WOW! "Creating" is the highest form of intellectual behavior!
By Sarah J. Brown
There are 6 levels of intellectual behavior, ranging from the simplest and most basic level: “Remembering” to the highest level of intellectual application “Creating”.
Bloom's Taxonomy: In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. During the 1990's a new group of cognitive psychologists, lead by Lorin Anderson (a former student of Bloom's), updated the taxonomy reflecting relevance to 21st century work.
The Pyramid to the left is the updated version.
Typical Students begin their intellectual journey at Level 1. They cannot climb the intellectual pyramid unless they proceed in order. Visual Thinkers tend to dance on the top of the pyramid by the time they are four or five years old and do not want to be forced back down! Well meaning teachers and parents who believe that they need to learn to climb the pyramid “properly” try to force Visual Thinkers into the same mold. Suddenly the bright little student becomes a struggling learning who equates "memorizing facts" with eating liver. They think that memorizing is a waste of their time, energy and attention. Why would they want to struggle with facts when they could be building, drawing, creating, imagining, inventing and inspecting things that actually matter to them? Level one can be very fustrating to some of the smartest kids in the class whose minds are wired to start at the top of the pyramid- not the bottom.
To help you understand Bloom's Taxonomy in a practical way I have listed several ways that individuals accomplish each type of intellectual exercise. Unlike typical elementary school educators I don't start with level one when teaching my students, I try to include at least one activity from each level on a daily basis to exercise each child's mind to the fullest....
The Pyramid to the left is the updated version.
Typical Students begin their intellectual journey at Level 1. They cannot climb the intellectual pyramid unless they proceed in order. Visual Thinkers tend to dance on the top of the pyramid by the time they are four or five years old and do not want to be forced back down! Well meaning teachers and parents who believe that they need to learn to climb the pyramid “properly” try to force Visual Thinkers into the same mold. Suddenly the bright little student becomes a struggling learning who equates "memorizing facts" with eating liver. They think that memorizing is a waste of their time, energy and attention. Why would they want to struggle with facts when they could be building, drawing, creating, imagining, inventing and inspecting things that actually matter to them? Level one can be very fustrating to some of the smartest kids in the class whose minds are wired to start at the top of the pyramid- not the bottom.
To help you understand Bloom's Taxonomy in a practical way I have listed several ways that individuals accomplish each type of intellectual exercise. Unlike typical elementary school educators I don't start with level one when teaching my students, I try to include at least one activity from each level on a daily basis to exercise each child's mind to the fullest....
Level 1: Remembering
· Reciting a Poem
· Retelling a story
· Reporting correct information
· Copying a list
· Repeating a conversation
· Recalling a series of events
· Recording dates and times
· Memorizing math facts with flash cards or repetition
· Playing memory games with cards or boardgames
· Knowing times and dates
· Learning names of States and Cities
· Matching faces with names
· Spelling words correctly
· Identifying different types of tools
· Label a diagram or map
Level 2: Understanding
· Knowing how to find an answer to a problem
· Defining words
· Sorting items into categories
· Explaining how to blend colors
· Considering the meaning
· Knowing how to use a tool
· Following Instructions
· Knowing if something is true or false
· Telling a story in one’s own words
· Discussing a topic
· Comprehending the meaning of a story
· Describing a person, place or thing
· Recognizing a person, place or thing
· Sharing information about a historical event
· Knowing how something works
· Studying nature by sketching images of leaves, flowers, seed pods etc...
