Bloom's Taxonomy and Learning Objectives

Bloom’s Taxonomy

A classification system for learning objectives, created by educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom in 1956 (and revised in 2001). It arranges cognitive skills in a hierarchy from simple to complex:

1. Remember — Recall facts and basic concepts (“List the three pricing models”)
2. Understand — Explain ideas or concepts (“Explain why undercharging is common”)
3. Apply — Use information in new situations (“Write a launch email using the PAS framework”)
4. Analyze — Draw connections among ideas (“Compare three launch models and identify the best fit for a small list”)
5. Evaluate — Justify a decision or point of view (“Assess whether a student’s sales page follows the 12-section structure”)
6. Create — Produce new or original work (“Design a complete course outline with modules, lessons, and assessments”)

Why it matters: Most course creators only teach at the bottom two levels (remember and understand). Students get bored because they’re not doing anything with the knowledge. The best courses push students up the pyramid — from remembering to applying, analyzing, and creating.

Practical application: When you write a lesson, ask yourself: “Am I just telling them information (remember/understand), or am I helping them do something with it (apply/analyze/create)?” Every lesson should push toward at least the “apply” level.

Learning Objectives (In Detail)

Specific, measurable statements about what students will be able to do after completing your course or lesson.

The formula: “After completing this lesson, students will be able to [action verb] + [specific skill] + [condition or context].”

Examples:

• “After completing this lesson, you’ll be able to write a cold email that gets a 40%+ open rate.”
• “After this module, you’ll be able to set up a drip schedule in GoHighLevel.”
• “After this course, you’ll be able to launch your first course with a list of 100 subscribers.”

Action verbs from Bloom’s Taxonomy:

• Remember: list, define, identify, name, recall
• Understand: explain, describe, summarize, paraphrase
• Apply: use, demonstrate, solve, set up, write
• Analyze: compare, contrast, examine, differentiate
• Evaluate: assess, judge, critique, justify, recommend
• Create: design, build, develop, construct, produce

What to avoid:

• “Understand” and “know” are vague — how do you test whether someone “understands”?
• Use specific verbs that describe observable actions instead.

Formative vs. Summative Assessment

• Formative assessment — Checks understanding during the learning process. Quizzes at the end of each lesson, exercises between modules, check-in questions. Purpose: help students (and you) see if they’re on track.

• Summative assessment — Evaluates learning at the end. Final exam, capstone project, certification test. Purpose: confirm the student achieved the learning objectives.

For course creators: Formative assessments (lesson quizzes, worksheets) are more useful than summative ones (final exams). Most online courses don’t need a final exam. They do benefit from quick checks after each lesson.

Andragogy vs. Pedagogy

• Pedagogy — The art and science of teaching children. Teacher-directed, structured, focused on prescribed content.
• Andragogy — The art and science of teaching adults. Self-directed, problem-focused, draws on the learner’s experience.

Why it matters: Your students are adults. They learn differently than children. They want to know why they’re learning something, they want to apply it immediately, and they bring prior experience that your course should acknowledge.

Microlearning

Delivering content in small, focused units (2–5 minutes). Instead of a 45-minute lecture, you create six 5-minute lessons. Each one teaches one concept.

Why it matters: This is how modern online courses work. Short lessons get higher completion rates than long ones. If your lessons are running over 15 minutes, consider splitting them.