Relationship between teachers’ utilization of bloom’s cognitive taxonomy in teaching and examination and students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Nandi County, Kenya

Abstract

There is a widespread concern by stakeholders about the academic performance in public secondary schools in comparison to private schools. The utilization of Bloom’s Taxonomy should ideally inculcate improvement in performance. The study therefore endeared to investigate the relationship between teachers’ utilization of Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy in teaching and examination and students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Nandi County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were to determine teachers’ utilization of Bloom’s Taxonomy in teaching and the construction of internal exams; to investigate the relationship between the utilization of Bloom’s Taxonomy in teaching and academic performance; and to examine the relationship between the utilization of Bloom’s Taxonomy in the construction of exams and academic performance in public secondary schools. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm. This study was based on Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy. This study utilized a mixed method research approach with an explanatory sequential design. The research population consisted of 2055 teachers from 137 public secondary schools. The sample size was 360 teachers from 30 county schools. 30 county schools were selected using simple random sampling, from which 12 Form 3 teachers teaching 6 selected subjects were identified. Lesson observation, questionnaires, and document analysis were used to collect data from teaching and examination. Data was analyzed using frequencies, means, and Chi-square. The results showed that 58% of the teachers utilized Bloom’s Taxonomy when teaching, while 86% utilized it in setting exams. The overall percentages for using Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy in teaching during lesson observation were as follows: remembering 30%, understanding 29%, applying 16%, analyzing 10%, evaluating 8.0%, and creating 6.0%, whereas on the examination papers were: remembering 29.4%, understanding 28.5%, applying 14.5%, analyzing 9.9%, evaluating 8.7%, and creating 8.8%. The study revealed a positive relationship both between the utilization of the taxonomy in teaching and academic performance (χ2 = 25.57 with C = 0.26) and also between the utilization of the taxonomy in setting exams and academic performance (χ2 = 97.89 with C = 0.47). Similarly, teachers’ utilization of Bloom’s taxonomy had a positive influence on different subjects and teaching (χ2 = 27.69) and the construction of internal exams (χ2 = 20.89) and also between utilization of the taxonomy and the mode of test construction (χ2 = 35.0). The study therefore concluded that, most teachers used Bloom's Taxonomy when developing internal tests, and these had a significant positive relationship with academic performance. This study recommended that all teachers should utilize Bloom’s Taxonomy and maximize all the levels of it in exams and teaching so as to promote an insightful approach to learning and critical thinking experience that will enhance academic performance for the students.