· Understanding the reasoning behind the math
· Classifying items
Level 3: Applying
· Following a recipe
· Using a map
· Putting together a puzzle or playing a board game like Monopoly
· Adding and subtracting with money
· Writing a report
· Assembling furniture from a kit
· Assisting with a project
· Sewing from a pattern
· Setting a clock
· Telling a Story
· Solving a problem
· Playing card games like Uno
· Making a chart
· Drawing a diagram
· Preparing for an event
· Navigating
· Using a tool
· Cleaning a room
· Making change for a dollar
· Calculating sales tax
· Avoiding an accident
· Preparing for something in advance
· Playing a board game that requires math
· Setting the temperature on the oven
· Caring for a pet
· Measuring liquid
· Figuring out how long it will take to travel a certain distance
· Teaching a skill to a younger child
· Producing products to sell
· Developing a plan
· Establishing a goal
· Sketching an image
Level 4: Analyzing
· Conducting an experiment
· Comparing the differences
· Observing similarities
· Finding problems
· Sorting items into categories
· Studying a person, place or thing
· Exploring a location
· Collecting and comparing similar items
· Disassembling and reassembling items
· Discovering how something works
· Finding out what something is made of
· Observing the outcome of an action
· Researching historic events
· Listening to speeches by politicians with different view points
· Asking questions
· Talking to experts concerning a topic
· Reading books about a special interest
· Listing the characteristics
· Using tools for discovery like microscopes, telescopes and magnifying glasses
· Playing strategy games like Checkers or Chess
· Pointing out a potential problem
· Contrasting two or more choices
· Naming “pros and cons”
· Making a selection
Level 5: Evaluating
· Gathering enough information to enable a person to make a decision
· Contrasting two choices
· Questioning an expert
· Examining evidence
· Accepting or rejecting a theory
· Carefully considering another person’s performance
· Reasoning
· Arguing over a point of view
· Looking for ways to compromise
· Attaching value to something or appraising an item
· Playing mind games like www.DyslexiaGames.com
· Looking for ways to make something better
· Troubleshooting a problem
· Brainstorming solutions
· Diagnosing a condition
· Judging between two opposing arguments
· Considering the impact that one’s actions will have on others
· Considering the impact that one’s actions will have on the environment
· Considering the impact that one’s actions will have on a family or community.
· Interviewing another person
· Looking at all the options
· Investigating
· Defending a point of view
· Justifying an action
· Criticizing the way something is being done
· Testing, grading or assessing someone’s work
· Persuading others to come into agreement
Level 6: Creating
· Making something new
· Drawing
· Designing
· Inventing
· Making up a recipe
· Engineering
· Sharing a vision
· Turning a dream or idea into reality
· Using Imagination
· Customizing
· Forming
· Arranging
· Modifying
· Devising
· Writing a book, story or article
· Planning
· Speculating
· Composing
· Substituting
· Adapting
· Combining
· Negotiating
· Facilitating
· Intervening
· Compiling
· Devising
· Reorganizing
· Integrating
· Reinforcing
Is the goal of education to help children to rise to the top of the Intellectual Pyramid? Why spend six years of your child’s life (starting in 1st grade) focusing on level one when he was happily engaging in level four at age four?
Is your child is already mastering several items on the higher levels of intellectual behavior? But does he seem to be struggling with Level One? Count your child blessed! Many of the people who master level one and level two during their school years fail to proceed past level three once they reach adulthood. If your child is not ready to master level one don’t be afraid to focus on 2-6! Some of the brightest people throughout history had trouble with level one - but those are the same people who invented calculators, computers and smart phones to take care of ‘remembering” for them.
Most people forget most of the facts they spend years studying in elementary school anyway. Focus on your child’s gifts, talents, abilities and interests. In time he will learn to “remember” any information that he discovers a use for. Even mathematics and spelling! When the time comes your brilliant child will master those skills too- but it will be on his timeline, not yours, not the school’s, not even the grandparents' timeline!
When you consider the six levels you will notice that only Level One and Two can be easily taught in a typical classroom. The higher levels of intellectual behavior mostly occur in the real world, in the home, on vacation, and on the job. Families who homeschool or unschool have more freedom to expose younger students to opportunities to apply their intelligence to activities that include applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. Teachers, Textbooks, Workbooks and Curricula focus on Remembering and Understanding. There is a lot of pressure on teachers to spend a lot of time preparing students for standardized testing. Such testing focuses only on the first level “remembering’ and neglects the rest. An education revolution is needed to correct this- or you can opt out of the system and teach your child at home or in a school that values your child's need to learn through creativity and application.
· Reciting a Poem
· Retelling a story
· Reporting correct information
· Copying a list
· Repeating a conversation
· Recalling a series of events
· Recording dates and times
· Memorizing math facts with flash cards or repetition
· Playing memory games with cards or boardgames
· Knowing times and dates
· Learning names of States and Cities
· Matching faces with names
· Spelling words correctly
· Identifying different types of tools
· Label a diagram or map
Level 2: Understanding
· Knowing how to find an answer to a problem
· Defining words
· Sorting items into categories
· Explaining how to blend colors
· Considering the meaning
· Knowing how to use a tool
· Following Instructions
· Knowing if something is true or false
· Telling a story in one’s own words
· Discussing a topic
· Comprehending the meaning of a story
· Describing a person, place or thing
· Recognizing a person, place or thing
· Sharing information about a historical event
· Knowing how something works
· Studying nature by sketching images of leaves, flowers, seed pods etc...
