Critical thinking skills have a lot to do with succeeding on standardized tests and in life. That's why many teachers keep Bloom's Taxonomy in mind when developing questions for class discussions, tests, journal prompts, and reader-response essays. Bloom's Taxonomy identifies six levels of cognitive thinking. At the basic level there's knowledge and comprehension. At the higher level, there's evaluation, synthesis, analysis and application. To help you sharpen those higher-level, critical thinking skills, keep this word list in mind as you teach and ask questions throughout the day.
Lower-Order Thinking Skills
Level 1: Knowledge
Ask questions that require students to:
- Define
- Describe
- Tell
- Identify
- List
- Name
Level 2: Comprehension
Ask questions that require students to:
- Explain
- Describe
- Interpret
- Discuss
- Differentiate
- Restate
Higher-Order Thinking Skills
Level 3: Application
Ask questions that require students to:
- Apply
- Classify
- Solve
- Demonstrate
- Experiment
- Determine
Level 4: Analysis
Ask questions that require students to:
- Analyze
- Connect
- Infer
- Compare
- Contrast
- Prioritize
Level 5: Synthesize
Ask questions that require students to:
- Combine
- Create
- Invent
- Plan
- Formulate
- Negotiate
Level 6: Evaluation
Ask questions that require students to:
- Assess
- Compare
- Criticize
- Justify
- Resolve
- Conclude
Read more about Bloom's Taxonomy on the Vanderbilt University: The Center for Teaching website.
