Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (RBT)

During the 1990’s, a former student of Bloom’s, Lorin Anderson, led a new assembly which met for the purpose of updating the taxonomy, hoping to add relevance for 21st century students and teachers. This time “representatives of three groups [were present]: cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers, and testing and assessment specialists” (Anderson, & Krathwohl, 2001, p. xxviii).

Like the original group, they were also arduous and diligent in their pursuit of learning, spending six years to finalize their work. Published in 2001, the revision includes several seemingly minor yet actually quite significant changes. Several excellent sources are available which detail the revisions and reasons for the changes. A more concise summary appears here. The changes occur in three broad categories: terminology, structure, and emphasis.

For the Brain, a Race To Recall the Details

It is always a challenge to remember a new computer password after an old one has expired, or to memorize a new phone number.

That is because the brain is competing to recall old memories and new ones that are associated with the same thing, researchers from Yale and Stanford report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.