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for how to make sense of their input. As interactive for analyzing, evaluating, and creating. Generally, the

notebooks are implemented with a table of concepts, left side (input) will be used for lower order of

input, and output, “students will become more thinking skills (L.O.T.S.) such as remembering,

involved in the learning process, retain more understanding, and applying while the right side

information and be more satisfied…Educational allows for H.O.T.S to be implemented. Analyzing can

research has shown that students who are actively take the form of a Venn Diagram, evaluating the

involved in the learning activity will learn more than information can be accomplished by asking questions

students who are passive recipients of or making hypotheses and then checking for the

knowledge” (Steinert & Snell, 1999). answer, and reaching the level of creating can be

implemented by combining ideas from multiple
Understanding Bloom’s Taxonomy in Teaching lessons and producing original thoughts or creating a
An important component of creating
picture to depict the information.
meaningful objectives is knowing the action students

need to take in order to meet a targeted standard. Most Assessing with Interactive Notebooks

teachers who write objectives use Bloom’s Not only are interactive notebooks a great way

Taxonomy, originally published by Benjamin Bloom to implement Bloom’s and help students deepen their

in 1956. It encompassed a classification of learning understanding, they can also be used for assessment

outcomes and objectives that is useful especially for purposes. As Jocelyn Young put it, interactive

teachers. After decades of the implementation of notebooks, “help students organize their learning and,

Bloom’s, it was revised in 2001 to have creation as the by the end of the unit, realize how much they have

pinnacle point and synthesis was removed. Along with learned. For teachers, the interactive notebook is a

the description of each of the 6 parts to Bloom’s, there unique means of assessing student learning and

are also verbs attached to help teachers know what organization” (Young, 2002).

kind of things students need to do in order to achieve Traditional assessments can be monotonous,

the desired level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. In short, the tiring, and an ineffective way to gauge what students

levels of Bloom’s are now as follows: remember, actually know and understand. Some students have

understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. test anxiety and it reduces their ability to perform

well. Others just can’t demonstrate their knowledge on
In efforts to implement higher order of thinking skills a standard assessment. When teachers have ways of
(H.O.T.S.), many teachers refer to Bloom’s with an seeing student thinking in action, or assessing their
understanding that analyzing, evaluating, and creating understanding based on ways they do perform well (as
verbs will help achieve those skills. The verbs are
recorded on the output part of their notebook), it takes
used in objectives to guide teachers and students to a the stress and anxiety out of the assessment because
goal of achieving H.O.T.S. (Heick, 2018).
it’s no longer a big, scary test. Rather it is going

through a notebook that they have created to be

meaningful to them. In turn, it shows concepts they

understand thoroughly and ones that need to be

readdressed.

When each child has their own notebook, it

can show the progress made on an individual

basis. As Wist noted in her master’s thesis, interactive

notebooks can “serve as a student portfolio of work

which can show improvement throughout the year” or

even just one or two units (2006). Assessing students

with a standard test is not always an accurate measure

of their understanding, however, using interactive
Integrating Bloom’s with Interactive Notebooks notebooks might give a better impression of their
Why not kill two birds with one stone and
understanding.
integrate Bloom’s Taxonomy with interactive
Challenges of Interactive Notebooks
notebooks? As the idea of Bloom’s is combined with
Some teachers feel that interactive notebooks
interactive notebooks, it allows not only for
take up valuable time. Sure it takes time to get
remembering and understanding, but it can also allow

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