Learning at Schools 2012-Solo Taxonomy with Pam Hook

The SOLO taxonomy session with Pam Hook was great for learning ways of showing students how to clearly follow their own progress and then create their next learning steps. What I like about this higher order thinking is that it gives students the power and they become responsible motivated learners. While at primary we often have to push for work to be handed in or finished but when they get to high school there won't always be someone reminding them of when assignments are due, so isn't it better to prepare them now rather than later on how to become motivated life long learners? While the names of the stages are quite large (prestructural, uni and multistructural, relational and abstract) I like the images that are linked in and the hand signals children can use. In class I will often use the thumbs up if your confident with the instructions, thumbs sideways need it explained one more time and thumbs down need to stay on the mat and work with me; I can see the hand signals of SOLO taxonomy being used in a similar way.
In the Middle Syndicate we always allow a page or two for each of the key competencies under the headings of thinkers, managers, communicators, contributors, explorers. There are great rubrics based around each of the key competencies which I will be putting into each of the kids learning logs and getting them to rate themselves as managers, thinkers, contributors, communicators and explorers and what they need to do to reach the next level. One important aspect when children are anaylysing where they are at is that they say my learning is at a relational stage NOT I am relational.
One great idea that Pam used as an example which I will be keen to try was teaching children to back their ideas up in their writing (could be used for expository). In one colour paper the children sequence the event, with the piece of paper going vertically up the page. Alongside this they put another colour paper to answer the why questions and add the detail. Once children had this planning under their belt they writing becomes a much stronger piece.
A cute You Tube view that explains SOLO a bit futher was put together by Newmarket School and can be seen on the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV6Dmm7X4Eg