Hattie

We have the research! Let’s update our practices! #Engage109

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“Many people die with their music still in them.”
– Oliver Wendell Holmes

As educators, it’s our job to help them find their music!

I think that the superintendent of schools should ensure that all children have access to educational opportunities despite decades of segregation and practices that have overtly and covertly separated children who learn differently.

Segregation due to race ended by law in 1954, but there have been other ‘segregationary’ practices – some well intentioned as well – like special education, exclusionary tracking, etc..

Often districts and schools practice “sifting” and “sorting” of students, these are practices that have, in general, led to disparate equity of educational opportunity across the schools, districts, states, and nation.

Regardless of evidence and research findings, many educational programs and practices still exist because school systems and leaders don’t understand how to manage change or because they are afraid to change.

When Public Law 94-142 (the special education law) was enacted in 1975, four main purposes were:

  • “to assure that all children with disabilities have available to them … a free appropriate public education which emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs
  • to assure that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents … are protected
  • to assist States and localities to provide for the education of all children with disabilities
  • to assess and assure the effectiveness of efforts to educate all children with disabilities”

Source: Education for All Handicapped Children Act, 1975

The reality is that since 1975, many well intentioned educational programs for diverse learners ended up creating separate (but equal) “programs” and “service delivery models” for various learners.

I also think that it’s incumbent upon a superintendent to share the latest evidence, research, information, studies, etc. with his/her community to inform and improve practices.

I believe in the concept of innovation (changing for improvement).

You have probably heard about John Hattie. Specifically, you may have heard about his research on the factors that affect student achievement. Hattie uses effect sizes to show the relative impact of each factor. An effect size of 0.4 is regarded as average or typical. His work is ongoing. To my knowledge, his results were 1st published in 1999. They became well-known after he published a book in 2008 called Visible Learning. His results were last updated in late 2016. This Hattie effect size 2016 update summarizes these new findings in the context of what went before.

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, see Hattie, et. al, for example, updated in 2016, many “mythological” and ineffective educational practices are still in place all over the school systems because “that’s the way it’s always been done“. Doing what’s right is not always popular – but we have no excuses for not doing what’s right.

The figures below show the latest findings from Hattie’s meta-analyses about the most effective instructional practices.  (I have written about Hattie‘s findings from time to time): (from the figures below, the concept of teacher credibility has an effect size of 0.90 and feedback has an effect size of 0.73, acceleration has an effect size of 0.68, for example).

Hattie’s studies have found that an effect size of 0.40 reflects the average impact of an intervention; those above 0.40 are more impactful. (click on the images below to go to the source)

Teacher Credibility Defined:

According to Hattie teacher credibility is vital to learning, and students are very perceptive about knowing which teachers can make a difference. There are four key factors of credibility: trust, competence, dynamism and immediacy. In an interview Hattie puts it like that: “If a teacher is not perceived as credible, the students just turn off.”

Examples for teacher credibility: Earn trust by showing trust towards pupils. Appear highly organised in the presentation of the subject matter. Develop a powerful style of speaking that uses few verbal hesitancies such as “OK” or “you know”. Reduce distance between teachers and students by moving or moving away from barriers (e.g., desk, podiums). Source: cie.asu.edu

The impact of a teacher on a student’s learning is so important that it’s arguably the most important duty of an administrator to select teachers who are predictive of excellence.

 

 

Goals to mathematics are 0.40-0.49 effect size
Play programs to preterm birth weight are 0.50-0.59 effect size
Teaching strategies to acceleration are 0.60-0.69 effect size
Feedback (0.73) to Teacher credibility (0.90) complete the list

The role of superintendent of schools is often a mysterious role. I have found that many people don’t really know what a superintendent actually does on a daily basis. Some think it’s like an “uber” principalship, others think it’s like a “CEO” of a corporation, and still others really have no idea. From time to time I write about what a superintendent does.

From my employment contract it states my responsibilities and duties as superintendent:

The Superintendent shall have charge of the administration of the schools under the direction of the Board; he shall be the chief executive officer for the Board; he shall recommend the selection, retention and dismissal of, and direct and assign, teachers and other employees of the School District under his supervision; he shall organize and direct the administrative and supervisory staff; he shall make recommendations to the Board concerning the budget, building plans, location of sites, and the selection of textbooks, instructional material, and courses of study; he shall direct the keeping of all records and accounts, and aid in the making of all reports, as required by the Board; he shall recommend rules, regulations, and procedures deemed necessary for the welfare of the School District; and, in general, he shall perform all other duties incident to the office of the Superintendent as the Board may delegate to him or as required by law.

