By providing a clear progression of

Solo taxonomy
understanding, SOLO Taxonomy enables
I. Introduction educators to scaffold learning experiences
effectively, guiding students from surface to
The Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes
deep learning. It also offers a valuable tool for
(SOLO) Taxonomy, developed by John Biggs
formative assessment, allowing teachers to
and Kevin Collis in 1982, represents a
identify gaps in understanding and adjust their
significant advancement in the field of
instruction accordingly (Hattie, 2012). As
educational assessment and curriculum design.
education systems worldwide increasingly
This model offers educators a nuanced
emphasize the development of critical thinking
framework for understanding and evaluating
and problem-solving skills, the SOLO
the depth of student learning, moving beyond
Taxonomy remains a relevant and powerful
simplistic notions of right or wrong answers
framework for promoting and assessing these
(Biggs & Collis, 1982). At its core, SOLO
crucial competencies.
Taxonomy describes five levels of increasing
complexity in student understanding: When to use SOLO Taxonomy?
Prestructural, Unistructural, Multistructural,
• Designing learning experiences - to ensure
Relational, and Extended Abstract. These levels
that intended learning outcomes are clear,
provide a systematic way to describe how a
accessible and can demonstrate learning
learner's performance grows in complexity
growth.
when mastering academic tasks, ranging from
• Assessing individual learner’s growth by
incompetence to expertise (Hattie & Brown,
tuning into the signals of learning they
2004).
produce.
• Discussing with learners and providing
formative assessment through feedback and
The SOLO Taxonomy's strength lies in its
feedforward; it provides a common
versatility and applicability across different
language.
subjects and educational levels. It allows
• Noticing signals of learning which were not
educators to assess the quality of learning
intended in the learning design but are
outcomes and design curriculum that
valuable to capture and explore with the
progressively develops higher-order thinking
learner.
skills. Unlike Bloom's Taxonomy, which focuses
on the nature of thinking processes, SOLO
emphasizes the structural organization of
II. The Five Levels of SOLO Taxonomy
knowledge, making it particularly useful for
constructive alignment in course design (Biggs 1. Prestructural
& Tang, 2011). This approach aligns learning
At this level, the learner is missing the point or
objectives, teaching methods, and assessment
using irrelevant information.
tasks to create a coherent educational
experience that promotes deep learning. - No understanding demonstrated

- Use of irrelevant information or no

meaningful response
Research has shown that the SOLO Taxonomy
can enhance both teaching and learning - Avoidance of the question
processes. For instance, a study by Chan et al.
(2002) demonstrated that using SOLO-based Typical verbs: Misses point
assessment criteria improved students' Examples
problem-solving skills and metacognitive
awareness. Moreover, Rembach and Dison a) Mathematics
(2016) found that incorporating SOLO into Question: "Solve the equation 2x + 5 = 13"
feedback practices helped students understand
their current level of performance and set clear Prestructural response: "I don't like algebra.
goals for improvement. Can we do geometry instead?"

b) History
Question: "What were the main causes of Teaching strategy - Introduce concepts one at
World War I?" a time. Use clear examples and practice
exercises focusing on individual elements
Prestructural response: "Wars are bad and
before combining them.
shouldn't happen."

d) Biology:
3. Multistructural
Question "Describe the process of
photosynthesis." At this stage, learners can identify several
relevant aspects, but these are understood
Prestructural response: "Plants are green and
independently of each other.
grow in gardens."
- Can list multiple relevant facts or features

- Information is treated as separate and

Teaching strategy - Identify knowledge gaps
unrelated
and provide foundational information. Use
scaffolding to guide students towards relevant - Quantity of knowledge increases, but quality
concepts. of understanding remains limited

Typical verbs: Describe, List, Combine, Do

algorithms
2. Unistructural
Examples
The learner focuses on a single relevant aspect.
a) Chemistry
- Can identify and use one relevant piece of
information Question: "Describe the properties of metals."

