Who was Bloom and why should I care?

Benjamin Bloom (1913 – 1999) was an American educational psychologist who developed a taxonomy, or structure, through which educational objectives could be organized according to their cognitive complexity. The cognitive domain deals with a person's ability to process information and use it in a meaningful way. Bloom identified six levels within the cognitive domain, from the simple recall of facts, through increasingly more complex and abstract levels of thinking.

Simply put, Bloom’s Taxonomy helps teachers categorize learning objectives and, from there, assess learning achievements.

Why should you care? Many popular certification exams – such as the ITIL V3 exams – are based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. Understanding the Bloom level at which you will be tested and using appropriate study techniques greatly increases your ability to

Engage effectively in class
Prepare properly for the exam
Achieve success on the exam

It is also useful to understand your learning style, or approach to learning. Learning styles include:

Visual – learn through seeing
Auditory – learn through listening
Kinesthetic – learn through moving, doing, touching

The ITIL V3 Foundation and Foundation Bridge exams (and most “foundation” or “essentials” exams) use Bloom levels 1 and 2

Bloom 1 – knowledge – measures recall of terminology and specific facts
Bloom 2 – comprehension – measures understanding of ideas and ability to translate or explain concepts

Effective learning and study techniques for learners taking Bloom levels 1 and 2 exams include:

Take notes/rewrite notes (visual/kinesthetic) - highlight important points in color
Reread course materials (visual/auditory/kinesthetic)
Complete available study aids (visual/auditory/kinesthetic)
Create and use Flash Cards (visual)
Record notes, read notes aloud, discuss terms and concepts aloud (auditory)
Create mnemonics to aid memorization (auditory)
Partner Quizzing (verbal)
Create simple mind maps and diagrams to tie terms and basic concepts to key topics (visual/kinesthetic)
Read a composed document such as the Introductory Overview of ITIL V3 that provides a “big picture” perspective www.itsmacademy.com/files/itSMF_ITILV3_Intro_Overview.pdf

The ITIL V3 Lifecycle, Capability and Managers Bridge exams use Bloom levels 3 and 4

Bloom 3 – application – measures ability to use information in new ways to solve problems, predict results, tell how, when, where and why
Bloom 4 – analysis – measures ability to distinguish between different parts, understand how parts fit together, identify causes, recognize hidden meanings, draw conclusions

Effective learning and study techniques for learners taking Bloom levels 3 and 4 exams include:

Actively participate in class discussions, debates and assignments
Use the SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) reading and study technique
Create complex mind maps to tie terms, concepts, and activities to key topics (Visual/Kinesthetic)
Practice mapping ITIL concepts to real world situations/problems
Create inductive diagrams - diagrams that illustrate inductive reasoning which involves moving from observations to a theory
Create deductive diagrams - diagrams that illustrate deductive reasoning which involves starting with a theory and confirming (or not) that theory

Despite its popularity, cramming doesn’t work when preparing to take an exam. Your mind needs time to assimilate new information. The best ways to ensure success on any exam are to (1) pay attention and participate in class, (2) take notes, and (3) use a variety of study techniques. The most effective techniques are those that reflect the Bloom level(s) of the exam you are taking and your personal learning style.

Four Service Characteristics

Recently I came across several articles by researchers and experts that laid out definitions and characteristics of services. ITIL provides us with a definition that can help drive the creation of value-laden services: A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks. An area that ITIL is not so clear is in terms of service characteristics. Several researchers and experts put forth that services have four basic characteristics (IHIP): Intangibility—Services are the results of actions not things. They have no physical presence and represent a logical set of elements. One way to think of service is “work done for others.” Heterogeneity—Also known as “variability”; services are unique items because of the mechanisms used to deliver services, which is people. Because the people element adds variability, the service is variable. This holds true, especially for the value proposition—not eve...

What is the difference between Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner?

This article was originally published in 2015. With the Introduction of ITIL 4, some of the concepts have changed in ways that are described below. ITIL 4 has also introduced new roles, as explained in our blog ITIL 4 and the Evolving Role of Roles . Before we dive into the difference between these roles, let’s first look at a key update in ITIL 4 – the shift from processes to practices. ITIL 4 has evolved to focus on holistic practices vs. isolated processes. By definition, a practice is a set of organizational resources designed for performing work or accomplishing an objective. For example, the purpose of the incident management practice is to minimize the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible. All organizations recognize the need to allocate resources to the management of incidents and mature their capabilities in that area. In ITIL 4, each practice includes resources based on the four ...

What Is A Service Offering?

The ITIL 4 Best Practice Guidance defines a “Service Offering” as a description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target customer or group. As a service provider, we can’t stop there! We must know what the contracts of our service offering are and be able to put them into context as required by the customer. Let’s explore the three elements that comprise a Service Offering. A “Service Offering” may include: Goods, Access to Resources, and Service Actions 1. Goods – When we think of “Goods” within a service offering these are the items where ownership is transferred to the consumer and the consumer takes responsibility for the future use of these goods. Example of goods that are being provided in the offering – If this is a hotel service then toiletries or chocolates are yours to take with you. You the consumer own these and they are yours to take with you. ...

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