SOLO taxonomy in practice.

At the beginning of the year the lovely and inspiring Pam Hook from Hooked-on-Thinking fame visited our school, and introduced SOLO taxonomy to us.

I'm always looking for new ways to prepare my students for the inquiry process, for reflecting in their ePortfolios. To me SOLO seemed just the ticket, but I wasn't sure that my Year 5's would actually understand it. As with many other learning areas, they have once again surprised me. Not only do they have a good understanding of the model - they could actually define it, and apply it to their thinking!

Video removed.

I am so impressed by my students! The students in this video have a range of abilities, and some are normally very reticent to answer questions. Strangely enough, they loved talking to the video camera, and seem to find it less threatening than their 'dear old teacher'! What also surprised me is how quietly they sat while each got a chance to explain their thinking. Not one complained of boredom, or became disruptive. Obviously the idea that they could share their learning with the blogosphere was a great motivation for them. Also, there was no 'hands up', and each child got a chance to assess their definitions, write their reflections down, share them with a buddy, and then share them with the camera.

I'm looking forward to using this model over and over again, and can't wait to see how their new skills will reflect in their e-Portfolio reflections.