Analyze

Level 4 in Bloom’s Taxonomy…. “ANALYZE”!

Learners who have reached this stage have now progressed from the lower order thinking skills to the higher order thinking skills.  But what does analyze mean? 

According to Bloom’s Taxonomy,

“Analysis refers to the ability to break down material into its component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. This may include the identification of the parts, analysis of the relationship between parts, and recognition of the organizational principles involved.”

So, in effect, students are now interacting with the content!  Students take what they know and identify important concepts and put them to use.  Up until this stage, students have learned how to summarize information and can answer the basics of who, what, where, and how.  Students will now learn how to break the material down into parts, figure out how it works and classify it.

Looking for a job?  Employers love good analytical skills! 

Check out this link to read more about Analytical Thinking.

Here are some examples of using analytical thinking skills:

·         Analyzing and categorizing data – Study data to determine trends.

·         Handling assignments effectively - Discover a more efficient and productive way to complete a particular job task.
·         Process Improvement – Analyze the process to create a set of steps to streamline that procedure.
·         Math word problems - Distinguish what is relevant or not and then organize the data into a number problem to solve.
·         Dissect a problem – Find a solution.
·         Study material and break it down into categories (compare & contrast, learn to differentiate)

 Many people confuse and often combine this thinking skill with evaluating; but wait, that is the subject of my next post!

References

Analytical Skills Example: What are Analytical Skills and How to Improve Them. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.job-interview-site.com/analytical-skills-example-what-are-analytical-skills-and-how-to-improve-them.html

Bloom's Taxonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.csun.edu/science/ref/reasoning/questions_blooms/blooms.html#Analysis

Teaching Students to Dig Deeper. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-students-dig-deeper-ben-johnson