Best practices suggest that instructors should strive to push students from Knowledge to Synthesis and Evaluation. It is not enough for students to demonstrate Knowledge or Comprehension. They should also be able to demonstrate that they can use this knowledge in higher order thinking and problem solving. As you construct Student Learning Outcomes, think about the active verbs you are using. What do you expect your students to be able to do? Do you want them to be able to list or describe some facts? Or do you want them to be able to design an experiment or critically analyze data and make a recommendation utilizing those facts?
Competence |
Skills Demonstrated |
Action Verbs for Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Knowledge |
Observation and recall of information; knowledge of dates, events, places; knowledge of major ideas; mastery of subject matter |
List, define, tell, describe, identify, show, label, collect, examine, tabulate, quote, name, who, when, where |
Comprehension |
Understanding information; grasp meaning; translate knowledge into new context; interpret facts, compare, contrast; order, group, infer causes; predict consequences |
Summarize, describe, interpret, contrast, predict, associate, distinguish, estimate, differentiate, discuss, extend |
Application |
Use information; use methods, concepts, theories in new situations; solve problems using required skills or knowledge |
Apply, demonstrate, calculate, complete, illustrate, show, solve, examine, modify, relate, change, classify, experiment, discover |
Analysis |
Seeing patterns; organization of parts; recognition of hidden meanings; identification of components |
Analyze, separate, order, explain, connect, classify, arrange, divide, compare, select, explain, infer |
Synthesis |
Use old ideas to create new ones; generalize from given facts; relate knowledge from several areas; predict, draw conclusions |
Combine, integrate, modify, rearrange, substitute, plan, create, design, invent, what if?, compose, formulate, prepare, generalize, rewrite |
Evaluation |
Compare and discriminate between ideas; assess value of theories, presentations; make choices based on reasoned argument; verify value of evidence; recognize subjectivity |
Assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend, convince, select, judge, explain, discriminate, support, conclude, compare, summarize |
Bloom B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc.