Blooms Taxonomy

A useful tool to encourage higher order and creative thinking processes for gifted and talented students is Bloom’s Taxonomy. As an example, the table below outlines some sample activities, based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, which could be included in a Stage 5 Ball Games unit to encourage higher order thinking processes with gifted and talented students. (NSW DET 2011)

Bloom strategy



Knowledge / remembering



Comprehension / understanding








Application / applying



Analysis / analysing



Synthesis / creating








Evaluation / evaluating

Definition



Retrieve relevant information



Construct meaning from oral, written and graphic communication







Carry out or use a procedure in a given situation


Break material into its parts and determine the relationship between each part and their relationship to the whole

Put elements together to form a coherent or functional whole, reorganise elements into a new pattern or structure





Make judgements based on criteria and standards

Sample teaching and learning activities

• Identify the different types of skills required in ball games.
• Describe the characteristics of these skills.

• Compare and contrast a range of different skills that are required in different ball games by watching demonstration games e.g videos or TV coverage.
• Describe how the rules of the game can influence the types of skills required.

• Develop an offensive and defensive strategy and implement it in a modified game situation.

• Develop and implement a criteria to analyse the performance of participants in a range of ball games.

• Experiment with the application of simple mechanical principles to determine their effect on performance e.g. force, stability, momentum.
• Transfer and improvise skills from one movement context to another game context.

• View a game situation and evaluate the effectiveness of offensive and defensive strategies employed by each team.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is not just a tool for planning teaching and learning activities for gifted and talented students. In order to differentiate the curriculum for mixed ability classes, teachers can develop activities encompassing the full range of cognitive processes for all types of knowledge. Work involving knowledge with lower cognitive demands e.g. remembering and comprehending, can provide the smaller steps in the learning sequence that students with special learning needs require to develop their understanding of concepts. Gifted and talented students should primarily be engaged in the more complex processes of analysing, evaluating and synthesising information. Gifted and talented students should also be learning to think about the learning process and developing an understanding of their own problem-solving strategies.

Here are some useful posters that you could use in your classroom regarding Bloom's Taxonomy.

Posters

For further resources and information regarding Bloom's Taxonomy please click links below.

An example of how Bloom's Taxonomy and Multiple Intelligence work together

Applying Bloom's Taxonomy

Kurwongbah State School ( Blooms Page)

Teaching and Learning ( Further explanation of Blooms)

The University of Queensland (In depth explanation)

CAP NSW Education Department ( units of works around Blooms)