Bloom and Grow: A New Spin on an Old Framework for Learning AI Skills

Artificial intelligence is in something of a Wild West phase, leaving many people with more questions than answers. For marketing professors, the top question is often, “Will this destroy my students’ critical thinking skills?”

Dr. Chahna Gonsalves, the Education Lead for the Department of Marketing at King’s Business School in London, thinks not. Last year, she conducted a study revising the popular Bloom Taxonomy framework to incorporate learning AI skills.

Critical thinking skills underpin every AI skill. It’s the difference between accepting data at face value and validating it to ensure it’s not the result of a hallucination.

Dr. Gonsalves’ study found that learning AI skills both enhances and challenges critical thinking.

A brief overview of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework for outlining and clarifying how people learn. Developed by a committee of educators chaired by educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom, the framework is widely used in business education.

The taxonomy divides learning objectives into three domains: knowledge-based (cognitive), emotion-based (affective), and action-based (psychomotor) domains. Within the cognitive domain, six hierarchical levels progress from knowledge to evaluation. Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl — Bloom’s former student and research partner of Bloom’s, respectively — later revised the taxonomy.

Reflecting the evolving education space, here’s what the updated hierarchy looks like:

While their revised taxonomy is still used today, it’s almost 25 years old. At the time, marketers still relied heavily on mass media advertising. Computers were present in 56% of American households, 55% of British households… and 0% of our pockets.

There were also no AI skills to learn. The way this technology has revolutionized marketing, both in and out of the classroom, called for another update to Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Learning AI skills with Bloom’s Taxonomy

The upper levels of the hierarchy are linked to critical thinking. Evaluation involves judgment based on evidence, while one must reorganize information to create something new.

Two years ago, Dr. Gonsalves conducted a study to understand how AI tools impact students’ critical thinking skills. The study focused on how students used generative AI, particularly ChatGPT, in their coursework.

Students were required to develop and critically evaluate a new product launch plan for a hypothetical brand. They were explicitly encouraged to use AI for market research, idea generation, analysis, and report writing. Guided by specific prompts, participants recorded their processes in audio diaries.

The study found that AI didn’t replace critical thinking. By learning AI skills, students were able to enhance their critical thinking.

Students used ChatGPT as a brainstorming partner, giving themselves something to react to. They used AI to translate complex ideas into clear, digestible explanations. ChatGPT’s analyses were not taken as gospel. Instead, students validated them with Google Scholar and other reputable websites.

The study also revealed that the hierarchical structure of Bloom’s Taxonomy doesn’t necessarily translate to the age of AI. Students move fluidly between cognitive stages. For example, analysis and evaluation happen simultaneously. Students may deconstruct AI-generated insights while assessing their validity. 

As a result, Dr. Gonsalves re-revised Bloom’s Taxonomy to be more cyclical. It also goes beyond cognition to include the affective domain, which includes collaborating with AI and ethical reasoning. She also introduced a metacognitive domain, encompassing the interrogation and refinement of responses.

This essentially means thinking critically about, rather than with, AI.

Bringing the new taxonomy to life

Learning AI skills can help students understand and discover their customer. Reflective thinking then helps them weigh the information they’ve collected, refining their strategy accordingly. Next, they articulate their needs to create marketing assets. Finally, students must understand the results in order to iterate and improve.

Here’s how that translates from core skills to applied skills:

• Discovering, applying, understanding: Customer and market analysis

• Evaluating, collaborating, ethical reasoning: Decision-making and strategy

• Creating, interrogating and refining, articulating: Content creation

• Analyzing, reflective thinking, iterative learning: Performance analysis and data literacy

Learning AI skills is paramount for marketing graduate students and MBAs. Why? They’ve become paramount for marketers.

Surveying technology leaders last October, PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 49% have “fully integrated” AI into their companies’ core business strategies. According to a separate ThoughtSpot study, 65% of organizations are using or actively exploring the use of AI in data and analytics.

Dr. Randal Schober, tenured professor of management at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, created another version of Bloom's Taxonomy. His version illustrates the symbiotic relationship between learning AI skills and specific tools.

It is possible for AI to erode critical thinking. However, educators can ensure that doesn’t happen by guiding students to critically engage with the technology.

To learn more about how to teach AI marketing skills to grad students and MBAs, click here for our free guide.