Bloom's Taxonomy in eLearning

Bloom's Taxonomy is a framework used in education and instructional design to classify different levels of learning. In simple terms, it helps answer a basic question:

"What should the learner be able to do after completing this training?"

There is a big difference between asking a learner to remember a piece of information and asking them to use that information to solve a problem. For example, consider workplace safety training. A learner might first need to:

• Remember what a particular safety symbol means.
• Understand why a safety procedure is important.
• Apply the procedure in a workplace situation.
• Analyze what went wrong during an incident.
• Evaluate the best response to a safety problem.
• Create an action plan to prevent a similar incident.

All of these involve learning, but they require different levels of thinking. Bloom's Taxonomy helps Instructional Designers identify the level of thinking required and design the learning experience accordingly.

Bloom's Taxonomy is commonly represented as six levels:

Remember → Understand → Apply → Analyze → Evaluate → Create

The levels generally move from simpler forms of thinking to more complex forms of thinking. However, this does not mean that every course must use all six levels. The appropriate level depends on what learners actually need to achieve. Let's look at each level.

1. 01

   Remember

   Remembering means being able to recall information. At this level, the learner does not necessarily need to explain or use the information. They simply need to recognize or recall it. Like, a learner may need to:

   • Identify a safety symbol.
   • Recall the definition of phishing.
   • List the steps in a process.
   • Name the components of a product.
   • Recall a company policy.
   • Identify the correct terminology.

   eLearning example: Imagine a cybersecurity awareness course. The learner sees several emails and is asked:

   "Which of the following is an example of phishing?"

   The learner is primarily being asked to recognize information they have learned. Possible eLearning interactions you could use:

   • Multiple-choice questions
   • Matching activities
   • Flashcards
   • Click-to-reveal interactions
   • Labeling activities
   • Simple knowledge checks

   View a Live Example →

2. 02

   Understand

   Understanding goes one step beyond remembering. At this level, the learner should be able to explain an idea or demonstrate that they understand what it means. Like, a learner may need to:

   • Explain why a procedure is important.
   • Describe how a process works.
   • Summarize a policy.
   • Explain the consequences of a particular action.
   • Interpret information presented in a chart or diagram.

   eLearning example: Instead of simply asking, "What is phishing?", we might ask:

   "Why do phishing emails create a security risk for an organization?"

   The learner now needs to demonstrate that they understand the concept rather than simply recall its definition. Possible eLearning interactions you could use:

   • Scenario-based questions
   • Click-and-reveal activities
   • Explainer animations
   • Sorting activities
   • Matching exercises
   • Short-answer questions
   • Visual demonstrations

   View a Live Example →

3. 03

   Apply

   Applying means using knowledge in a situation. This is where eLearning can become much more practical. Instead of simply asking learners what they know, we ask them to use what they have learned. Like, a learner may need to:

   • Follow a safety procedure.
   • Use a software application.
   • Respond to a customer complaint.
   • Apply a company policy to a situation.
   • Select the correct procedure for a specific task.

   eLearning example: Consider a workplace safety course. Instead of asking, "What should you do if you discover a chemical spill?", we could present a workplace scenario:

   You notice a chemical spill in your work area. Nobody appears to be injured, but the spill is spreading. The learner is then given several options:

   • Ignore it because nobody is injured.
   • Try to clean it up without notifying anyone.
   • Secure the area and follow the organization's spill-response procedure.
   • Leave the area without informing anyone.

   The learner must apply the knowledge from the course to choose the appropriate action. Possible eLearning interactions for this level works well with:

   • Scenarios
   • Simulations
   • Decision-making activities
   • Software simulations
   • Drag-and-drop activities
   • Case studies
   • Guided practice

   View a Live Example →

4. 04

   Analyze

   Analyzing means breaking information or a situation into smaller parts and understanding how those parts relate to each other. At this level, learners are not simply applying a known procedure. They need to examine information and determine what is happening. Like, a learner may need to:

   • Identify the cause of a problem.
   • Find errors in a process.
   • Compare two approaches.
   • Identify risks in a situation.
   • Examine why an incident occurred.
   • Determine which information is relevant.

   eLearning example: Imagine an employee receives an email that appears to be from the company's IT department. The email contains:

   • An unusual sender address.
   • A request for login credentials.
   • A suspicious link.
   • Urgent language.
   • A company logo.

