The Knowledge Dimension
| Factual Knowledge—Basic information | |
| Knowledge of terminology | Vocabulary terms, mathematical symbols, musical notation, alphabet |
| Knowledge of specific details and elements | Components of the Food Pyramid, names of parliamentary representatives, major battles of WWII |
| Conceptual Knowledge—The relationships among pieces of a larger structure that make them function together | |
| Knowledge of classifications and categories | Species of animals, different kinds of arguments, geological eras |
| Knowledge of principles and generalizations | Types of conflict in literature, Newton’s Laws of Motion, principles of democracy |
| Knowledge of theories, models, and structures | Theory of evolution, economic theories, DNA models |
| Procedural Knowledge—How to do something | |
| Knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms | Procedure for solving quadratic equations, mixing colours for oil painting, serving a tennis ball |
| Knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods | Literary criticism, analysis of historical documents, mathematical problem-solving methods |
| Knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures | Methods appropriate for different kinds of experiments, statistical analysis procedures used for different situations, standards for different genres of writing |
| Metacognitive Knowledge—Knowledge of thinking in general and your thinking in particular | |
| Strategic knowledge | Ways of memorizing facts, reading comprehension strategies, methods of planning a website |
| Knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge | Different reading demands of textbooks and novels; thinking ahead when using an electronic database; differences between writing emails and writing business letters |
| Self-knowledge | Need for a diagram or chart to understand complex processes, better comprehension in quiet environments, need to discuss ideas with someone before writing an essay |
References
Anderson, L. W. & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing. New York: Longman.
Bloom, B.S., (Ed.). 1956. Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals: Handbook I, cognitive domain. New York: Longman.
Costa, A. L. (Ed.). (2000). Developing minds: A resource book for teaching thinking. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Marzano, R. J. (2000). Designing a new taxonomy of educational objectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
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