SOLO Taxonomy

SOLOTaxonomyWhat is it?SOLO (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes) is a model of learning that helps develop a common understanding & language of learning that helps teachers (and students) understand the learning process. What is it?In pairs arrange the five statements about assessment for learning in order of understanding use the SOLO levels sheet to help you.

You have 3 minutes

5 typical ways to answer a questionPrestructuralIm not sure about this subjectUnistructuralI have one idea about this subjectMultistuctruralI have several ideas about this subjectRelationalI can link my ideas together to see the big pictureExtended abstractI can look at these ideas in a new and different way.

Making it visible

Making it visible

SOLO Taxonomy provides a simple and robust way of describing how learning outcomes grow in complexity from surface to deep understanding

Biggs & Collis 1982With SOLO we canthoughtfully design learning intentions and learning experiencesidentify and use effective success criteriaprovide feedback and feed forward on learning outcomesreflect meaningfully on what to do nextWhy?How should we show that progress has been made in a lesson (or 20 minutes of a lesson)?Numbers? Letters?The language of learningSOLO levelVerbsUnistructuraldefine, identify, name. draw, find, label, match, follow a simple procedureMultistucturaldescribe, list, outline, complete, continue, combineRelationalsequence, classify, compare & contrast, explain (cause & effect), analyse, form an analogy, organise, distinguish, question, relate, applyExtended abstractgeneralise, predict, evaluate, reflect, hypothesise, theorise, create, prove, justify, argue, compose, prioritise, design, construct, performIsnt this a bit like Blooms Taxonomy?SOLO is based upon a theory about teaching and learning rather than a theory about knowledge, (Hattie and Brown, 2004)Blooms is good for teachers: planning, questioning & checking learningBut not great for students:Ive done applying sir, can I move on to analysis now?Progress is not implicit with BloomsSOLO is better because:Its a diagnostic tool provides useful feedback and makes next steps clearIts a useful assessment tool clear links with rubricsIt can help plan objectives & success criteria which focus on progressIt describes the learning outcomeConnecting your learningProgressRelationalUnderstandingfeedbackDeep & surface learning Extended abstractMulti structuralKnowledgesuccess criteriaLanguage of learningassessmentOutcomesTips for getting startedGetting to extended abstract requires you to pose abstract questions:Does Shakespeare influence all modern writers?But, in order to answer these questions students need a big multistructural base of knowledgeStudents need to see that progress depends on finding the relationships between this knowledge Does Shakespeare influence all modern writers?How does Shakespeare compare to a modern playwright?Thinking SquaresWhat did he do and why?Who is Shakespeare?REVIEWDesign an activity which could introduce SOLO to your studentsHow could you use SOLO?What do you know about SOLO?