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The cognitive context of examinations in psychiatry using Bloom's taxonomy
Author(s) -
MILLER D. A.,
SADLER J. Z.,
MOHL P. C.,
MELCHIODE G. A.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2923.1991.tb00101.x
Subject(s) - taxonomy (biology) , bloom's taxonomy , cognition , recall , test (biology) , psychology , context (archaeology) , medical education , psychiatry , cognitive psychology , medicine , paleontology , botany , biology
Summary. Psychiatric practice involves complex thinking patterns. In addition to commanding a huge number of facts, the student must learn to manipulate factual knowledge to solve diagnostic problems, develop treatment plans, and critically evaluate those plans. This study demonstrates an empirical method for evaluating the level of cognitive processes tested in multiple choice examinations. Use of Bloom's taxonomy in evaluating test items demonstrated the majority of test items on a psychiatry clerkship examination and a resident in‐training examination fell into the most basic cognitive level, that of simple recall. The utility of Bloom's taxonomy is discussed along with implications for medical education.