Connecting Hattie’s Research to your own Beliefs and Journey

“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”
– Anonymous

Over the years I have sought out leaders in research and education so I can learn and grow and improve. One of my research/author heroes is Michael Fullan who writes a lot about culture and relationships and change as well as the forces that support and interfere with organizational change and growth. In this blog, I’ve written before about John Hattie’s research findings and “mindframes”.

Hattie’s “mind frames” and his research and findings and beliefs in “visible learning” underscore for me a number of things including how our EXPECTATIONS greatly matter as well as our communication greatly matters. Our refers to teachers, leaders, community members – really to everyone.

Some of the ways to “live out” these effective mind frames in real life and in real schools and other organizations can be found in feedback communication.

Effective feedback is the essence of formative assessment and it has a number of components (some listed below)
1. communicates desired goal
2. describes present position
3. clarifies understanding of gap between current and desired state develops an – shared language specifics understanding how to close the gap between current and desired results
4. given and sought continuously in a manner that is understood by the learner
5. is timely for updating strategy and status
6. developmental and not judgmental – celebrates progress toward success

As a way to help readers understand a bit more about my beliefs and background, and how my experiences and beliefs relate to Hattie’s findings and suggestions about mind frames and effect sizes of specific actions and interventions, I’m sharing a more autobiographical post than usual to briefly highlight my journey so far as well as the foundational beliefs I hold dear and have remained constant.

In 1993 I was selected to teach 8th grade social studies at Blackhawk Middle School in Bensenville Elementary School District #2 in Du Page County, Illinois. Since then my journey in public education has been filled with success, happiness, leadership, challenges, and fulfilment. In 2013 I became the superintendent of schools in Deerfield Public School District 109 in Lake County, Illinois. In between these many years I have had amazing experiences working with some of the finest teachers, administrators, Boards of Education, community leaders, and parents. While I am still learning – there is so much to learn in this “exponential” age of information, I am sharing my stories of success in leading change and moving systems from point A to point B in an effort to increase student learning and staff success!

For the past 20+ years I have had the good fortune of teaching children and adults in many capacities and roles. I have held the titles of teacher, coordinator, consultant, associate principal, principal, director, assistant superintendent, professor, and currently, superintendent of schools. In all of these roles I have been motivated by service to others and belief in the ability of others to succeed. Through connections I have been able to find success and bring out the best in others. In essence, my educational philosophy has always been:

Our complex society presents many challenges to people as they pass from childhood to adulthood. It is my firm belief that a strong educational foundation will support a person’s quest for success and prosperity. Young people are our windows to the future. Working with them has helped me see and consider their views as guideposts in decision making and planning. I am committed to preparing and to supporting our young citizens and their teachers for their future – and ours.

Through connections both personal and professional, I have been able to bring out the best in others and support their work in bringing out the best in others. Today’s world differs from yesterday’s world in that today we can connect with people in real time anytime. Today’s world differs from yesterday’s world in that our messages are received multiple ways all throughout the day. Gone are the days when one had to “wait for the mail” to arrive before knowing about this or that. Now we know about this and that before, during, and after it is all taking place.

As early as in 1995, I experimented with U.S. History Workshop where students were given voice and choice – with guidance, support, and direction – as they learned about U.S. History. I published an article in “The Councilor” (the official publication of the Illinois Council for the Social Studies), Volume 56, pages 11-25, title: “Planning Powerful and Engaging Social Studies: The U.S. History Workshop for Students” and in 2009 I published a few pages on classroom management in (Whitaker, T. (2009). The Ultimate Teacher. HCI, The Life Issues Publisher, www.hcibooks.com)

In 2005, when I was fortunate to publish my doctoral dissertation, I again discovered -this time through scientifically validated research methods- that student voice plays a statistically significant role in student learning. In every setting, my mission/vision/aim/guiding force/foundational philosophy is that students need their voice in order that their learning is maximized. Student voice in all grades, in all settings, in all environments. With guidance, structure, order, and facilitated learning environments, student learning and student satisfaction increases. Educational Reform – start asking, listening, considering, embracing, and adapting to STUDENT VOICE. While I focused so much attention on student voice, I did not realize that by sharing my own voice, by connecting, I was laying the groundwork for professionally leading in a culture of connectivity.

Looking back at the image above where Hattie’s meta analytical research found that the effect size of student expectations also referred to in his writing as self-reporting grades is 1.44, for more on Hattie, there are books, articles, publications, and links from my blog. The main points are for us to keep our eyes on the prize so to speak, raise our expectations – remove limits and obstacles – teach better, create more active learning spaces and allow our students to soar – using what we know and using what we believe -there are no limits!

It is incumbent upon us – public education leaders – to learn from research findings, apply interventions in the ways enumerated in the syntax of the research – and to cede some control to the students as we activate their learning and as we support their limitless growth and success!

Engage, Inspire, Empower

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