Analysis


The breaking down of informational materials into their component parts, examining (and trying to understand the organizational structure of) such information to develop divergent conclusions by identifying motives or causes, making inferences, and/or finding evidence to support generalizations.

analyzes; breaks down; categorizes; compares; contrasts; correlates; diagrams; differentiates; discriminates; distinguishes; focuses; illustrates; infers; limits; outlines; points out; prioritizes; recognizes; separates; subdivides.


Source: http://krummefamily.org/guides/bloom.html

Synthesis


Experts emphasize the importance of synthesis to students’ success in today’s world and in the world of the future. Howard Gardner in Five Minds for the Future describes the Synthesizing Mind as the ability to integrate ideas from different disciplines into a coherent whole. Daniel Pink in A Whole New Mind describes synthesis as Symphony, the ability to link apparently unconnected elements to create something new. Synthesis is measured in the 10th grade units by providing students with information from two or more selections and leaving students to make the connection between the ideas in the selections and the theme or a concept from the assessment and then to reflect on those connections to identify insights or new knowledge. A rubric is provided to guide students’ thinking and teachers’ scoring.