- Understanding is limited to a single point or Multistructural response: "Metals are shiny.

perspective They conduct electricity. They can be molded
into shapes. They make a ringing sound when
- Responses are often brief and
struck."
straightforward
b) Art History
Typical verbs: Identify, Name, Follow a simple
procedure Question: "Analyze the characteristics of the
Renaissance period."
Examples
Multistructural response: "The Renaissance
a. Literature
featured realistic paintings, an interest in
Question: "Analyze the themes in ancient Greek and Roman culture, and the use
Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'." of perspective in art. Many famous artists like
Leonardo da Vinci lived during this time."
Unistructural response: "The play is about
love." c) Environmental Science

b) Physics Question: "Explain the impacts of

deforestation."
Question: "Explain Newton's laws of motion."
Multistructural response: "Deforestation leads
Unistructural response: "An object in motion
to loss of habitat for animals. It also increases
stays in motion."
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
c) Geography Deforestation can cause soil

Question: "Discuss the factors affecting climate

change."
Teaching strategy - Use graphic organizers to
Unistructural response: "Carbon dioxide causes help students visualize different aspects of a
global warming." topic. Encourage comparison of multiple
elements without yet focusing on their
relationships.
4. Relational Question: "Compare and contrast Object-
Oriented Programming (OOP) and Functional
Learners can integrate various aspects into a
Programming."
coherent whole, understanding how different
elements relate to and affect each other. Relational response: "Object-Oriented
Programming and Functional Programming are
- Can explain relationships between different
two different paradigms with distinct
aspects
approaches to structuring code. OOP focuses
- Ability to see the "big picture" emerges on creating objects that encapsulate data and
behavior, promoting concepts like inheritance
- Can apply knowledge to familiar problems or
and polymorphism. This can lead to code that
situations
models real-world entities well. Functional
Typical verbs: Analyze, Compare/Contrast, Programming, on the other hand, emphasizes
Explain causes, Apply to a familiar context immutable data and pure functions, which can
result in more predictable and easier-to-test
Examples code. While OOP is often used for complex
a) Economics systems with many interacting parts, Functional
Programming shines in scenarios requiring
Question: "How does inflation affect an parallel processing and mathematical
economy?" computations. The choice between them often
Relational response: "Inflation affects an depends on the specific requirements of a
economy in multiple interconnected ways. As project, with some modern languages allowing
prices rise, the purchasing power of money a hybrid approach that leverages the strengths
decreases, which can lead to reduced consumer of both paradigms."
spending. This, in turn, might slow economic
growth. However, moderate inflation can also
stimulate spending and investment as people Teaching strategy - Use case studies and
seek to buy goods before prices increase problem-based learning. Encourage students to
further. Central banks often adjust interest draw connections between concepts. Introduce
rates in response to inflation, which then systems thinking approaches.
impacts borrowing, saving, and investment
behaviors across the economy."
5. Extended Abstract
b) Psychology
This is the highest level, where learners can
Question: "Explain how nature and nurture generalize their understanding to new domains
contribute to personality development." and create new knowledge.
Relational response: "Personality development - Can theorize, generalize, and create
is a complex interplay between genetic hypotheses
predispositions (nature) and environmental
influences (nurture). Our genes provide a - Ability to transfer knowledge to unfamiliar
blueprint for potential traits, but how these situations
traits are expressed depends greatly on our
- Can question basic assumptions and think
experiences, upbringing, and cultural context.
"outside the box"
For example, a person may have a genetic
tendency towards introversion, but supportive Typical verbs: Theorize, Generalize,
parenting and positive social experiences could Hypothesize, Reflect, Create
help them develop strong social skills, resulting
Example
in a more balanced personality. This interaction
between nature and nurture is ongoing a) Political Science
throughout life, with each factor continually
Question: "Assess the future of democracy in
influencing the other."
the digital age."
c) Computer Science
Extended Abstract response: "The digital age
presents both opportunities and challenges for
democracy. On one hand, digital technologies
offer unprecedented access to information and thinking. When designing a course or unit,
platforms for civic engagement, potentially educators can use SOLO to create a learning
leading to more informed and participatory progression that moves students from surface
democracies. Social media and online forums to deep understanding. This involves crafting
can facilitate grassroots movements and give learning objectives that target specific SOLO
voice to marginalized groups. However, these levels, ensuring that by the end of the course,
same technologies also pose threats through students are engaging with content at the
misinformation, echo chambers, and potential relational or extended abstract levels. For
manipulation of public opinion. instance, early in a unit, objectives might focus
on unistructural and multistructural outcomes
Looking ahead, we might envision new forms of
(e.g., identifying and listing key concepts), while
digital democracy emerging. For instance,
later objectives push students towards
blockchain technology could enable secure and
relational and extended abstract thinking (e.g.,
transparent voting systems, potentially
analyzing relationships between concepts or
increasing participation and trust in electoral
theorizing new applications).
processes. Artificial Intelligence could be
employed to analyze vast amounts of public
opinion data, leading to more responsive
2. Assessment Creation
governance.
SOLO Taxonomy offers a valuable tool for
Yet, these advancements raise new ethical creating assessments that accurately measure
questions. How do we balance privacy rights the depth of student understanding. By crafting
with the need for open information in a questions that target different SOLO levels,
democracy? How can we ensure equal access educators can gain a nuanced picture of
to digital platforms to prevent a new form of student learning. For example, unistructural
disenfranchisement? questions might ask students to "Name one
factor..." while extended abstract questions
Moreover, the global nature of the internet may
could prompt students to "Theorize how this
challenge traditional notions of national
principle might apply in a different field." This
sovereignty and lead to new forms of
approach allows for a mix of lower and higher-
transnational democratic institutions. This could
order thinking tasks within a single assessment,
potentially address global issues like climate
providing a comprehensive evaluation of
change more effectively, but also raises
student knowledge and skills. Moreover, using
questions about cultural differences in
SOLO to structure assessment questions can
democratic values.
help ensure constructive alignment between
In conclusion, the future of democracy in the learning objectives, teaching methods, and
digital age will likely involve a reimagining of assessment tasks, creating a more coherent
democratic processes and institutions, requiring learning experience for students.
ongoing adaptation and ethical consideration to
harness the benefits of technology while
mitigating its risks." 3. Providing Feedback
The SOLO Taxonomy can significantly
enhance the quality and specificity of feedback
Teaching strategy - Assign open-ended provided to students. By identifying the SOLO
projects that require synthesis of knowledge level of a student's response, educators can
from multiple domains. Encourage creative offer targeted guidance on how to move to the
problem-solving and critiquing of existing next level of understanding. This process
theories. involves more than simply marking answers as
correct or incorrect; instead, it focuses on the
structural complexity of the response. For
III. Implementing SOLO in Teaching and instance, if a student provides a multistructural
Assessment response (listing several relevant points without
integration), feedback might guide them
1. Curriculum Design towards making connections between these
The SOLO Taxonomy provides a robust points to reach a relational level of
framework for structuring curriculum in a way understanding. This approach to feedback not
that promotes deeper learning and critical
only helps students understand their current deeper understanding and critical thinking skills
level of performance but also provides clear but also provides teachers with a clear
directions for improvement, fostering a growth framework for monitoring and fostering
mindset and encouraging deeper engagement student progress throughout the learning
with the material. process.

