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Traversing Bloom's taxonomy in an introductory scripture course
Author(s) -
Bruehler Bart B.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
teaching theology and religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.165
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1467-9647
pISSN - 1368-4868
DOI - 10.1111/teth.12428
Subject(s) - taxonomy (biology) , categorization , bloom's taxonomy , computer science , task (project management) , interpretation (philosophy) , mathematics education , psychology , artificial intelligence , cognition , biology , zoology , engineering , systems engineering , neuroscience , programming language
Many courses in higher education rely on the hierarchical organization of Bloom's taxonomy to categorize and sequence learning. Introductory courses on scripture often emphasize remembering content and background as a basis for applying the sacred text to one's life. However, a review of the literature demonstrates little support for the widely assumed hierarchical nature of Bloom's taxonomy. Furthermore, this study examined the performance of traditional and non‐traditional students in a New Testament survey course on a comprehensive exam (a Remember task) and an application assignment (an Apply task) and found no correlation between the two. Furthermore, students struggled most with the interpretation portion of the application assignment, prompting the realization that interpreting a sacred text is a complex hermeneutical enterprise incorporating multiple levels of the taxonomy. Thus, introductory scripture courses may be better organized around the central, integrating practice of interpretation supported by needed information and application skills.