Assessment Primer: Learning Taxonomies

Affective Domain - Krathwohl's Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy second domain, the Affective Domain, was detailed by Bloom, Krathwhol and Masia in 1964 (Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Volume II, The Affective Domain).  Bloom's theory advocates this structure and sequence for developing attitude – also now commonly expressed in personal development as 'beliefs'.

Krathwohl's affective domain taxonomy is perhaps the best known of any of the affective taxonomies.   A description of the levels is given here (1 page   ).


Psychomotor Domain

Various people have since built on Bloom's work, notably in the third domain, the 'psychomotor' or skills, which Bloom originally identified in a broad sense, but which he never fully detailed.  This was apparently because Bloom and his colleagues felt that the academic environment held insufficient expertise to analyze and create a suitable reliable structure for the physical ability 'Psychomotor' domain.  As a result, there are several different contributors providing work in this third domain, such as Simpson and Harrow which are described below.

Harrow's Taxonomy
The psychomotor domain taxonomy due to Harrow is organized according to the degree of coordination including involuntary responses as well as learned capabilities.  Simple reflexes begin at the lowest level of the taxonomy, while complex neuromuscular coordination make up the highest level.

Simpson’s Taxonomy