Bloom’s taxonomy continues to be be a HOTS (pun intended) topic in the classroom. After a bit of internet research and the intent to ignite a passion for learning, I thought I would share my recipe for Bloomin’ Learning: Bloom’s Taxonomy, digital artifacts, writing and reflection, and a collaborative forum for sharing and publishing.

Bloom’s Review: Before we put our thinking hats on, let’s review Bloom’s…with the Simpsons (link to original video).

Flipped Bloom’s: Some suggest the original ladder of Bloom’s is an arduous climb for learners and should be evaluated. Rather than spend the majority of class time in the basement of Bloom’s, begin with a creating task and glean the knowledge necessary to complete the process. (Read more on Flipping Bloom’s here).

Digital Artifacts: While outdated, the Bloom’s ladder drum video showcases how an object can be threaded throughout each level of Bloom’s. A similar example using the revised taxonomy features a rock:

Exploring Rocks and Minerals with Bloom's Revised Taxonomy

Some digital artifacts can be personal and hold value to students. As digital storytelling is a powerful tool and most mobile devices and many computers have a way to locate or capture photos of such artifacts (whether they be an object, a person, a place, an event, a lab), I thought it best to begin with this type of digital media and use it as a framework for Bloom’s. While the Bloom’s pyramid listed is outdated, the idea is still significant.

A Picture is worth a thousand thoughts: inquiry with Bloom's taxonomy

A Taxonomy of Writing and Reflection: As the photos are truly meant to inspire our thoughts and words in order to ultimately write reflectively and collaboratively, I thought I would share the next support resource: “Reflect… Reflecting… Reflection…”

Bloomin’ Hackathon: Chris Walsh shared the idea of a creative hackathon task during his ISTE 2012 session “Creativity is the Killer App”. The participant task involved each table sharing their most creative learning experience, the table voting on the best one shared, and culminated with each group creating a collaborative digital artifact to represent the learning experience selected. All of the artifacts can be viewed using the hashtag #creativelearning.

Thus, I propose a Bloomin’ Hackathon with the purpose to share the best and most creative uses of Bloom’s in the classroom. Rather than question-proof the event with a detailed rubric for submission, I leave you with this question, “What should Bloom’s Taxonomy look like in the classroom?”

Please reply with a digital artifact in the comment section of the blog and/or with the hashtag #bloominglearnining

The Differentiator

Bloomin’s Best Resources: If you haven’t had your fill of Bloomin’ Resources, check out these listed below.

• Larry Ferlazzo has a comprehensive list of resources
• Hot Web Apps 4 HOTS showcases how teachers can use Quizlet and Todays Meet in any content area or grade level to support Bloom’s.
• Hot Apps 4 HOTS showcases how teachers can use free edutainment apps in any content area or grade level to support Bloom’s.
• Bloom’s Taxonomy according to Seinfeld
• Google-Proof Questioning: A New Use for Bloom’s Taxonomy
• HiTech Cscope Verbs for Bloom’s include multiple Web 2.0 tools for each
• Model of Learning Objectives: excellent interactive resource for pairing the cognitive process with the knowledge dimension.

Bloomin’ Hackathon by TechChef4u is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.