An inquiry on Solo

Ignition: L@S

Knowledge attack: What did know already ?

Wonderings:

Defining Solo

How else could we use solo?

How would it fit with what we are already doing?

Ess Q: How would using Solo enhance or add to student outcomes?

Sub Qs: How is Solo used as a tool for assessment?

In what ways can it be used as an assessment tool other than using it as a basis for our rubric?

How is it used as a tool for improving questioning and learning outcomes?

Hypothesized:

Consider: Processing and Communicating effectively

Research Plan: You tube, slideshare, wikispaces, google, handouts.

Discovery:

Processed info

Draft presentation - Mary - discussion, tested my knowledge

Communication: Staff meeting

Action: To facilitate a think tank on Solo!

Solo TaxonomyStructure of the Observed Learning Outcome

It was developed by Biggs and Collis (1982). Biggs describes SOLO as “a framework for understanding”. (1999, p.37)

SOLO taxonomy offers a way of describing the growing complexity of a learner’s activity.

It can be used in two ways:

• To set learning objectives appropriate to where a student should be at a particular stage of their program.

• To assess the learning outcomes attained by each student.

What is SOLO?SOLO identifies five stages of understanding. Each stage embraces the previous level but adds something more.

.

Level of Understanding: Pre -Structural

No understanding demonstrated and approach involves acquiring disconnected bits of information. Student misses the point.

Why?• The point hasn’t been understood

• The task has not been worked on in an appropriate way

• A too simple way of going about something has been used

• Bits without any organisation or sense

• Irrelevant information

• No meaningful response

• May appear to be learning, but just ‘chanting’

• No understanding

Level of understanding: Uni- structural

Students make simple and obvious connections between pieces of information but broader significance is not understood. Indicative verbs: identify, memorise, do simple procedure

Why?

• One aspect of a task is picked up and used

• Maybe a simple, obvious connection but no significance

• Only focuses on one relevant aspect

• Terms may be used but are not developed further in any way

• Focuses on one issue in a complex case

Level of understanding: Multi-structual

A number of connections are made, but the significance of the whole is not determined. Ideas and concepts around an issue are disorganised and aren’t related together.

Indicative verbs: enumerate, classify, describe, list, combine, do alogorithms.

Why?• several aspects of a tasked picked up and used, but not linked

• aspects of a task are treated independently and additively

• aspects like a disorganised list with no relationships recognised

• a number of statements that are not built on in any way

• if there are connections they are very simple

• the significance of statements as a whole is not grasped

• described by Biggs as “seeing the trees but not the wood”• telling,’ ‘cut and paste

enumerate, classify, describe, list, combine, do algorithms

Level of understanding: Relational

The students sees the significance of how the various pieces of information relate to one another.

Student can indicate connection between facts and theory, action and purpose.

Students show understanding of how the parts contribute to the whole.

Indicative verbs: compare/contrast, explain causes, integrate, analyse, relate, apply.

• integration of ideas/aspects of the task into a coherent whole

• this is usually seen to be an adequate understanding of a topic

• significance of the parts in relation to the whole is recognised

• several parts are integrated into a coherent whole

• details link to conclusions• able to apply a concept to a familiar situation

compare/contrast, explain causes, analyse, relate, apply

Level of understanding: Extended abstract

The ‘through the roof’ notion of the Three Story Intellect model.

•Connections are made not only within a topic, but beyond it.

•There is transfer from the specific to the general.

•Generalisations are made beyond the information given.

•New and broader issues are identified.

The Relational level at a higher level of abstraction.

Indicative verbs: Theorise, generalise, hypothesise, reflect, generate

Examples of different performancesImagine the essay topic: Discuss the influences of nature and nurture on the development of children’s ethical systems.

A pre-structural response might, for example, say something along the lines of “Children are well known to develop ethical systems when they are young. Such systems affect the way they behave. Nature is about flowers and animals and theworld around us. Parents, including most animals, nurture their offspring when the offspring are too weak or inexperienced to cope with the world unaided” and so on (a ‘brain dump’ stimulated by the words in the question is one example of a pre-structural response).

A uni-structural response might outline the influence of nature (genetic inheritance etc) on the development of a child’s ethical system, or it might simply define and accurately describe ethical systems.

A multi-structural response might outline the influences of both factors, but never bring together and balance their influences.

A relational response will answer the question, describing the influences, their interaction and their balance

An extended abstract response would cover the ground of the relational response, but then might, for example, go on to set this in the context of various theories of child development, or of ethical systems.

Surface and deep thinking

Unistructural and multistructural questions test students’ surface thinking (lower-order thinking skills)

Relational and extended abstract questions test deep thinking (higher-order thinking skills)

Use of SOLO allows us to balance the cognitive demand of the questions we ask and to scaffold students into deeper thinking and metacognition

Questions that foster a level of thinking.

Implications for us as teachersHow can teachers use solo for questioning?

Uni-structural questions

To answer the question students need the knowledge or use of only one piece of given information, fact, or idea, that they can get directly from the problem.

Unistructural example

Multi-structural questions

Students need to know or use more than one piece of given information, fact, or idea, to answer the question, but do not integrate the ideas.

This is fundamentally an unsorted, unorganised list.

Multistructural example

Note that a student may choose to answer this by measuring one side of the arrow and multiplying by 2 which shows relational thinking. However the question does not require them to do this so we cannot expect them to use this strategy.

