ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING-2

Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

NAME: SHALOM FAITH M. LAGBAS & AN-ANN M. AWIT

YEAR&COURSE: 3RD YR BEED
Educational objectives are specific statements of student performance at the end of an
instructional unit. Educational objectives are sometimes referred to as behavioral objectives
and are typically stated with the use of verbs. The most popular taxonomy of educational
objectives is Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Bloom's Taxonomy consists of
three domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. These three domains correspond to the
three types of goals that teachers want to assess: knowledge-based goals (cognitive), skills-
based goals (psychomotor), and affective goals (affective). Hence, there are three taxonomies
that can be used by teachers depending on the goals. Each taxonomy consists of different
levels of expertise with varying degree of complexity. The succeeding sections describe the
taxonomies for the psychomotor and affective domain.

Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in the Affective Domain describes five levels
of expertise: receiving, responding, valuing, organization, and characterization by a value or
value complex. Table 2.1 provides an elaboration of this taxonomy. This will be discussed
further in Lesson 4 on assessment of affective learning.

Table 2.1. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in the Affective Domain

Level Description Illustrative Sample

Verbs Objective

Receiving Awareness or asks, chooses, Listens

passive holds, attentively to
attention to a identifies, the instruction
phenomenon or listens of the teacher
stimulus

Responding Active attention answers, Participates

and response to complies, actively in the
a particular participates, focus-group
phenomenon or practices, writes discussion
stimulus
Valuing Attaching value completes, Demonstrates
or worth to a demonstrates, belief in the
phenomenon or differentiates, value of the
object. Valuing explains, election process
may range from justifies
acceptance to
commitment

Organization Organizing adheres, Defends the

values into defends, importance of
 priorities by integrates, graduate
comparing, organizes, education in the
relating, and synthesizes career of a
synthesizing teacher
specific values

Internalizing Having a acts, displays, Displays

values/ personal value influences, commitment to
characterizatio system that is verifies helping
n by a value or now a economically
value complex characteristic disadvantaged
solves, of the students
learner

In terms of educational objectives in the psychomotor domain, Bloom and colleagues did not
propose levels unlike in the cognitive and affective domains. However, other scholars like
Elizabeth Simpson (1972) built a taxonomy for the psychomotor domain from the work of
Bloom. In Simpson's Taxonomy Educational Objectives in the Psychomotor Domain, seven
levels of expertise are described: perception, set, guided response, mechanism, complex overt
response, adaptation, and Organizing. Table 2.2 provides an elaboration of this taxonomy.

Table 2.2. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in the Psychomotor Domain

Level Description Illustrative Sample
Verbs Objective

Perception The ability to adjusts, Detects non-

use sensory describes, verbal cues
cues to guide detects, from the
motor activity identifies,selects participants

Set The mental, begins, displays, Shows

physical, and knows, motivation to
emotional sets recognizes, learn a new skill
that predispose shows, states
a person's
response to
different
situations.

Guided Demonstration copies, Performs the

Response of a complex performs, mathematical
skill through follows, reacts, operation by
guided practice responds following the
like imitation steps
and trial and demonstrated
error. by the teacher

Mechanism Learned assembles, Plays the guitar

responses have dismantles,
become habitual fixes,
and movements manipulates,
can be plays
performed with
some degree of
confidence and
proficiency
Complex Overt Performance of assembles, Demonstrates
Response motor acts that dismantles, one's expertise
involve fixes, in playing the
complex manipulates, guitar
movement organizes
patterns in a (similar with
quick, accurate, Mechanisms but
and highly performed in a
coordinated more accurate,
manner. more
Characterized coordinated,
by automatic and quicker
performance way)
and
performance
without
hesitation

Adaptation Psychomotor adapts, alters, Modifies the

skills are well modifies, dance steps to
developed and rearranges, suit the abilities
the person can varies of one's
modify groupmates
movement
patterns to fit
special
requirements

Origination Creating new arranges, builds, Creates new

movement combines, steps for a
patterns to fit a creates, designs contemporary
particular version of a
situation or classic dance hit
 specific
problem.
Learning
outcomes
emphasize
creativity based
upon highly
developed
skills.

Bloom's taxonomies of educational objectives for affective and psychomotor domains are
able to provide teachers with a structured guide in formulating more specific learning targets
in the classroom. The taxonomies serve as guide for teachers in both instruction and
assessment of student learning in the classroom The challenge is for teachers to identify the
levels of expertise that they expect the students to achieve and demonstrate. This will then
lead to the identification of the assessment methods required to properly assess student
learning. Higher level of expertise in a given domain requires are assumed to require more
sophisticated assessment methods or strategies.

