Cognitive Domain

Lower Levels and Sublevels

Knowledge: 

The remembering of previously learned material. This may involve the recall of a wide range of material, from specific facts to complete theories, but all that is required is the bringing to mind of the appropriate information. Knowledge represents the lowest level of learning outcomes in the cognitive domain.

Comprehension:

The learner is expected to understand what the materials in question mean. Without comprehension, the learner will not be able to move to the upper cognitive levels in this domain. Comprehension has three subcategories namely are translation, explanation and extrapolation.

1. Translation:

It is the lowest in the comprehension categorization. It simply refers to the translation of a message to another similar form or the modification of a symbolic material into another similar form. The learner in this subcategory will be able to:

1. Express the material in his own words.
2. Summarize given material into a reasonable short form.
3. Convert the material into some abstract terms.
4. Define abstract material like rules and principles
5. Translate symbols to comprehensible terms or vice versa.
6. Translate numbers to phrases or sentences while reading a table

2. Explanation: 

It refers to the realization of the relationships between the different parts of a given learning material and reorganizing and rearranging it cognitively to arrive to a holistic view about its content. While translation requires changing the material to another similar form, the explanation deals with the material as a whole bunch. The learner in this subcategory will be able to:

1. Understand the hidden message in the learning material.
2. Compare between different aspects of the material.
3. Contrasts between different aspects of the material.
4. Give reasons (realize the cause-effect relationship)
5. Read given tables, maps, pictures (realizing the relationship between symbols, numbers and shapes)
6. Identifying the supporting details for a main idea (realizing the relationship between generalizations and supporting details)

3. Extrapolation:

Extrapolation or Estimation requires the learner to expect, conclude or guess consequences after comprehending the mechanism of the learning material. While extrapolating, the learner would:

1. Estimate trends from some data in a table.
2. Identify the consequences of certain events in a communicative message.
3. Predicting the continuation of certain trends, inclinations, or course of incidents. 

Application:

Application mainly refers to the utilization of known and comprehended materials in a new and different situation. Such materials can be main ideas, rules, principles, or even theories. Bloom differentiates between comprehension and application in terms of ‘competent before use’. He argues that in comprehension a student would be able to competently demonstrate how the material functions if he’s asked to, whereas in application he would go beyond this as he would be able to use the materials he’s competent at in solving a new problem or situation without any guidelines or instructions. The learner, however, would solely choose how to apply what he competently learnt in the new given situation. No ready-made principles, concepts, rules, or generalizations are given to help him out in the new situation.

1. Write 4 sentences on his own using one-syllable comparative adjectives. 
2. Write a paragraph about Aztecs using the given pictures and supplied prompts. 
3. Produce 4 questions using ‘do’ or ‘does’ about some of his classmates on their own.