Blooms Taxonomy Verbs

What are the Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs?

Taxonomy Level	Original (1956)	Key Characteristics	Criticisms/Issues
Knowledge	Level 1	Basic recall and recognition of facts	Too blunt and straightforward according to Stedman (1973)
Comprehension	Level 2	Understanding meaning and interpretation	Order questioned, understanding may come through application first
Application	Level 3	Using knowledge in new situations	May actually precede understanding in real learning
Analysis	Level 4	Breaking down information into parts	Overlapping classifications, students may reach same behaviour differently
Synthesis	Level 5	Combining elements to form new patterns	47 different verb lists across UK institutions with no consensus
Evaluation	Level 6	Making judgments based on criteria	Two students with identical performance may have different understanding levels

Bloom's Taxonomy verbs are a well-known concept for understanding and framing learning intentions which dates back to 1956. It has become a common structure used in schools and universities to teach and assess students. The structure uses a tier of verbs to clarify educational objectives, these are typically aligned constructively to summative assessments. A recent analysis was carried out on Bloom's Taxonomy throughout UK Higher Education Institutions to measure if there was consensus. The research eventually narrowed down forty-seven verb lists. The verb lists had very little agreement but it still remains one of the most popular ways to conceptualise knowledge and learning.

The learning outcomes originated from Bloom's Taxonomy verbs in 1956 (Bloom et al.). The concept was later revised by Krathwohl 2002. Taxonomy was invented to define the learning process and assessment in a manner that can be observed and measured. How the infamous blooms taxonomy list of learning verbs can be put into action and provide some of examples of verbs being used to achieve deeper learning experiences. We will also introduce a new thinking framework designed to enhance learning tasks. As well as this, we will touch upon another framework for promoting 21st-century learning skills.

‍

‍

What Are Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs and When Were They Created?

Bloom's Taxonomy verbs are action words used to define and measure observable learning objectives, first developed by Benjamin Bloom and colleagues in 1956. The framework was later revised by Krathwohl in 2002 to better reflect modern educational practices. These verbs help educators create clear learning outcomes that can be assessed through student performance.

Creating learning objectives involves using verbs that can be measured and assessed. For example, when learning involves a subject, let's say history. The research could be focused on listing the main research methods in history instead of analysing the main research methods in history. The taxonomy dictates that a learner will undergo the following steps: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. This progression supports working memory by building understanding systematically. Effective lesson planning requires careful consideration of these cognitive levels to ensure appropriate challenge and support for all learners, including those with special educational needs. The framework helps develop higher-order thinking skills through structured progression. Teachers can enhance this approach by incorporating thinking strategies and utilising knowledge organisers to support student understanding. Regular formative assessment throughout the process helps track student progress. For complex tasks, project-based learning approaches can effectively integrate multiple taxonomy levels, while thoughtful marking strategies provide meaningful feedback on student achievement across all cognitive domains.s.

‍

How to Apply Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs in the Classroom

The key to effectively applying Bloom's Taxonomy verbs lies in understanding the cognitive processes associated with each level. Here are some practical examples:

• Knowledge: Use verbs like *list*, *define*, *name*, *identify*, *recall*. For example, "List the key battles of the English Civil War."
• Comprehension: Use verbs like *explain*, *summarise*, *interpret*, *paraphrase*. For example, "Explain the main causes of the First World War."
• Application: Use verbs like *apply*, *use*, *solve*, *demonstrate*. For example, "Use the principles of supply and demand to predict the effect of a tax on alcohol."
• Analysis: Use verbs like *analyse*, *compare*, *contrast*, *differentiate*, *examine*. For example, "Analyse the different perspectives on Brexit."
• Synthesis: Use verbs like *create*, *design*, *formulate*, *invent*, *develop*. For example, "Design a plan to reduce carbon emissions in your school."
• Evaluation: Use verbs like *evaluate*, *judge*, *critique*, *defend*, *justify*. For example, "Evaluate the effectiveness of the government's education policies."

When constructing a curriculum, consider the progression through Bloom's levels. Start with basic knowledge and comprehension, then move towards application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Scaffolding learning in this way can greatly enhance student understanding and motivation.

‍

Successful implementation of Bloom's taxonomy verbs requires systematic planning across lesson activities, assessments, and learning objectives. Begin by examining your current teaching materials and identifying the cognitive level demanded by existing tasks. Many educators discover their activities cluster around lower-order thinking skills, creating opportunities to introduce more challenging cognitive demands.

Start lesson planning by selecting appropriate verbs for your learning objectives. For introductory content, use remembering and understanding verbs such as 'list', 'describe', or 'explain'. As students develop confidence, progress to application verbs like 'demonstrate', 'solve', or 'implement'. Higher-order thinking emerges through analysis verbs ('compare', 'contrast', 'examine'), synthesis verbs ('create', 'design', 'propose'), and evaluation verbs ('justify', 'critique', 'recommend').

Practical classroom strategies include creating question stems using taxonomy verbs, designing tiered assignments that progress through cognitive levels, and developing rubrics that explicitly reference the thinking skills students must demonstrate. Consider establishing 'thinking routines' where students regularly engage with questions formatted around specific taxonomy verbs, building their metacognitive awareness of different thinking processes.

‍

An Alternative Thinking Framework: SOLO Taxonomy

While Bloom's Taxonomy is valuable, it is beneficial to use other thinking frameworks to boost the learning experience for students. The SOLO Taxonomy (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes) offers another perspective on assessing learning depth. It focuses on the complexity of student understanding, moving from simple to complex. The levels are:

• Prestructural: The student has no understanding.
• Unistructural: The student can identify one relevant aspect.
• Multistructural: The student can identify several relevant aspects but without integration.
• Relational: The student can integrate the different aspects into a coherent whole.
• Extended Abstract: The student can generalise and transfer the understanding to new situations.

By combining Bloom's Taxonomy and SOLO Taxonomy, educators can create more nuanced and effective learning experiences.

‍

Conclusion

Bloom's Taxonomy verbs and frameworks like SOLO Taxonomy provide valuable tools for educators aiming to create meaningful and measurable learning experiences. By carefully selecting verbs that align with specific cognitive levels, teachers can design activities and assessments that promote deep understanding and critical thinking. While there may be debates and variations in verb lists, the core principles of Bloom's Taxonomy remain a cornerstone of effective instructional design.

Remember that the effective use of Bloom's Taxonomy isn't about rigidly adhering to a hierarchy, but about understanding the cognitive processes involved in learning and tailoring instruction to meet students where they are. Experiment with different verbs and activities, observe student responses, and adapt your approach to maximise learning outcomes.

Ultimately, the goal is to helps students to become active, engaged, and critical thinkers. By intentionally incorporating Bloom's Taxonomy verbs into your teaching practice, you can help students develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the 21st century.

‍

Further Reading

Bloom's taxonomy research

Cognitive domain classification

Learning objectives design

Bloom's Taxonomy research

Cognitive domains

Learning objectives taxonomy

• Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). *A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives*. Allyn & Bacon.
• Biggs, J. B., & Collis, K. F. (1982). *Evaluating the Quality of Learning: The SOLO Taxonomy*. Academic Press.
• Marzano, R. J., & Kendall, J. S. (2007). *The New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives*. Corwin Press.

‍

‍

Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs by Cognitive Level

Understanding the specific verbs associated with each cognitive level in Bloom's taxonomy enables educators to craft precise learning objectives that target distinct thinking skills. Remember level verbs include define, list, recall, and identify, whilst Understand level activities utilise explain, summarise, classify, and interpret. Moving up the hierarchy, Apply level tasks employ demonstrate, solve, use, and implement, followed by Analyse level verbs such as compare, contrast, examine, and categorise.

The higher-order thinking skills require more sophisticated verb choices to accurately reflect cognitive complexity. Evaluate level objectives incorporate judge, critique, assess, and defend, whilst Create level tasks utilise design, construct, develop, and formulate. Anderson and Krathwohl's revised taxonomy emphasises that these verbs must align with the intended cognitive process, as selecting inappropriate verbs can mislead both educators and learners about the actual thinking demands of an activity.

When designing lesson objectives, select verbs that authentically match your educational intent rather than simply choosing higher-level verbs for perceived rigour. A well-crafted "explain" objective may prove more valuable than a poorly constructed "evaluate" task that lacks genuine analytical demand.

‍

Using Bloom's Verbs for Assessment and Questioning

Effective assessment and questioning strategies begin with deliberately selecting verbs that align with your intended cognitive level. When crafting questions for remembering and understanding, use verbs like "list," "describe," or "explain" to gauge foundational knowledge. For higher-order thinking, incorporate verbs such as "analyse," "evaluate," or "create" to challenge students beyond surface-level comprehension. This strategic verb selection ensures your assessments truly measure the depth of learning you intend to evaluate.

Progressive questioning sequences prove particularly powerful in classroom discussions. Start with lower-order questions using verbs like "identify" or "summarise," then build complexity by asking students to "compare," "critique," or "design" solutions. This scaffolded approach, supported by research on cognitive load theory, allows students to construct understanding systematically whilst preventing c ognitive overload that can hinder learning.

For practical implementation, create question banks organised by taxonomic levels, ensuring each verb appears in authentic contexts relevant to your subject area. Rather than asking "What is photosynthesis?" try "How would you modify the photosynthesis process to improve plant growth in low-light conditions?" This transformation from remembering to creating fundamentally changes the cognitive demands whilst maintaining curriculum relevance.

‍

15 Classroom Activities Using Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs

These practical activities help teachers apply Bloom's Taxonomy across all cognitive levels, moving students from basic recall to higher-order thinking and creative synthesis. Each activity targets specific cognitive processes for deeper learning.

