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Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive hierarchies identifies six levels of cognitive learning. With a sample of the verbs that describe the learning activities at each level, these are:
- Knowledge:
arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce, state. - Comprehension:
classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate. - Application:
apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write. - Analysis:
analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test. - Synthesis:
arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write. - Evaluation:
appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate.
Conventional interactive media
The industrial technical content that CDX courseware products mainly deal with sits most firmly in the first three levels - an understanding of factual knowledge and how to apply it to a real situation. This can successfully be achieved with a range of interactive media elements - deliver/check using video, audio, graphics, text, animation, HTML, etc.
Some of the more advanced aspects of our courseware do involve some need to work at the higher levels of diagnostic analysis and synthesis, combining known solutions in, for the learner, new ways. These activities are hard to address with traditional media tools, and we used a mixed method approach to our learning programs, which means we include real world practice of task-based skills as an essential component of competency assessment.
Simulators
However, a start has been made to find ways to address this issue with technology delivered learning components. For example, to teach the principles of electric's and electronics, we have built an accurate simulation of a metering tool, modelling the physics it is based on as well as modelling the functionality of the device. With this virtual tool, we can set up hypothetical situations, pose problems, encourage theoretical reasoning, and allow for experimentation and the development of solutions.
Advanced simulators - virtual reality
More sophisticated simulators can deal with most of the higher order technical skills, at least at an operational level in an organization. When low-cost virtual devices that can accurately model psychomotor feedback - such as cheap VR immersion suits, for instance - then there may be few tasks that will absolutely require real world experience for useful learning to reliably occur.
We can teach airline pilots to fly jets with simulators. When the cost of similar technology is affordable at the level of an automotive technician, then we will be able to confirm the competence of a technician to service new products and new technologies even before those products are released onto the market. |
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