Analysis of the Ability of 'Understanding' in Support of its Measurability

Course Outcomes (COs) are prepared by the faculty of different streams according to the syllabus provided by the University or Board, to which their programs are affiliated to. This involves the selection of appropriate action verbs. While doing so, they are referring to the Bloom's taxonomy table. Recently, it has been modified with the aim of bettering the learning aspect of the students and it has been suggested that 'Understand' is not a measurable one. Understanding is nothing but acquiring the knowledge of the system or device or unit one deals with. One cannot apply theoretical concepts and governing equations without acquiring comprehensive knowledge about it. Since many courses deal with the ability of understanding, it must be made clear to the teaching community about its usage. In this context, the present work analyzes by considering different examples pertaining to various core engineering and science disciplines. Initially, all the cognitive levels of bloom's taxonomy are discussed in a general perspective. Subsequently, the levels of learning are discussed with regard to a simple mathematical formula and it is visualized that understanding aspect is measurable. Further, different types of numerical examples or instances of various engineering domains are depicted. Same method is applied to science streams and then with different levels of assessment. Also, special emphasis is given on measuring other abilities that are mentioned in the reference taxonomy table. It is observed that measurement of 'Understand' is done before the measurement of either 'Apply' or 'Analyze' for any numerical problem in case of engineering streams. It must be the same for any other stream or branch of science. Through different short answer questions used in both engineering and non-engineering streams, its measurability is further established. Analysis clearly indicates that it is only a myth that 'Understand' is not measurable and that it is not advisable to be used as an action verb, while preparing the learning outcomes. Thus, the present work identifies the appropriateness of 'Understand' as a measurable quantity.