Introduction

Bloom's Taxonomy is a framework for classifying educational learning objectives by complexity, developed in 1956 by a committee led by educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom.

It gives teachers a common vocabulary for describing what students should be able to do — not just recall facts, but analyze, evaluate, and create — and has become one of the most widely used frameworks in curriculum design worldwide.

The Six Levels

The original hierarchy, revised in 2001 by Bloom's former students, runs from Remember and Understand at the base, through Apply and Analyze, up to Evaluate and Create at the top.

Each level is meant to build on the ones below it — a student generally needs to understand a concept before being able to apply it, and needs to analyze it before being able to critically evaluate it.

How Teachers Actually Use It

In practice, the taxonomy is used to write measurable learning objectives and design test questions that target specific cognitive levels, rather than defaulting to simple memorization tasks.

Critics note the strict hierarchy does not always match how learning actually happens in the brain, but the framework remains valuable as a planning tool for building lessons that push students toward higher-order thinking.

Sources

  1. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching — academic guide to the taxonomy and its revisions
  2. Wikipedia — history and structure of the taxonomy
  3. Edutopia — practical classroom applications

FAQ

What are the six levels of Bloom's Taxonomy?

In the revised 2001 version, they are Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create, ordered from simpler recall to more complex, original thinking.

Who created Bloom's Taxonomy?

It was developed in 1956 by a committee of educators led by Benjamin Bloom, and later revised in 2001 by Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl, former students of Bloom.

Why do teachers still use it today?

It gives educators a shared, practical vocabulary for writing learning objectives and designing questions that target different levels of thinking, from basic recall to creative problem-solving.

About the Author

We reference Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching and Wikipedia and Edutopia to explain the background and current understanding of this topic.

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