4. Promoting Metacognition
Introducing students to the SOLO Taxonomy
can be a powerful way to develop their
metacognitive skills. By teaching students
about the different levels of understanding,
educators can help them become more aware
of their own learning processes. This awareness
allows students to self-assess their current level
of understanding and set goals for reaching
higher levels. For example, students might be
encouraged to reflect on their responses to
questions or assignments, identifying which
SOLO level they've achieved and considering
how they could deepen their understanding.
This metacognitive approach empowers
students to take greater ownership of their
learning, helping them become more self-
directed and effective learners.

5. Differentiated Instruction
The SOLO Taxonomy provides a framework
for differentiated instruction, allowing
educators to meet the diverse needs of learners
in their classrooms. By using SOLO to assess
students' current levels of understanding,
teachers can provide appropriate challenges for
students at different levels. This might involve
creating tiered assignments that allow students
to engage with the material at their current
SOLO level while also providing opportunities
to stretch to the next level. For instance, in a
history class studying World War II, some
students might be working on identifying key
events (unistructural/multistructural), while
others are analyzing the relationships between
these events (relational), and still others are
theorizing about how the war might have
unfolded differently under alternative
circumstances (extended abstract). This
approach ensures that all students are
appropriately challenged and supported in their
learning journey.

By integrating the SOLO Taxonomy into these

various aspects of teaching and assessment,
educators can create a more structured,
intentional, and effective learning environment.
This approach not only helps students develop