Comparing science learning outcomes from Singapore and New South Wales, Australia, using Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy

Abstract

Science learning outcomes from Singapore and New South Wales, Australia, were coded using Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy from primary to pretertiary levels. Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy allows the intellectual demands of learning outcomes to be classified into six cognitive processes and four types of knowledge. The employment of Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy offered fresh insights into the intellectual demands of official science curricula from these two high-performing states. Analyses were done to understand how the intellectual demands vary across different subjects and educational levels, within each educational system. Comparisons were also made between the curriculum of the two states for each corresponding level and subject. This study found that learning objectives in the Singapore curriculum were clustered at the three lowest cognitive processes, whereas conceptual knowledge predominates in the knowledge domain. The New South Wales science curriculum covers a wider range of cognitive processes as compared to Singapore’s, with ‘Apply’ being the dominant cognitive process for most educational levels. In the knowledge domain, conceptual and procedural knowledge accounted for the majority of learning objectives. In both systems, syllabuses at higher educational levels have higher cognitive demand. The cognitive processes and type of knowledge involved are also influenced by the nature of the subjects.