The Use of Taxonomies in Constructing Text-Based Reading Comprehension Questions: Bloom and Barrett Taxonomies

The aim of this study is to investigate how preservice Turkish language teachers construct reading comprehension questions based on Bloom’s and Barrett’s taxonomies. Adopting a qualitative case study design, data were collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis. The study focuses on the cognitive levels of the questions, participants’ perceptions and preferences regarding the taxonomies, reported changes in pedagogical awareness and professional competence following taxonomy-based instruction, and the challenges encountered during the question-design process. The findings suggest that preservice teachers tended to engage more with higher-order cognitive processes when using Barrett’s taxonomy during the question-design process. Participants perceived Barrett’s taxonomy as more functional and structured for evaluating reading comprehension, particularly in relation to inferential, evaluative, and affective aspects. In contrast, Bloom’s taxonomy was more commonly associated with questions targeting lower- and mid-level cognitive skills, such as remembering and understanding, whereas higher-level categories were addressed less frequently. Despite increased awareness in constructing and assessing questions after the instructional process, participants continued to experience difficulties in differentiating between taxonomic levels and formulating higher-order questions. Overall, the findings point to the complementary strengths of the two taxonomies and suggest that their integrated use in reading instruction may support teachers in designing more cognitively rich questions that foster deeper comprehension and critical thinking. This study contributes by illustrating how taxonomy-based instruction differentially shapes preservice teachers’ question-design practices and by highlighting the complementary strengths of Bloom’s and Barrett’s taxonomies in supporting higher-order, text-based reading comprehension.