The SOLO Taxonomy

Dr. Ida Ah Chee Mok

MEDD 7102
Pedagogical frameworks for mathematics, science
and related subjects

1
 Outline
SOLO Taxonomy
– The framework,
– Diagnostic instrument
– Research and Teaching

2
 Piagetian Developmental base
stages with minimal age
• Pre-operational (4-6 years)
• Early Concrete (7-9 year)
• Middle Concrete (10-12 years)
• Concrete Generalization (13-15 years)
• Formal Operations (16+ years)

3
 Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome
What do students’ outcome depends on:
Students’ Outcome depends on:
(1)the student’s capacity;
(2)the nature of the tasks.
Therefore, the design of tasks matters.
SOLO can apply to History, Math, English, Geography,
Modern languages, Higher Education, etc.
 SOLO taxonomy (Biggs and Collis, 1982)
Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome
1. Prestructural
2. Unistructural
3. Multistructural
4. Relational
5. Extended Abstract
 Focus on
Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome
1. Prestructural – not ready to answer
2. Unistructural – one single aspect
3. Multistructural – multiple aspects, “feel” consistent, may be
inconsistent
4. Relational – coherent, relational
5. Extended Abstract – hypothesis, generalization, extending to
alternative systems
 What reasons did the squatters have for defying the
government’s regulations? Were they justified?
1. None. They defied the govt.
2. Yes, because they were helping to develop the wool industry.
3. Yes, the squatters were justified because there were better pasture land
outside the limits of location and another reason was that the wool
industry would grow.
4. No. I don’t think the squatters were justified although the price of land
was too high and they did not have enough security and it was wrong to
go and just take over the land without permission; laws are made to
kept by the public.

7
What may an EA response be like?
• It depends on how wide a term you want
justified to be. In a restricted sense you could
say that the …..
• If you widen the term, you can say that…
• Taking an even wider view the squatters were
….
8
 Why does it get dark at night?
1. So we can sleep. / The clouds come dark.
2. The sun goes down in the afternoon. / The sun goes to the other side of
the world.
3. The sun has turned and it shines on the other sides of the world. / The
earth is spinning and the sun is going round the earth.
4. The world moves around when it is sunny or daylight it is dark on the
other side of the world. When it is sunny the sun is shining. The other
side is shaded by the other side of the world.

9
 Can you imagine a EA response?
The earth is roughly spherical in shape and rotates about its north-south axis. At a great
distance away from the earth, and very approximately at right angles to the axis of
rotation of the earth, is the sun which acts as a point-source of light. This light travels
in straight rays. Consequently, at any one time the half of the earth’s sphere facing
the sun will be in light while the opposite half will be in shadow.
Since the earth is rotating continuously, a point on the earth’s surface will pass
alternately through the lighted half and the shaded half. The duration of a rotation is
24 hours, so the point will be in daylight for 12 hours and darkness for 12 hours. The
period of darkness is called night.
This account is a little simplified, in that it ignores the fact that the axis of rotation of the
earth is tilted at 23.5 degrees from the plane normal to the sun’s rays. Consequently
the length of day and the length of night…

10
http://www.johnbiggs.com.au/academic/solo-taxonomy/ 11
 Breakroom (25 mins) Group work: Find a group leader

1. Discuss and write One question to ask your classmates to get answers of
different complexity.
2. Post the group question up to Moodle. (5 mins)
3. Browse other groups’ questions and post up your answers.
4. Browse at your classmates’ answers to your questions. What do you learn
about the question your set? (10 mins)
5. Revise your question with the idea of SOLO taxonomy and post the
revised. (5 mins)
6. When you are all back, give a presentation and tell the class of what you
learn.
12
Sharing

13
Using SOLO in research
An example

14
 The interview tasks
Card 1
Is 62× (23+49) = 62×23+62×49 correct?
Why?

15
 Who did not know that 62× (23+49) = 62×23+62×49?
I: You said that you did not know whether it was correct. Do you have
any methods to find out? 你說你不知道這是否正確。你有任何方法
找出答案嗎？
S: Calculate. 計算。
I: Need to calculate? 需要計算嗎？
S: Yeah. 是。
I: If [you] do not calculate, are there any methods? 如果 ( 你 ) 不計算，
還有其他方法嗎？
S: Not calculated, not calculated... [There] may be some methods. 不
計算，不計算……也許還有其他方法。