· Understanding the reasoning behind the math
· Classifying items
Level 3: Applying
· Following a recipe
· Using a map
· Putting together a puzzle or playing a board game like Monopoly
· Adding and subtracting with money
· Writing a report
· Assembling furniture from a kit
· Assisting with a project
· Sewing from a pattern
· Setting a clock
· Telling a Story
· Solving a problem
· Playing card games like Uno
· Making a chart
· Drawing a diagram
· Preparing for an event
· Navigating
· Using a tool
· Cleaning a room
· Making change for a dollar
· Calculating sales tax
· Avoiding an accident
· Preparing for something in advance
· Playing a board game that requires math
· Setting the temperature on the oven
· Caring for a pet
· Measuring liquid
· Figuring out how long it will take to travel a certain distance
· Teaching a skill to a younger child
· Producing products to sell
· Developing a plan
· Establishing a goal
· Sketching an image
Level 4: Analyzing
· Conducting an experiment
· Comparing the differences
· Observing similarities
· Finding problems
· Sorting items into categories
· Studying a person, place or thing
· Exploring a location
· Collecting and comparing similar items
· Disassembling and reassembling items
· Discovering how something works
· Finding out what something is made of
· Observing the outcome of an action
· Researching historic events
· Listening to speeches by politicians with different view points
· Asking questions
· Talking to experts concerning a topic
· Reading books about a special interest
· Listing the characteristics
· Using tools for discovery like microscopes, telescopes and magnifying glasses
· Playing strategy games like Checkers or Chess
· Pointing out a potential problem
· Contrasting two or more choices
· Naming “pros and cons”
· Making a selection
Level 5: Evaluating
· Gathering enough information to enable a person to make a decision
· Contrasting two choices
· Questioning an expert
· Examining evidence
· Accepting or rejecting a theory
· Carefully considering another person’s performance
· Reasoning
· Arguing over a point of view
· Looking for ways to compromise
· Attaching value to something or appraising an item
· Playing mind games like www.DyslexiaGames.com
· Looking for ways to make something better
· Troubleshooting a problem
· Brainstorming solutions
· Diagnosing a condition
· Judging between two opposing arguments
· Considering the impact that one’s actions will have on others
· Considering the impact that one’s actions will have on the environment
· Considering the impact that one’s actions will have on a family or community.
· Interviewing another person
· Looking at all the options
· Investigating
· Defending a point of view
· Justifying an action
· Criticizing the way something is being done
· Testing, grading or assessing someone’s work
· Persuading others to come into agreement
Level 6: Creating
· Making something new
· Drawing
· Designing
· Inventing
· Making up a recipe
· Engineering
· Sharing a vision
· Turning a dream or idea into reality
· Using Imagination
· Customizing
· Forming
· Arranging
· Modifying
· Devising
· Writing a book, story or article
· Planning
· Speculating
· Composing
· Substituting
· Adapting
· Combining
· Negotiating
· Facilitating
· Intervening
· Compiling
· Devising
· Reorganizing
· Integrating
· Reinforcing
Is the goal of education to help children to rise to the top of the Intellectual Pyramid? Why spend six years of your child’s life (starting in 1st grade) focusing on level one when he was happily engaging in level four at age four?
Is your child is already mastering several items on the higher levels of intellectual behavior? But does he seem to be struggling with Level One? Count your child blessed! Many of the people who master level one and level two during their school years fail to proceed past level three once they reach adulthood. If your child is not ready to master level one don’t be afraid to focus on 2-6! Some of the brightest people throughout history had trouble with level one - but those are the same people who invented calculators, computers and smart phones to take care of ‘remembering” for them.
Most people forget most of the facts they spend years studying in elementary school anyway. Focus on your child’s gifts, talents, abilities and interests. In time he will learn to “remember” any information that he discovers a use for. Even mathematics and spelling! When the time comes your brilliant child will master those skills too- but it will be on his timeline, not yours, not the school’s, not even the grandparents' timeline!
When you consider the six levels you will notice that only Level One and Two can be easily taught in a typical classroom. The higher levels of intellectual behavior mostly occur in the real world, in the home, on vacation, and on the job. Families who homeschool or unschool have more freedom to expose younger students to opportunities to apply their intelligence to activities that include applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. Teachers, Textbooks, Workbooks and Curricula focus on Remembering and Understanding. There is a lot of pressure on teachers to spend a lot of time preparing students for standardized testing. Such testing focuses only on the first level “remembering’ and neglects the rest. An education revolution is needed to correct this- or you can opt out of the system and teach your child at home or in a school that values your child's need to learn through creativity and application.
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