3. SOLO TAXONOMY IN THE
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Content:
Structure of solo taxonomy
Definition
Why solo, why no bloom, criticism
Blooms vs solo
Main five stages
Uses of solo taxonomy
Solo station protocol
Advantages of solo taxonomy
4. STRUCTURE OF SOLO TAXONOMY
The SOLO taxonomy stands for:
Structure of
Observed
Learning
Outcomes
5. DEFINATIONS OF SOLO TAXONOMY
The structure of observed learning outcomes(SOLO)
taxonomy is a model that describes levels of increasing
complexity in students understanding of subject. It
encourages students to think about where they are
currently with there learning, and what they need to do
in order to progress.
Solo taxonomy provides a simple and robust way of
describe how learning out comes grow in complexity
from surface to deep understanding.
6. Learning Taxonomy
Learning taxonomy describe and categorize the stages in learning.
Why solo , why no blooms, criticism:
1: Learning is not sequential means lower to higher.
2:Incomplete No role of motivation or classroom
management.
3: Individualistic individual learning (social learning
theory????)
4: Precise other factor
So, we need an other taxonomy???
Its solo
7. BLOOMS VS SOLO TAXONOMY
Bloom SOLO
Teacher Student deals
with test
Exams
(no interaction)
Teacher don’t known about
students other abilities means
exam stress, exam fever.
Rote learning
Leaner
Teacher Students deal
with test
Exams
(interaction)
Teachers known about
students other abilities
Motivational learning
Circular
8. MAIN FIVE STAGES OF SOLO
TAXONOMY
Prestructural
Unistructural
Multistructural
Relational
Extended abstract
10. This is the first stage – where students
don’t really have any knowledge or
understanding of the topic being
studied. A student who is pre-structural
will usually respond with ‘I don’t
understand’
12. Moving on from pre-structural, students
who are unistructural have a limited
knowledge of the topic – they may just
know one isolated fact about the topic. So, a
typical response might be:
‘I have some understanding of this topic’
14. Progressing from unistructural to
multistructural simply means that the
student knows a few facts about this topic –
but is unable to link them together. So a
typical response might be ‘I know a few
things about this topic’ or ‘I have gathered
some information about this topic’.
16. With relational, we are starting to move towards
higher level thinking – students are able to link
together and explain several ideas around a
related topic.
So a typical student ‘relational response might be:
“ I can see the connections between the
information I have gathered’.
18. The final and most complex level is extended
abstract. With this, not only are students able to
link lots of related ideas together, but they can also
link these to other bigger ideas and concepts. So a
student response at this level might sound like:
‘By reflecting and evaluating on my learning, I
am able to look at the bigger picture and link lots
of different ideas together’.
20. USES OF SOLO TAXONOMY
It supports students to reflect on their own thinking.
It makes it easy to identify and use effective’s success
criteria.
It provides feedback and feedforward with regards to
learning outcomes.
It helps students to reflect meaningfully on what the
next steps in their learning are.
The diagrams provide a simple and easy to remember
staged approach for students, in terms of these next
steps.
21. SOLO STATION PROTOCOLE
Think carefully about which SOLO station you should
start at-the aim of the lesson is for you to have deeper
understanding of the topic and make progress, not to see
who finished first!
Move around in order (Prestructural, Unistructural,
Multistructural, Relational, Extended abstract) you can
start at any SOLO station though-see point 1
Read the first criteria for each SOLO station carefully
22. CONT………
Only move on when you feel confident enough
to move onto the next SOLO station (use the
success criteria at each stage to help you)-you
could always go back a station to secure your
understanding.
Make sure that you have spent time on the
reflection tables during the lesson and shared
your ideas.
23. ADVANTAGES OF SOLO TAXONOMY
SOLO is research/evidence based on structure of
student learning outcomes
SOLO is a theory about teaching and learning
SOLO is based on levels of ascending cognitive
complexity
SOLO has high inter-rater reliability - educators and
students tend to agree when moderating student work
against SOLO levels
SOLO levels can be communicated through text,
hand signs and symbols - across large and noisy
learning environments.
24. CONT………
SOLO allows task and outcome to be at different
levels
SOLO can be used to look at levels of declarative
knowledge and functioning knowledge including
metacognitive reflection. Kinds of knowledge
SOLO is brutally and blissfully simple and can be used
by students as young as five to look at their own
learning outcome and the learning outcomes of their
peers
25. REFRANCES:
ATHERTON, J. S. (2005) Learning and Teaching: SOLO taxonomy. [On-line] UK:
Available: [1] Accessed: 7 June 2007
Biggs, J. B. and Collis, K. (1982) Evaluating the Quality of Learning: the SOLO
taxonomy. New York, Academic Press
TEDI. Biggs’structure of the observed learning outcome (SOLO) taxonomy. [2]
Biggs, J. B. (1999). Teaching for quality learning at university. Open University
Press
Hook, P. (2012). Teaching and Learning: tales from the ampersand. In L. Rowan
and C. Bigum (Eds),Future Proofing Education: Transformative approaches to new
technologies and student diversity in futures oriented classrooms. Springer. p. 123
and 124
