Educational Theory of the Week: Evaluation

Educational Theory of the Week covers different theories that teachers use and impact our children. They can easily be applied outside of a classroom setting.

And, here it is... the final tier of Bloom's Taxonomy.

Evaluation is assessing and making decisions. As adults, we evaluate every day. Our children do it too!

Questions

Evaluation is easy to incorporate and like other parts, you probably already do.

Did he (insert character's name) do the right thing at the end of the story? Why?

Tell me why you think you should have five more minutes of playtime.

Explain what your favorite colors are, in order of your preference. 

What grade would you give this paper? Why?

Little kids so enjoy evaluating and they are very willing to do so. It helps to guide them to logical and strong support, so that continues as they grow.

Adults do it--like at the grocery store. I like this apple, but this one costs more, this one has more nutrients, and on and on. 

Application to high school students

My former curriculum called for resume and cover letter writing. Those tasks are complex, primarily because they involve so much evaluation. Where does the objective fit best? Should I include this information, or am I being too repetitive? What does this potential employer want to see?

Most importantly, resume and cover letter writing, while using evaluation, activate other parts of Bloom's Taxonomy because it all builds on each other.

Audience's Turn

What did you like about Bloom's Taxonomy? Do you see how it is used? Do you think it is bunk?