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DESIGN
THINKING

Design Thinking meets the Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning, and
the Value of Contemporary School Pedagogies

Deidré Spencer: English, Visual Art, Design and Technology Teacher, Curriculum Leader,

IEB Examiner, Textbook Writer

At the core of the way in which young educationalists are constantly being A group of cognitive psychologists,
minds are being trained to contribute to introduced to new buzz words and ways curriculum theorists and instructional
a sustainable future are the pedagogies of doing, to accommodate contemporary researchers, and testing and assessment
embedded in institutes of learning. The identified needs. They attend endless specialists published in 2001, a revision
value of Design Thinking, defined here as training sessions, are advised to abandon of Bloom’s Taxonomy which pointed to a
a collection of mindsets and philosophies a previous trend, and to implement more dynamic conception of classification
all wrapped up in one term, is highlighted the new trend, on an ongoing basis. to describe the cognitive processes by
as an indispensable skill that is used at Frequently, any new-found educational which thinkers encounter and work with
universities, in organisations, by artists movement is accompanied by new forms knowledge (Armstrong, P. 2010).
and designers, by engineers, and by of administration which add to an already
many in the business and corporate over-burdened classroom environment. Today, the Bloom’s Taxonomy, theo-
world. Classroom implementation is very While some educators will try their best retically, underpins the outcomes of any
slowly finding its stride, but the marriage to accommodate each, most recently learning environment, and educators
between the demands of the curriculum introduced, pedagogy, truth be told, most are accountable in ensuring that they
and the value that Design Thinking offers, will revert to their own core, traditionally are teaching and assessing across the
can be more quickly cemented by aligning held beliefs of what is best practice in proposed levels of thinking and doing,
the Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning to the their own classrooms. embedded in the taxonomy. At its very
heart of Design Thinking. This will fulfil One theory of cognitive processing, core, within most Educational Systems,
the need for developing strong curiosities however, has lasted the test of time: the Bloom’s Taxonomy suggests that ed-
and fostering the desire to understand namely the Bloom’s Taxonomy for ucators and learners allocate only 20%
and solve complex problems. Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. In of their efforts to the lowest levels of
Education is a field that seems to fall 1956, Benjamin Bloom with collaborators knowledge, namely levels 1 and 2. The
victim to anything and everything that Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter skill of remembering and understanding
is trending in academic research. Due to Hill, and David Krathwohl published a information is deemed the first step in
the changeable nature of human beings, framework for categorising educational cognitive processing, but is acknowledged
and the way that the slippery economy, goals, and this framework has been as a vital grounding for young develop-
environment, society, and culture applied by generations of teachers and ing minds. Embedded into this 20% is a
impacts on spaces of learning, college instructors in their teaching. negation of the outdated traditional view

Produce new or original work
Create Design, assemble, construct, conjecture, develop, formulate, author, investigate

Evaluate Justify a stand or decision
appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, critique, weigh

Analyze Draw connections among ideas
differentiate, organise, relate, compare, contrast distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test

Apply Use information in new situations
execute, implement, solve, use, demonstrate, interpret operate, schedule, sketch

Understand Explain ideas or concepts
Classify, describe, discuss, explain, identity, locate, recognise, report, select, translate

Remember Recall facts and basic concepts
define, duplicate, list, memorise, repeat, state

32 Issue 243 • dw