Relational questions

These questions require students to integrate more than one piece of given knowledge, information, fact, or idea.

At least two separate ideas are required that, working together, will solve the problem.

Relational example

At the school swimming sports four children completed in the fifty metres freestyle heat.

Joe came first with a time of 40.395 seconds.

Mary came second, Sam came third and David came fourth.

In the next heat, Jan finished with a time of a second slower than Joe.

What was her time? ____________

Note: this is a relational question because students have to integrate and apply a range of information. They also need to realise that going slower means adding time.

Extended abstract questions

These questions involve a higher level of abstraction. The items require the student to go beyond the given information, knowledge, information, or ideas and to deduce a more general rule or proof that applies to all cases.

Extended abstract example

An answer requires the explicit expression of understanding of a general principle that applies beyond the specifics of this particular situation. Students need to ‘go beyond the given’

Assessment tasks and SOLO levels

What is the anatomical name for the kneecap?andList four species of mosquito.

List four species of mosquito commonly found in tropical areas and outline themain health risk created by each of them.

List four species of mosquito commonly found in tropical areas and discuss their(relative) importance in public health programs.

Discuss how you might judge the relative importance of similar threats to publichealth; in your discussion use various species of tropical mosquito as examples.

How can I create deeper questions?

• Take a unistructural question - ask for a list of 2 or more things = Multistructual

• Take a Multistructural question- put the list of things into the question -ask what they have in common = relational question

• Take a Relational question - ask what class of event, personality, situation, rule, etc. applies?

• Generate list of possible wrong answers to go with correct answer to create a multi-choice question =Extended abstract question.

Algebra: Patterns in

number

Given:House 1 2 3

Sticks 5 9

How many sticks are needed for 3 houses? (unistructural)How many sticks are there for 5 houses? (multistructural) If 52 houses require 209 sticks, how many sticks do you need to be able to make 53 houses?

(relational) Make up a rule to count how many sticks are needed for any number of houses.

(extended abstract)

Try it out

In a curriculum area, take a unistructural question and develop it into a:

multistructural

relational and

extended abstract question

Some things to think about

Response versus requirement

A question must be phrased in such a way as to gain the type of response required.

Deep thinking and difficulty

Questions that are hard and require long responses do not necessarily require students to think deeply

Deep thinking and learning

Deep thinking can be a given if it becomes a learned response

Today’s extended abstract question can become tomorrow’s relational question.

Both ‘surface’ and ‘deep’ questions are needed: one is not better than the other

Some examples:Q What is a tappet? (unistructural and technically hard)A A cylindrical component that transmits motion from the cam to the

valve stem. (relational and technically hard)

Q What is most important in a car: grunt, looks, safety, or economy? And why? (extended abstract but easy)

A Grunt and looks (multistructural but easy)

Using Solo for determining LO’s

Hard? - By and large it’s already what we are doing.

So when would it be useful to use Solo?

Teachers eliciting deeper thinking through the type of questions they ask?

To move students who predominately ask one type of question to a higher level of questioning?

For student’s to self/peer assess their level of thinking through their knowledge presentation at the draft stage?

How does this fit with Fogarty’s ? Can we/do we need, to keep both?

How could this look in the juniors? At the draft presentation stage instead of coming up with a whole class answer, chn could do this invidually - thus providing them/us with something to assess their level of thinking. Thinking maps may be used as a way of displaying their understanding which could be done in pairs or individually.

Solo v Fogarty’s ?

and ?

or ?

Do we use Fogarty’s for questioning/assessment or both?

Could we use Solo as well instead?

References

Hattie, J.A.C., & Brown, G.T.L. (2004, September). Cognitive processes in asTTle: The SOLO taxonomy. asTTle Technical Report #43, University of Auckland/Ministry of Education.Available at http://www.tki.org.nz/r/asttle/pdf/technical-reports/techreport43.pdf

Biggs, J.B. (1999). Teaching for Quality Learning at University. Buckingham: SRHE/Open University Press.

Biggs, J.B., & Collis, K.F. (1982). Evaluating the Quality of Learning: the SOLO taxonomy New York: Academic Press.

Coley Street School Hearts

HeartOur GoalsThinking

•Our children will demonstrate persistence in their thinking•They will be critical, creative and innovative thinkers.•They will use models, maps and tools to demonstrate their thinking.•They will evaluate, challenge and extend their thoughts.•They will be able to problem solve, draw on personal experience and make links in their thinking.

Striving•Our children will demonstrate a ‘have a go’ attitude.•They will accept new challenges and persist to meet these challenges.•They will be confident and positive in their learning, set personal goals, plan their actions, reflect upon their success and on how they would improve their performance next time.•They will be, resilient, self -motivated and responsible for themselves and their actions.•They will be able to interpret and use words, numbers and images.•They will use ICT to access and communicate information and ideas.

Proud•Our children will be active members of local, national and global communities. •They will celebrate the successes of themselves and others.•They will demonstrate knowledge of themselves and know how they fit in their learning community.•They will be honest, trustworthy, and responsible members of our community.

Caring•Our children will be friendly, supportive and compassionate.•They will celebrate diversity, be tolerant and considerate of others, and have a sense of community.•They will demonstrate respect for themselves, others, property and environment.•They will be able to respond appropriately when working in a group.