   Instead of simply asking whether the email is phishing, the course could ask, "Which elements of this email indicate that it may be a phishing attempt?" The learner must examine the different elements and identify the warning signs. Possible eLearning interactions you could use:

   • Case studies
   • Interactive scenarios
   • Branching scenarios
   • Error identification activities
   • Comparison activities
   • Simulations
   • Problem-solving exercises

   View a Live Example →

5. 05

   Evaluate

   Evaluating means making a judgment or decision based on information, rules, evidence, or criteria. At this level, learners may be presented with several possible solutions and asked to determine which one is most appropriate. Like, a learner may need to:

   • Choose the best response to a customer.
   • Evaluate different solutions to a problem.
   • Decide whether a situation violates a policy.
   • Determine which approach presents the least risk.
   • Justify a decision.

   eLearning example: Imagine a manager dealing with an employee who has repeatedly missed deadlines. The course presents several possible responses. The learner must decide how the manager should respond based on company policy and good management practices.

   There may not always be an obvious "right" answer based purely on memory. The learner needs to consider the situation, apply the relevant principles, and make a judgment. Possible eLearning interactions for this level can be particularly effective with:

   • Branching scenarios
   • Case studies
   • Decision-making simulations
   • Role-play activities
   • Complex scenarios
   • "What would you do?" activities

   View a Live Example →

6. 06

   Create

   Creating is the highest level in the revised Bloom's Taxonomy framework. It involves using knowledge and skills to develop something new. In corporate eLearning, this level may not be necessary for every topic. It is most useful when learners are expected to produce something, develop a solution, or create a plan. Like, a learner may need to:

   • Develop an action plan.
   • Create a customer communication strategy.
   • Develop a safety improvement plan.
   • Design a solution to a business problem.
   • Create a project plan.
   • Develop a personal development plan.

   eLearning example: Suppose employees have completed workplace cybersecurity training. Instead of asking another multiple-choice question, the course could ask them to create a personal cybersecurity action plan. For example:

   "Based on what you have learned, identify three actions you will take to improve your cybersecurity practices."

   The learner is now using the knowledge from the course to create something of their own. Possible eLearning activities you could use:

   • Action plans
   • Open-ended activities
   • Project-based activities
   • Planning exercises
   • Reflection activities
   • Assignments
   • Workplace application activities

Bloom's Taxonomy at a Glance

Here is a simple way to understand the six levels:

The important point is that not every course needs to reach the Create level. If the goal of a course is simply to ensure that employees know a company policy, Remember or Understand may be sufficient. If employees need to make decisions or perform tasks, Apply, Analyze, or Evaluate may be more appropriate.

Bloom's Taxonomy is not something that is added to a course as a separate activity. Instead, it can influence several stages of the Instructional Design process. An Instructional Designer may use Bloom's Taxonomy to help determine:

• What learners need to achieve.
• How learning objectives should be written.
• How content should be presented.
• What type of practice learners need.
• What interactions should be designed.
• What type of assessment should be used.

The goal is to make sure that the learning objective, learning activity, and assessment are aligned.

1. 01

   Define the Learning Objective

   Before deciding which interaction to use, we need to understand what the learner is expected to do. For example, consider these two objectives:

   Objective 1: Learners will be able to identify the warning signs of a phishing email. This is primarily a recognition/understanding objective.

   Objective 2: Learners will be able to identify and respond appropriately to potential phishing attempts in the workplace. This requires a higher level of application.

   The second objective would require a different learning experience.

2. 02

   Identify the Appropriate Level of Thinking

   Once the objective is understood, the Instructional Designer can determine the level of thinking required. For example: "Define workplace harassment", this primarily requires remembering or understanding. But, "Respond appropriately when witnessing a potential case of workplace harassment.", requires the learner to apply knowledge in a situation.

   The Instructional Designer can therefore design a scenario rather than simply presenting a definition.

3. 03

   Select the Right Instructional Strategy

   The Bloom's level can help guide the type of learning activity. For example:

   • ✓
     Remember:

     Knowledge checks, flashcards, matching.

