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Bloom’s Taxonomy in Mathematics Education

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education

Definition

An approach to classifying reasoning goals with respect to mathematics education.

Overview

Bloom’s Taxonomy is arguably one of the most recognized educational references published in the twentieth century. As noted in a 40-year retrospective by Benjamin Bloom (1994), “it has been used by curriculum planners, administrators, researchers, and classroom teachers at all levels of education” (p. 1), and it has been referenced in academic publications representing virtually every academic discipline. Given the prevalence of testing in mathematics and the regular use of mathematics as a context for studying student reasoning and problem solving, Bloom’s Taxonomy has been applied and adapted by mathematics educators since its publication.

Historical Development

Originally designed as a resource to support the development of examinations, Bloom et al. (1956) wrote their taxonomy to insure greater accuracy of communication among educators in a manner similar to the taxonomies used in...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Colorado Boulder, Room 320B, 249 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

    David C. Webb

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  1. David C. Webb
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David C. Webb .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, Centre for Mathematics Education, London South Bank University, London, UK

    Stephen Lerman

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Webb, D.C. (2014). Bloom’s Taxonomy in Mathematics Education. In: Lerman, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4978-8_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4978-8_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-007-4977-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-4978-8

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