Lists, inventories, groups, taxonomies and frameworks	41

Maps, charts and diagrams

Various other terms have been used, sometimes loosely or metaphorically, to denote the fabric of a domain or field. For instance, a map can indicate relationships between categories by depicting a connection with a line. The strength of the connection may also be indicated by proximity or line density. Hence, various thinking skills may be depicted on paper and arranged so that they form clusters of related items. A map is a term applied to a wide range of depictions, pictorial and verbal, that may or may not constitute a taxonomy. Given the nature of a taxonomy, it would be perverse for a writer to call it something else unless it fell short of the mark. On the other hand, calling something a taxonomy does not make it one.

Examples

Some examples are now discussed to illustrate the processes involved in sorting, grouping and taxonomising educational objects of study.

Bloom’s taxonomy

This taxonomy is particularly well known in educational circles, as its objects of study are educational objectives (Bloom, 1956). These are arranged into a hierarchy of six levels, with knowledge at the lowest and evaluation at the highest level. Between these are comprehension (level 2), application (level 3), analysis (level 4), and synthesis (level 5). It is claimed that nearly all cognitive educational objectives can be located in this hierarchy. However, users sometimes disagree about where to locate particular educational objectives in the hierarchy, a lack of reliability that seems to stem from the vagueness of the definitions (de Landsheere, 1989). Perhaps more seriously, the linear nature of Bloom’s hierarchy is disputed. Madaus et al. (1973) presented evidence for a linear hierarchy comprising: knowledge, comprehension, and application. After this, the structure they found branches into analysis on the one hand and evaluation and synthesis on the other. Nevertheless, Bloom’s taxonomy has been found to be very useful amongst teachers, curriculum planners and test developers, not least because its concepts relate directly to the work they do.