 

Subsequent blog posts will reflect on the duties of a superintendent who must lead to ensure that ALL students receive high quality education with structures and systems supported by evidence. It’s time to stop doing what is easy and wrong! It’s time to do what is right – even when it makes people change.

 

Just because our school system was designed in 1893 does not mean that we should still act like it’s 1893!

Why Must We Change Instructional/Organizational Practices in Education? – #engage109

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“Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.”
– John Wooden

 

Why change?

What is the sense of urgency?

Why do we constantly seek new and better ways to educate?

Well … for many reasons … among them – the world is different today – like it or not – there is new research, empirical evidence of impact and effects (see John Hattie and a number of posts I have written) yet it is so hard to change habits and it is so hard to make people believe in change since change also causes loss …

From time to time I post “Did you Know” videos … today I’m posting a new version – please take a few moments to watch the video and think – then watch the second video and please share your thoughts and comments.

The next video has some repeat information – but it’s worth a look:

Change is needed in the schools today. In a recent article in the December 2016 issue of District Administration (on page 10), Marc Prensky is quoted:

…”Up until now education has been about improving individuals, “he says. “What education should be about in the future is improving the world–and having individuals improve in the process.”

What does that mean to you?

How does all of this reconcile with the empirical evidence of what works in education (and what myths need to be corrected) (from Hattie, et. al)?

This is an exciting and quite arduous time to be a public educator.

 

From my 2/25/2014 POST where I repost material from Dana Schon:

, An Index Of Teaching & Learning Strategies: 39 Effect Sizes In Ascending Order by Dana Schon, sai-iowa.org

Effect Size Defined-Statistically speaking, the strength of the relationship between two variables. John Hattie, Professor of Education and Director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne, Australia, says ‘effect sizes’ are the best way of answering the question ‘what has the greatest influence on student learning?’Effect Size Applied

  • Reverse effects are self-explanatory, and below 0.0
  • Developmental effects are 0.0 to 0.15, and the improvement a child may be expected to show in a year simply through growing up, without any schooling. (These levels are determined with reference to countries with little or no schooling.)
  • Teacher effects “Teachers typically can attain d=0.20 to d=0.40 growth per year—and this can be considered average”…but subject to a lot of variation.
  • Desired effects are those above d=0.30 (Wiliam, Lee, Harrison, and Black 2004) and d=0.40 (Hattie, 1999) which are attributable to the specific interventions or methods being researched– changes beyond natural maturation or chance.
  • Blatantly obvious effects: An effect-size of d=1.0 indicates an increase of one standard deviation… A one standard deviation increase is typically associated with advancing children’s achievement by two to three years*, improving the rate of learning by 50%, or a correlation between some variable (e.g., amount of homework) and achievement of approximately r=0.50. When implementing a new program, an effect-size of 1.0 would mean that, on average, students receiving that treatment would exceed 84% of students not receiving that treatment.
 Cohen (1988) argued that an effect size of d=1.0 should be regarded as a large, blatantly obvious, and grossly perceptible difference [such as] the difference between a person at 5’3″ (160 cm) and 6’0″ (183 cm)—which would be a difference visible to the naked eye.

Effect Size CAUTION

Reduce temptation to oversimplify. This is one more resource in our efforts to problem-solve on behalf of our students. We need to be careful about drawing too definite a conclusion from an effect size without examining the study. For example, homework is shown to have an overall effect size of 0.29, which is low and well below the average of 0.40. But when you look more closely, you find that primary students gain least from homework (d = 0.15) while secondary students have greater gains (d = 0.64).

Editor’s Note

Data is only as useful as its application. As hinted at above, don’t fall into the trap of assuming the teaching and learning strategies and other impacts on student achievement at the top of the list are “bad,” and those at the bottom are “good.” These are not recommendations, but rather a comprehensive synthesis of a huge amount of data. Every study has a story, and every strategy and impacting agent below has a background.

Ultimately, to best use this data to inform teaching and planning, every study we need to be looked at on its own. We would need to clarify what the terms were for success. Two of Hattie’s books–Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, and Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement–must-buys so that you can do that kind of analysis on your own rather than skimming a blog post and extracting misguided takeaways …That said, the results of the synthesizing of the data appear below.

