Marzano’s Taxonomy: What It Is, Objectives, And What Parts It Has
No matter how disconnected we are from nature, human beings are animals and, as in most of the animal kingdom, learning is essential for survival.
However, in the human case our cognitive capacity takes on great weight, which means that we are not simple receptacles of data, but rather we process the information acquired and know how to use it, that is, to use what we have learned intelligently.
For a long time now, attempts have been made to explain and enhance the human learning capacity, being Marzano and Kendall’s taxonomy a great example of this, in addition to being appropriate to what we know about learning processes in the 21st century. Let’s get to know this model in more depth.
Marzano’s taxonomy is an educational objective classification system, developed by Robert J. Marzano and John S. Kendall This system is based on Bloom’s famous taxonomy, developed by Benjamin Bloom starting in 1956, although it had subsequent revisions. In Marzano and Kendall’s proposal, a review of the classic model was made, recycling it and incorporating new ideas about how human beings process information.
Bloom’s model, while it has its origins already in the 1950s, became very outdated with the passage of time. This is why, after several decades of research in the field and improving knowledge about how human beings learn, a reformulation of this model became necessary, with the Marzano and Kendall taxonomy, developed between 2007 and 2008, being that answer. .
Although Bloom wanted, from the beginning, to develop a system of classification of practical educational objectives, in reality this was more of a theoretical type, having little impact on the school curriculum and how it should be developed. This is why Marzano and Kendall decided to develop a more practical taxonomy, focused on improving the educational system Its classification system is more applicable, allowing teachers to adjust their teaching to the demands and needs of their students.
Marzano’s taxonomy is made up of two dimensions, which interact with each other: knowledge domains and processing levels.
Knowledge domains
The domains of knowledge They refer to the type of learning that a student can acquire These domains are three: information, mental procedures and psychomotor procedures.
1. Information
The information domain refers to the acquisition of pure data, such as dates, historical events, theories, facts… That is, is memorizing data, without the need for reasoning behind it like “copy the information and nothing more.”
2. Mental procedures
Mental procedures are related to all the knowledge that involves thinking that is, they make it necessary to follow a series of steps to achieve an objective.
An example of this would be solving a mathematical problem or applying a system of logical thinking, such as the scientific method or philosophical reasoning. Reading or learning a new language are also considered mental procedures.
3. Psychomotor procedures
Psychomotor procedures are those that are related to using the body, that is, physical dominance and coordination. Within this domain would be all sporting activities, as well as manual learning such as writing or playing an instrument.
Processing levels
Processing levels indicate the degree of depth necessary to acquire certain knowledge. Normally these levels of processing are three: cognitive, metacognitive and internal or “self”, although in practice they are divided into six sublevels.
1. Cognitive level
At the cognitive level is the recently acquired information, which is still on a conscious level Here we can find four sublevels: recovery, understanding, analysis and use of knowledge.
2. Metacognitive level
At the metacognitive level, they apply the newly acquired knowledge to regulate one’s own mental processes that is, thinking based on what is being learned and understanding how to direct the learning process.
Thanks to metacognitive learning, you can set goals and self-regulate to achieve them.
3. Internal level or “self”
The internal or “self” level is reached when new knowledge affects the individual’s belief system, making you reflect or changing your previous knowledge either expanding them or calling them into question.
Interaction between domains and levels
Knowledge domains and levels are not isolated aspects of each other On the contrary, they interact very strongly.
All new knowledge passes through the cognitive level, while at some point in the individual’s learning that knowledge is something newly acquired.
This knowledge can be information, a mental procedure or a psychomotor procedure and, whatever type it is, There will be a moment when the person sets goals or regulates their behavior to perfect it, moving to the metacognitive level
Whether it is learning a language, playing sports or applying a mathematical formula, all knowledge has, without a doubt, an influence on the individual’s belief system, therefore, it ultimately passes through the internal level or “self”.
Utilities of Marzano’s taxonomy
Marzano and Kendall’s taxonomy has several advantages over the model it sought to improve, that is, Bloom’s.
First of all, this system allows learning to occur gradually, increasing the individual’s knowledge at the pace that is necessary and being much more practice-oriented than Bloom’s taxonomy. Thus, by knowing aspects such as what the individual already knows, learning can be personalized, avoiding having to repeat content already seen or placing greater emphasis on aspects that are most difficult for him or her.
Another important aspect of this taxonomy is that It is especially useful to apply it with adults, especially considering that it gives a lot of importance to the metacognitive level. Metacognitive abilities, that is, being aware of what one knows and what should be improved, are aspects that improve with age. Although the model is perfectly applicable with children, it is this nuance that makes it ideal for older people, especially relating it to the workplace.
Marzano and Kendall’s taxonomy was developed with the intention of overcoming several limitations seen in Bloom’s classic model, among them its lack of practical applicability. Besides, Marzano’s proposal takes into account the type of information or knowledge that is to be promoted being aware that there are several differences between the acquisition of pure information, thinking reasonedly and learning to perform physical actions.
Marzano and Kendall took into account the fact that in the learning process not everything that is learned or what influences this process is visible. On the one hand, we have the knowledge itself but, on the other, we have subjective but very important aspects such as motivation, memory, emotions and metacognition of the individual. Thanks to all this, learning objectives can be established with a greater degree of precision, personalizing the teaching of students.
It is worth highlighting some small, although important, differences between both taxonomies with respect to the type of learning that can be carried out. In the case of Bloom’s model we have that, also as Marzano and Kendall do, there would be three types of knowledge:
Cognitive (equivalent to Marzano’s information domain) Psychomotor (equal to psychomotor procedures) Afe ctives: ways of feeling and emotions.
Although Bloom’s taxonomy became very famous in the 1950s and 1960s, when most of the taxonomy was developed, Marzano and Kendall’s proposal is considered more appropriate The reason for this is that, to begin with, it is more current, and without falling into an ad novitatem fallacy, it should be noted that a lot of progress has been made from the 1950s to the 21st century.
