If you’re considering adding a microdegree on the GeniusU (or any other) platform, then Bloom’s Taxonomy is a must-have tool in your course-building toolbox. 

A quick side note, this article is best used in conjunction with Emily Milsom’s (supported by Kathleen Hamilton) crash course on how to grow your community using microdegrees. Click here for the replay.

What is Bloom’s Taxonomy?

The technical definition is that it's a “hierarchical ordering of cognitive skills that can help teachers teach and students learn.” A simpler definition is that it’s a bunch of words that can help you take your learners on a structured, step-by-step journey that makes practical sense. 

Let’s break this down further.

“It’s a hierarchical ordering of cognitive skills…”

According to the taxonomy, students follow a hierarchy when they process information while learning. At its most basic, there are six levels of cognitive skills:

1. 1. Remember: Recall facts and basics concepts
2. 2. Understand: Explain ideas or concepts
3. 3. Apply: Use information in new situations
4. 4. Analyse: Draw connections among ideas
5. 5. Evaluate: Justify a stand or decision
6. 6. Create: Develop new or original work

Why “hierarchical ordering”? 

Because we can’t analyse what we don’t understand; we can’t evaluate when we don’t remember… get the gist?

In Emily and Kathleen’s crash course, they refer to the hero’s journey being pivotal to the course design. One way to plan your hero’s journey is to take your student through the hierarchical ordering from knowledge level to the level that’s appropriate for your overall course objective.

For example, if your course objective is for your students to create original work based on what you teach them, your content will follow all six of these levels from start to finish. If, however, you simply want them to understand new concepts, your content will cover levels 1 and 2.

Why is Bloom's Taxonomy useful?

When developing your microdegree on the GeniusU platform, you’ll be able to add assessment questions for each of the learning steps. To make both teaching and learning easier, Bloom’s Taxonomy suggests specific words that you can use to assess whether your student is learning what you’re aiming to teach each step of the way. 

Here are some examples of how Bloom’s Taxonomy categorises different verbs into different learning levels:

1. 
   
   • 1. Remember: List, define, repeat, state. (For example, “List the names of…”)
   • 2. Understand: Classify, describe, discuss, explain. (For example, “Explain how…”)
   • 3. Apply: Demonstrate, execute, implement, solve. (For example, “Demonstrate how you would…”)
   • 4. Analyse: Differentiate, organise, compare, distinguish. (For example, “Differentiate between…”)
   • 5. Evaluate: Critique, weigh, argue, judge. (For example, “Provide critique on…”)
   • 6. Create: Formulate, design, construct, assemble. (For example, “In what way would you design…?”

Are you beginning to see how you can shape your hero's journey around these words? If you haven't watched the replay, do so now and then start to map your hero's journey using Bloom's Taxonomy as a guide.