Research
SOLO Taxonomy
for Deepening the
Learning Journey
Creating a sustainable depth
of knowledge in students is an
ongoing challenge in education.
Heather Clements highlights
the benefits of using a structure
of observed learning outcomes
(SOLO) to help students
progress with an increased level
of complexity and cognitive
challenges.
Volume 8.2 & 8.3 n Creative Teaching & Learning
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A
s an independent consultant I have the privilege of
observing lessons in a wide range of schools across all
ages and all subjects. This has given me a significant
insight into the challenges facing teachers today.
Faced with an ever-rising expectation of pupil outcomes and an
increasingly complex pupil cohort, teachers are having to work
harder than ever. However, that hard work has not consistently
resulted in sufficiently improved outcomes for pupils, particularly
in subjects where depth of understanding rather than acquisition
of knowledge is required.
Schools may be scoring highly in phonics or SPAG, where
knowledge acquisition is key, but less so in reading, where
depth of understanding and the ability to use higher order
thinking is required to achieve greater depth. Mathematical
knowledge and skills are learned but concepts are not always
retained, resulting in frequent revisiting to ensure that pupils
can apply their learning, with teachers expressing frustration
with situations where pupils could do something last term that
now eludes them.
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As with so much in education, these are dilemmas that have been facing
teachers for decades and we need to look to theoretical research into teaching
approaches that have been shown to have efficacy and in particular those that
focus on deepening understanding and securing knowledge. SOLO Taxonomy –
the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes – is a taxonomy that describes the
stages of learning and provides a conceptual structure that enables teachers to
plan for progressive learning – moving from shallow to deep learning as cited by
Hattie in his meta-analysis of interventions to raise achievement (Hattie, 2009).

Understanding Solo Taxonomy

The Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) describes levels of
progressive understanding, through five stages that are relevant to all subjects
and areas of learning. In SOLO, understanding is considered as an increase in
the number and complexity of connections students make as they progress
from ignorance to expertise. Each level is intended to encompass and exceed
the previous level. The SOLO taxonomy was created by carefully analysing
student responses to assessment tasks (Biggs and Collis, 1982; Collis and Biggs,
1986). In developing SOLO, Biggs and Collis took into account many factors that
affect student learning, such as students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions,
Volume 8.2 & 8.3 n Creative Teaching & Learning

motives and intentions regarding education, and their learning strategies. The
result is a view of learning that has both quantitative and qualitative dimensions
and applies to all ages and all subjects.
The first level of SOLO (pre-structural) is a stage of ignorance that exists
outside of the taxonomy. The next two stages (unistructural and multi-structural)
are both levels of surface understanding or quantitative knowledge, in which
knowledge is gained in greater quantity but does not result in depth of learning.
Depth comes with qualitative knowledge - how ideas are understood in
connection with other ideas. These connections enable the learner to move to
an increasing abstraction, so the last two levels of SOLO are identified by the
integration and connection of knowledge and by increased abstraction. Such
fundamental change is cognitively challenging but we need to understand that

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depth is not the same as difficulty – a confusion that means that teachers find
it difficult to pose higher order questions.
The pre-structural level precedes the learning cycle and is not always the
starting point for learners, some of whom may enter the learning cycle at
different levels – indeed as adults we are rarely pre-structural as we tend to
know a bit about most things drawn from our life experience.
The learning cycle in SOLO is the sequence of stages from unistructural
to relational, in which understanding grows and deepens with the aim that
students will leave the learning cycle with the ability to express their ideas in
the extended abstract. A student may find themselves in a different learning
cycle for each topic or theme that they are learning about, and in each of those
learning cycles they may be at a different level of SOLO. Even if a student has
reached the extended abstract level of understanding in a topic, they may revert
to a previous level when faced with new ideas or information.

Stage 1 – Pre-Structural
At the pre‐structural level students do not yet understand the knowledge they
are supposed to learn because they haven’t been taught it yet

Stage 2 – Unistructural
At the unistructural level students have learned an aspect of the whole and may
be able to make obvious connections, but the meaning, value and significance
of the idea may still be unclear to them or it is oversimplified.
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Stage 3 – Multi-structural
At the multi-structural stage students may recall several aspects of a whole but
the relationship of those parts to each other is not understood.
These quantitative levels represent surface learning and place demands
on students’ memories, increasing only the number of ideas that need to be
recalled. None of these stages requires students to understand the relationship
between ideas. While this is an essential part of learning, the problem is that
too often learning stops at these stages and is easily lost as the pupils have not
made links with prior learning or, in many cases, connected the ideas together.
Our understanding of how memory works would indicate that ideas need to
be contextualised in the brain in order to be retrievable – its like having a filing
system – we know where things are because we have placed them with other
things in the same category. It is unlikely that rehearsal alone will ensure that
knowledge and skills are embedded in the long-term memory, for example
through rote learning and drills which is shallow learning, because it does not
build the ability to apply learning nor does it contextualise it with other learning.
Engagement with the learning involves a more meaningful analysis and the use
of that learning in different ways to improve recall.

