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Mastering Six Levels of Thinking
Aug 5, 2024
Six Levels of Thinking for Students and Learners
Introduction
There are six levels of thinking every learner should master for different levels of results.
Many students struggle because they think at the wrong level, leading to stress and wasted time.
Learning to think deliberately at the right level can lead to top results.
The framework used is Bloom's Revised Taxonomy.
Level 1: Remember
Involves memorizing through rereading, rewriting, and repetition.
Often tedious and makes one feel drowsy.
Results in the ability to regurgitate: listing, defining, and stating facts.
Not an effective way to retain information in the long term.
Level 2: Understand
Focuses on comprehending rather than just memorizing.
Intentions matter: reading to understand vs. reading to memorize.
Unlocks the ability to explain: answering questions about understanding concepts or processes.
Level 3: Apply
Applying knowledge to solve problems.
Simple problems: directly using learned concepts (e.g., formulas in math).
Advanced problems: require strategic thinking and combining concepts.
Unlocks the ability to solve simple problems (one-to-one concept application).
Level 4: Analyze
Comparing and contrasting different pieces of information.
Techniques: Venn diagrams, tables, summaries, mind maps.
Unlocks the ability to compare and contrast concepts.
More mental effort required, leading to deeper knowledge and stronger memory.
Level 5: Evaluate
Judgment based on analysis: asking why it matters, its importance.
Unlocks the ability to prioritize: forming conclusions and justifying them.
Techniques: mind maps, teaching, answering questions, creating summaries.
Requires more mental effort; involves going back and forth between materials.
Common in second and third-year university, postgraduate studies, and senior professional positions.
Level 6: Create
Synthesizing new and novel information from existing knowledge.
Unlocks the ability to hypothesize: creating new answers where none exist.
Less relevant for most people unless at the highest levels of education or profession.
Efficient Learning Strategy
Traditional bottom-to-top approach (mastering each level sequentially) is time-consuming and inefficient.
Better approach: start at Level 5 (Evaluate) and move down.
Brain processes information more strongly at higher levels.
Higher levels lead to better memory retention and understanding.
Focus on evaluation to naturally achieve lower-level results as a side effect.
Emphasize evaluating (Level 5) instead of just remembering or understanding.
Conclusion
Focus on higher levels of thinking for more efficient learning and better results.
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