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3 Use critical questioning to support your

learning
Learning in an online environment requires you to move beyond simple memorization of
course concepts. To gain knowledge that will support you in your growth as a lifelong
learner and in your future career, you will want to interact with course concepts deeply
and in ways that are personally relevant to you.
One way of picturing deeper learning is Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Image Credit: Rawia Inaim

The levels of Bloom’s taxonomy build upon each other. While you need to be able to
remember key concepts, your courses will spend more time developing your ability to
apply, analyze, evaluate, and create using this knowledge. As you encounter new
concepts, you will want to use critical questioning to understand the concepts at all
levels, moving from surface to deeper knowledge. The chart below includes some
questions that might be relevant at each level.
Level Question Stems
• What is the definition of…?
• Who did…?
Remember (knowledge recall) – retrieving relevant
• When did…occur?
knowledge from long-term memory
• How much/many…?

• What are types of…?


Understand (comprehension) – interpreting the meaning of • How does…function?
information; being able to “translate” knowledge into one’s
• How does the process occur?
own words; linking new information to what you already
know • What are my own examples of…?

• What is a case study where this


might apply?
• How would I perform _____ task
using this information?
• What problems can I use this
Apply – using what you know to do required tasks
information to solve?
• What does theory x predict will
happen?
• How does… affect or apply to…?

• What is the relationship between…


and…?
• How is…similar to/different
from…?
• What is the best solution to the
Analyze – taking things apart; dissecting; asking “why?”;
problem, conflict, issue?
seeing relationships and how things work
• Distinguish between ____ and
____
• What hypothesis or theory explains
this data or given information?

Evaluate – appraising, judging and critiquing the outcomes • Is…


of any of the other levels
Correct or incorrect? Why?
Effective or ineffective? Why?
Relevant or irrelevant? Why?
Logical or illogical? Why?
Applicable or not applicable? Why?
Proven or not proven? Why?
Ethical or unethical? Why?
• What are the advantages or
disadvantages of…? Why?
• What is the best solution to the
problem, conflict, issue? Why is it
the best?

• How does this new information


change my understanding of ____.
• Can I create a
Create (synthesis) – putting things together; building on paragraph/journal/video/portfolio
what you know to create something new; seeing new
relationships or making new connections. [1] [2] page that demonstrates how I
integrate this information with my
other knowledge?

One method for creating study questions or planning active learning activities is to move

step-by-step through each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Begin with a few questions at

the Remembering level. If you don’t yet know the technical language of the subject and

what it means, it will be difficult for you to apply, evaluate, analyze, or be creative.

Then, go deeper into your subject as you move through the levels. Learning at

university requires you to learn the basics of your discipline by remembering and

understanding; however, you will spend much more of your time applying, analyzing,

evaluating, and creating.

Here is an example of what this might look like. What questions can you create for

your topic?
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim

Try It!

Create Study Questions Using Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy

Pick a subject area in which you are working. For each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy on
this page:

• Develop a question and answer it to show that you can think about the material at that
level. Use the example questions on the handout above as a guide.
• Think about how your questions would allow you to assess how much you know and
what level you are working at.

Download a printable worksheet to complete this activity.

Level Question
Remembering Remembering and Recalling information.
My question(s):

Understanding Explaining ideas or concepts.

Understanding My question(s):

Applying Applying information in a familiar situationMy question(s):


Analyzing by breaking information into parts to explore relationships.

Analyzing My question(s):

Justifying a decision or course of action.

Evaluating My question(s):

Generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things.

Creating My question(s):

Media Attributions
• Bloom’s Graphic
• finblooms example

1. Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching,
and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. New York:
Longman. ↵
2. Bloom, B., Englehart, M. Furst, E., Hill, W., & Krathwohl, D. (1956). Taxonomy of
educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive
domain. New York, Toronto: Longmans, Green; Salustri, F. (2015). Four levels of
questions. Retrieved April 23, 2018,
from http://deseng.ryerson.ca/dokuwiki/design:four_levels_of_questions. ↵

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