1. Remember: Flashcard Relay Races: Teams compete to correctly recall key facts, definitions, or vocabulary. This energetic activity reinforces factual knowledge whilst making retrieval practice engaging. Works brilliantly for revision sessions targeting the remembering level of Bloom's Taxonomy cognitive domain.
2. Remember: Knowledge Grids: Create grid worksheets where students match terms to definitions, dates to events, or concepts to examples. These low-stakes activities strengthen memory consolidation and help identify knowledge gaps requiring additional instruction.
3. Understand: Explain to an Alien: Students explain concepts as if to someone completely unfamiliar with the topic. This understanding-level activity reveals whether students can translate information into their own words rather than simply reciting memorised phrases.
4. Understand: One-Sentence Summaries: Challenge students to capture complex concepts in exactly one sentence. This comprehension activity forces careful thinking about essential elements and practises the skill of distilling meaning from detailed content.
5. Apply: Real-World Problem Scenarios: Present authentic situations where students apply learned concepts to solve realistic problems. A science class might apply chemistry knowledge to analyse household product labels; a maths class might calculate real budgets using percentages.
6. Apply: Teach the Technique: Students demonstrate procedures or skills to partners, applying their knowledge in teaching contexts. This application-level activity deepens understanding whilst developing communication skills and revealing misconceptions through explanation.
7. Analyse: Venn Diagram Comparisons: Students analyse similarities and differences between concepts, characters, events, or processes using visual comparison tools. This analytical activity develops the discrimination and categorisation skills central to higher-order thinking.
8. Analyse: Error Detection Tasks: Present worked examples containing deliberate mistakes for students to identify and explain. Analysing errors requires deeper engagement than simply producing correct answers, developing critical evaluation of reasoning processes.
9. Analyse: Source Evaluation Frameworks: Teach students to analyse texts, data, or evidence using structured frameworks: origin, purpose, content, limitations. This systematic approach builds analytical skills applicable across subjects from history to science.
10. Evaluate: Debate Preparation: Students research and prepare arguments for both sides of contentious topics before debating. This evaluation-level activity requires weighing evidence, considering multiple perspectives, and constructing reasoned judgements based on criteria.
11. Evaluate: Peer Assessment with Criteria: Students evaluate each other's work against explicit success criteria, providing justified feedback. The act of judging others' work against standards deepens understanding of quality whilst developing evaluative thinking skills.
12. Evaluate: Ranking and Justification Tasks: Present multiple options, solutions, or examples for students to rank from best to worst with written justification. Defending rankings requires the criterion-based judgement central to evaluation-level cognition.
13. Create: Design Challenges: Students create original products, solutions, or designs that synthesise learned concepts. A geography class might design sustainable cities; an English class might create multimedia presentations of literary themes.
14. Create: Alternative Ending Tasks: Students devise new conclusions for historical events, scientific experiments, or literary narratives that could plausibly have occurred. This creative synthesis requires understanding whilst demanding original thought.
15. Create: Teach-Back Lesson Planning: Groups design and deliver mini-lessons teaching concepts to classmates. This highest-level activity requires synthesising knowledge into coherent instruction, representing the pinnacle of Bloom's cognitive taxonomy.

Effective use of Bloom's Taxonomy means deliberately planning activities across all cognitive levels rather than defaulting to lower-order tasks. Start lessons with remembering and understanding activities to activate prior knowledge, then progress to applying, analysing, evaluating, and creating as students demonstrate readiness. The taxonomy is a planning tool, not a rigid sequence - sometimes creative tasks actually precede full understanding, particularly in enquiry-based approaches.

‍

Writing Learning Objectives with Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs

Effective learning objectives begin with carefully selected action verbs that precisely define what students should accomplish at each cognitive level. Rather than vague terms like "understand" or "know," measurable verbs from Bloom's taxonomy create clear expectations for both educators and learners. For instance, "Students will analyse the causes of World War I" provides more specific direction than "Students will learn about World War I," enabling teachers to design appropriate assessments and learning activities.

When crafting objectives across cognitive levels, consider the logical progression from foundational knowledge to higher-order thinking skills. Beginning lessons might use verbs like "identify" or "describe" before advancing to "evaluate" or "create." This scaffolded approach aligns with cognitive load theory principles, ensuring students develop necessary prerequisite skills before tackling complex analytical tasks. Avoid mixing cognitive levels within single objectives, as this can create confusion about expected performance standards.

Practical application involves matching assessment methods to your chosen taxonomy verbs. If students must "compare and contrast," provide opportunities for side-by-side analysis rather than simple recall exercises. Similarly, objectives using "synthesise" or "design" require open-ended tasks that demonstrate creative thinking. This alignment between objectives, instruction, and assessment creates coherent learning experiences that support meaningful skill development across all cognitive levels.