Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes

1. SOLO Taxonomy
HINA JALAL (PHD SCHOLAR GCUF)

2. Learning outcomes are statements that indicate what students will know, value or be able to do by the
end of the course.
They are the assessable ends of education, written from the students’ perspective, focused on what
students can expect to achieve if they have learned successfully. In order to be assessable, they must
specify things that can be observed, that are public, and not activities or states that are internal to
students’ minds.
Every learning outcome follows a stem, such as:
“On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:”
What is a Learning Outcome?

3. Biggs and Collins (1982) developed the SOLO taxonomy as a systematic way of describing how a
learner’s performance grows in complexity when mastering tasks. The SOLO taxonomy classifies
understanding into five (5) levels:
1. Prestructural: at this level the learner is missing the point
2. Unistructural: a response based on a single point.
3. Multistructural: a response with multiple unrelated points.
4. Relational: points presented in a logically related answer.
5. Extended abstract: demonstrating an abstract and deep understanding through unexpected
extension.
SOLO (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes)
John B. Biggs and Kevin F. Collis. (1982)