I feel using the Learning Taxonomy is valuable in in all areas of lesson planning & execution. Having a very focused goal for the classsroom is important to help keep on task.
Claire,
What types of courses do you teach? I have several rubric templates that I would be happy to provide you with.
Tremayne Simpson
I am looking into using rubrics to establish some of the learning taxonomy. Does anyone know where I can find a good rubric template to help me start?
Everything we learn in life is basically the same taxonomy. You have a foundation, then build on that. Much repetition and multi-layers to get the end result. Success!
Better understanding your student, better use of your class time and delivery.
I can see that it will provide great structure for a clear lesson and assessment.
It will help with assessment of students and to assess whether you have effectively covered the objectives in your plans.
Abigail,
I agree. Achieving "metacognition" may not occur in just one course. For some students, they will need to continuously develop critical thinking methods, over a sequence of classes or their entire course study. There have been many occasions where a graduate will approach me and say, "I finally understand the concept of______...it took me a while, but I understand the full context of the theory now".
Tremayne Simpson
Reaching the point of metacognition, however, valuable, can be stressful for students underprepared for critical thinking.
Andrea,
Excellent point. In addition, the learning taxonomy can be used in a reverse manner as well. For instance, as an assessment tool, instructors will begin to see the incremental changes in student questions (from basic to advanced), as their understanding of the topic increases during the course.
Tremayne Simpson
The value of using the Learning Taxonomy established a common language in the development of the lesson plans. It also establishes the basis for determining the specific objectives and emphasis in a particular course.
Using the taxonomy of learning will help you scaffold your questions to help them come to their own understanding of a topic. Leading them to understanding and application of the material is what true learning is about.
Having these skills help us both evaluate the students success and understanding as well as double check our lesson plans to make sure they are working well.
They can help plan course content to be very specific and can show how the individual parts of the course content can apply to the whole. In medical coding, the student has to have the ability to find the key information in a chart note and then use that to look up and assign the code. So they use two or three of the taxonomy parts together. Mindy smith
The Learning Taxonomy helps you generate a vocabulary of active verbs that animate the contents on the learning plan and help you align them with extra-institutional accrediting agencies defined standards. Taxonomy requires naming and categorizing, and learning is full of different levels of participation contribution, performance and or production. Developing a thorough understanding of taxonomy allows for greater clarity in comprehension and delivery of course essentials. It can get a little tedious tho to have to delineate parts of a lesson into discrete bits but when learning is difficult or slow it is good to have a sense of where students are finding difficulty within progression through the taxonomy. Sometimes later stage applications are being inhibited because factual knowledge was never sufficiently achieved.
The skills that should be implemented will guide the student to higher level taxonomy moving them closer to real world skills neded for the workplace
William,
I agree. I am always careful to not create exams that are simply enabling the students to "list" or "sort" particular topics or terminology. When they memorize items, they typically cannot recall them, once they have finished the exam. This will not help them when they enter the career world.
Tremayne Simpson
William,
I agree. I am always careful to not create exams that are simply enabling the students to "list" or "sort" particular topics or terminology. When they memorize items, they typically cannot recall them, once they have finished the exam. This will not help them when they enter the career world.
Tremayne Simpson
Using Bloom's taxonomy as a measuring stick for lesson development is great. It allows the instructor to see how effective their lesson plans really are. At the end of the day are the students just spouting rote memorization or are they analyzing facts and drawing their own conclusions. Using the taxonomy as a learning guide helps set up students to apply the knowledge they learned in the lesson plan outside of the classroom.
By using the Learning Taxonomy it enables students to try and understand and solve problems with the subject under discussion.
