An approach useful in knowing your students is called conceptual systems theory. This idea describes a student's development in terms of increasingly complex levels of behavior. A student's development occurs gradually through interactions with information, interpersonal maturity and environmental conditions encountered. A student at a low conceptual level receives data from a limited number of sources and as a result relates to the environment through only a few dimensions. A conceptually complex individual is capable of using information from multiple sources relating to the environment.

The complexity of an individual's conceptual system refers also to the way the individual processes information and may be related to the levels of knowledge in Bloom's Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain. Low conceptual students (and teachers) are most comfortable dealing with factual, recall knowledge of specifics. High conceptual students make use of all levels of knowledge, with such behavior being exemplified by analysis, synthesis and evaluation activities.

When developing appropriate educational objectives, it is important to consider student conceptual level. Generally, students at lower conceptual level profit from instruction that is more tightly structured by the textbook or teacher. The degree of structure, organization, or control exerted by the teacher determines success for low conceptual level students. Students at higher conceptual levels profit more from low-structure or appear less affected by teacher structure. Hence the desirability for more conceptually complex texts.

Textbooks should provide for a wide range of student conceptual levels (Hunt). Low conceptual students often respond to the adult world's promotion of expectations that fall neatly into stereotypes. They may become confused easily, use less self-control, and need a lot of individual attention from the teacher. They also may be quite competitive.

High conceptual level students work independently and autonomously. They may tend to view some events and ideas as unexplainable but willing to seek answers to such questions. They will stick to tasks that lower conceptual level students find boring. High conceptual level students favor competition with "self."

With a sensitivity to your students in mind, you are free to develop objectives from a wide range of options. The work of Benjamin Bloom (1956) is instructive as you go about the task of formulating objectives for your class. Bloom has divided knowledge into a hierarchical scheme. The most useful to the new teacher is his work: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Cognitive Domain. The reference is most commonly termed Bloom's Taxonomy.

This scheme emphasizes that learning is hierarchical with learning (objectives) at the highest level as dependent on the achievement of lower level knowledge and skills first. Bloom's levels from low to high are:

1. KNOWLEDGE: Knowledge is defined as 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.
2. COMPREHENSION: Comprehension is defined as the ability to grasp the meaning of material. This may be shown by translating material from one form to another (words to numbers), by interpreting material (explaining or summarizing), and by estimating future trends (predicting consequences or effects). These learning outcomes go one step beyond the simple remembering of material, and represent the lowest level of understanding.
3. APPLICATION: Application refers to the ability to use learned material in new and concrete situations. This may include the application of such things as rules, methods, concepts, principles, laws and theories. Learning outcomes in this area require a higher level of understanding than those under comprehension.
4. ANALYSIS: Analysis refers to the ability to break down material into its component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. This may include the identification of the parts, analysis of the relationships between parts, and recognition of the organizational principles involved. Learning outcomes here represent a higher intellectual level than comprehension and application because they require an understanding of both the content and the structural form of the material.
5. SYNTHESIS: Synthesis refers to the ability to put parts together to form a new whole. This may involve the production of a unique communication (theme or speech), a plan of operations (research proposal), or a set of abstract relations (scheme for classifying information). Learning outcomes in this area stress creative behaviors, with major emphasis on the formulation of new patterns or structures.
6. EVALUATION: Evaluation is concerned with the ability to judge the value of material (statement, novel, poem, research report) for a given purpose. The judgments are to be based on definite criteria. These may be internal criteria (organization) or external criteria (relevance to the purpose) and the student may determine the criteria or be given them. Learning outcomes in this area are highest in the cognitive hierarchy because they contain elements of all of the other categories, plus conscious value judgments based on clearly defined criteria.

Bloom's Taxonomy may be the basis for much of the instructional enterprise. Knowledge, comprehension, and application activities are said to be convergent. Those at the higher categories (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) are divergent. Reflection will demonstrate that Bloom's components may become essential parts of objectives, teaching methods, and assessment. The following list of verbs may be used to prepare objectives at each level.

In summary, the following statements can be made regarding the use of good objectives:

1. General objectives are as useful as specific objectives.
2. Action verbs are the most critical part of the objective.
3. Students taught by teachers who use objectives learn more than those who do not. This is particularly true when huge amounts of specific content is required.
4. Providing students with objectives enhances achievement, regardless of the level of learning involved.
5. Topics involving the knowledge level in Bloom's taxonomy benefit more by being prefaced with objectives than any other level.
6. Providing students with objectives has a greater effect when conventional teaching methods are used.
7. Middle-ability learners benefit more from being provided with objectives than either upper- or lower-ability learners.
8. Students who tend to be independent benefit less from being provided with objectives than those who are dependent and conscientious.
9. Providing learners with objectives can reduce the reasoning requirements implicit in some topics.
10. Objectives have a role to play in criterion-referenced evaluation.
11. For measuring learning, tests based upon objectives have an advantage over tests based upon subject-matter content.
12. For evaluation purposes, criterion-referenced tests are as valid as norm-referenced tests. They simply allow different types of judgment.

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Knowledge

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Recalling facts or observations

Identify four teaching methods from the information processing family.

Who was America's most prominent 19th century educator?

Recalling definitions

Define "teaching method."

What does "multiple intelligence" mean?

 

Comprehension

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Giving descriptions

What is this course about?

Stating main ideas

What is the main idea for structured teaching?

Use your own words to explain conceptual level.

Comparing

How does Taba's approach compare to Asubel's?

What characteristics do all teaching models share?

 

Application

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Applying techniques and rules

Determine your teaching outline for the first semester.

Select the most appropriate teaching method for introducing fractions.

 

Analysis

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Identifying motives or causes

Why do teachers utilize role playing?

Making inferences

What might account for school failure?

Why are schools under-funded?

Finding evidence to support generalizations

What have you read to support the idea that schools need additional support?

What evidence can you supply that supports the idea of reinforcement as an effective teaching strategy?

 

Synthesis

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Putting parts together to form a new whole

Design a teaching plan for gifted learners.

Design a floor plan to accommodate a classroom that employs a multitude of methods.

Creating new patterns or structures

Design a social science unit that will integrate the multiple intelligences.

Reconfigure this unit to incorporate group activities.

 

Evaluation

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Giving opinions

Can all methods be used for any topic? Why or why not?

Should teachers strike?

Judging the validity of ideas

Do you think that multiple methods will lead to improved instruction?

Do you believe phonics should be required?

Judging the merits of problems/solutions

If you were the Department Chair, which method would you select?

Which teaching method seems "best" to you?

Judging the quality of art or other products

Which of the teaching methods is most appropriate?

Which treatise is most likely to be published?