Informational Example: The Domains of Bloom's Taxonomy

Written for Nathaniel Guzman by Micaela Murphy 10 November 2023

Overview Bloom’s Taxonomy is an educational model named after its primary author, Benjamin Samuel Bloom, who first published the model in 1956 following a series of conferences in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. The model has gone through changes following its original publishing, making changes over time to best match the needs of the ever-improving world of education. The model is split into three categories: the Cognitive domain, which focuses on knowledge; the Affective Domain, which derives from emotion; and the Psychomotor Domain, which incorporates education into action.

Cognitive Domain The Cognitive Domain was first established with the original 1956 model, and changed along with the other domains as recently as 2001. In the new 2001 model, previous categories were renamed and re-ordered in terms of importance; these changes best suit the newest generation of students, and help to better apply educational material. This domain is split into six categories, listed in order of most to least essential:

The “Remember” category focuses on a student’s ability to recall information; this forms the foundation of the domain, as a student’s ability to remember the material is essential for higher understanding.

The “Understand” category takes a student’s understanding of the material a step further, with the student being able to comprehend the material they were previously given, as opposed to purely being able to recall it.

The “Apply” category takes this understanding and requires the student to use their knowledge to demonstrate the material or to solve problems and implement solutions.

The “Analyze” category challenges students to question the material provided, furthering their understanding and giving the student the foundation to follow along with the next category: “Evaluate”.

As previously stated, the “Evaluate” category directly follows the student’s ability to analyze the given material; in this step, the student uses their higher understanding to either justify the information which they were provided or argue against it, coming instead to their own conclusions.

The final category is “Create”: this category uses all of the above skills and the student’s collective understanding of the material and allows them to create new work in relation to it. Examples of such works could include essays, art, or analytical material.

Affective Domain The Affective Domain, in contrast to the purely educational and analytical nature of the previous domain, instead focuses on the emotional aspects of the material. For example, in the field of medicine, a comprehensive understanding of the material is vital for patient care; however, just as important is compassion and bedside manner. The Affective Domain allows the student to apply emotion to the previously studied material, and helps to develop emotional skills such as empathy, respect, and the ability to listen to the problems and ideas of others. These emotional skills, while absolutely essential in the healthcare setting, are also greatly beneficial for the student as a whole. Higher emotional intelligence allows the student to put their understanding of a topic aside and be willing to hear the thoughts of others, expanding their knowledge of the topic and challenging ideas they may otherwise overlook.

Psychomotor Domain In keeping with the theme of healthcare from the previous section, the Psychomotor Domain can be well understood through the lens of patient care. Although a student could both understand the material and apply emotion to it, such skills would go to waste without the ability to apply them outside of the educational setting. For example, a cognitive and affective understanding of a medication is of little use if the student doesn’t know how to administer it to the patient. The student’s ability to use the tools required is just as important as the other listed domains, and at last demonstrates a full and comprehensive understanding.

Conclusion Although Bloom’s Taxonomy has changed greatly since Benjamin Bloom’s original publication, the changes made to the foundational domains have allowed the field of education to best match the needs of students in all subjects and careers. The use of all three domains combined will provide the student with the best possible understanding of the material, and give them the resources needed to apply it. Though every student’s specialties will be different, a strong and supportive effort to implement all of these skills should allow any student to fully comprehend and apply the material following instruction.