Top Ten / #8

John Hattie’s Top Ten Visible Learning Takeaways –

Number Eight: 

Comprehensive Interventions for Learning Disabled Students

This is the third of a ten part series that serves to highlight the most significant findings and their applications to our classrooms from Hattie’s 2012 work, Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning.

Number 8 – Comprehensive Interventions for Learning Disabled Students

Hattie cited a wide range of studies and types of successful interventions in this vastly studied area of education.  He cited Swanson et al.’s 1999 work which found that a combination of direct instruction and strategy instruction was highly effective.The important components of instruction included “attention to sequencing, drill-repetition-practice, segmenting information into parts or units for later synthesis, controlling task difficulty through prompts and cues, making use of technology, systematically modeling problem solving steps, and making use of small interactive groups” (p. 217).  One common theme that held true throughout the studies was the importance of direct instruction.

Application to the Classroom

If you are looking for the best research-based interventions look no further than the United States Department of Education What Works Clearinghouse website (http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/).  You are able to filter your desired instructional need by topic and grade level and are given a list of  interventions with their respective improvement index, effectiveness rating, and extent of evidence related to the intervention.  There are a plethora of researched interventions that can help to guide educators to best meet students’ needs.  The website has a specific tab for children and students with disabilities.

Hattie, J., Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement (2009)

Hattie, J. Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning (2012)

Shute, V.J., Focus on Formative Feedback (2008)

Effect size image retrieved from: http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/what_works.htm

Maxwell image retrieved from http://quotesgram.com/care-john-c-maxwell-quotes/#9PWYZjgpMN

Top Ten / #9

John Hattie’s Top Ten Visible Learning Takeaways –

Number Nine: Teacher Clarity

This is the second of a ten part series that serves to highlight the most significant findings and their applications to our classrooms from Hattie’s 2012 work, Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning.

Number 9 – Teacher Clarity

One of Hattie’s most important themes is the importance of teachers effectively communicating the intentions of lessons and what success looks like in relation to these intentions.  Hattie cited Fendicks 1990 study on teacher clarity where he defined this principle as “organization, explanation, examples and guided practice, and assessment of student learning.” (2009)

Application to the Classroom

Consider how your use of effectively written learning targets paired with rubrics that reinforce these expectations play key roles in maximizing your teacher clarity.

In Classroom Instruction That Works by Dean, et. al. (2012), there are four recommendations for setting objectives in the classroom:

• Set learning targets that are specific but not restrictive.

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• Communicate the learning targets to students and parents.

• Connect the learning targets to previous and future learning.

• Engage students in setting personal learning goals.

Hattie, J., Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement (2009)

Hattie, J. Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning (2012)

Shute, V.J., Focus on Formative Feedback (2008)

Effect size image retrieved from: http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/what_works.htm

Maxwell image retrieved from http://quotesgram.com/care-john-c-maxwell-quotes/#9PWYZjgpMN

Top Ten

John Hattie’s Top Ten Visible Learning Takeaways –

Number Ten: Feedback

Much has been written in the past few years about the research of John Hattie and his impressive Visible Learning meta-analyses synthesis.  His work has given educators quantifiable insights that have no parallel in the field of education.  The weight of over 800 meta-analyses related to achievement, based on over 50,000 studies involving millions of students, certainly demands attention and respect.

This is the first of a ten part series that serves to highlight his most significant findings and their applications to our classrooms from Hattie’s 2012 work, Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning.  Each blog in the series will highlight a different finding that ranked in the top 10 out of 150 areas studied, in regard to effect size, from Hattie’s research.  If you are familiar with Hattie’s research, this blog may serve as a valuable reminder of the findings.  If you are not familiar with Hattie’s works, hopefully you will see these findings are worth sharing and re sharing, reading and rereading, and applying and reapplying as they are recognized as best practice in our field.

Need an introduction or a crash course on the effect sizes referenced below?  An effect size of 0.40 is what Hattie refers to as a hinge-point regarding what is significantly effective or at “a level where the effects of innovation enhance achievement in such a way that we can notice real-world differences” (Hattie, 2009).  Anything between a 0.00 and 0.39 is growth, but is not considered significant growth.  Anything below a 0.00 is considered detrimental to student growth.

Number 10 – Feedback (effect size = 0.75)

Hattie states that as he learned more about feedback he realized, “The mistake I was making was seeing feedback as something teachers provided to students…It was only when I discovered that feedback was most powerful when it is from the student to the teacher that I started to understand it better” (Hattie, 2009).  He goes on to explain that feedback has the greatest impact when teachers seek out and utilize feedback from students regarding their understanding, engagement, misconceptions, etc.  In other words, going beyond whether a student got a question right or wrong and instead seeking to understand and provide feedback about why the student performed that way.

