Thursday, September 13, 2012

Module 2 Reading Response


A New Bloom
         
 After reading the article, A New Bloom, I was excited and rejuvenated by the “new” levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.  I will be the first to admit that when my principal comes in and observes one of my lessons and then later asks in a review of the lesson what level of Bloom’s I used I am often stumped.  Although, I learned about Bloom’s Taxonomy in many of college courses I never fully understood what the expectation of each level.  Synthesis? What exactly does it mean if your lesson is reaching the “synthesis” stage? The wording alone confused me far too much for me to ever actually believe I was meeting any of the criteria. So I just had hope that I could skirt past the question and get on with rest of the evaluation of my lesson without my principal realizing that I was clueless when it came to Bloom’s Taxonomy.  This article however has given me understanding of the levels and confidence that I have been applying the stages all along. 
          
The new framework of making each level into a verb makes each level of Bloom’s much easier to understand.  As teacher, it is easy for me to apply each level into my lesson by thinking about what my students are doing and how they are learning.  It is also much easier for teachers to explain the levels of Bloom’s to the students in their class and encourage them to meet the levels by asking them to remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create when learning.  Explaining the different types of questioning and what is expected at each level will drive students to develop a deeper understanding of all topics.  Even at the elementary level I think students should be involved in their learning process.  They need to understand the terminology just as teachers to so they can identify when they are reaching each level. 
            
The addition of the Knowledge Dimensions will also help educators to use Bloom’s more successfully.  Thinking of how learners process information allows teachers to tailor their lesson to individual student.  Understanding what and how a student gains information on a topic ensures greater development of concepts. 
           
Lastly, I enjoyed seeing how Modin applied each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy in her own lesson.  Having an example of how a lesson can reach each level of Bloom’s especially through technology was a great learning experience for me.  I cannot wait to apply these types of questions and activities in my own lessons and confidently acknowledge the level of Bloom’s I am using during implementation.     

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