Deep level learning with the Solo Taxonomy

I am so passionate about ensuring that ALL students in every classroom have the opportunity to become deep level learners. Many teachers ask, 'What does deep level learning look like?'  I believe that this is the most effective learning framework that has been developed to ensure that students move from surface level to deep level learning. The SOLO Taxonomy provides a common language of learning for students to share with their teachers and peers. Students and teachers are able to use the framework to know where they are, know what success (deep level learning) looks likes and how they can achieve this. 

The verbs that can be linked to each level of the taxonomy assist teachers in planning for deep level learning, assessing for deep level learning and articulating this with students and parents who can also share in the language of learning with SOLO. 

A number of frameworks and classification systems to categorise questioning levels have been developed or adjusted for use ion the classroom. Bloom’s Taxonomy, a classification system developed in 1956, categorizes intellectual skills and behaviour important to learning into six levels: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, with sophistication growing from basic knowledge-recall skills to the highest level of evaluation. While Bloom's Taxonomy has facilitated evaluating the level of teacher questions there has been little research to support the hierarchy and value of the Bloom model and does not hold together well from logical or empirical perspectives (Hattie & Purdie, 1998; Marzano, 2014). The Taxonomy mixes outcomes (knowledge, comprehension), ways of thinking (analysis and synthesis), and evaluation, which can occur at each of the previous five levels.

An alternative taxonomy with a greater corpus of research support is the SOLO Taxonomy (Structure of the Observed Learning Outcomes) developed by Biggs and Collis (1982). This taxonomy will be used in the current research. The SOLO Taxonomy allows students to engage in active and collaborative dialogue within five different levels of thinking. The five levels are; Pre-structural, Uni-structural, Multi-structural, Relational and Extended Abstract.

Pre-structural, the first level where the student have no prior knowledge or understanding they are able to demonstrate, Uni-structural is the second level, but is where the student has one idea about the subject and can perform single tasks. The students are able to articulate one piece of information in isolation. In this surface level, teachers have asked students to identify a single idea. Multi-structural is the third level, where the student can understand several components but the significance of the whole is not determined. Ideas and concepts around an issue at this stage are not related together. This is the level of thinking whereby the teacher is asking their students to, describe, list, combine, summarise. In the fourth level, Relational, students have indicated connections between facts and theory, action and purpose. Students in this level are able to shows an understanding of several components, which are, integrated conceptually showing understanding of how the parts contribute to the whole. Teachers in this level are asking students to compare and contrast, explain causes, analyse, relate, and organise and justify, this is the first level of understanding that moves students from surface level understandings to deeper level, conceptual understandings. The final level is Extended Abstract, where the student conceptualises at a level extending beyond what has been explicitly taught. This deep level of understanding is transferable and generalizable to different areas of learning. Teachers at this level can ask the students to evaluate, theorise, generalise, hypothesise, reflect, generate, prove, compose, design and construct maximise learning and understanding.

Furthermore, the challenges for teachers are to ensure that students are knowledgeable and also be taught how to develop deeper understandings and questions through critical analysis. Students, it is commonly claimed, need to become innovators, problem solvers and consider issues from multiple perspectives. Teachers need to create learning environments whereby students move past surface level understandings and become ‘deep sea divers’ and develop deep understandings that they can transfer understandings and skills taught. Hattie, (2012) referred to these as surface, deep or conceptual understandings with students developing multiple learning strategies and a desire to master learning, and willing to take risks enjoy the challenges of learning. He stated that, “students must learn how to have respect for themselves and others, develop into citizens who have challenging minds and a disposition to become active, competent, and thoughtfully critical participants in our complex world.” (Hattie, 2012) For student’s to achieve these outcomes, Hattie (2012) argued that teachers must set “challenging goals, rather than ‘do your best’ goals”, inviting students to engage in these challenges and commit to achieving these goals.

 Teachers are able to teach and develop critical thinking skills that allow students to experience the process of discovery. Careful planning about how this can happen in a positive, open minded way means a shift in mindset for many teachers to find themselves seeing through the eyes of the student (Hattie, 2012). Students are the able to have many opportunities to be actively involved in classroom discourse, taking risks and being open to deep level learning opportunities, questioning and importantly making mistakes so that they can adapt and learn. Active dialogue is most effective when this can be done together collaboratively. 

The SOLO Taxonomy is a BRILLIANT framework! I love it! I love working with teachers in developing the framework- Give it a try!! Contact me directly for more articles/support or questions on how it can be used effectively from ELC-Year 12. The teachers at Westbourne Grammar in Victoria, Australia, have been using the Taxonomy as part of the teaching and learning toolkit for almost 2 years. It has been the most wonderful journey of deep level pedagogy with enormous benefits for students from the early years through to their final years of schooling.

Sophie Murphy

Educational Researcher - PhD candidate, Supervised by John Hattie

ELC-12 Director of Learning Potential- Westbourne Grammar School

[email protected]