What is Bloom's taxonomy?

In corporate learning and development, creating impactful and lasting educational experiences is key. That’s where Bloom’s taxonomy comes in—a framework that has stood the test of time, guiding educators and trainers in fostering deeper understanding and skills among learners.

But what exactly is Bloom’s taxonomy, and how can it revolutionize your training programs? Let’s dive in.

Understanding Bloom’s taxonomy

Developed in 1956 by educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom and later revised, Bloom’s taxonomy outlines a hierarchy of cognitive skills that range from basic knowledge recall to complex creative thinking. This framework is split into six distinct levels: 

1. Remembering
2. Understanding
3. Applying
4. Analyzing 
5. Evaluating
6. Creating

Each level builds upon the previous one, like a ladder of learning. Imagine Bloom’s Taxonomy as a video game where each level up means mastering a new skill. You start with simple tasks like remembering and understanding. Then, you can level up to more complex challenges like analyzing and creating. Just like in a game, you need the right moves—or in this case, verbs like “list,” “analyze,” and “create”—to hit the target and move to the next level.

This approach encourages learners to not just memorize facts but to engage with content on a deeper level.

Remembering

At its base, the taxonomy starts with “remembering.” This level is all about recall and recognition—think of it as the foundation for more complex learning. In a corporate context, this can be employees memorizing company policies or product specifications. Action verbs like “list,” “describe,” and “identify” are often associated with this stage. The focus is on gaining knowledge.

As an example, let’s take a training program on customer service skills. At this level, you should be able to list common customer inquiries and recall the company’s service policies. 

Understanding

Next up is “understanding,” where learners can comprehend a concept enough that they can explain it. It’s one thing to remember information; it’s another to explain its meaning or significance. This stage encourages learners to make sense of the information they’ve remembered.

Continuing with the customer skills training example: at this level, you’d compare different customer service strategies to understand their effectiveness. 

Applying

“Applying” takes knowledge and understanding into action. It’s about using information or skills in new situations, a critical ability in the fast-paced corporate world. Whether it’s applying a new software tool in their workflow or utilizing a conflict resolution technique in team interactions, this stage ensures that learning is not just theoretical but practical.

In applying, you’d simulate handling a difficult customer scenario using the company’s guidelines. 

Analyzing

Analysis involves breaking down information into parts to understand its structure and relationships. This could mean analyzing market trends to inform strategic planning or dissecting a project’s success factors. It’s about looking beyond the surface to understand the “how” and “why” behind information and situations.

As you progress to analyzing, you’d be able to break down real-life customer interactions to identify areas of improvement.

Evaluating

“Evaluating” is about making judgments based on criteria and standards. This higher-order thinking skill is essential for decision-making and problem-solving. 

At this level, you’d be able to assess different communication styles and their impact on customer satisfaction. 

Creating

The highest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy is “creating”. This is where you want to get. This stage is all about innovation and applying knowledge and skills to produce something new. Whether it’s designing a new product, developing a comprehensive training program, or crafting a business strategy, “creating” is the essence of applying learned knowledge and making an impact. 

At this final level, you’d be able to develop a new customer service protocol that addresses identified gaps, effectively using their knowledge and skills to innovate and enhance the company’s customer service approach.

Conclusion

Bloom’s taxonomy is more than just an educational theory. It’s a practical tool that elevates learning programs from just information delivery to transformative learning experiences. By applying this framework, learning professionals can ensure their training strategies make a real business impact on their organizations. 

Bloom’s taxonomy doesn’t just teach us what to learn. It teaches us how to approach thinking, problem-solving, and applying knowledge.