Choosing the Right H5P Content Type for Each Bloom’s Stage: Make Your Lessons Pop!

by Dr Taysir Kashif

Want to make your online lessons more interactive and effective? Pairing Bloom’s Taxonomy with the right H5P content type is your secret weapon! This simple combo can turn your learning objectives into fun, engaging activities that truly stick with your students.

"If you’re interested in how H5P is transforming medical education specifically in Sudan, check out my previous post: H5P in Medical Education: Empowering Teaching and Learning in Sudan for insights."

Meet Bloom’s Taxonomy: The Learning Ladder

Think of Bloom’s Taxonomy as a ladder with six steps, each one pushing students to think deeper and learn better:

• Remember: Recall facts and basics,

• Understand: Explain or summarize,

• Apply: Use knowledge in new situations,

• Analyse: Break down and examine,

• Evaluate: Judge or critique,

• Create: Build something new.

Each step is a new level of learning, and you can tailor your teaching to guide students up that ladder.

H5P: Your Interactive Toolbox

H5P offers a treasure trove of interactive content; flashcards, quizzes, branching scenarios, interactive videos, and more. But which content type fits each Bloom’s stage? Let’s match them up!

Bloom’s Stage	What Students Do	H5P Content Types to Try	Example Activity
Remember	Recall, list, define	Flashcards, Multiple Choice, True/False	Identify anatomy terms
Understand	Summarize, explain	Dialog Cards, Summary, Fill in the Blanks	Explain a clinical process
Apply	Use, demonstrate	Drag and Drop, Interactive Video	Match symptoms to diseases
Analyse	Differentiate, compare	Drag Text, Sort the Paragraphs, Hotspots (1-2-3)	Analyse a patient case
Evaluate	Judge, critique	Essay, Branching Scenario	Critique a treatment plan
Create	Design, construct	Interactive Book, Course Presentation	Design a patient education leaflet

Once you know your learning goals, explore H5P’s content types to find what fits best.

How to Choose: A Simple Step-by-Step

1. Start with Your Goal

What do you want your students to achieve? Pick an action verb: list, explain, apply, analyse, critique, design, that matches a Bloom’s stage.

2. Match the Bloom’s Stage

Check the table above to see which H5P content types align with your goal.

3. Design Your Activity

Keep it focused and relevant. Real-world scenarios work wonders to connect theory with practice.

4. Test and Tweak

Try it yourself or get feedback from a colleague. Adjust to make it clear and engaging.

Tips to Make Your Activities Shine

• Mix It Up: Combine different H5P types in a lesson to cover multiple Bloom’s levels.

• Add Feedback: Use H5P’s built-in feedback to guide and motivate learners.

• Keep It Visual: Include images, videos, and interactive elements to boost interest.

• Accessibility: Check that your chosen H5P type is accessible to all learners.

• Experiment: Don’t be afraid to try new H5P content types; there are over 50 to explore.

Quick Example: From Remember to Create

Imagine teaching heart anatomy:

• Remember: Flashcards for heart parts.

• Understand: Fill in the Blanks to explain blood flow steps.

• Apply: Drag and Drop to label a heart diagram.

• Analyse: Hotspot activity to compare healthy vs. diseased hearts.

• Evaluate: Essay to critique a diagnosis.

• Create: Interactive Book where students build a patient info guide.

Final Thought

Choosing the right H5P content type for each Bloom’s stage isn’t just about making lessons interactive; it’s about making learning meaningful, memorable, and fun. So climb the Bloom’s ladder, pick your H5P tools, and watch your students thrive.

What Bloom’s stage do you find most challenging to teach? Have you tried any H5P content types that worked wonders? Share your experiences or ideas in the comments below, Let’s learn and grow together!

Resources

Oakland University Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Offers step-by-step guidance on identifying learning objectives and matching them with suitable H5P content types, plus practical examples (e.g., using flashcards for recall, branching scenarios for decision-making, and essays for higher-order thinking).

NC State Teaching Resources

Provides an overview of H5P interactive content in Moodle, including which content types work best for different Bloom’s levels. It also features a resource library with examples and tips for integrating H5P activities in your course.

Official H5P Content Types and Applications

The H5P website lists and demonstrates all available content types, with previews and author guides for each. This is an essential resource for exploring what’s possible with H5P.

Western Sydney University Online Engagement and Teaching Hub

Explains how Bloom’s Taxonomy can guide your choice of H5P content types to scaffold student learning effectively.

Southern Cross University H5P Interactives Design Principles

Discusses the use of Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework for selecting and designing H5P activities that support learning progression from novice to mastery.

H5P Activity Lists and Examples

Several open educational resources, such as the LEARN Method and University of Minnesota’s guides, provide curated lists of H5P activities mapped to learning objectives, including Bloom’s Taxonomy stages.

These resources will help you confidently choose and design H5P activities that align with your educational goals and Bloom’s Taxonomy.