16
I: Do you know any? 你知道有哪些嗎？
S: Er.... No... Earlier... I thought of algebra, but [I] don’t know whether these are the
same. 恩……沒有……早些時候……我想到代數，但是（我）不知道是否一樣。
I: Tell me. What algebra did you think of? 告訴我，你想到哪種代數方法？
S: Those in primary mathematics textbooks. Like this, but replace... letters. That is,
this times this, then times this. But [I] don’t know whether it represents this.
那在小學數學課本裡。像這樣，但代替……字母。那是，這個乘這，然後乘這。但是
（我）不知道它是否代表這個。
I: Yeah. What do the letters in the books represent? 對，書裡的字母代表什麼？
S: [They] represent, represent unknown numbers. （他們）代表，代表未知數。

17
 Procedural descriptions:
Telling how to do it correctly
[secondary-1, 1st interview, card one][ 中一 , 第一次訪談卡片
1]
S1: Because, for algebra, sixty-two, er, remove bracket, becomes
two“sixty-two” then sixty-two times twenty-three, then plus
sixty-two times forty-nine. [It is] correct.
S1: 因為，在代數， 62 ， er ，拆括弧，變成兩個 62 ，然後 62
乘 23 ， 62 乘 49 ，對的。
Do they know any more? Will there be other explanations?
他們會否知道更多嗎？還有其他解釋嗎？
18
 [secondary-2, card one][ 中二，卡片 1]
62× (23+49) = 62×23+62×49?
S2: Because, 62 equals, er... 62 times 23 plus... Let me
think. How to explain? Er... Because the numbers
inside the bracket, there are two. The number
outside multiplies the two numbers inside.
S2: 因為， 62 等於， er……62 乘 23 加……讓我想想。
怎麼解釋？恩……因為在括弧裡面的數字，有兩個。
在外面的數字乘以括弧裡面的兩個數字。

19
 The same answer on both sides of the equal sign
[secondary-1, 1st interview, card one]
[ 中一，第一次訪談，卡片 1]
S: The two numbers added together [then] times 62,is the same as 62 times one
number plus the product of [62 and] the other number.
S: 這兩個數位相加一起， [ 然後 ] 乘以 62 ，跟 62 乘以一個數字加上 [62] 乘以另
一個數字的答案一樣。

Chat: What are your comments/analysis for this response?

20
 Questions Based on common
mistakes
Card 2
When will (a+b) ÷ c=a÷c+b÷c be true? Why?
always ___ never_______sometimes when ______
Reasons:

Card 3
When will a÷ (b+c)=a÷b+a÷c be true? Why?
always ___ never ________sometimes when ______
Reasons:
21
 Wrong calculations and misconceptions
Card 2 卡片 2 Card 3 卡片 3
• a=1 b=2 c=1 a a a
(a+b)c=ac+bc  
bc b c
(1+1)1=11+11
a a
21 = 1 + 1 
2 = 2 bc bc
• a=2 b=4 c=6
(2+4)6=26+46 Even he was willing
66 = 3.3... + 6.6... to try. He needed
1 = 9.9... skills and accuracy.
22
What will a student with more mature
mathematical thinking say?
LET’S PAUSE AND GUESS.
Put your guess in the CHAT.
23
 SM4 [secondary-4A, card 2]
SM4: Yeah. I remove it.
I: Remove what?
SM4: I remove the bracket around a plus b. Separately, each number is
divided [by] c.
I: Yeah.
SM4: I have considered, when c is zero, whether the two sides will be equal.
I: Yeah. Will it? Have you continued? Tell me what you have considered.
SM4: [I]‘ve considered removing c. c is zero. I think the two sides are also
the same.
I: Yeah.
SM4: That’s all.
SM4 knew more mathematics!

24
Probing helps to know more about the student’s understanding

I: That’s all. Why did you pick zero?

SM4: Because zero in division is more special.
I: How special [In what ways]?
SM4: That is, when the denominator is zero or the numerator is zero, the
answer will have a little deviation?
I: Yeah.
SM4: Especially when the denominator is zero. The answer cannot be
calculated.
I: Yeah.
SM4: Infinitely large.
 [secondary-4A, card 3] Student SM5 knew more.
SM5: [It] should sometimes be correct.
I: “Should sometimes be correct”. Why?“ 應該有時是正確的”。為什麼？
SM5: Yeah. I meant that when a is zero. 對。我的意思是當 a 是 0 。
I: “When a is zero, the same”. Then when will it not be the same?“ 當 a 是 0 ，一樣”。那麼什麼
時候它會不一樣？
SM5: When a is not equal to zero. 當 a 不等於 0 的時候。

I: Would you please write it here? 可以請你把它寫在這嗎？

SM5:
[Student wrote “a=0” after “sometimes when”. 學生在 “有時當”之後寫下“ a=0” 。 ]
I: Well. This is your answer. Would you tell me how you find this? 很好。這是你的答案。你可
以告訴你是如何發現這點的嗎？
SM5: ....

