Table 1.

Examples of life science questions that can be used to prompt thinking behaviors at each level of the hierarchy in Bloom's Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain (1956) ^a

Knowledge questions: Students remember and recall factual information.
Define, List, State, Label, Name,  Describe	• Draw a typical neuron and label at least six parts on your drawing. • What makes up the coat of a virus? • Name the six kingdoms of living things.
Comprehension questions: Students demonstrate understanding of ideas.
Restate, Paraphrase, Explain, Summarize, Interpret, Describe,  Illustrate	• What were the most important points raised in today's discussion of the differences between  the functions of neurons and those of glia? • Explain how the life cycle of a lytic virus operates. • Describe how living things are classified into kingdoms.
Application questions: Students apply information to unfamiliar situations.
Apply, Demonstrate, Use, Compute, Solve, Predict	• On the basis of what you know about axon outgrowth, how would you explain the difficulties  of treating spinal cord injuries? • Given what you know about the life cycle of a virus, what effects would you predict anti-viral  drugs to have on viruses? • If a new life form were discovered, what process would you use to assign it to a kingdom?
Analysis questions: Students break ideas down into parts.
Compare, Contrast, Categorize, Distinguish	• Compare and contrast the pupillary light reflex and the patellar (knee) reflex. • What distinguishes the replication processes of RNA and DNA viruses? • How are fungi and plants similar to and different from each other?
Synthesis questions: Students transform ideas into something new.
Develop, Create, Propose, Formulate, Design, Invent	• How might stem cell research result in therapies for diseases such as Parkinson's disease? • Propose a way in which viruses could be used to treat a human disease. • Develop a classification system for objects commonly found in your kitchen. State the rules of  your classification system.
Evaluation questions: Students think critically and defend a position.
Judge, Appraise, Recommend, Justify, Defend, Criticize, Evaluate	• Defend or criticize the statement “There is a gene for every behavior.” • Would you argue that viruses are alive? Why or why not? • Should the classification of living things be based on their genetic similarities or their  morphology/physiology? What are the reasons for your choice?

^aFirst column is a list of words that often begin questions at that level. Second column gives three questions, one for each topical area in the life sciences—neurobiology, virology, and biological taxonomy. These questions are used to demonstrate not only distinctions in Bloom's categories, but also the hierarchical nature of the classification scheme. We assume for these questions that, for the application level and above, the context is new to individuals answering the question.