Learning Targets

As previously learned from Assessment in Learning 1, a learning target is a statement on

what students are supposed to learn and what they can do because of instruction. Learning
targets are more specific compared with educational goals, standards, and objectives and lend
themselves to more specific instructional and assessment activities. Learning targets should
be congruent with the standards prescribed by a program or level and aligned with the
instructional or learning objectives of a subject or course. Teachers formulate learning targets
from broader standards and learning objectives. The learning targets should be clear, specific,
and meaningful to students. Thus, learning targets are more effectively stated in students'
point of view, typically using the phrase "I can..." For example, "I can differentiate between
traditional methods and alternative methods of assessment".

The purpose of learning targets is to effectively inform students of what they should be able
to do or demonstrate as evidence of their learning. Therefore, learning targets should specify
both the content and criteria of learning. With specific learning targets formulated,
appropriate classroom instruction and assessment can be designed.

The most common typology of learning targets are knowledge, reasoning, skill, product, and
affect (also known as disposition). Table 2.3 summarizes these types of learning targets.
Table 2.3. Description and Sample Learning Targets
Type of Learning Targets Description Sample

Knowledge targets Refers to factual, I can discuss the research

conceptual, and procedural design that I used for my
information that students thesis.
must learn in a subject or
content area.

Reasoning targets Knowledge-based thought I can justify my choice of

processes that students must Analysis of Variance
learn. It involves application (ANOVA) as my statistical
of knowledge in problem- analysis for my thesis
solving, decision- making, research.
and other tasks that require
mental skills.

Skills targets Use of knowledge and or I can perform Analysis of

reasoning to perform or Variance (ANOVA) on
demonstrate physical skills. research data using the
software SPSS.

Product targets Use of knowledge, I can write the results and

reasoning, and skills in discussion section of a thesis
creating a concrete or manuscript.
tangible product.

Affective targets Refers to affective I can appreciate the role of a

characteristics that students thesis adviser in the
can develop and demonstrate completion of a thesis
because of instruction. research.

What are the appropriate alternative methods of assessment for learning targets?
While all five types of learning targets (knowledge, reasoning, skill, product, and affect) can
be assessed by the use of alternative methods of assessment, three types of learning targets
can be best assessed using alternative assessments. These are skills, products, and affect.
Stiggins et al. (2006) defined skills type of learning targets as one's use of knowledge and
reasoning to act skillfully. In other words, skills refer to learning targets that require the
development and demonstration of behavioral or physical task. To able to demonstrate skills
or act skillfully, students must be able to possess the knowledge and reasoning ability related
or relevant to the skills to be demonstrated.
On the other hand, Stiggins et al. (2006) described product learning targets as the use of
knowledge, reasoning, and skills to create a concrete product. Thus, products refer to learning
targets that require the development of a tangible and high-quality product or output. Students
are expected to create products that have certain core attributes that will serve as basis for
evaluating its quality.
Meanwhile, affect or disposition was defined by Stiggins et al. (2006) as students' attitudes
about school and learning. In practice, we look at affect/ disposition to encompass a broad
range of noncognitive attributes beyond attitude that may affect learning and performance,
including motivation, interest, and other affective states. The development of
affect/disposition simultaneously occurs as a student learns concepts and skills in the
classroom.
Table 2.4 provides further examples of learning targets for skills, products, and affect across
different subject areas:
Table 2.4. Sample Learning Targets Across Subject Areas
Subject Area Typology of Learning Learning Targets
Targets

English Skills Participate in conversation with

others.

Products Write an argumentative essay

where arguments are justified by
providing factual or empirical
data as support.

Affect Enjoy reciting a poem in front of

an audience.

Physical Education Skills Dribbles the ball to cross the half-

court.

Products Create a three-month personal

fitness plan.
 Affect Show determination to complete
the physical task.

Mathematics Skills Measure angles using a

protractor.

Products Given the data, construct a

histogram with normal curve
using SPSS.

Affect Demonstrate interest in attending

mathematics class.

Science Skills Use laboratory equipment

properly.

Products Prepare a report about the field

observation.

Affect Consider the safety of others in

the conduct of an experiment.

Social Studies Skills Participate in civic discussions on

current social issues.

Products Create a timeline for the 2017

Marawi Siege.

Affect Argue with others in a

constructive manner.
Once the learning targets are identified, appropriate alternative methods of assessment can be
selected to measure student learning. In terms of skills, having the required skills to apply
one's knowledge and reasoning skills through the performance of a behavioral or physical
task is a step higher than simply knowing or being able to reason based on knowledge.
Hence, skills targets are best among students through performance-oriented or performance-
based assessment as skills are best gauged through actual task performance.

In terms of products, a student's knowledge, reasoning, and skills are all required before one
can create a meaningful product or output. Obviously, product targets are best assessed
through product assessment. Given the need to also give value to the process of creating a
product, performance assessment is also typically used vis-a-vis product assessment.cr

For affect or disposition, a student may already hold a particular affect or disposition in
relation to a particular lesson or learning target and such affect may change or not depending
on the learning and instructional and assessment experiences of the student. Affect or
disposition is best assessed through affective assessment or the use of self-report measures
(checklists, inventories, questionnaires, scales) and other alternative strategies to assess
affective outcomes.