Bloom's Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy

The Three Domains of Learning

The committee identified three domains of educational activities or learning (Bloom, et al. 1956):

• Cognitive: mental skills (knowledge)
• Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas (attitude or self)
• Psychomotor: manual or physical skills (skills)

Cognitive Domain

The cognitive domain involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills. This includes the recall or recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns, and concepts that serve in the development of intellectual abilities and skills. There are six major categories of cognitive an processes, starting from the simplest to the most complex (see the table below for an in-depth coverage of each category):

• Knowledge
• Comprehension
• Application
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Evaluation

The categories can be thought of as degrees of difficulties. That is, the first ones must normally be mastered before the next one can take place.

The affective domain is one of three domains in Bloom's Taxonomy, with the other two being the cognitive and psychomotor (Bloom, et al., 1956). For an overview of the three domains, see the introduction.

The affective domain includes the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes.

The psychomotor domain includes physical movement, coordination, and use of the motor-skill areas. Development of these skills requires practice and is measured in terms of speed, precision, distance, procedures, or techniques in execution. Thus, psychomotor skills rage from manual tasks, such as digging a ditch or washing a car, to more complex tasks, such as operating a complex piece of machinery or dancing.