Stage 4 – Relational
At the relational level students can integrate ideas into a whole, recognise
relationships and connect ideas to each other. They may find relationships
between theory and practice and the significance of ideas is clearer to them.
Patterns are exposed and some students at this level may be able to use this
understanding to apply ideas to new situations. Students are beginning to move
beyond the concrete into the abstract

Stage 5 – Extended Abstract

At the extended abstract level students can organise, judge and generalise
the whole of their learning in order to use and adapt their knowledge in new
situations. They can make connections between different subjects and aspects
of learning, as well as the outside world, and use those connections to increase
their understanding. They are able to identify the underlying principles and
structures behind the ideas they have learned by integrating them with life
experience as they engage with the world.

These qualitative levels represent deep learning and the demand on students’
memories and attention spans is much higher. Ideas need to be remembered and
connected to each other and explained in some way. Relationships are essential
to both stages of deep learning – at the extended abstract level, students need
to be able to relate ideas beyond what they have already learned, generalising
to entirely new or hypothetical experiences.
Critical thinking only really begins at the relational level, as it requires students
to grasp the relationships between ideas in order to find similarities and
differences, spot inconsistencies, make judgments about reliability and accuracy,
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compare points of view and integrate evidence in order to infer principles to

inform their future thinking. This deep learning involves not only changes in how
we understand something, but also an ability to understand how others might
see things quite differently from ourselves.
This contextual understanding ensures that the filing system, our memory,
is used efficiently and effectively – we know where to put things because
we understand what else they relate to and in turn we can add to them as
we explore other links. We can store and retrieve our knowledge and thus
use and apply it.

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What does this look like in practice?

? state classify explain theorise

describe comment upon analyse generalise
compare reflect
apply evaluate

Seeking clarification Building ideas Adding, combining Identifying cause Commenting,

and evidencing and effect, contrast concluding, identifying
Work shows lack Work shows basic and similarities and anomalies and
of understanding of understanding but Work shows good sequencing exceptions, forecasting
the key concepts pupils are not linking understanding of and predicting,
covered in the their ideas together. the key learning, They can use the hypothesising
lesson. They can carry out they can explain key learning with
operations/ tasks how they have done confidence, explain They can use
but do not show an something and some how and why and apply the key
understanding of reasons but they they have done learning to new
why or how things are not using any something, give contexts, they can
work. prior knowledge and examples beyond link current learning
only giving limited their current work with past learning
examples. and are beginning to and a wider body of
be able to justify their knowledge. They are
ideas. able to fully explain
and justify their
thinking and predict
and hypothesise
with increasing
sophistication.

To move from To move from To move from multi- To move from To deepen
pre-structural to unistructural to multi- structural to relational relational to extended understanding in the
unistructural structural abstract extended abstract

Teachers need to: Teachers need to: Teachers need to: Teachers need to: Teachers need to:

• Test out and • Ensure individual • Give students • Give students • Give students
unpick any ideas are internalised opportunities to the opportunity extended
misunderstandings by frequent recalling. practice investigating to practice with opportunities to
with students. • Provide regular connections between synthesis and apply their learning
• Assess readiness opportunities for ideas, reasons evaluation to in different contexts
to take on new ideas students to practice for them, ways in develop a greater including real-world
Introduce new ideas using these ideas which they can understanding scenarios.
gradually. to explain things be organised and of relationships • Give students
• Provide more and make sense of explained relative to between ideas and extended
structure to enable information. each other. the reasons things opportunities to apply
them to deal with • Encourage • Provide are done a certain their learning in other
a range of new students to articulate opportunities to way. subjects.
information. their thinking and articulate their • Help students • Promote research
explore ideas with ideas and create to link theoretical new dimensions to
their teacher and a classroom learning to real life the learning.
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peers through guided environment where applications and • Encourage

discussions. taking risks and consider potential students to teach
getting things wrong or hypothetical others.
is the norm so that situations in
students are able to which their new
step outside their understanding could
comfort zone. be applied.

