1. Graded assessment questions
and Bloom’s Taxonomy
Qatar February 2009

2. First a film
From youtube
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Neil Marshall

3. During the activity you were asked several questions
about the African Cup Final match between Egypt
and Cameroon.
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4. The questions were divided into the following of three
different types:
1. Some asked you to recall facts about this match
2. Some asked you to demonstrate understanding of this match
3. Some asked you to apply your knowledge about this match
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5. Activity 2
Identify which questions are:
Knowledge
1.
Understanding
2.
Application
3.
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Neil Marshall & Chris Coull

6. Bloom’s Taxonomy
These three types of question are closely related to the first
three levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, which outlines six
categories of thinking skills.
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7. Bloom’s Taxonomy
Neil Marshall & John Clark

8. Traditional education tends to emphasize the skills in
memory and recall.
There are six levels in the taxonomy.
For the moment we are looking at the first three.
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9. First Level: Knowledge
Exhibit memory of previously-learned materials by recalling
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facts, terms, basic concepts and answers.
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Questions like: What is...?
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10. Second Level: Understanding
Demonstrative understanding of facts and ideas.
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organizing, comparing, translating, interpreting, giving
descriptions, and stating main ideas
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Questions like: How would you compare and contrast...?
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11. Third Level: Application
Using new knowledge. Solve problems by applying

acquired knowledge, facts, techniques and rules to new
situations in a different way
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Questions like: Can you organize to show ?
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12. Curriculum Standards
The curriculum standards expect students to work at
the third level (application) or even at the higher
three levels.
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13. Notice that the first three are sequential. Students must remember facts
before they can understand, and they must understand before they can
apply their knowledge.
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14. Assessments in School
The targets are:
 At least 40% of marks are for understanding
 At least 20% of marks are for application
In the long run these percentages should increase as students become
used to the style of questions.
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