Teaching and learning taxonomy

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This article shortly summarized various taxonomies that describe teaching strategies and tactics (e.g. instructional designs or elements of the learning environment) plus "ingredients" of learning (e.g. learning types, levels, etc.)

Learning types and levels

Broad learning types (or learning domains) include attitudes, facts, concepts, reasoning, procedures, problem solving, learning strategies, attitudes and motor skills.

Some authors group these in various ways. E.g. Gagné (1975 ?) distinguishes between verbal information, intellectural skills (discrimination, concrete concepts, define concepts, rules, higher-order rules), cognitive strategy, attitudes and motor skills.

Carson (2004), with respect to curricula planning distinguishes: Empirical knowledge, Rational Knowledge, Conventional Knowledge, Conceptual Knowledge, Cognitive Process Skills, Psychomotor Knowledge, Affective Knowledge, Narrative Knowledge and Received Knowledge.

Often, learning domains are presented in some form of hierarchy that represent a learning level. E.g. Bruner, based on Piaget, identified enactive, iconic and symbolic stages. Bloom with respect to the cognitive domain, identified six levels of intellectual behavior (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation). Gagné (1965) arranged learning types into signal learning, simulus-response learning, chaining, verbal association, discrimation learning, concept learning, principle learning and problem solving.

More recent authors from the field of education, defined learning in terms of stages in the curriculum, e.g. Mayes and Fowler (1999) identify a simple three-stage model: conceptualization, construction and application. In a similar way, Merril distinguishes between information only, information-only plus demonstration, information plus demonstration plus application and finally task-centered with demonstration and application.

The following table somewhat integrates types and levels and is based on work by Baumgartner and Kalz

Learning categories - suitable for instructional design planning
I: know that	I-a Facts : recall, description, identification, etc.
	I-b Concepts: discrimination, categorization, discussion, etc.
II: know how	II-a Reasoning and procedures: inferences, deductions, etc. + procedure application
	II-b Problem solving and production strategies: identification of subgoals + application of heuristics/methods
III: knowing in action	III Situated action: action strategies in complex and authentic situations
IV: Other	IV Other: e.g. motivation, emotion, reflection, i.e. elements that could intervene in all the other categories

Bibliography

Gagne, Robert M. (1975). Essentials of Learning for Instruction. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Bloom Benjamin S. and David R. Krathwohl. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals, by a committee of college and university examiners. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. New York, Longmans, Green, 1956.

• Baumgartner, P. (2004). The Zen Art of Teaching - Communication and Interactions in eEducation. Proceedings of the International Workshop ICL2004, Villach / Austria 29 September-1 October 2004, Villach, Kassel University Press. CD-ROM, ISBN: 3-89958-089-3. PDF

• Baumgartner, P. & Kalz, M. (2004). Content Management Systeme aus bildungstechnologischer Sicht in Baumgartner, Peter; Häfele, Hartmut & Maier-Häfele, Kornelia: Content Management Systeme für e-Education. Auswahl, Potenziale und Einsatzmöglichkeiten, Studienverlag, Innsbruck 2004.