A General Look at SOLO TAXONOMY (S.O.L.O) Taxonomy. Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome Aimed at middle grade students: Year 9, 10. Pages are animated so download is required in order to view that.

2. Level: Prestructual
NO IDEA
Level: Unistructual
ONE IDEA
Level: Multistructual
SEVERAL IDEAS
Level: Relational
‘THE BIG PICTURE’
Level: Abstract
EXTENDED (NEW) IDEAS
- S.O.L.O. Taxonomy -

3. LEVEL: Prestructural
NO IDEA
needs help to start
Noun: Prestructure
Adjective: Prestructural
PRE STRUCTURE
Prefix:
‘before’
Noun:
‘build’
Typical response:
‘I don’t understand’

4. LEVEL: Unistructural
ONE IDEA
scratching of surface knowledge
Noun: Unistructure
Adjective: Unistructural
UNI STRUCTURE
Prefix:
‘one’
Noun:
‘build’
Typical response:
‘I have some
understanding of
this topic’

5. LEVEL: Multistructual
SEVERAL IDEAS
further scratching of surface knowledge
Noun: Multistructure
Adjective: Multistructural
MULTI STRUCTURE
Prefix:
‘many’
Noun:
‘build’
Typical response:
‘I know a few things
about this topic.’

6. LEVEL: Relational
THE BIG PICTURE
finding connection(s) and deep knowledge
Verb: Relate………
Adjective: Relational….
Noun: Relationship(s)
Typical response:
‘I can see the connections between
the information I have gathered.’

7. LEVEL: Abstract
EXTENDED [NEW] IDEAS
conceptual knowledge
Noun: Concept…….
Adjective: Conceptual..
Typical response:
‘By reflecting
and
evaluating on
my learning, I
am able to
look at the
bigger picture
and link lots
of different
ideas together.’

8. - acronym –
“A word formed from the first letters
of other words.”
- The Science of Classification –
from the Greek: ‘taxis’ = “arrangement” &
‘nomos’ = “law; order; manage”
Outcomes
Learning
Structure of the
Observed
“SOLO Taxonomy provides a simple and robust way
of describing how learning outcomes grow
in complexity from SURFACE to DEEP understanding.”
Biggs & Collis 1982
A classification of
settlements according
to their size.

9. - A Model of Learning -
No idea
(prestructual level)
One idea
(unistructural l level)
Several ideas
(multistructual level)
(getting to the) BIG PICTURE
(Relational level)
Extended (new) ideas
([Extended] Abstract level)
Deep Knowledge
(Understanding: Big Picture)
Surface Knowledge
(Understanding: one & several ideas)
Conceptual Knowledge
(Understanding: extended (new) ideas)
Sorts out
‘a Learning Outcome’
into one of three (3) levels of
KNOWLEDGE:
A student’s UNDERSTANDING
of ‘a Learning Outcome’
may be pinpointed at any of five (5)
levels of complexity:

10. Class Teaching: Using SOLO Taxonomy to Develop Student Thinking & Learning
SOLO Taxonomy: Essential Resources
SOLO Taxonomy: Pam Hook: Hooked