Exploring structure and meaning in students' descriptions of meiosis, using the two-learning cycle per mode version of the SOLO model

Abstract

This paper reviews recent developments in the SOLO model, its apparent parallels with phenomenography, and the relationship between response structure and meaning. An application of a recent version of the SOLO model is discussed, in the context of a study of students' understandings of the biological process of meiosis. Students' understandings were explored by categorising 575 written responses to target meiosis questions in unit assessment tasks. Results were consistent with the recent two-cycle per mode version of the SOLO model. They also showed a relationship between meaning and structure of SOLO levels, which may relate both to the nature of the concept under investigation and to the finer-grained model of SOLO being used. The fine-grained use of SOLO, though time-consuming, may have advantages where structure reflects meaning, particularly in facilitating organisation of elements within student descriptions of complex scientific phenomena.