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In the first part of this blog<\/a> series on Bloom\u2019s Taxonomy, the usefulness of Bloom\u2019s levels in the context of online learning were explored and some of the reasons why we use this tool at GetSmarter were explained. The first two levels of Bloom\u2019s, Remember and Understand, were also unpacked. In this second part, we will begin to explore the next two levels of Bloom\u2019s Taxonomy, the Apply and Analyse levels.<\/p>\n As discussed in Part 1<\/a>, traditional approaches to education have focused on building a strong theoretical understanding for students, mostly through the use of didactic instructional tools. The more interactive, practical uses of this knowledge often get less attention. If we follow the analogy of learning a musical instrument once again, this would be like learning how to read musical notes, and understanding musical theory, without ever picking up the instrument. It seems intuitive that this would not be a successful way to learn. In addition, in an increasingly globalised and competitive world, the more practical, applicable workplace skills are paramount to success, making the importance of these higher Bloom\u2019s levels more apparent.<\/p>\n Bloom\u2019s Revised Taxonomy provides In instructional design, the term \u201cscaffolding<\/a>\u201d is used to describe the process of learning incrementally. In the same way that a scaffold builds up to higher levels, relying on the foundational support structures to keep the upper levels steady, so too do the levels of Bloom\u2019s \u201cscaffold\u201d learning up to the level of \u201cCreate\u201d. Once the student has mastered the higher-level verbs, the scaffold can be \u201cremoved\u201d and new skills can be built up from that point.<\/p>\n The purpose of the Apply and Analyse levels is to shift students away from a purely theoretical, cognitive understanding of a topic, and into a more applicable and practical use of knowledge, without making the jump directly into creation. This assists the students in gradually developing a clear competency in a certain area, especially when given the correct guidance<\/a> through scaffolded learning, or peer interaction.<\/p>\n For GetSmarter, this is particularly useful because our promise to students is that they will develop verifiable competencies that are directly applicable to their work and career. However, any student will find it challenging to move directly from \u201cUnderstand\u201d to \u201cCreate\u201d without having seen some examples of theory in practice, or having had a chance to apply the theory to a given case or example. This is the function of the middle levels of Bloom\u2019s Revised Taxonomy.<\/p>\n The Apply level of Bloom\u2019s is concerned with the execution of tasks or the implementation of specific tools or skills. At the Apply level, students begin to use the knowledge they have gained across the Remember and Understand levels in given scenarios. Some of the verbs included under Apply are:<\/p>\n Figure 1<\/strong>: Bloom\u2019s Revised Taxonomy.<\/p>\n One of the most easily recognisable examples of a learning outcome pitched at the Apply level is the classic mathematical problem, \u201cSolve for x\u201d.<\/p>\n Imagine that a student has worked through a module and has learnt about the Pythagorean theorem. They are able to \u201cRecall the Pythagorean formula\u201d and \u201cExplain how to use the Pythagorean theorem to determine the length of the hypotenuse of a triangle\u201d. The student is then presented with the following in the second module:<\/p>\n The student is asked to \u201cSolve for x\u201d in this example. This is a direct application of the Pythagorean theorem and demonstrates clear practical use of the theory which they encountered on the previous levels of Bloom\u2019s Taxonomy.<\/p>\nThe importance of applied learning<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nmore nuance in the levels that can account for this necessity, which are focused around the verbs \u201cAnalyse\u201d and \u201cApply\u201d. These are defined as follows:<\/p>\n\n
Apply<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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