Start from where they are

In order to use SOLO effectively in the classroom, teachers need to take time
to familiarise pupils with the stages of learning through visual prompts and

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discussion about what the levels mean. It is important that SOLO levels are not
seen as judgmental but part of a continuum or learning journey. Whenever pupils
begin something completely new or look at something from a new perspective
they will be at a pre-structural or unistructural level, even if it is only for a short
while. Less able students may be able to operate in the extended abstract in
areas or learning because they have a specific interest in it. The focus should be
to enable teachers and pupils to have a clear understanding of ‘what we need
to do to achieve the next level’ as a class, a group or an individual.
We can use SOLO to describe the level of learning at which students enter
the cycle so teachers need to use probing questioning or ‘cold tasks’ to fully
understand students’ thinking and become aware of any misconceptions at
the outset. This establishes a baseline and ensures that formative assessment
becomes a means of learning, not simply a means of measuring. By sharing
these starting points with pupils and encouraging them to evaluate their own
levels, there is a shared impetus to move forward.

Build on what they know

Before embarking on a unit of work teachers also need to find ways to link new
learning to previously learned ideas and concepts to enable students to make
sense of and contextualise what they are learning. New learning that is linked
to an established understanding is more likely to stick!
It is a key part of the SOLO stages of learning that students acquire knowledge,
skills and understanding incrementally and in a structured way. The early stages
of SOLO require students to have a deep foundation of factual knowledge,
understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework and
organise knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application. To achieve
this, teachers should teach less subject matter but teach the topics they do cover
in greater depth, providing several examples in which the same concept is at
work, providing a firm foundation of factual knowledge. This requires teachers
to have good subject knowledge and skills in order to select the most significant
content and challenge students to achieve the highest levels of learning.

Set the destination

A key element of SOLO Taxonomy is the clarity of purpose – planning the
journey with the destination in mind. Constructive Alignment is a principle
used for devising teaching and learning activities, as well as assessment tasks,
that directly address the intended learning outcomes (Biggs and Tang, 2011).
According to Biggs, there are two basic concepts behind constructive alignment:
Learners construct meaning from what they do to learn and recognises the
importance of linking new material to concepts and experiences in the learner’s
memory, as well as to possible future contexts – connecting the learning,
andshowing the bigger picture.
The teacher makes a deliberate alignment between the planned learning
activities and the learning outcomes. This is a conscious effort to provide
the learner with a clearly defined goal, a well-designed learning activity that
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is appropriate for the task and well-designed assessment criteria for giving
feedback to the learner once they’ve completed that task.
In constructive alignment, Biggs explains, we start with the outcomes we want
students to learn, and then align teaching and assessment to those outcomes.
The outcome statements contain a learning activity, a verb, that students need
to perform in order to achieve the outcome, such as ‘apply’ or ‘explain’. In other
words, the verb tells students what relevant learning activities they need to
undertake in order to attain the intended learning outcome. The outcome needs
to be observable so that it can be assessed.
“Learning is constructed by what activities the students carry out and is about
what they do, not about what we teachers do,” writes Biggs on his website.
Assessment is about how well students achieve the intended outcomes, not

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about how well they report back to us what we have told them.
If we want students to achieve deep and sustainable learning, we need to
set ambitious learning outcomes which require them to develop and use higher
order learning skills and strategies and then set assessment tasks and activities
that enable them to demonstrate those skills and strategies.
While the notion of clear learning outcomes is well established, the writing
of learning outcomes is often a significant weakness, as it too often describes
what students will have done (task completion) or what has been taught rather
than what has been learned by the student and, even more frequently, it is not
something that can be observed. For example, how can we know if a student
understands something ? It is important that are able to demonstrate that
understanding in some way. Too often assessment tasks are devised as an
afterthought and they may not actually enable students to demonstrate their
level of learning.
If we encourage teachers to devote more time to thinking through the learning
outcomes they are seeking, contextualising them in a wider scheme of work and
other areas of learning, and drawing on the deeper levels of learning in SOLO,
then learning will be ambitious, relevant and purposeful with a measurable
outcome.
They should then consider how they will assess students’ achievement of
the learning outcome. By focusing on this it actually exposes unmeasurable
outcomes – if you can’t assess it, then it isn’t a good learning outcome.
Only once the learning intention and how the teacher will assess that
learning,have been identified should teachers plan the learning activities that
will enable pupils to acquire the knowledge and skills needed and apply them
in different ways.

