Visible Learning 1st Edition

A book whose time has come.This is a detailed contribution to the educators library, on the important theme- what affects educational outcomes for our students. Given the size and detail, it is best suited to the educated professional, but is also accessible enough for the educated reader - though having little opportunity to affect any change may prove frustrating.The book is broken down into sections looking at the different influences on outcomes such as the influence from home, school reforms, principal, and teacher and teaching practices etc. Within these sections all the influences are assessed using a statistical comparison called 'effect size'. This aims to be a common scale on which to measure effectiveness- a nice speedometer type graphic is used to indicate the rating for each item.Think sending a child to an 'elite' child will turn them into a rhodes scholar?Think keeping a child down a grade if they are not progressing is a good idea?Think the lauded 'direct instruction' technique is chalk, talk and worksheets?Read on and see what the current evidence indicates- and it is not always what we want to hear.Noteably most influences are positive- but the aim of the work is to find out what has a significant influence so that efforts can be made on practices that are more effective. In contrast to one of the other reviewers - there are some questions that are not answered in this book - namely which interventions work best with which types of students? It is great to know what 'on average' is more effective, but this is qualified by the fact that each intervention varies in effectiveness in different studies. This variance should be a source of further study so that we can know which strategy to use and when it is most appropriate to use it.The other issue that is not acknowledged by some reviewers here is that the measure of success in this type of study is purely academic - did they learn more content or skills than at the beginning and in contrast to a control group. What it also does not tell us about are the other outcomes that are important too - were the students more engaged in their learning, did they become better learners, did they learn other (real world) skills that are useful, and did they learn to get along and work together better? These are all important outcomes that young people arguably need to learn to survive in a fast changing, modern world.The other qualifier I would need to add is that some areas- such as the effective use of technology are largely dependent on the skill of teachers to design instructional practices that are complimentary and sophisticated enough to be effective. Currently teacher capacity in this area is still emerging and so the results here I would have to conclude are tentative, or at least open for review. The more recent works of Robert Marzano have shown far more promise in this area- particularly for interactive white boards.As with all strategies, procedures or practices - no two practitioners, classrooms or school communities are alike and the research evidence presented by the late Graham Nuthall in "The Hidden Lives of Learners' indicated that a good educator continually modifies and adapts 'what works' at the chalkface every day. This would then be a qualifying consideration when analyzing the book. Hattie himself lists others including; the cost of the intervention, and from memory I think the complexity of implementation is also discussed. So don't use the work as a recipe book for state intervention in schools!Overall an extremely informative book - sorts the wheat from the chaff, but must be read critically and in concert with other books from authors such as Marzano and Nuthall.

This book is an absolute must read for anyone seriously interested in researching "best practices" in education. If you're a committed teacher, department chair, principal or district-level administrator and claim to make "evidence-based decisions" then you better own this book. Hattie provides a comprehensive synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses involving millions of students to separate ineffective, mildly effective and extremely effective strategies to promote student achievement. He dispels common myths such as the effectiveness of small class size, retention and homework. At the same time he elevates the importance of strategies that have a considerable, positive effect on achievement such as feedback, meta-cognitive strategies and formative evaluation (formative assessment). He also has some interesting comments regarding the reasons why after 200 years and mountains of research, instructional practices remain largely unchanged. All the while Hattie responsibly represents his work by acknowledging the limitations of his research.Hattie separates his research into sections highlighting the effectiveness of different strategies within the following contexts:Contributions from the StudentContributions from the HomeContributions from the SchoolContributions from the TeacherContributions from the CurriculumIn summary I would highly recommend this book. While I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through it, the book's greatest strength may be its use as a reference tool. If you'd like to see the effectiveness of whole language vs. phonics instruction, concept mapping, teacher knowledge of subject matter, socioeconomic status or almost any other topic you can think of, just open the book, flip to the appropriate section and you have a synthesis of all the meta-analyses pertaining to the topic. The book has all of the earmarks of quality research and at the very least, it was carefully synthesized as it took Hattie 15 years to write. As Andrew Jackson said, "Mere precedent is a dangerous source of authority." Stop abiding by policies because "this is how it's always been done." Buy this book, evaluate your existing practices and start making evidence-based decisions to help your student learn.

John Hattie and his associates have given us a touchstone for education, a tool for quickly determining the value and/or worth of a particular process or method. The result of their efforts is an elegant explanation, superbly organized and brilliantly rendered with eye-catching 'barometers/gauges' for an instantaneous read of the research results.A true "Show and Tell" book which is and will continue to change and direct our educational course. This is a monumental work which has presented a foundation for our future while demonstrating the power of research to guide our efforts.On a personal level, the book confirmed many of my long held theories while also destroying a few theories I have held dear. The truth presented by the book was at times painful to realize but I emerge from the experience stronger, more certain and feeling better that these truths did indeed set me free from my misconceptions and have made me stronger for now and the future.I recommend this book to anyone who has a genuine interest in and concern for our failing education system. Knowing what works makes changing things easier. Thanks to Hattie and his cohorts for making Visible Learning visible and easier to apply.