Why Bloom Still Matters
Bloom’s Taxonomy is one of the most used instructional design frameworks in education, yet it often turns into a generic poster we reference and forget. There are so many different versions of Bloom’s Taxonomy that have been revised for specific purposes. Universities often revise Bloom’s Taxonomy to place a new perspective or cater to specific classroom goals or issues. For example, Iowa State University revised Bloom’s Taxonomy specifically for learning, teaching, and assessing. Meanwhile, Oregon State University revised Bloom’s Taxonomy to help teachers integrate AI use in the classroom.
In this Faithful Teachers Podcast conversation, we focus on reclaiming Bloom’s as a practical tool for better teaching and better learning outcomes. The key idea is simple: the classic levels (remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create) still work, but your course needs a customized version that sounds like your discipline, fits your students, and maps cleanly to assessments. When teachers personalize Bloom’s Taxonomy, lesson planning gets clearer, student expectations get sharper, and higher order thinking becomes easier to scaffold.
Audit Your Current Learning Levels
The first move is an honest course audit. Look at your current assignments, discussions, labs, projects, quizzes, and tests and ask which cognitive levels are already showing up and which are missing. This gap analysis keeps curriculum redesign realistic, because you are not “starting over” so much as strengthening weak links. Next, define your teaching context with precision: course level, modality, program goals, and student group. A first-year online general education class needs different learning objectives and supports than a graduate practicum. Many instructors also factor in institutional priorities like critical thinking, civic engagement, research, technology integration, or active learning.
Define Your Learning Progression
From there, name the learning progression that matters most in your field. Bloom’s is a progression of cognitive complexity, but your students may experience growth as novice to apprentice to expert, or from guided practice to independent judgment. Choose labels that match observable student behavior, not vague ideals. Then convert each Bloom level into course-specific questions: what facts must students recognize, what ideas must they explain in their own words, where must they use tools or methods, what should they investigate or diagnose, what should they critique with criteria, and what should they design or revise. This is where the framework stops being theory and becomes a blueprint for daily instruction.
Specify Learning Objectives & Expectations
Vocabulary matters because verbs drive measurable learning objectives. Instead of copying a generic verb list, select verbs that sound like your discipline and match authentic tasks. Then connect each level to student evidence, describing what performance actually looks like at that stage. Clear evidence improves rubrics, feedback, and student confidence because “mastery” becomes visible. After that, align the customized taxonomy to course outcomes to ensure the levels of thinking are balanced and scaffolded. If outcomes jump from understanding to evaluation, add stepping stones so students practice analysis and application before high-stakes judgment.
Assessment Details
Finally, map assessments and activities to the taxonomy so every level has practice opportunities, ideally more than one measure per level. Healthy assessments often focus on one primary level while lightly touching others, which mirrors real thinking. If your program values project-based learning, service, diversity, or communication, weave those values across levels intentionally. Add concrete examples and prompts so your future self remembers how you used the taxonomy. Test the taxonomy on one assignment, revise what does not fit, and keep iterating. Personalized Bloom’s Taxonomy becomes a living instructional design tool that elevates teaching, strengthens assessment alignment, and supports students as they grow.
Going through this process of customizing your own taxonomy will not only give you a roadmap towards student mastery, but it will also ensure your instruction is well-rounded.
