

Lori Anderson ( Bloom’s former student) and David Krathwohl and a group of cognitive
psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers work together. The result is what
is now called the revised taxonomy.
The new taxonomy reflects a more active form of thinking and is perhaps more accurate.
Anderson and Krathwohl reorganizes, and highlights the interactions between, two dimensions:
cognitive processes and knowledge content. In their revision, cognitive processes are presented
as verbs and the knowledge content are presented as nouns.
Differences between the old and the revised taxonomies
1. Levels or categories of thinking in the old taxonomy were nouns, while in the revised
taxonomy they are verbs. The use of action words instead of nouns was done to highlight
that thinking is an active process. For example, evaluate instead of evaluation, or analyze
instead of analysis.
2. While the revised taxonomy remains to be in hierarchical levels of increasing complexity,
it is intended to be more flexible, in that it allows the categories to overlap. For example,
some action words in understand level, like explain, may appear to be more complex than
the action word, show in the apply level. However, when we look into the six levels from
remember to create, we will still find that, over-all, the taxonomy proceeds in hierarchical
order.
3. The knowledge level was changed to remember . the change was made because
knowledge does not refer to a cognitive or thinking level. Knowledge is the object of the
thinking. Remember is a more appropriate word for the first thinking level which involves
recalling and retrieving knowledge.
4. The comprehension level was changed to understand. Teachers are likely to use the word
understand when referring to their work rather than comprehension.
5. Synthesis was changed to create and was placed as the highest level.
6. The cognitive domain now includes two dimensions: the cognitive dimension and the
knowledge dimension. The knowledge dimension of the revised taxonomy was based on
the subcategories of knowledge in the old taxonomy.
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

Bloom's Taxonomy
Cognitive Domain

Old Revised
Taxonomy Taxonomy

Cognitive Knowledge
Dimension Dimension

1. Knowledge 1. Remeber Factual

2.Comprehen 2. Understand
sion Conceptual

3. Application 3. Apply Procedural

4. Analysis 4. Analyze Metacognitive

5. Synthesis 5. Evaluate

6. Evaluation 6. Create
 Two Dimensions of the Cognitive Domain (Krathwohl, 2002)

THE COGNITIVE DIMENSIONS THE KNOWLEDGE DIMENSION

1. Remember A. Factual
Retrieving relevant knowledge from long term Basic elements of a discipline that a
memory student must know and be able to work with
1.1 recognizing to solve problems including basic
1.2 recalling terminology and specific details and
elements.
2. Understand
Determining meaning from different types of
functions be they written or graphic messages or
activities.
2.1 interpreting 2.5 inferring
2.2 exemplifying 2.6 comparing B. Conceptual
2.3 classifying 2.7 explaining. Interrelationships between basic factual
2.4 summarizing knowledge that demonstrate how elements
work together, for example,
3. Apply classifications and categories, principles
Carrying out or using a procedure in a given and generalizations, and theories,
situation models, and structures.
3.1 executing
3.2 implementing

C. Procedural
How something is done including the
4. Analyze methods of inquiry, skills, algorithms,
Breaking materials or concepts into parts, techniques, and methods needed to
determining how the parts relate to one another or investigate, apply, or analyze information.
how they interrelate, or how the parts relate to an
overall structure or purpose.
4.1 differentiating a. subject-specific skills and algorithms
4.2 organizing b. subject-specific techniques and methods
4.3 attributing c. criteria for determining when to use
appropriate procedures

5. Evaluating:
Making judgments based on criteria and standards
5.1 checking D. Metacognitive
5.2 critiquing Awareness and knowledge of one’s own
cognition including strategies for
learning, contextual and conditional
knowledge about cognitive tasks, and
6. Creating: self-knowledge.
Putting elements together to form a coherent or
functional whole; reorganizing elements into a new
pattern or structure
6.1 generating
6.2planning
6.3 producing
The revised taxonomy highlights two dimensions: the cognitive and the knowledge
dimensions. The cognitive dimension includes the hierarchical or ordered levels of
thinking. The thinking levels move from the simplest to the most complex. The levels are
remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.
The knowledge dimension includes four knowledge categories: factual, concept,
procedure and metacognitive. The knowledge that teachers aim to teach, and students
aim to learn can be about facts concepts, procedures, and metacognitive knowledge.
When you formulate learning objectives, you consider what level of thinking you want
your students to achieve, and also what type of knowledge it is you want to teach.
When we write learning objective, the level of thinking is represented by the verb, while
the knowledge dimensions is represented by the noun. Example, “at the end of the lesson,
the learner will be able to explain the photosynthesis process,” explain is the action word
which will fall under the second cognitive dimension level, understand, and
photosynthesis is the noun will fall under procedural knowledge.

The table below shows how the cognitive and knowledge dimensions pair to form various
kinds of learning objectives and activities.
Knowledge Dimension

Cognitive Factual Conceptual Procedural Metacognitive

Dimension
Terminology, Classification, Subject- Strategic
specific details, categories, specific skills, knowledge,
elements principles and algorithms, cognitive tasks-
generalizations techniques and contextual and
theories, methods, conditional
models, criteria for knowledge,
structures determining self-knowledge
when to use
the procedures

Remember Remember- Remember- Remember- Remember-

Facts Concepts Procedure Metacognitive
recognize Knowledge
recall
Ex. List the Ex. Describe Ex. Recall the Ex. Review
ingredients of kare-kare as a steps in tasks
kare-kare Filipino dish cooking kare- accomplished
kare in cooking
kare-kare
Understand Understand- Understand- Understand- Understand-
Facts Concepts Procedures Metacognitive
Interpret, Knowledge
exemplify,
classify, Ex. Summarize Ex. Classify Ex. Describe Ex. Choose
summarize, the features of smartphones the procedure best strategies
infer, compare, the latest smart according to of sending to adjust
explain phone model operating group quickly in using
system messages a different
using smartphone
cellphones
Apply Apply- Apply- Apply- Apply-
Facts Concepts Procedures Metacognitive
Execute, Knowledge
implement
Ex. Use facts Ex. Ex. Follow the Ex. Use the
in answering Demonstrate PQ4R steps in best study
questions coherence in reading a strategy to
answering chapter overcome
questions one’s
weakness

Analyze Analyze- Analyze- Analyze- Analyze-

Facts Concepts Procedures Metacognitive
Differentiate, Knowledge
organize,
attribute Ex. Identify the Ex. Identify Ex. Examine Ex. Reflect on
key words in triggers of the different one’s ability to
the definition of anger among steps family manage anger
anger teenagers members take
to manage
anger

Evaluate Evaluate- Evaluate- Evaluate- Evaluate-

Facts Concepts Procedures Metacognitive
Check, critique Knowledge

Ex. Select the Ex. Critique the Ex. Choose the Ex. Assess
most complete different views best way to one’s financial
list of about financial invest money literacy
investment literacy
banks

Create Create- Create- Create- Create-

Facts Concepts Procedures Metacognitive
Knowledge
Generate,
plan, Ex. Produce a Ex. Write an Ex. Create a Ex. Make a
procedure presentation informal essay new recipe for project about
showing award about what cooking adobo adobo as a
winning adobo authentic Filipino dish
recipe adobo is based on one’s
talent