QUESTION
Describe the concept and use of taxonomies in testing.
Course: Test Development and Evaluation
Course Code 6462
Level: B.Ed Solved Assignment
ANSWER
CONCEPT OF USE OF TAXONOMIES IN TEST DEVELOPMENT
The taxonomies provide help not
only in writing educational objectives but in writing assessment items also.
Questions (items) on quizzes and exams demand different levels of thinking
skills. For example, some questions
might be simple memorization of facts, and others might require the ability to
synthesize information from several sources to select or construct a response.
These taxonomies not only provide an ease to construct the test items
appropriately and provide an opportunity to make objectives measurable and
achievable.
Taxonomies provide a hierarchal matrix for the teachers to proceed from lower to higher levels.
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy in Test Development
(a) What is Bloom's Taxonomy? Bloom's taxonomy is
a classification system for the cognitive skills used in learning. Teachers use
this taxonomy to plan lessons. A taxonomy is a system that groups and orders
concepts or things, such as the classifications in biology that include family,
genus, and species. In 1956, Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist,
created a taxonomy of the cognitive skills required for learning.
(b) The Six Levels of Intellectual Skills Bloom's
Taxonomy has six levels of intellectual skills, each one building on the
previous level: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation. This taxonomy is often represented by a pyramid divided into six
sections. The bottom section is knowledge.
At this level, children memorize
facts and details. This is the foundation for all other cognitive skills and so
most time is devoted to it in schools. The second level is understanding. It is
not enough to simply memorize facts and details; a child needs to understand
the concepts. Once children understand images, they must be able to apply them
in different situations. As we move up the pyramid, the cognitive skills required
become more and more demanding. Analyzing requires students to consider the
parts of something and think about what they mean.
They may need to compare and
contrast two things, for example. Synthesis requires that students go beyond
the picture of what they see or read. The last, top level, of the pyramid is
evaluation. At this level, students work on forming an opinion and explaining
the reasoning behind their opinion. Such opinions require that students have managed
to move upwards through the levels from gaining knowledge all the way up to
being able to make judgments.
Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy
In the 1990s, the taxonomy was
revised, replacing nouns with verbs. Instead of knowledge, comprehension, application,
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, the revised version lists remembering,
understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. Evaluating is no longer the top level. It replaces
synthesis and then creating goes at the top. Technically, though synthesizing
and evaluating have just switched places. The idea behind the switch is that
before someone can create something new - synthesize - he has to be able to evaluate the information he
already has. Creating or synthesizing is considered the most difficult mental
skill.
Utilizing Bloom’s Taxonomy for Assessment
Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a useful
structure to help us categorize test questions for the assessment of students’
learning. The teacher may plan a test, which includes a variety of questions,
forcing the students to think and function at each level of the taxonomy. This
is the teacher’s opportunity to be creative. The teacher prepares questions
related to all levels of the taxonomy directly related to the content of the study.
Below is an example of some questions and activities related to the study of
domesticated animals utilizing Bloom’s Taxonomy methodology? Notice the use
of the verbs in each question.
Related Topics
Role of Assessment in the Teaching and Learning Process
Concept and Use of Taxonomies in Testing
Types and Steps in Portfolio Assessment
Define the term Reliability and its Importance and Scope of Reliability in Testing
What are the appropriate tools for Students' Evaluation
Procedure for Developing Standardized Tests
Difference between Accountability and Evaluation
Indicators of a Successful Project
Interviews can be used for Students' Evaluation
Purpose and Significance of Classroom Observations
Difference between Supply type and Selection type items in the Assessment
Concept, Acope, and Nature of Assessment in School Education
Related Topics
Role of Assessment in the Teaching and Learning Process
Concept and Use of Taxonomies in Testing
Types and Steps in Portfolio Assessment
Define the term Reliability and its Importance and Scope of Reliability in Testing
What are the appropriate tools for Students' Evaluation
Procedure for Developing Standardized Tests
Difference between Accountability and Evaluation
Indicators of a Successful Project
Interviews can be used for Students' Evaluation
Purpose and Significance of Classroom Observations
Difference between Supply type and Selection type items in the Assessment
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