Key points to remember

What is the context for the learning?
“Why are we learning about this, how will I use this knowledge and what else
does it link to?”

What is the intended learning outcome?

“Is it active and something I can observe so I will know when they have got it?”

What assessment task will demonstrate their learning?

“Does it demonstrate what they have learned and match the learning outcome
– not what they have done?”

What teaching and learning activities will enable them to move to the next level
of understanding?
“Do they enable learners to progress towards the assessment task – are they
progressive and increasingly challenging?”

Putting it in to practice
Volume 8.2 & 8.3 n Creative Teaching & Learning

In working with teachers over the last two years, this process of constructive
alignment has proven to be more challenging than it seems. Teachers are
predisposed to think about the learning activities first so flipping this takes some
willpower and perseverance. However, it has also resulted in some fundamental
changes in thinking.
For example, challenging why we are learning something and how it fits into a
wider body of knowledge has forced some teachers to reconsider the purpose
of much of their teaching – have you considered, for example, why we teach
different genres of writing beyond being able to reproduce the key features of
that genre at the end of a unit of work?
Making learning intentions active and observable has made teachers realise
that the extent to which pupils know and understand cannot be assessed – they

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need to do something to demonstrate that knowledge or understanding.
Planning how something will be assessed at the outset sharpens success
criteria and makes it overt and reciprocal – everyone knows how we are going to
check this. It has also led to teachers using a range of different assessment tools,
including low stakes testing and quizzes, structured tasks and peer assessment
and marking. Marking and feedback become more structured and focused.
When teachers look at learning activities from the perspective of – “does
it enable pupils to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to move to the
next level and achieve the learning objective” – time filling and routine activities
start to be questioned. The role of questioning and, in particular, higher order
questioning becomes more crucial as teachers seek to deepen pupils’ thinking
rather than completing tasks.

Overcoming the challenges

Questioning and feedback are two areas of particular challenge that have
emerged from my work with teachers that I believe will be addressed through
increasing familiarity with and understanding of the levels of learning in
SOLO. These are the two key tools needed to progress learning and deepen
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understanding. Used well they can stimulate thinking and enable pupils to make
ever widening links between different aspects of learning. Though they often
use similar language and have a shared purpose, it is useful to consider them
separately in the first instance.

Effective questioning
Effective questioning is, in my view, an intrinsic part of all teaching. It is the
basis of assessment for learning as well as a teaching and learning tool that
enables teachers to draw out existing knowledge and thinking and build new
knowledge through dialogue. By asking higher order questions, the teacher
promotes relational and abstract thinking. Good questioning builds ideas from
the simple to the complex. However, many teachers struggle with the concept

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of higher order questioning and increase the difficulty rather than the complexity
of the question.
Look at the two examples below:

Using closed, lower order questioning that get harder

Q1. 3.4 x 4.5 = Q2. 3.75 x 4.25= Q3. 32.75 x 43.25=

Or higher order questioning that becomes more complex

Q1. 3.4 x 4.5 = Q2. How did you work that out? Q3. Is there an
alternative way? Q4. Which is the most efficient method? Q5. If xx got a different
answer how can you check to see who is correct? Q6. Can you write a rule for
multiplying decimals?

The closed ended questions have a single correct answer, the increased
challenge comes from the use of bigger or more complicated numbers but once
you know the method you should be able to get them all right. If you don’t know
the method you can’t do any of them. From the initial question the higher order
questions require pupils to explain their method, seek alternatives, compare and
contrast and generalise. Even if you got the question wrong by working with
others you may be able to work out why and learn from the mistake.

SOLO questions
SOLO enables the teacher to move the questioning across the levels so they may
start with a factual question with a single answer, and move through multiple
answers to relational understanding and, ultimately, the extended abstract as
shown below.

Have you heard What does this How do these What evidence do Can you
this (word, idea) relate to that / ideas link you have to explain summarise the key
before? something you together? why ...? points?
have learned
before?
Can you find an Can you find more What are the What difference Can you generate
example in the than one example similarities / (does/did) this a rule for the use
text? in the (text, your differences make? of ...?
work)? between these?
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To develop their use of and understanding of the SOLO verbs and build a
repertoire of questions, teachers should routinely discuss questions as part of
planning. Teachers can then challenge and engage all pupils and enable them
to progress through the levels of understanding more effectively. This process,
along with the increased challenge, should be shared with pupils so that they
seek to improve the depth of their responses and challenge themselves to
demonstrate higher order thinking.

