There
are various design models that have been proposed by curriculum
design research. The most common model, and the one to which
other models are frequently compared, is the objectives model,
also called the rational model, devised by Ralph Tyler in 1949.
According to this model there are four questions asked by the
curriculum developer. These questions are:
What
educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
What educational experiences can be provided that are likely
to attain these purposes?
How can these educational experiences be effectively organised?
How can we determine whether these purposes are attained?
These
questions lead to a four stage process in designing the curriculum:
Stating
objectives,
Selecting learning experiences,
Organising learning experiences, and
Evaluation.
The
rational model was refined by Hilda Taba in 1962, who added
three additional stages. These additional stages involve the
diagnosis of the learning needs prior to formulating objectives,
and the selection and organisation of content. She identified
the following 7 stages in the curriculum design process:
Step
One: Diagnosing Needs,
Step Two: Formulating Specific Objectives,
Step Three: Selecting Content,
Step Four: Organising Content,
Step Five: Selecting Learning Experiences,
Step Six: Organising Learning Experiences,
Step Seven: Evaluating
Step Eight: Checking for Balance and Sequence
These
earlier models are often differentiated from later models in
the fact that there was little or no backtracking through the
process. Later models such as the cyclic models differ from
these mainly in the number of times you go through each step
in the process, or the order of steps but as is, this linear
model is a great starting point for the new teacher.
All
of these models are dependent on accurately identifying the
cognitive level of learning objectives and learner capabilities
in meeting these objective across cognitive and affective domains,
a process which is greatly understood if one begins by understanding
Benjamin Bloom's taxonomy of the cognitive domain and its later
revisions.
Bloom's
Cognitive Domain
1.
Knowledge
Knowledge
is defined as the remembering of previously learned material.
This may involve the recall of a wide range of material, from
specific facts to complete theories, but all that is required
is the bringing to mind of the appropriate information. Knowledge
represents the lowest level of learning outcomes in the cognitive
domain.
Examples
of learning objectives at this level are: know common terms,
know specific facts, know methods and procedures, know basic
concepts, know principles.
2.
Comprehension
Comprehension
is defined as the ability to grasp the meaning of material.
This may be shown by translating material from one form to another
(words to numbers), by interpreting material (explaining or
summarizing), and by estimating future trends (predicting consequences
or effects). These learning outcomes go one step beyond the
simple remembering of material, and represent the lowest level
of understanding.
Examples
of learning objectives at this level are: understand facts and
principles, interpret verbal material, interpret charts and
graphs, translate verbal material to mathematical formulae,
estimate the future consequences implied in data, justify methods
and procedures.
3.
Application
Application
refers to the ability to use learned material in new and concrete
situations. This may include the application of such things
as rules, methods, concepts, principles, laws, and theories.
Learning outcomes in this area require a higher level of understanding
than those under comprehension.
Examples
of learning objectives at this level are: apply concepts and
principles to new situations, apply laws and theories to practical
situations, solve mathematical problems, construct graphs and
charts, demonstrate the correct usage of a method or procedure.
4.
Analysis
Analysis
refers to the ability to break down material into its component
parts so that its organizational structure may be understood.
This
may include the identification of parts, analysis of the relationship
between parts, and recognition of the organizational principles
involved. Learning outcomes here represent a higher intellectual
level than comprehension and application because they require
an understanding of both the content and the structural form
of the material.
Examples
of learning objectives at this level are: recognize unstated
assumptions, recognizes logical fallacies in reasoning, distinguish
between facts and inferences, evaluate the relevancy of data,
analyze the organizational structure of a work (art, music,
writing).
5.
Synthesis
Synthesis
refers to the ability to put parts together to form a new whole.
This may involve the production of a unique communication (theme
or speech), a plan of operations (research proposal), or a set
of abstract relations (scheme for classifying information).
Learning outcomes in this area stress creative behaviors, with
major emphasis on the formulation of new patterns or structure.
Examples
of learning objectives at this level are: write a well organized
theme, gives a well organized speech writes a creative short
story (or poem or music), propose a plan for an experiment,
integrate learning from different areas into a plan for solving
a problem, formulates a new scheme for classifying objects (or
events, or ideas).
6.
Evaluation
Evaluation
is concerned with the ability to judge the value of material
(statement, novel, poem, research report) for a given purpose.
The
judgments are to be based on definite criteria. These may be
internal criteria (organization) or external criteria (relevance
to the purpose) and the student may determine the criteria or
be given them. Learning outcomes in this area are highest in
the cognitive hierarchy because they contain elements of all
the other categories, plus conscious value judgments based on
clearly defined criteria.
Examples
of learning objectives at this level are: judge the logical
consistency of written material, judge the adequacy with which
conclusions are supported by data, judge the value of a work
(art, music, writing) by the use of internal criteria, judge
the value of a work (art, music, writing) by use of external
standards of excellence.
Skills
Demonstrated
Knowledge
observation
and recall of information
knowledge
of dates, events, places
knowledge
of major ideas
mastery
of subject matter
Question
Cues: list, define, tell, describe, identify, show, label, collect,
examine, tabulate, quote, name, who,when, where, etc.
Comprehension
understanding
information
grasp
meaning
translate
knowledge into new context
interpret
facts, compare, contrast
order,
group, infer causes
predict
consequences
Question
Cues: summarize, describe, interpret, contrast, predict, associate,
distinguish, estimate, differentiate, discuss, extend
Application
use
information
use
methods, concepts, theories in new situations
solve
problems using required skills or knowledge
Questions
Cues: apply, demonstrate, calculate, complete, illustrate, show,
solve, examine, modify, relate, change, classify, experiment,
discover
Analysis
seeing
patterns
organization
of parts
recognition
of hidden meanings
identification
of components
Question
Cues: analyze, separate, order, explain, connect, classify,
arrange, divide, compare, select, explain, infer
Synthesis
use
old ideas to create new ones
generalize
from given facts
relate
knowledge from several areas
predict,
draw conclusions
Question
Cues: combine, integrate, modify, rearrange, substitute, plan,
create, design, invent, what it?, compose, formulate, prepare,
generalize, rewrite
Evaluation
compare
and discriminate between ideas
assess
value of theories, presentations
make
choices based on reasoned argument
verify
value of evidence
recognize
subjectivity
Question
Cues: assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend,
convince, select, judge, explain, discriminate, support, conclude,
compare, summarize
Anderson's
Revised Cognitive Domain
During the 1990's, Lorin Anderson (a former student
of Benjamin Bloom) led a team of cognitive psychologists in
revisiting the taxonomy with the view to examining the relevance
of the taxonomy as we enter the twenty-first century.
As a result of the investigation a number of significant improvements
were made to the existing structure.
REMEMBERING
Recognise, list, describe, identify retrieve, name ….
Can the student RECALL information?
UNDERSTANDING
Interpret, exemplify, summarise, infer, paraphrase …..
Can the student EXPLAIN ideas or concepts?
APPLYING
Implement, carry out, use …
Can the student USE the new knowledge in another familiar situation?
ANALYSING
Compare, attribute, organise, deconstruct …
Can the student DIFFERENTIATE between constituent parts?
EVALUATING
Check, critique, judge hypothesise ...
Can the student JUSTIFY a decision or course of action?
CREATING
Design, construct, plan, produce ...
Can the student GENERATE new products, ideas or ways of viewing
things ?
Using
Bloom's Taxonomy to Assess Possible Instructional Approaches
Bloom's
Taxonomy can
be used as a rough guide as to the selection of a direct instruction
or constructivist learning approach for instruction in the classroom.
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