Revised Bloom Taxonomy for Mechanical Engineering Courses: Evaluation and Performance

Abstract

The level of knowledge required in engineering education is the major problem that are facing the education process in each university. Universities endeavor to provide their graduated students with the highest levels of tools required to tackle tough challenges. If the students lost the ability to build up the knowledge in the classroom, they will be disable to faced and handle challenges in the real industrial life. Active learning techniques nowadays become an essential ingredient in making students acquire the scientific knowledge. This study devoted to evaluate the Revised Bloom Taxonomy (RBT) on students performance measured by two dimensions; cognitive process dimensions and the knowledge dimensions. It has been found that using RBT to be quite instrumental in motivating students to gain knowledge. In the midterm exam, the students showed better performance in the fourth cognitive process dimension [Analyzing] with approximately 86% with respect to the assigned weight through the exam and they registered more score related to the procedural knowledge 84%. However, the analysis of the final exam showed some deterioration in students performance resulted in increasing of the level of difficulties of the subjected taught after the midterm exam as well as the students most likely were busy in the second part of the term with other commitments related to other university activities. The structure of the RBT could help the instructors to predict and evaluate the performance of their students and design the course assessments/instructional methods to enhance the students to acquire more knowledge through the classroom.