From 1948 to 1956 Benjamin S. Bloom led a group of educators in the pursuit of creating a framework on which the processes of learning could be defined (Huitt, 2009). The task they had set forth for themselves was the determination, understanding and classifications of the cognitive processes that occur in the learning experience (Forehand, 2005). The result was the creation of what is reputed to likely be the most widely used assessment and evaluation guide in the world today (Clark, 1999). Bloom`s original taxonomy was updated in the 1990`s by Lorin Anderson and David Krathwhol (Churches, 2010).
Bloom divided his original taxonomy into three domains of learning: a knowledge-based domain consisting of six levels referred to as the cognitive domain, an attitudinal-based domain consisting of five levels referred to as the affective domain and a skills-based domain consisting of six levels referred to as the psychomotor domain (Forehand, 2005). The revised Bloom`s Digital Taxonomy examines only the cognitive domain which many educators feel is a serious omission. The updated version of the taxonomy focuses on the description of the learning processes as actions and therefore the lexicon used consists of verbs. Here we can easily see the difference in how the original Bloom’s Taxonomy defined the learning process in terms of classifications versus the actions that are described as taking place in the revised version of the taxonomy.
Bloom divided his original taxonomy into three domains of learning: a knowledge-based domain consisting of six levels referred to as the cognitive domain, an attitudinal-based domain consisting of five levels referred to as the affective domain and a skills-based domain consisting of six levels referred to as the psychomotor domain (Forehand, 2005). The revised Bloom`s Digital Taxonomy examines only the cognitive domain which many educators feel is a serious omission. The updated version of the taxonomy focuses on the description of the learning processes as actions and therefore the lexicon used consists of verbs. Here we can easily see the difference in how the original Bloom’s Taxonomy defined the learning process in terms of classifications versus the actions that are described as taking place in the revised version of the taxonomy.
While the revised version of Bloom`s Taxonomy seeks to keep in step with today`s modern technologies and their applications in the field of academia, it is somewhat deficient in that its focus is so heavily weighted towards the use of technology in the educational learning process that it fails to accommodate learning experiences that are outside this realm. The original version of Bloom`s Taxonomy must still be considered relevant and useful alongside the newest version intended for use in conjunction with digital technologies. Below is a graphic representation of the updated Bloom`s Digital Taxonomy that describes the actions that occur in the learning process and the technologies associated to the learning process.
