In 1956 a committee of educators chaired by Benjamin Bloom proposed a classification of learning objectives within education, commonly known as Bloom's Taxonomy. Although more extensive than what I'm going to describe for you, the Taxonomy is basically a breakdown of the six levels of thinking or learning. I will use 2 + 2 = 4 as an example.
- Knowledge is accepting and believing a fact. Knowing 2 + 2 = 4 doesn't mean you know what 2 + 2 = 4 means.
- Application is knowing how to use the fact. You can determine that 2 cats plus 2 cats equals 4 cats. You don't know what 2 + 2 = 4 means, but you can apply it.
- Comprehension is understanding a fact. You know the concept of addition and how 2 + 2 = 4.
- Analysis is breaking down information into its parts. 4 - 2 = 2; (1 + 1) + (1 + 1) = 2 + 2 = 4.
- Synthesis is creating something new. (2 + 2) + (2 + 2) = 4 + 4.
- Evaluation is the discussion of the merits of 2 + 2 = 4.
As you can see here Bloom's Taxonomy is a list of the levels of thinking from the lowest level to the highest. i.e. If you master all these levels of education you know the subject.
