A Mash Up of Universal Design for Learning and Revised Blooms Taxonomy Design Models aka (A "Bloom-iversal" Design for Learning)

In a previous post I critiqued two instructional design models: (Revised) Blooms Taxonomy (RBT) and Universal Design for learning (UDL). I was able to see how easily these models can work together to not only aid in higher order thinking from students but also meet the needs of different types of learners that may be present in your classroom.  I started to think about combining these two models in order to make "new" effective approach at designing courses accessible for all students while addressing higher order and deeper thinking.

Revised Blooms Taxonomy (RBT)

As an educator you are most likely familar with Blooms Taxonomy. It has been around for years and stood the test of time and revisions but you may still ask yourself: Why do we "need" RBT when designing instruction?

Dark Blue & Orange Vector Cute Process Infographic by Coston Daugherty

Direct link to infographic: https://www.canva.com/design/DAC8yJp_upI/view

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Unless you have designed courses or taken an instructional design course you may not be as familiar with UDL and you may ask yourself the same question: Why do we need to use UDL in a design process? Take a look below at the video on how UDL impacts various learners and is critical for student understanding when they don't learn in a "normal" learning style!

https://youtu.be/bVdPNWMGyZY. 

Why We Need Universal Design | Michael Nesmith | TEDxBoulder . Published on Oct 13, 2016(CC BY -- NC -- ND 4.0 International)

"Bloom-iversal Design for Learning"

The Universal Design for Learning process focuses on the "What, Why and How to learning" but lacks the higher level engagement. Revised Blooms Taxonomy focuses on different competency levels to achieve higher level thinking but lacks the How and Why to learning.  What each model lacks the other excels and vice versa which makes them great partners that can compliment one another if combined in the design process...

So I present to you:

"Bloom-iversal Design for Learning" an edited/mash up approach at designing instruction.

Yellow Lines Lesson Plan by Coston Daugherty

Direct Link to infographic: https://www.canva.com/design/DAC8x0A-rDs/view

With this design mashup an instructor and/or designer would look at creating instruction that is accessible and adaptable to all learners that one may encounter in a course. While taking into account the "What, Why and How" a designer would also focus on different levels of learning from these students by addressing the entire audience but allowing for understanding at different levels of thinking by the individual student. This mash up will provide not only understanding from all students but allow those students to dig deeper into the material for better retention. 

By combining these two models more work is put in during the design process since many learning styles and learners are being taken into account HOWEVER this could prove to actually save time in the implementation process of instruction. Less tweaking and adapting would be needed since using these two design models together would meet more learner needs AND address higher order thinking all in one. 

I wondered if others thought these two models would be a good fit to use in conjunction with one another when  designing courses and I was pleasantly surprised to find a few resources from a blog post to two school systems that use RBT and UDL together to create effective instruction: 

1) The UDL Project (scroll to bottom to see how Blooms is also referenced) 

2) Blooms and UDL Planning Tool (From HCPSS)

3) The Intersection of UDL and Bloom's Taxonomy

Resources Used:

• Canva
• TedEx
• Iowa State University CELT
• CAST