Benjamin Bloom: Times Change Around Man, but Man Remains Timeless

In the field of education, we are seeing unparalleled changes in the way we teach our children by ushering in the latest technology to teach, engage, and entertain them. We applaud making the most of students’ time on task while making sure every child is learning in a way that is best suited to his or her needs. Whether it’s virtual tutoring, a software application to aid literacy, or the use of VR in science classes; technological development has swept up our schools into riding a new wave of educational practices. 

Despite all these exciting new gizmos and gadgets — and the promise of more to come — the way people learn is the same today as it was hundreds of years ago. The processes our brains employ to encounter and master new concepts has not changed. Every person, regardless of where they live in the world, ascend the same steps when they learn new information.

Benjamin Bloom, an American educational psychologist, devised a pyramid with six levels to illustrate our learning process. In 1956, Bloom published Taxonomy of Educational Objectives which became known simply as Bloom’s Taxonomy. Below is an illustration:

Similar to climbing a pyramid, one must ascend each step from the bottom, and cannot proceed to the next step until having mastered the previous one. In other words, students cannot analyze a concept until they have remembered its details. A math student cannot solve an algebraic equation if he doesn’t know yet how to multiply and divide. 

Remembering and understanding are foundational skills that must be committed to memory before the critical thinking skills of analysis/synthesis, evaluation, and creation can be successfully employed. 

Teachers and parents often complain that the remembering of concepts has to be mastered by rote memorization. The negative vibrations that are emitted from those words, “rote memorization”, are almost palpable. But let’s look at it from a practical standpoint. Students cannot effectively argue an issue in a debate if they haven’t first memorized the facts behind it. They cannot explain the molecular structure of a chemical compound if they don’t yet know the structure of the atoms involved and the bonds they form. In other words, in order for students to master the higher levels of the taxonomy, they have to use memorization. And that’s NOT a bad thing. 

Students can use verses, chants, songs, and mnemonic devices to memorize information. Memorization can even be fun…for example…by playing a computer game. Have we come full circle?

Yes, today’s technology in the classroom not only enhances learning via Bloom’s taxonomy, it embraces it. With gaming, animation, and other attractive features, the use of educational technology challenges students to remember (via repetition), understand and apply concepts in new situations, analyze/synthesize, evaluate, and independently create their own opinions, ideas, and designs. 

With our up-to-date information on learning differentiation, we can use AI to customize learning experiences and match each student’s needs and learning style. We can diagnose and fill missing knowledge gaps. We can provide students with a more solid education today than ever before in our history.

In addition, with technology, every student is on-task, engaging and learning during every minute of class time. No student is idly waiting for his or her turn to read in a reading circle. No student is simply watching another solve a math problem at the board. All are engaged. 

As with any educational tool, there glitches and drawbacks from time to time. But educational technology is here to stay; and used correctly, it’s a soulmate to the timeless way we learn.