A Learning Taxonomy

Curricular Coherence, Assessment, and Active Pedagogy

BULLSHIT

A taxonomy is a hierarchical classification system that organizes ideas into a conceptual family tree.

A learning taxonomy organizes the knowledge and skills that a course or program hopes to impart into a pedagogically legible hierarchy.

The Program

Think Critically

Think Creatively

Communicate Effectively

Interact Effectively

Evaluate Claims

Analyze Inference

Make Decisions

Parse Arguments

Critique Sources

Reason with Estimates

Think Scientifically

Appreciate Distributions

School

Judge
Well

Design Interventions

Build Legitimacy

Coordinate Action

Problem Diagnosis

Tradeoffs

Evidence & Uncertainty

Identify

Stakeholders

Temporal Reasoning

Risk/ Uncertainty

Analogy & Comparison

Moral Uncertainty

2nd Order Effects

Justification

positions vs interests

implicit value conflicts

Recognizing when “win–win” claims are implausible

Political disagreement vs real tradeoffs

Course NEGOTIATION FOR GOVERNMENT & POLICY

#TRADEFOFFS Students can identify the real tradeoffs embedded in a negotiation, not just stated positions.

Concrete skills (course level):

Distinguish positions vs. underlying interests

Surface implicit value conflicts (e.g. speed vs. fairness)

Recognize when parties are denying or obscuring tradeoffs

Course: Negotiation for Government & Policy