Probing helps us learn more about the student’s thinking.

26
 Providing justification for his answers.

I: That is your answer, when you say a is zero, the same. If a is not zero, then
it’s not the same. Would you explain what you have done? Explain what
you have considered to get this decision. 這是你的答案，你說當 a 是 0 的
時候，一樣。當 a 不是 0 的時候，則兩邊不一樣。你可以解釋你做了什
麼嗎？解釋你得到這個答案你考慮了哪些東西？
SM5: I now put the numbers in. 我現在代入數字。
I: What numbers? 哪些數字？
SM5: a, b, c represents 10, 2, 3. 把 a, b, c 代入 10, 2, 3 。
I: Yeah. 是的。
SM5 : Now I find that the answers on the two sides are not the same. 現在我發現兩邊的答案
不一樣。
[Student’s written work:“10(2+3)=102+103”; second line,“2=5+3.3”.][ 學生寫的
是 :“10(2+3)=102+103” ；第二行是“ 2=5+3.3”.]
I: Yeah. 是的。
SM5 : According to what I know, the numerator, if [the numerator] is zero, divided [by] any
numbers, also equals zero. 根據我知道的，分子，如果 [ 分子 ] 是 0 ，除 [ 以 ] 任何數字，
都等於 0.
I: Yeah. 是的。
SM5 : Therefore I think that, when a is equal to zero, the two are the same. 因此我認為，當 a
等於 0 的時候，兩邊是一樣的。

28
 Factors to consider when creating
the SOLO items
• Objectives
• What are the critical aspects? What “may” the answers
demonstrating different SOLO level of be like?
• Complexity, openness of the items
• Projection of answers
• How to analyze?
• Label the answers, not the students

29
 How about this?

If a, b, c stand for any numbers, □ and ■ stand for any of the operations +,,
× and ÷, when will a□(b■c)=a□b■a□c be true?

always ___ never ____sometimes when _________________

Reasons:

Chat: Write some possible answers that your students may give.

30
 Diagnostic instrument for research:
Task-based interviews
Card 1
Is 62× (23+49) = 62×23+62×49 correct? Why?
Card 2
When will (a+b) ÷ c=a÷c+b÷c be true? Why?
always ___ never_______sometimes when ______
Reasons:
Card 3
When will a÷ (b+c)=a÷b+a÷c be true? Why?
always ___ never ________sometimes when ______
Reasons: ：
Card 4
If a, b, c stand for any numbers, □ and ■ stand for any of the operations +,, × and ÷, when will
a□(b■c)=a□b■a□c be true?
always ___ never ________sometimes when ___________________
Reasons:
31
 As Pedagogical Tasks in class: What happens?
Card 1
Is 62× (23+49) = 62×23+62×49 correct? Why?
Card 2
When will (a+b) ÷ c=a÷c+b÷c be true? Why?
always ___ never_______sometimes when ______
Reasons:
Card 3
When will a÷ (b+c)=a÷b+a÷c be true? Why?
always ___ never ________sometimes when ______
Reasons: ：
Card 4
If a, b, c stand for any numbers, □ and ■ stand for any of the operations +,, × and ÷, when will
a□(b■c)=a□b■a□c be true?
always ___ never ________sometimes when ___________________
Reasons:
32
Mulbar, U., Rahman, A., & Ahmar, A. (2017).

33
 Breakroom (20 mins)
How may SOLO taxonomy help
teaching/learning/research in your subject area?
• Discuss and create task(s) based on SOLO
taxonomy.
• Post up your group ideas on the Moodle
• When you are back, present your ideas.

34
Sharing

35
Readings:
Biggs, J. and Collis, K. (1982). Evaluating the Quality of Learning: the
SOLO taxonomy. New York: Academic Press.
Mok, I.A.C. (2010). Students’ algebra sense via their understanding
of the distributive law. Pedagogies: An International Journal, Vol.
5, No. 3, July–September, 251–263.
Mok, I.A.C. (2009). Learning of Algebra: Inspiration from Students’
Understanding of the Distributive Law. Hong Kong: Hong Kong
Association for Mathematics Education.
Mulbar, U., Rahman, A., & Ahmar, A. (2017). Analysis of the ability in
mathematical problem-solving based on SOLO taxonomy and
cognitive style.
36
THANK YOU

37