I am doubly chuffed to report that the ever fabulous architect and designer Nick Denton has finished the last seven SOLO maps in the “How to … series” – of HookED SOLO Map animations. You can view the 14 SOLO Map animations playlist on my YouTube Channel .
This body of work matters – is going to make a real difference to learners who for a number of reasons arrive at school without experience of or access to the academic language used to demonstrate learning in schools – the map animations help make the academic language accessible to all.
Writing the script for the SOLO Map tutorials was not dissimilar to writing the script for “Fantastic Voyage” 1966 . A simple comparison shows the need for nuance, accurate detail and tight time frames in the narrative in both contexts. Experience with young learners using the SOLO process maps to scaffold their writing means we know that the raw excitement of finding success as a learner – completing a successful mission in deep learning – could not be any greater than exiting via a tear duct in the last few seconds before miniaturisation wears off.
In “Fantastic Voyage”: The crew faces many obstacles during the mission. An arteriovenous fistula forces them to detour through the heart, where cardiac arrest must be induced to avoid turbulence. They must replenish their supply of oxygen in the lungs, and then pass through the inner ear (all outside personnel have to remain silent to prevent turbulence). When the surgical laser needed to destroy the clot is damaged, it becomes obvious there is a saboteur on the mission. They are forced to cannibalize their wireless telegraph to repair the device. By the time they finally reach the clot, they have only six minutes remaining to operate and then exit the body. Wikipedia
With “SOLO Maps and rubrics”:The learner faces many obstacles during the mission to master the use of those academic verbs (command verbs) to deep levels. Selecting the most suitable academic verb for the task and then following prompts to ensure the learning outcome shifts from unistructural to multistructural (surface) to relational (deep) and extended abstract (conceptual/transfer) when defining, comparing, or evaluating is nuanced work.
As any educator working with SOLO maps and rubrics will agree – without good detail the SOLO Map neophyte has the same potential for misadventure, misdirection and issues with lack of space as the submarine crew on the miniaturised and injected Proteus. Even the presence of a saboteur on board is familiar territory to anyone who has worked in a collaborative group.
Good projects take time.