Effective feedback
Research would indicate that feedback is the aspect of teaching and learning that
has most impact on pupil progress. This is born out by both the EEF (2018) and
John Hattie (2009). However, to assume that all feedback is positive would be

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a mistake as some has no impact, while some has a negative impact. The key
challenge is to ensure that feedback has a positive impact on pupils’ work going
forward – that it enables pupils to improve their work and progress their learning.
Look at the two examples below:

A. Supportive and correctional feedback

Well done – you have written an interesting sports report. Correct the spellings
I have highlighted and write the opening sentence again to make it clearer.

The feedback does not explain why the opening sentence is unclear or explain
what interesting means.

B. Developmental feedback
Well done – you have included all the key features of a sports report that we
set out, however you have not linked the ideas together. Add an explanation of
how the changes at half time affected the match.

The feedback makes clear what the pupil did well (all the key features), why
they need to improve (linking ideas together – relational) and how they can do
that (cause and effect).

As with questioning by discussing and planning developmental feedback using

the SOLO verbs as a starting point, teachers can build a repertoire of marking
comments that progress learning through the SOLO levels. Some teachers
encourage pupils to use the SOLO verbs for self and peer marking by setting
out the success criteria at the outset. Teachers should ensure that pupils have
an opportunity to act on the feedback and then routinely check that they are
applying the learning in future work.
It is important to remember that although this example looks at written
feedback, verbal feedback is just as important and, in fact, may have more
impact since it allows pupils to correct their work as they go rather than receive
feedback on the finished piece. Additionally, verbal feedback can occur at multiple
levels within the classroom from whole class level – “Make sure you explain
why”, at a group level – “Compare your answers and see if you can explain
why you have different views on this”, to individual “To move to the next level
you need to justify your answer”.
Look at these examples for feedback on reading – the focus is on increasing
levels of understanding.

Tell me what XX Explain what Describe the key Explain how the Explain how the
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says/does when happened when points in the story writer has built up writer has created
XX happens the tension in the a sense of place
story

Tell me why the Describe how the Compare this book Can you: Describe the style
title and picture book’s cover helps with other books Compare the of writing of your
on the front of the you select a book you have read in features of two favourite author
book are important to read this genre explain contrasting genres
in what ways they of fiction – explain
are similar and in which one you
what ways they prefer and why
are different

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Implementing change Heather Clements is a former Head

The road to improving teaching and learning is paved with Teacher and Children’s Services Director
failed initiatives and ways of working that when they started and is the author of the What Is Good
seemed to be a panacea for all ills, so I am not recommending Teaching and Sustainable Leadership
that schools adopt SOLO taxonomy wholesale and with a big Programmes.
bang but rather that they take on board the inarguable truth of
how we learn that it describes. That teachers work together
and use the language of SOLO to ensure that:

■■Learning is seen as a journey to ever deeper understanding

that pupils own and understand
■■Learning is contextualised into a wider body of knowledge,
References
past and future learning and the real world
■■Learning is aligned so that there is a clear and measurable Biggs, J., & Collis, K.F. (1982). Evaluating
progression from learning intention to the assessment task the quality of learning: The Solo
or process Taxonomy (Structure of Observed
■■Learning is progressive, moving from simplistic to complex Learning Outcomes). New York:
Academic Press.
and abstract Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching
■■Learning is deepened by the use of increasingly and for quality learning at university.
Volume 8.2 & 8.3 n Creative Teaching & Learning

progressively higher order questioning Berkshire: OUP McGraw-Hill

■■Learning is refined by the use of precise and developmental Education
feedback Collis, K.F. & Biggs, J. (1986). Using
the Solo Taxonomy. Set: Research
Information for Teachers, 2(4).
The ideas set out in this article are just a starting point – EEF. (2018). Teaching & Learning Toolkit
understanding and using SOLO Taxonomy in the classroom Feedback (31st January).
is not a quick fix. It requires time and effort and it needs to Hattie, J. A. (2009). Visible learning.
be used consistently to be effective. However, it is worth the London: Routledge.
John Biggs. Website, JohnBiggs.com.au.
effort – where it is used well pupils’ learning is deeper and more
sustainable, and there is a sense of empowerment as pupils
can see for themselves where the learning journey is heading
and set out on that path with confidence.

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