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Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Processes is a sequence aiding the development of higher-level thinking skills.
The six sequential levels of thinking in Bloom's Taxonomy are:
| Knowledge/Remembering -recalling factual information. |
Processes include: listing, naming, describing, finding, fact sheets, acrostics. |
| Comprehension/Understanding -demonstrating an understanding of information. |
Processes include: explaining, stating opinion, predicting, discussing, comparing, classifying, summarising, cause & effect. |
| Application/Applying -applying known facts to a new situation. |
Processes include: constructing, examining, applying knowledge, puzzles, bookmaking . |
| Analysis/Analysing -investigating and comparing information. |
Processes include: analysing, comparing and contrasting, categorising, organising, differentiating, graphing, flow charts. |
| Synthesis/Evaluating -creating and inventing new ideas from known information. |
Processes include: improving, formulating, checking, critiquing, debating, writing letters & reports. |
| Evaluation/Creating -making decisions and recommendations. |
Processes include: judging, justifying, arguing, assessing, planning, creating, inventing, & designing products, writing about feelings. |
Activities based on Bloom's Taxonomy caters for all students in a class because of the range of activities and the different levels of difficulty that can be offered. It makes particular provision for gifted students by giving them options, within the framework of the class program, that will extend and challenge them.
http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/Bloom/blooms.htm
Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences states that each person has eight different kinds of intelligence. These occur concurrently and are generally developed to differing stages.
The eight intelligences are:
| Linguistic (Word) Intelligence | Activities focus on the spoken and written word, such as reading, different kinds of writing, word puzzles etc |
| Logical Mathematical Intelligence | Activities focus on logical reasoning, patterns, mathematical problem solving, hypothesising, categorising |
| Visual Spatial Intelligence | Activities focus on making mental visual representations, artwork and design, reasoning about spatial relationships |
| Bodily Kinaesthetic Intelligence | Activities focus on thinking and problem solving about and with body movement |
| Music Intelligence | Activities focus on thinking musically, creating sounds, singing |
| Interpersonal (people) Intelligence | Activities focus on thinking and problem solving about people's behaviour, empathising, understanding, interacting with others |
| Intrapersonal (self) Intelligence | Reasoning and problem solving about one's own feelings and behaviours, self-knowledge |
| Naturalist Intelligence | Activities focus on flora and fauna, growing plants, understanding/interacting with the outdoors |
This implies that teachers should use a range of teaching strategies and provide a range of activities in key learning areas that will enable students to use their strengths and develop greater competencies. The Interpersonal (people) Intelligence and Intrapersonal (self) Intelligence aspects are often incorporated in activities in which students work cooperatively and reflect on their learning in class sharing time.
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm
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updated October 2008