There are tons of resources available on Bloom’s Taxonomy (you can see some great stuff at The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom) — much of it geared towards helping educators use it in developing their lesson plans.

In my newest book, though, in addition to talking about that aspect of Bloom’s Taxonomy, I include a detailed lesson plan for explicitly teaching what Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised) is to students.

My colleagues and I are actually using that lesson plan right now, and it’s been great to see students — without prompting from us — starting to incorporate what they are learning by using many of the question-stems found in the higher levels of Bloom’s — when they are demonstrating the reading strategy of asking questions, or if we’re watching a video clip and they need to list questions that are coming to mind.

One of the reasons I explain to students it’s important for them to learn about Bloom’s is because since good readers ask questions, by learning to ask deeper questions they can challenge themselves to dig deeper into the meaning of what they are reading. I also explain that it helps explain why I ask them to give reasons why they choose specific answers and show evidence for their conclusions.

I’ve decided, though, to create an additional Read Aloud specifically to help students gain an even greater understanding about why it’s important for them to learn Bloom’s. Some of the reasons tie in nicely about what they have learned about how learning new things physically impacts the brain. You can find that lesson plan available free at my publisher’s website.

I will share the text of the Read Aloud within the body of this post, and you can download the actual Read Aloud here.

Any comments on the Read Aloud, and any other ideas you can think of about why it’s important for students to know Bloom’s Taxonomy, are appreciated.

Here it is:

Why Is It Important For Us To Learn About Bloom’s Taxonomy?

Helps Your Brain Grow Stronger

Research shows that the critical thinking ability developed through using the higher-level thinking skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy “strengthens the brain—creating more synapses between nerve cells—just as exercise builds muscle tissue.” (1)

“…higher ordering thinking skills…helps learners make connections between past and new learning, creates new pathways, strengthens existing pathways, and increases the likelihood that the new learning will be consolidated and stored for future retrieval.” (2)

Helps You Develop Skills Employers Are Looking For

Surveys after surveys of employers show that they are looking to hire people who have the critical thinking skills demonstrated in the higher-levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised). They specifically say they want “problem-solving skills rather than memorization of coursework.” (3)

CREATE:
“creativity and innovation” (4)

EVALUATE:
“critical thinking” (4)

ANALYZE:
“analytic reasoning” (4)
“well-developed analytical skills” (5)

APPLY:
“apply learning to real world setting” (6)

(1) http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar97/vol54/num06/Seven-Strategies-That-Encourage-Neural-Branching.aspx
(2) p. 259 How The Brain Learns, Third Edition, by Daivd A. Sousa.
(3) http://psy1.clarion.edu/jms/qualifications.html
(4) http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/MoreEmphasis_2010.pdf
(5) http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-060899-172321/unrestricted/BODY.pdf
(6) http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-01-22-graduate-assessment_N.htm