Rachel Wojcik

EDU 375

Benjamin Bloom

Benjamin Bloom is one of the most important teachers, scholars, researchers known in the field of education. The legacy that he left behind was profound. His work has inspired and touched the lives of many people, from his past students to researchers, educators, and even the parents of today.

Bloom always stays true to his heart, his beliefs, and his philosophies - especially in his teaching. Bloom loved to examine every aspect of research from all angles. In his teaching, he taught his students the importance of not only analyzing the material and the results but also to look at the characteristics and situations that the material comes from. Bloom was a model to his students and an optimist of the possibilities of education; he taught them that education was a way for them to reach their full potential.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is one of the longest-standing and most highly recognized educational tools. It is a hierarchical ordering of cognitive levels that is based on a person having to master each level before moving on to the next. Bloom’s taxonomy contains six levels, each with increasing difficulty and complexity from the first to the last. Educatorsaround the worldcan use the categories of the taxonomy to both formulate the evaluations and the objectives. Going beyond the taxonomy, Bloom was also interested in what stimulates the thought process and how people think.

The power of the environment and its influence on an individual’s performance and the systematic arrangement of ways to promote learning are two other features that characterized Bloom’s scholarship. His convictions lead to the development of the Head Start program and the expansion of the concept of mastery learning. Bloom recognized that accomplishing a goal is more important than the student comparison. Teachers need to gear more towards reaching the objectives and mastery learning. Education is also not a race; it is important to allow all students the time to complete the objectives while giving them feedback and corrections along the way. This would enable all children to be successful in school.

Changing the curriculum, by organizing it and supporting it with appropriate instruction, to promote learning all students can achieve the educated goals set for them. Bloom holds this view of learning as iconoclastic. The focus should be on attainment, not speed, and by providing an equitable support to all students.

Along with all the research and documentation that Bloom has provided, he has been continually active in playing a major role in international organizations, associations, and educational boards during his lifetime. Bloom’s contributions are almost immeasurable; he has provided a model of learning, many philosophies to advance education, and has even stood as an inspiration to many people. Education will never be the same; Bloom has changed it for the better.