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Evaluation of Student Learning in Organic Chemistry Using the SOLO Taxonomy

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Linda C. Hodges

McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544

Lilia C. Harvey

Department of Chemistry, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA 30030

J. Chem. Educ., 2003, 80 (7), p 785

DOI: 10.1021/ed080p785

Publication Date (Web): July 1, 2003

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

We have adapted the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy for evaluating student learning in a two-semester organic chemistry course sequence. The SOLO taxonomy describes student learning in five hierarchical levels related to the student’s ability to apply appropriate concepts in answering questions, connect concepts together coherently, and relate concepts to new ideas. Student responses to open-ended questions that show no relevant processing of information are ranked as Prestructural; those that show only preliminary processing rank as Unistructural. In Multistructural responses, students address some aspect of the question but are unable to relate ideas. Preferred levels of understanding are those demonstrated when students integrate several aspects of the question to produce coherent meaning (ranked as Relational) or generalize to a higher level of abstraction (called Extended Abstract). We found this method to be a powerful tool to analyze points of difficulty or confusion in student learning and helpful in following the progress in students’ conceptual understanding.

Keywords (Audience):

Second-Year Undergraduate

Keywords (Domain):

Organic Chemistry

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Collaborative / Cooperative Learning

Keywords (Subject):

Learning Theories

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This article has been cited by 1 ACS Journal articles (1 most recent appear below).

A Rubric for Assessing Students’ Experimental Problem-Solving Ability
Susan E. Shadle, Eric C. Brown, Marcy H. Towns, and Don L. Warner
Journal of Chemical Education2012 Article ASAP
- A Rubric for Assessing Students’ Experimental Problem-Solving Ability
  Susan E. Shadle, Eric C. Brown, Marcy H. Towns, and Don L. Warner
  Journal of Chemical Education2012 Article ASAP
  The ability to couple problem solving both to the understanding of chemical concepts and to laboratory practices is an essential skill for undergraduate chemistry programs to foster in our students. Therefore, chemistry programs must offer opportunities ...
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