Teaching and Learning Strategies Journal Response

Teaching and learning strategies are essential to help students understand information
and solve problems (University of Kansas, Center for Research on Learning, 2014). To
enable successful learning outcomes, students must be provided with the best possible
opportunities, to encourage learning, which may involve a combination of learning
strategies.

However, the strategy that best resonates with my teaching philosophy (Mead, 2014) is
Blooms/Andersons Taxonomy consisting of six levels (Churches, 2009). It encourages
multiple ways for students to engage in active learning by using what they have
learned to solve problems and be successful (University of Kansas Center for Research
on Learning, 2014). The diverse possibilities for learning, makes the taxonomy an
authentic tool for curriculum planning, instructional delivery and assessment,
enabling lower to higher order thinking skills to be incorporated throughout all levels,
catering for strengths and weaknesses of every student (Murphy, 2010). There is great
potential for scaffolding learning, which is essential for students to transition across the
various levels of learning, allowing teachers to cognitively challenge all their students
(Noble, 2004, p. 200). It encourages a pathway guiding students learning process as they
begin at the lower levels and progress through to higher levels (Heick, 2014).

The various levels within this taxonomy, will enable me to determine how students
think and develop ways to further promote their thinking and understanding
(Heick, 2014). Flexibility in learning is offered, with each stage designed to encourage
multiple ways for students to develop, also catering for student diversity and
understanding, determined by the way students like to learn, according to their
capabilities. This provides students with opportunities to create links with prior
knowledge and create new knowledge and more complex thinking (Noble, 2004, p. 194).
This is essential, giving students opportunities to engage in higher order thinking skills
encouraging them to be mentally active processors of information (Seifert, 1993).

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Critical to learning is the opportunity for all students to complete tasks, with no student
feeling like they have failed or have not achieved. This taxonomy provides multiple
ways within each stage to create in-depth ways for students to learn in meaningful and
relevant ways, decided on by students. This will also enable me to design learning
outcomes and activities so that my students can demonstrate what they understand
through different intellectual domains at the same time or different levels of cognitive
complexity (Noble, 2004, p. 194). An example of this exists in the second stage of the
taxonomy-understanding, where students demonstrate what they see and hear, and
make connections to explain their ideas. Students can use multiple ways to show they
can recall and restate what they remember, such as describing, explaining,
paraphrasing, and reporting and discussing, presented in unlimited ways such as
workbooks, reading, writing, and listening that encourages students to respond, identify
and repeat.

The vast elements within this learning strategy enable teachers to create and provide
productive pedagogies while being able to effectively align objectives to assessment
techniques and standards (Queensland Department of Education, 2002). This can be
achieved by facilitating and identifying students understanding of how they learn,
allowing students to take more responsibility for their own learning to produce better
work (Noble, 2004, p. 209).

While assessments can be effectively embedded into this taxonomy, it is essential to

firstly ensure teachers know what students have actually learnt from the lessons taught,
considering whether students have truly integrated the new knowledge (Kelly, 2014).
Students must have knowledge of each level and the various ways of learning within the
taxonomy, before assessments are developed, as well as being able to be assessed in the
level they feel most confident in. An effective rubric can be a useful tool to ensure
successful assessment, allowing students choices within each level such as answering
questions in the level they feel most confident in (Kelly, 2014).

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It is vital that teaching and learning strategies assist teachers to develop inclusive
differentiated curriculum to meet the needs of all students (Noble, 2004, p. 209). I
believe this can be successfully achieved using Blooms/Andersons taxonomy.

REFERENCES:

Churches, A. (2009). Blooms Digital Taxonomy. Retrieved from

http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/file/view/bloom%27s%20Digital%20taxonomy
%20v3.01.pdf/65720266/bloom%27s%20Digital%20taxonomy%20v3.01.pdf

Heick, T. (2014). Using Blooms Taxonomy In The 21st Century: 4 Strategies For
Teaching. Retrieved from http://www.teachthought.com/learning/using-bloomstaxonomy-21st-century-4-strategies-for-teaching/

Kelly, M. (2014). Constructing a Blooms Taxonomy Assessment. Retrieved from

http://712educators.about.com/od/assessments/a/Constructing-A-BloomsTaxonomy-Assessment.htm

Mead, L. (2014). Linnea Mead e-Portfolio: Teaching philosophy. Retrieved from

http://linneameadportfolio.weebly.com/teaching-philosophy.html

Murphy, J. (2010). Blooms Taxonomy. Retrieved from

http://www.slideshare.net/jeanettem1/blooms-taxonomy-3382852

Noble, T. (2004). Integrating the Revised Blooms Taxonomy With Multiple

Intelligences: A Planning Tool for Curriculum Differentiation. In Teachers
College Record. 106(1). pp 193-211. Retrieved from
http://www.bounceback.com.au/sites/default/files/Integrating%20the

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%20Revised%20Bloom%E2%80%99s%20Taxonomy%20With%20Multiple
%20Intelligences_0.pdf

Queensland Department of Education. (2002). A guide to Productive Pedagogies:

Classroom reflection manual. Retrieved from
https://musghillss.eq.edu.au/Supportandresources/Formsanddocuments/Docume
nts/prodped.pdf

Seifert, T. (1993). Learning strategies in the classroom. Retrieved from

http://www.mun.ca/educ/faculty/mwatch/vol2/seifert.html

The University of Kansas. Center for Research on Learning. (2014). Learning

Strategies. Retrieved from http://www.ku-crl.org/sim/strategies.shtml

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