Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy in the Saudi EFL Classrooms

Blooms taxonomy is named after Benjamin Bloom, a psychologist who in 1956 proposed a model of classifying thinking for the purpose of allowing students to engage in higher order thinking processes. In order to achieve this purpose he identified six levels of cognition, with knowledge being lowest  and comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation being highest thinking skills.

In the 1990s, one of Bloom's students, Lorin Anderson, made some changes to the original taxonomy. Bloom's six major categories were changed from noun to verb forms for the purpose of reflecting that thinking is an active process. In addetion to that, the knowledge category was renamed and became remembering. Also, comprehension and synthesis were changed to understanding and creating.

Now, in each level students are going to develop critical thinking skills, especially in the higher levels. Starting with how they are going to learn new concepts by recalling facts, and terms.Understanding of these new concepts by discussing ,describing ,and classifying. Moving to how they are going to use these concepts in new situations. Also, the ability to break down concepts into smaller components for the purpose of understanding the relationship between them.Ending by creating a new product or point of view.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is not very evident in setting learning objectives in the Saudi EFL classrooms because students may go through only two levels of the taxonomy. learners can understand and memorize the concept, but they don’t have the opportunity to apply what they understand inside or outside the classroom,or even create something new out of it. By using bloom's taxonomy in the classroom, the teacher can plan a powerful lesson ,which includes a verity of activities and questions that students must work with at each level of the taxonomy. It is like providing teachers with a guideline for creating activities that suite each level and at the same time encourage students to be critical thinkers. Not to forget that students can be involved in creating a product to show their understanding of the concept. So, is it necessary for teachers to use it in their classrooms.

Evaluating Websites

We have chosen a website for ESL and EFL kids learners. The websit is http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/. LearnEnglish Kids is the British Council's website for children to learn English as a second or foreign language. This site has free resources for children to use at home, either independently or with family members or friends. The resources have been created and developed by teachers and professionals who work with children; who are learning English. They have been designed to help children learn English while having fun, or while learning about something else. The purpose of this website is clear which is being able to learn English and have fun at the same time. It's quite obvious from the educational information that this website provided as well as the various games and activities that can make children amused. There are no misspellings or grammatical error; everything is well written by the author of this website. The text size is pretty much clear and easy to read. The choice of website color is brilliant and attractive; in a way that can grab kids, parents, and teachers’ attention. The graphics are relevant and they are serving the purpose, organization, and style of the page. Also, the links are well-chosen by the author of this website, and they work correctly. Everybody deserves a fast web experience; this website for sure will minimize your load time. The most important thing is that the page load quickly without facing any problems and there is no ads to bother you. This website is wonderful and everyone should use it because it supports different languages such as Arabic, Chinese, French, and provides useful and powerful materials that can help you to improve your English learning. It provides parents, and teachers with information, videos, resources, and articles that will help them to improve their kids’ level of understanding. What makes this website interactive is that you can share ideas, ask questions, and give your opinion about anything related to the content of this website. As a result, we found that the website was beneficial, interesting, and easy to our students and they can use it alone without help of the teacher, moreover, it covers all the skills we need.

By: Queens

Wordle in EDU 401

The role of WeQuests in learning a foreign/second language

Webquest is an inquiry-oriented tool for learners in which most of the information that learners work with comes from the world wide web. Webquest consists of five major elements: the introduction( which introduce the activity to the students), tasks ( that learners will do), process( where you explain the steps that student should go through to accomplish the task),evaluation( how you are going to evaluate their performances),and finally the conclusion( the reasons for creating this particular lesson).There are many advanteges of using webquest in second language learning classes such as being able to learn and have fun at the same time,students can use technology to find and present information about any topic related to their subjec, students become more responsible of their own learning, and they can develope their thinking skills.

 The teacher gives learners interesting tasks and provide them with the resources they need to accomplish the task. She provides support in order to make sure that students are not having any difficulty while performing the task.

Students are active participants because they will do most of the work. They have to search effectively, and evaluate what they find. While doing this, students will develop critical thinking skills. Starting with understanding of the concept, using the concept in new situations, making judgments about the value of ideas or materials, asking questions, solving problems, reasoning, and responding 

 

 students will be encourged to work in groups to accomplish their tasks, so they will learn how to share their ideas,opinions, and thoughts with their other classmates 

Finally , webquest makes learning interesting and enjoyable process . I will definitely use it with my  future students because it increases students motivation, promotes critical thinking skills, and cooperative learning where students have to work together in order to accomplish the task.