flying solo. taxonomies of cognitive processing. earl irving team day september, 2009
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Flying SOLO.Taxonomies of cognitive processing.
Earl IrvingTeam Day
September, 2009
Overview Ways of describing questioning &
thinking --> cognitive taxonomies Bloom et al SOLO (Collis & Biggs)
Examples Summary
The questions teachers ask. 80% of teacher questions require
low order thinking skills Recall or remembering Knowledge Simple handling of a restricted set of
ideas, data, knowledge Goal is to ask more higher level
questions – make ‘em think!!
Back to Questioning
Taxonomies of thinking Need a way to classify categories of
thinking (cognitive processing) in increasing degrees of complexity
Bloom et al (1956). Cognitive, affective and psychomotor
Has dominated approaches to assessment / questioning
Supposed to be hierarchical, but isn’t
Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956) appraise, evaluate,
justify combine, rearrange,
rewrite critique, discriminate,
relate demonstrate, modify,
solve explain, infer,
summarise list, label, name, state
SOLO Structure of Observed Learning
Outcomes (Collis & Biggs, 1982) Analysed structure of student
responses to questions Four (five) categories at two levels:
Surface: Unistructural, and Multistructural
Deep: Relational, and Extended Abstract
Elements of SOLO Student R Response X Irrelevant,
not given • Relevant,
given o Relevant,
not given
Unistructural Uses one given piece of
information. Student presents
simple and obvious information What was the name of
that movie? What year was the
Treaty of Waitangi signed?
How many beans make five?
Sees a part of the house in isolation. Identifies a window, or the roof.
Cannot see connections or significance of the parts
Multistructural Uses 2 or more
facts, which are not necessarily related to each other Name three
characters in the movie.
Give 2 reasons why it is sensible to drive on the left.
Can see parts of the house separately, but no sense of the whole.
Disorganised collection of ideas around the issue
Relational Uses 2 or more pieces
of information, and makes connections among them
Sees the significance of the parts to the whole Compare and contrast
meiosis and mitosis Explain the causes of …
Students able to appreciate the significance of parts in relation to the whole Can put the whole
house together Work starts to move
between the facts and theory
Extended abstract Makes connections not
only with the given subject material, but also beyond it Why do fairy tales use
animals to portray human characteristics?
Find a formula to describe the pattern –1, 1, 3, 5, …
Students make connections not just with the given subject area but beyond it; apply, generalise and transfer principles and ideas underlying the specific Sees the community
around the house
Another SOLO schema
Learning: deep and surface approaches
STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING by Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queerTo stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shakeTo ask if there is some mistake.The only other sound’s a sweepOf easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep,But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.
Bloom Questions for Frost KnowledgeWhere does the owner of the woods have his house?_____________________________________
ComprehensionWhy do the horse’s bells shake?a. The horse is shaking off the snowb. The horse is shivering with the coldc. The horse is ready to move ond. The horse is being blown by the wind
ApplicationWrite a poem that uses the same rhyme scheme as stanza
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bloom Questions for Frost AnalysisJanet thinks the poem is set at Christmas time. Find two pieces of evidence
in the poem she would use to support her argument.a) ________________________________________________b) ________________________________________________
SynthesisFrost suggests that people need to choose between responsibility and
personal needs. What would happen to society if everyone chose only personal needs?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EvaluateIs this poem a classic? Support your opinion with reference to the quality of
its message and style.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SOLO Surface Questions for Frost
UnistructuralWhy does the horse shake the harness bells?_____________________________________________
MultistructuralWhat two phrases suggest that the poem could
be set at Christmas?
a) ___________________________________________
b) ___________________________________________
SOLO Deep Questions for Frost
RelationalWhy does the horse think it is unusual to stop by the woods?a) It is the darkest evening of the yearb) The woods are filling up with snowc) There is no sound other than the soft windd) There are no houses near the woods
Extended AbstractWhat is the main message of the poem?a. Nature is especially beautiful in winterb. People would like to avoid their responsibilities if they
couldc. People and animals don’t like to be out in the dark and
coldd. Travelling at winter time is disturbing
Strategy for Writing Deeper Questions
Take a Unistructural Question and require a list of 3 things Multistructural Question
Put the list of things into the question and ask what they have in common Relational Question
Decide what the individual relationship is representative of – what class of event, personality, situation, rule, etc. does this relationship in this context connect to? Generate list of possible wrong answers to go with correct answer to create M-C question that asks for the rule Extended Abstract Question
Sample Deeper Questions: Goldilocks & Three Bears
Multi-structuralList 3 aspects of the story that suggest that the story is not a real life situation.
1. Bears don’t live in houses2. Bears don’t sleep in beds3. Bears don’t eat cooked food
RelationalWhat does the fact that the bears behave in a human-type fashion (e.g., they
live in houses, eat cooked food, and sleep in beds) tell us about the kind of story Goldilocks is?
a) It’s a nursery taleb) It’s a newspaper storyc) It’s a biographyd) It’s an encyclopaedia entry
Extended AbstractWhy do nursery tales allow wild animals to act in human fashion?
a) humans anthropomorphise in order to reveal more about human nature in a psychologically safe way
b) to show the oneness of nature and humanity by having wild beasts behave like humans
c) to entertain children who easily believe that they can communicate with imaginary and wild creatures
d) to give children courage to face the mysteries and dangers of powerful nature and scary adult life
Mathematics example
How many sticks are needed for 3 houses? UNI How many sticks are there for 5 houses? ______
MULTI If 52 houses require 209 sticks, how many sticks do
you need to be able to make 53 houses? ______ RELATIONAL
Make up a rule to count how many sticks are needed for any number of houses. EXTENDED ABSTRACT
Houses 1 2 3
Sticks 5 9 __
Achievement Objective: Recognise & Use Factors in a Variety of Practical SettingsUNISTRUCTURAL Complete (x +2)(x+2) = x2 +4x + ___
MULTISTRUCTURAL Factorise x2 + 2x – 8.
RELATIONAL The area of a rectangle in square centimetres is represented by the expression x2 + 2x – 8. The length of the rectangle is x + 4 centimetres. What is an expression for the width of the rectangle in centimetres?
EXTENDED ABSTRACT When the final term of a quadratic is a negative value, what is the pattern of operations within the two factors?
(A) both addition (B) both subtraction C) addition & subtraction
Changing SOLO Levels: Technology (MES)
Achievement Objective: Basic Skills in Using Ordinary Hand Tools in Manufacturing.
Changing SOLO Levels: Technology (MES)
UNISTRUCTURAL Name Tool A. ____________ MULTISTRUCTURAL Identify the primary function
of Tools D and B. D _________ B __________ RELATIONAL Explain how Tool C could be used in
making a metal sink.________________________________________
EXTENDED ABSTRACT What might be the best reason for an engineer keeping hand tools for metal work?(a) They would make a valuable historical collection(b) They are more powerful than electric tools(c) They can be used when the power goes off(d) They are less likely to break or wear out
Summary
SOLO is a hierarchic taxonomy—increasing quantity & quality of thought
SOLO is powerful in creating variety in the difficulty of curriculum & cognitive challenge
SOLO level depends on assumed ‘Givens’—the prior knowledge & tools available to students
Both Surface & Deep questions are needed, not one is better than the other
