Bloom's Taxonomy

According to Bloom's Taxonomy, human thinking can be broken down into the following six categories:

1) Knowledge: The lowest level of thinking. It involves remembering, or recalling information. 

To elicit this type of thinking, teacher will often use phases such as, how many, when, where, list, define, and identify.

2) Comprehension: The second level of thinking. It involves grasping or understanding the meaning of informational materials.

To elicit this type of thinking teachers will often use phrases such as, describe, explain, estimate, predict, and interpret.

3) Application: The third level of thinking. It involves applying previously learned information to new and unfamiliar situations.

To elicit this type of thinking, teachers will often use words such as, demonstrate, apply, illustrate, show, and examine.

4) Analysis: The fourth level of thinking. It involves breaking down information into parts and trying to understand the organizational structure of information.

To elicit this type of thinking, teachers will often use words such as, analyze, compare, explain, separate, and classify.

5) Synthesis: The fifth level of thinking. It involves applying prior knowledge and skills to combine elements into a pattern that was not clearly there before.

To elicit this type of thinking, teacher will often use words such as, combine, rearrange, substitute, create, and design.

6) Evaluation: The sixth and highest level of thinking. It involves judging or deciding according to some sort of criteria, without real right or wrong answers.

To elicit this level of thinking, teachers will often use words such as, assess, decide, measure, select, conclude, compare, and summarize.