Remembering Remembering is the simplest category in Bloom's Taxonomy. Remembering means that students retrieve simple answers from their own memory (Krathwohl, 2002). An example of a remembering activity might be this question on a test; “how many Spartan soldiers defended ancient Greece in the battle of Thermopylae?” In this example, the students are only required to recall from memory the information they have learned.
Understanding Understanding is the next lowest-order category in Bloom’s Taxonomy. Understanding means that students make sense of the items that they learn (Krathwohl, 2002). An activity on this level of Bloom’s Taxonomy might require students to write an essay that summarizes a chapter in the novel Hatchet. In this example, the students simply make sense of the subject matter, but they add little new knowledge to what was already in the novel. Other activities that would fit within this category include classifying items into groups, comparing different items and explaining phenomena.
Applying The next category in Bloom’s Taxonomy is Applying. Applying goes beyond understanding because the student must carry out a procedure or activity according to a set of standards or steps they have learned (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001; Krathwohl, 2002). An activity in this category requires students to take some action related to the subject matter. For instance, after having learned about the elements of the sentence, students could be asked to form a proper sentence from the elements that they have learned. This would require students to apply their knowledge of sentence structure.
Analyzing Analyzing is more complex than applying. Analyzing means breaking something down into its parts, comparing these parts or determining how these parts add up to a whole (Krathwohl, 2002). Students are analyzing when they understand concepts and how the concepts are structured together. Analyzing means combining information and presenting it in a new format, or combining ideas into a new process or product. A good example of an analyzing activity is a research project in which students must make sense of different sources and combine and organize these together in a paper that presents a new idea based on the different sources.
Evaluating Evaluating is the second highest category in Bloom's Taxonomy. Evaluating goes beyond analyzing because students must make judgments about the value of material using relevant criteria (Krathwohl, 2002). An evaluation activity might include checking or critiquing a work to determine its overall value. Preparing for and participating in a debate about a specific policy or issue would be considered evaluating. Another example of evaluating might include having students provide a recommendation for a technology purchase based on a given budget and priority list. These activities require students to make value judgments about policies or products.
Creating The highest-order category in Bloom's Taxonomy is creating. Activities within the creating category require students to put elements together to make a product or project (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001; Krathwohl, 2002). When creating, students draw upon their knowledge in many different areas to make a new product or project. Some examples of projects within the creating category might include students composing a song according to certain requirements, developing a website with specified elements or designing a brochure that meets the needs of a client.
