Type of Thinking

Key Words

Prompts

Remembering: Recall information, data, ideas, facts, experience

define, describe, identify, know, label, list, match, name, outline, recall, recognize, reproduce, select, state

Where is…

What did…

Who was…

When did…

How many…

Can you explain/describe/recall/list…

Understanding: Demonstrate understanding of the meaning and significance of facts, ideas, structures, problems…

comprehend, convert, defend, distinguish, estimate, explain, extend, generalize, give examples, infer, interpret, paraphrase, predict, rewrite, summarize, translate

What is the main idea…

How would you explain…

How would you rephrase…

How would you summarize…

What does it mean…

Describe what…

Give an example of…

Applying: Solve new challenges with acquired knowledge, techniques; apply rules in a different way

apply, change, compute, construct, demonstrate, discover, manipulate, modify, operate, predict, prepare, produce, relate, show, solve, use

What would happen if…

How would you solve/show/apply/use…

If you were there, would you…

What other way would you…

Analyzing: Separating material or concepts into parts to identify and understand structures, causes, motives, generalizations

analyze, break down, compare, contrast, diagram, deconstruct, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, identify, illustrate, infer, outline, relate, select, separate

What are the parts of…

What would you have used…

What things are similar/different?

What caused _____?

What is the relationship…

What evidence supports…

Evaluating: Making judgments about information, ideas, quality, materials

appraise, compare, conclude, contrast, criticize, critique, defend, describe, discriminate, evaluate, explain, interpret, justify, relate, summarize, support

Do you agree with…

What is your opinion…

What is the value / importance of…

How would you determine / select / prioritize / justify…

Which is better…

Creating: Building a structure or pattern from diverse elements in an original or different way; proposing alternative solutions

combine, compile, compose, create, devise, design, explain, generate, imagine, modify, organize, plan, present, produce, propose, rearrange, reconstruct, relate, reorganize, revise

How would you adapt / change / improve / invent…

What if…

What new model would you construct?

What would it be like if…

What would happen if…