   • ✓
     Understand:

     Explanations, demonstrations, sorting, visual examples.

   • ✓
     Apply:

     Scenarios, simulations, guided practice.

   • ✓
     Analyze:

     Case studies, problem-solving, error identification.

   • ✓
     Evaluate:

     Decision-making scenarios, branching scenarios.

   • ✓
     Create:

     Action plans, projects, workplace assignments.

   This does not mean that one interaction can only be used for one Bloom's level. The same interaction can sometimes support different levels depending on how it is designed.

4. 04

   Design Practice and Interactions

   This is where Bloom's Taxonomy can have a visible impact on the learner experience. Consider a compliance course about conflict of interest. A basic course might simply explain:

   A conflict of interest occurs when personal interests may influence professional decisions. Then it asks: "What is a conflict of interest?"

   That tests basic knowledge. A more engaging course could present this situation:

   An employee is responsible for selecting a supplier. One of the suppliers is owned by the employee's close relative.

   The learner is asked: "What should the employee do?"

   Now the learner must apply the policy to a realistic workplace situation. A more advanced version could provide several possible responses and ask the learner to evaluate which response is most appropriate and why. The subject has not changed.

   The level of thinking has changed.

5. 05

   Align the Assessment

   One of the most important uses of Bloom's Taxonomy is ensuring that assessments actually measure the intended learning objective. Suppose the objective is:

   Learners will be able to apply the company's data protection policy when handling customer information. A simple question such as "What is the company's data protection policy?" does not really measure application.

   The learner could memorize the policy without knowing how to use it. A better assessment would present a realistic situation:

   A customer sends you a document containing sensitive personal information. What should you do?

   Now the learner needs to apply the policy to a real-world situation. This is why the assessment should match the learning objective.

Let's see how one topic can be developed across different Bloom's levels. Imagine the topic is Phishing Awareness.

This example demonstrates an important point: Bloom's Taxonomy does not require us to make a course more complicated. It helps us make the learning activity appropriate to what the learner actually needs to do.

Bloom's Taxonomy and Simulations

Simulations are particularly useful when learners need to practice applying knowledge in a realistic environment. For example, imagine a course for customer service representatives. Instead of asking: "What should you do when an angry customer calls?" We can create a simulated conversation.

The customer says: "I've been waiting for three weeks and nobody has helped me!"

The learner chooses how to respond. Depending on the response, the conversation changes. The learner might receive feedback such as:

• "Good response. You acknowledged the customer's concern."
• "Try again. The response may make the customer feel that their concern is being dismissed."

This creates an opportunity to practice decision-making in a safe environment.

Bloom's Taxonomy and Scenario-Based Learning

Scenarios are another effective way of applying Bloom's Taxonomy. A scenario puts the learner into a situation that resembles something they may encounter in the workplace. For example:

You are a manager preparing to interview a candidate. The candidate has a close personal relationship with one of your team members. The learner could be asked:

"What should you do?"

The learner chooses from several options. The course can then explain the consequences of each choice. This approach is particularly useful for:

• Compliance training
• Leadership training
• Ethics training
• Safety training
• Customer service
• Healthcare
• Cybersecurity
• Workplace conduct

Bloom's Taxonomy and Assessments

Bloom's Taxonomy can also help us determine whether an assessment is testing the right type of learning. Consider a course about workplace safety. A basic assessment might ask:

Which item of PPE is required for this task?

This tests recognition or recall. A more advanced assessment might ask:

You are preparing to perform the task and notice that the required PPE is unavailable. What should you do?

Now the learner needs to apply the safety requirements. An even more advanced assessment might present an incident and ask:

Which factors contributed to the incident?

Now the learner needs to analyze the situation. The assessment becomes more meaningful because it reflects what the learner is expected to do in the real workplace.

This is an important distinction when developing eLearning. A Subject Matter Expert (SME) provides the subject knowledge. For example, a cybersecurity SME may know:

• The organization's cybersecurity policies.
• Security procedures.
• Common threats.
• Technical requirements.
• Regulatory requirements.
• Correct responses to security incidents.

The SME ensures that the information is accurate.

