Many engineering problems fall into the analysis level because very complicated engineering systems must be analyzed often. Synthesis involves taking many pieces and putting them together to make a new whole. A major part of engineering design involves synthesis. One problem for the professor in teaching synthesis is that there is no longer a single correct answer. Many students, particularly at the lower levels in Perry's scheme of intellectual development find synthesis difficult because the process is open-ended and there is no single answer.
Evaluation is a judgment about a solution, process, design, report, material, and so forth.
The judgment can be based on external or internal criteria. In many engineering problems the evaluation requires external criteria such as analysis of both economics and environmental impact. Students need practice and feedback on all levels of the taxonomy to become proficient with material that they have learned. The major use of the taxonomy for teachers is to ensure that objectives, lectures, homework, and tests include examples and problems at all levels. The Affective Domain , David McKay, New York, 1964.