Using Different Learning Taxonomies
InstructionsUsing Different Learning Taxonomies
What is this about?
Defining learning objectives serves as a cornerstone for creating successful and impactful learning environments. Rather than simply ticking a box, Learning objectives, that is what is it plays a critical role in several key aspects that the learners should learn by taking part in the training, guides the choice of the learning process.content, activities and assessment. Learning objectives can be defined by using different taxonomies. Bloom's taxonomy categorizes educational goals into a hierarchical model, from simple recall of facts to complex evaluation and creation tasks. The SOLO (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes) taxonomy, on the other hand, describes levels of increasing complexity in a learner's understanding of subjects, ranging from unistructural to extended abstract levels.
Learning is what the learner does, but it can be facilitated through what trainers do and of appropriate teaching activities (Biggs, 1999). The Taxonomy of Significant Learning (Fink, 2013) (sometimes also referred as the Fink’s taxonomy) is not hierarchical in the same way as the other two, however, it builds on Blooms’ taxonomy by including a long-forgotten affective component into the discussion (, namely caring).. It encourages to include into the learning outcomes the objectives foundational knowledge, application, integration, a human dimension, caring, and learning to learn competencies (Fink, 2013) and this way offers a holistic approach to learning. However, since the existing material aligns with Bloom's and SOLO frameworks, this guide will primarily describe these two to ensure coherence and consistency in training delivery. Nevertheless, we encourage trainers to also consider the more effective type of learning objectives proposed in the Taxonomy of Significant Learning.
