Across the Curriculum
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Cognitive Domain
Affective Domain
Cognitive Domain: Horizontal Axis - Three Stages
The horizontal axis of the Cognitive Domain is composed of a developmental sequence of three stages of thinking that follow Bloom’s taxonomy and Pearson and Gallagher’s “Gradual Release of Responsibility” Model of Explicit Instruction.
Stage 1: Knows – Comprehends – Becomes Aware
The descriptors listed in the first stage, Knows – Comprehends – Becomes Aware, describe skills and knowledge about which learners already have some prior understanding, or that they acquire as the result of direct instruction and teacher modelling. Stage 1 in the Cognitive Domain involves acquiring knowledge, and beginning to develop structured thinking about that knowledge. There are two basic types of knowledge: declarative knowledge—learning about concepts such as community, honesty, or the rules of a game; and procedural knowledge—learning the steps or procedures in a process such as shooting baskets, performing long division, or following the steps to capture an image and insert it into a text document.
Stage 2: Analyzes – Applies – Believes
The descriptors in the second stage, Analyzes – Applies – Believes, describe the thinking skills and knowledge learners apply, with teacher support, to new learning and experiences. Stage 2 in the Cognitive Domain involves restructuring knowledge by applying higherlevel thinking, including comparison, classification, recognizing patterns, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, formulating opinions, persuasion, and arguing pro and con. Then it involves applying the results to extend and deepen understanding..
Stage 3: Synthesizes – Evaluates – Values
The descriptors in the third stage, Synthesizes – Evaluates – Values, describe more complex thinking behaviours, such as synthesis and evaluation, in which learners engage to create products and representations with increasing independence. Stage 3 in the Cognitive Domain involves synthesizing, transforming, and evaluating knowledge. Learners employ the higher-level critical and creative thinking skills, which they have begun to develop in the previous stages, to complete and evaluate authentic learning tasks employing ICT. Learners produce more complex representations by combining and transforming the understandings they construct in Stages 1 and 2, through asking essential questions, solving problems, and creating original representations that express ideas, feelings, and understandings for specific audiences.