Bloom’s Taxonomy:
Guidance in planning
instruction
Dr. Julie E. Dodd
Presentation for
Mass Communication Teaching
Fall 2004
Moving from what we do as teachers
to…
…thinking about what we want
the students to be able to do
Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956)
Anderson & Krathwohl, eds. (2000)
Levels of learning - cognitive domain
 Remembering
 Understanding
 Applying
 Analyzing
 Evaluating
 Creating
Remembering
[recall information]

Recognize different
kinds of leads
 List the 5Ws and H
 Identify these parts of
a story: dateline,
byline, nut graph
Understanding
[explain ideas and concepts]

Classify stories as news, features, editorials
 Write a summary of a news story’s construction
 What are the questions the reporter used in
interviewing for the story?
Applying
[use new knowledge in another situation]

Develop interview questions that you would use
and compare to the questions used in class
 Take notes during interview, capturing key ideas
and direct quotes
Analyzing
[distinguish importance,
outline,determine point of view]

What are motives of
each for this
partnership?
 What are potential
problems with this
campaign -- for
M&Ms, Komen?
Evaluating
[judge, monitor]

How effective are the
ads insurance
companies are
running after the
hurricanes?
 If you were working
for GRU, how would
you have handled
communities that
were without power
for weeks?
Creating
[devise, construct]

Write a news story about how the hurricanes
have affected the lives of specific UF students.
 Create a campaign for UF’s Gators on the Go
program.
Use the taxonomy to guide
syllabus decisions
Class structure:
Lecturing vs. group work
Time spent on topic:
know vs. create
Evaluation of students:
multiple-choice exams
essay tests
projects