Thoughts on John Hattie’s opening keynote at the International Visible Learning Conference
From Jeffrey Spanier, English and AVID teacher, Carlsbad High School, CA
The build up to Mr. Hattie’s keynote address to start of this conference was impressive. The excitement was tangible. As a neophyte just entering the Visible Learning pedagogy, I was a little confused by the excitement but couldn’t help but get caught up in the build-up. Once Mr. Hattie made his way to the stage, I was impressed with his humble approach and evident support of classroom teachers. Having attended many conferences during my 21 year teaching career, I have encountered many keynote speakers of high profile that seem to have forgotten all about the ultimate goal of education—teaching students.
Mr. Hattie’s focus on teachers, students, and what best supports both groups impressed me from the start.
It was also evident from the start that Mr. Hattie did not care what the title of his keynote address was. He ditched the focus of the address to share his latest research and personal revelations he was coming to as an educator. His discussion of near and far learning addressed concerns I was developing as I went through his research the days before the conference. This shift from his earlier research was based in the question: “What are you supposed to be able to do with an education?” At this point I realized this was going to be a conference I could really grow from professionally.
As he continued his discussion of “Far Transfer” learning—that is, learning that is applicable beyond a test, beyond a class, beyond one’s formal schooling—I saw administrators around me becoming less comfortable, and the teachers in the crowd nodding understandingly. For those educators like myself who have focused at least equally on what students will take away from the classroom into life, this was the “talk” we’ve needed for a long time. Despite thousands of school mission statements that claim to develop “life time learners”, most the focus of our California schools has been what Mr. Hattie describes as “Near Transfer” learning—the type of learning that is easily and quickly assessed through standardized testing and benchmarks.
I get the impression that Mr. Hattie would be more comfortable at his desk with lists of data in front of him and plenty of numbers to crunch, than delivering a keynote address to 800+ educators hanging on his every word. Still, his willingness to talk straight about what works (and what doesn’t) and even challenge his own findings made for an excellent opening for Visible Learning Conference. It was clear from the opening that our ways of thinking would be challenged and that we would be encouraged to question best practices as we reconsidered what our students need to be successful.
From Kimberly Huesing, Director of Elementary Education, Carlsbad Unified School District
Sitting in a beautiful conference facility in North County San Diego and in the midst of 800 fellow educators from around the world with the common desire to improve the learning outcomes of students in our care was inspiring in itself… and then Dr. Hattie began his keynote. Hearing the poignant reminders of the impact and productive use of data, the task of improving student performance engaged and incentivized us all for the following two days. The concept of near and far learning, or surface and deep learning, is a huge take away for our team. We are challenged with how to support our schools and teachers to implement CCSS, and we desire to increase the depth of knowledge at which our students engage. Current research as well as our own local observation reveals shallow depth and high levels of teacher work. Our challenge will be to deepen the learning experiences while teachers pass the thinking requirement to our students, challenging the students to struggle, to learn.
From Jorge Espinoza, Principal, Carlsbad Village Academy
The elusive question that educators ask is what strategies truly work in education. John Hattie grapples with these questions every day. He shared his thoughts and insights into this very question. He has looked at countless studies and looked at the effect size of these varied strategies. This focus on the impact on student learning is a focus that all educators should have. There is a science to learning and Hattie’s work and especially his presentation highlight the importance of teachers having high expectations, understanding their impact, and then measuring and promoting what works.
The end of his discussion leaves us with an even greater question. The studies that he has looked at through his research truly measure surface knowledge, but none of those studies measure conceptual understanding. Our goal is to get our students to apply their knowledge, but we have not studied how we can have a greater impact in this area. It will be interesting to see where Hattie will take us as he looks at this important question.