The Instructional Designer, on the other hand, determines how that knowledge should be turned into an effective learning experience. The Instructional Designer may:

• Analyze the SME-provided content.
• Identify the desired learner outcomes.
• Develop learning objectives.
• Apply instructional frameworks such as Bloom's Taxonomy.
• Determine the appropriate level of learning.
• Structure the course.
• Select instructional strategies.
• Design scenarios and interactions.
• Develop assessments.
• Align assessments with learning objectives.

In simple terms: The SME knows the subject. The Instructional Designer knows how to teach the subject through an effective learning experience. The two roles work together.

At Swift eLearning Services, our Instructional Designers use Bloom's Taxonomy as one of the frameworks available to structure and design eLearning experiences. We typically begin by understanding the client's business requirements, target audience, existing content, and expected learning outcomes. The client's SMEs remain an important part of this process because they provide the subject expertise and validate the accuracy of the content.

Our Instructional Designers then determine how that information can be transformed into an effective learning experience. Depending on the objectives, this may include:

• Learning objectives aligned to the required level of learning.
• Content structured around learner needs.
• Knowledge checks.
• Interactive activities.
• Scenarios.
• Case studies.
• Simulations.
• Branching scenarios.
• Decision-making exercises.
• Assessments aligned with the objectives.

The approach is not to use Bloom's Taxonomy simply because it is a recognized instructional design framework. Instead, we use it when it helps answer a practical question:

"What should the learner be able to do with this knowledge after completing the course?"

Bloom's Taxonomy is useful, but it should not be treated as a rigid checklist. Here are some common mistakes.

• ✓
  Trying to Use All Six Levels:

  Not every course needs to reach the Create level. The appropriate level depends on the learning objective.

• ✓
  Making Every Activity Complicated:

  A simple matching activity can be perfectly appropriate if the learner only needs to remember information. More interaction does not automatically mean better learning.

• ✓
  Using an Advanced Assessment for a Basic Objective:

  If learners only need to remember information, there may be no need for a complex simulation. The assessment should reflect the actual learning requirement.

• ✓
  Confusing Interaction with Learning:

  Adding animations, games, or interactions does not automatically improve learning. The interaction should have a purpose.

• ✓
  Ignoring the Workplace Context:

  The ultimate goal of corporate eLearning is often to help employees perform better in their jobs. Whenever possible, learning activities should reflect situations learners are likely to encounter in the workplace.

One common misconception is that Bloom's Taxonomy is only about creating better quiz questions. It is much broader than that. It can influence the entire learning experience:

Learning Objective → Content → Practice → Interaction → Assessment

For example:

Objective: Apply the company's conflict-of-interest policy.

• The content should explain the policy.
• The practice could present realistic situations.
• The interaction could ask learners to make decisions.
• The assessment could present a new situation and ask learners to determine the appropriate action.

Everything is connected to the same learning objective.

A Simple Way to Remember Bloom's Taxonomy

If you are new to Bloom's Taxonomy, think about the six levels using these simple questions:

• ✓
  Remember:

  "What do I know?"

• ✓
  Understand:

  "Do I understand it?"

• ✓
  Apply:

  "Can I use it?"

• ✓
  Analyze:

  "Can I break it down and understand what is happening?"

• ✓
  Evaluate:

  "Can I make a good decision?"

• ✓
  Create:

  "Can I use what I know to create something new?"

This simple approach can help anyone including SMEs, trainers, and Instructional Designers, think about the type of learning required.

Conclusion

Bloom's Taxonomy provides Instructional Designers with a practical way to think about learning. It helps us move beyond the question; "What information should we put into the course?", and focus instead on "What should the learner be able to do with this information?"

Sometimes learners simply need to remember information. Sometimes they need to understand it. In other situations, they need to apply knowledge, analyze a problem, evaluate different options, or create a solution. The role of an Instructional Designer is to understand that requirement and design the learning experience accordingly.

When Bloom's Taxonomy is used thoughtfully, it can help connect learning objectives, instructional strategies, interactions, scenarios, simulations, and assessments into one consistent learning experience. And most importantly, it helps ensure that eLearning is not simply about delivering information, it is about helping learners use that information effectively.