Bloom’s Taxonomy

Practical guide to the Bloom’s Taxonomy pyramid.

It organizes thinking skills from basic to advanced and helps you write goals, design activities, and assess learning.

What it is?

A hierarchy of cognitive processes. Learners typically start at the bottom (simple recall) and progress upward (creating new ideas). 

The revised Bloom’s uses verbs to show what learners do.

The six levels (bottom → top)

1) Remember – recall facts & basics

Goal: retrieve information from memory.

Typical actions: define, list, state, identify, memorize, repeat.

Activities/assessments: flashcards, label a diagram, multiple-choice on terms.

Example (Photosynthesis): “List the inputs and outputs of photosynthesis.”

2) Understand – explain ideas & meanings

Goal: show comprehension by restating, summarizing, or illustrating.

Actions: explain, describe, classify, summarize, translate, give examples.

Activities: write a summary, match terms to meanings, paraphrase a paragraph.

Example: “Explain in your own words why plants need sunlight.”

3) Apply – use knowledge in new situations

Goal: carry out a procedure or use a concept.

Actions: use, execute, implement, solve, demonstrate, calculate.

Activities: solve practice problems, run a simple lab, follow a protocol.

Example: “Use the photosynthesis formula to calculate glucose output given inputs.”

4) Analyze – break down & see relationships

Goal: separate parts, find patterns/causes, compare/contrast.

Actions: differentiate, organize, compare, contrast, examine, test, question.

Activities: Venn diagrams, identify assumptions, analyze data sets.

Example: “Compare photosynthesis and cellular respiration step-by-step.”

5) Evaluate – judge using criteria & evidence

Goal: defend a choice, critique, prioritize.

Actions: appraise, argue, defend, judge, support, critique, weigh.

Activities: write a review, defend a solution, peer-assess with a rubric.

Example: “Evaluate which farming practice best maximizes plant growth and justify your choice.”

6) Create – produce something new/original

Goal: synthesize ideas into a novel product or plan.

Actions: design, develop, formulate, construct, author, investigate.

Activities: design an experiment, write a proposal, build a model/app.

Example: “Design an investigation to test how light color affects photosynthesis.”

How to use it (quick workflow)

Write objectives with Bloom verbs (e.g., “Students will analyze …”).

Align activities to the same level (don’t ask students to create if you only taught to remember).

Assess at the level you target (rubrics for evaluate/create, auto-graded for remember/apply).

Scaffold upward: start with recall → comprehension → practice → analysis → judgment → creation.

Handy question stems

Remember: “What is…?” “List…”

Understand: “Explain why…” “Summarize…”

Apply: “How would you use…?” “Solve…”

Analyze: “What’s the relationship between…?” “Why did… occur?”

Evaluate: “Which is best and why?” “Do you agree…? Defend.”

Create: “Design a way to…” “Compose/Develop…”

Use the pyramid to check balance: if tasks cluster at the bottom, add analyze/evaluate/create tasks to deepen learning.