A critically important component of effective feedback is what the students do with it.  Hattie states that “many teachers claim they provide ample amounts of feedback but the issue is whether students receive and interpret the information in the feedback” (Hattie, 2009).  Said differently, are the students doing anything with the feedback the teacher provides them?  Also of importance is the ‘art’ of providing the right form of feedback which is right at, or just above, the level that the student is presently working.

Application to the Classroom

Hattie’s Visible Learning for Teachers (2012) cites Shute’s (2008) nine guidelines for using feedback to enhance learning.  Perhaps you will see one that you can add to your repertoire of effective feedback:

• focus feedback on the task, not the learner;
• provide elaborated feedback (describing the ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘why’);
• present elaborated feedback in manageable units (for example, avoid cognitive overload)’
• be specific and clear with feedback messages;
• keep feedback as simple as possible, but no simpler (based on learner needs and instructional constraints);
• reduce uncertainty between performance and goals;
• give unbiased, objective feedback, written or via computer (more trustworthy sources are more likely to be well-received);
• promote a learning goal orientation via feedback (move focus from performance to the learning, welcome errors); and
• provide feedback after learners have attempted a solution (leading to more self-regulation).

Reflect upon a recent or upcoming lesson and consider how you could incorporate even more effective feedback to maximize the lesson effectiveness and student growth.

A Random Mention

Number 12 out of 150 – Teacher-Student Relationships (effect size 0.72)

This one just missed the top ten but is number one in the hearts of so many educators.  The value of the teacher-student relationship is powerful and cannot be understated.  

Hattie (2009) identified components of effective relationships including respect by the teacher for what the child brings to the class and allowing the experiences of the child to be recognized in the classroom.  The skills the teacher is required to possess and/or building include listening, empathy, caring, and having positive regard for others.  

Hattie (2012) cited the “essence of positive relationships is the student seeing the warmth, feeling the encouragement and the teacher’s high expectations, and knowing that the teacher understands him or her.”

Hattie, J., Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement (2009)

Hattie, J. Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning (2012)

Shute, V.J., Focus on Formative Feedback (2008)

Effect size image retrieved from: http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/what_works.htm

Maxwell image retrieved from http://quotesgram.com/care-john-c-maxwell-quotes/#9PWYZjgpMN

One Caring Adult!

Short clip to help remind everyone "You Matter"...

Youth Advocate Josh Shipp was a foster kid, class clown, a trouble maker. He was written off, kicked out, and every parents worst nightmare. Yet Josh has an adult who refused to give up on him which eventually changed everything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZBdZEG7PSI

Power of Teacher Collaboration

Fundamental Purpose: High levels of learning for ALL!

Teaching is simultaneously one of the hardest and one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. We often say that students make it worth it, but there’s something else that can make or break your happiness as a teacher: your colleagues.

Collaboration begins with finding time to connect with colleagues, to share thoughts, and provide support. Here are 3 tips for successful collaboration:

1. Build Relationships: Teaching is emotionally draining, and the best colleagues can be there for you in all types of situations. A student erupted in anger? Go next door at lunch time and get a hug. A student said a wildly funny thing in the middle of class? Pop your head into a colleague’s classroom and let your laughter loose.

Remember to ask your colleagues to share their trials and triumphs with you, too. Sometimes just asking fellow teachers how their day is going opens up the doors for productive and bonding conversations.

The relationships you build with colleagues aren’t just good for your mental well being; they’re also the foundation of collaboration that can result in increased student achievement. Just like building relationships with students lays the groundwork for academic success, building relationships with colleagues lays the groundwork for effective collaboration.

2. Find Time to Collaborate: Shared planning time allows teachers to collaborate during the school day. With shared planning time, teachers are able to make strides in planning rigorous and appropriate lessons for their students.

Consider ways that you can collaborate both in and outside school. Sneak a few minutes before or after school to check in with colleagues. Think about collaborating virtually using Google Docs, Skype, or email.

3. Share Responsibility: The best teacher teams complement each other. Share the responsibility for planning by dividing tasks based on your strengths and interests. When deciding how to share responsibility, consider these questions:

• What do I enjoy planning? What does my colleague enjoy planning?

• How much time do we have?

• What makes sense to plan together? What could we plan separately?

• How can we share our plans and get feedback from each other?

Successful collaborations happen when teachers work together to share the workload instead of doubling their efforts. From the delegation of tasks, teachers are also able to learn more from each other as they come back together to review and assemble their separate assignments into a cohesive lesson plan.

Lily Jones taught for seven years in Northern California. She has experience as a curriculum developer, instructional coach, teacher trainer, and is also a contributing writer for Teaching Channel.