What Has The Greatest Influence On Learning? A Synthesis Of Hattie’s Synthesis

Retention (holding back a year)

-0.13

 Repeating a grade. Also negatively correlated with social/emotional adjustment, behavior, and self-concept.
Open vs traditional learning spaces

0.01

 Open classrooms range widely in features—not correlated to increases in achievement.
Student control over learning

0.04

 Effect of student choice and control over learning is somewhat higher on motivation outcomes than achievement outcomes, but neither have major consequences on learning and too many choices can be overwhelming.
Teacher subject matter knowledge

0.09

 Little data to support claim that teacher content knowledge is critical to student achievement. Darling-Hammond claims content knowledge influential up to some level of basic competence but less so thereafter. Since publishing Visible Learning, Hattie has studied this topic more in depth and has shared that the issue is a pedagogical issue—teaching is occurring at a surface level such that deep content knowledge has not presented itself as influential or not. Expert teachers know how to connect their content to other relevant issues and content and how to organize that content.
Ability grouping/tracking/streaming

0.12

 Refers to whether classes are heterogeneous or homogeneous. Studies consider achievement effects and equity effects. More than 300 studies show tracking has minimal effects on learning outcomes and “profound negative equity effects.”Separate gifted programming is not considered in this set of studies—see ability grouping for gifted.
Gender (male compared with female achievement)

0.12

 Males and females are more alike than they are different, and differences are minor. 2,926 studies all point to the same conclusion. “The differences between males and females should not be of major concern to educators.”
Matching teaching with student learning styles

0.17

 Contends different students have differing preferences for particular ways of learning—auditory, visual, tactile, or kinesthetic, for example. No gains in achievement found when teacher matched instruction to preferred modality.  Much skepticism surrounding claims around learning preferences. Research does not support correlation between matching learning style and increased achievement.
Within-class grouping

0.18

 Defined as “teacher’s practice of forming groups of students of similar ability within an individual class.” Such groups that were studied were formed on semi-permanent basis. This is different from grouping for purpose of targeting instruction toward a specific skill area in which a heterogeneous group (achievement-wise) needs support for a short amount of time/intervention. Effects on research re: within class grouping (excluding gifted) was higher when class size was above 35—i.e. students in class sizes over 35 benefitted from small group instruction. Different from small group learning, defined as teacher assigning a task to small group and expecting them to complete.
Extra-Curricular

0.19

 Not a high correlation between extra-curriculars and achievement—sports is even lower than academic-related activities like speech/drama/music; however, because students enjoy activities, they are engaged and keep attending schools where they “gain the dividend of instruction in more academic subjects.” Effects from activities were found to be more related to identity formation and peer self-esteem, which are especially important to adolescents.
Reducing class size (Reduce from 25-15, effect between 0.10 to 0.20)

0.21

 Effects may be higher for working conditions which may or may not translate into effects on learning. For smaller class size to yield higher effects, the type of instruction needs to be re-conceptualized to ensure the needs of all students are met within whatever the class size. Need to focus on strategies that are maximized in smaller or larger groups and apply respectively.
Individualized instruction (Note: NOT special education)

0.22

 Based on ideas that each student has unique interests and past learning experiences, and individualized program takes this into account. Allows for student flexibility and individual differences. Small effect, but one study claimed higher effects based upon teacher adapting instruction to needs of students and aligning to capability in addition to finding resources that were fitting. Other whole class/group influences like peer tutoring have higher effects.
School finance

0.23

 Minimal relationship between educational expenditure and student achievement; more positive correlation between expenses for cost of instruction (e.g. teacher salaries and instructional supplies) and achievement. Not amount of money spent, but how it is spent.
Teaching test-taking and coaching

0.27

 Many studies around SAT preparation show influence impacted by length of coaching/training. Other studies indicate that familiarizing students with the examination process and examiner can make a difference, more so than test prep. Students in the low SES group performed significantly higher on standardized tests when they were familiar with the examiner.
Homework (Note: Elementary effect size of 0.15, and high school of 0.64)

0.29

 Involves “tasks assigned to students by teachers that are meant to be carried out during non-school hours.” Effects twice as large for high as for junior high, and twice as large again for junior high as for elementary. Smallest effects in math. Largest in science and social studies with English in the middle. Effects greater for higher than lower ability students. Homework for some reinforces that they cannot learn by themselves. Can undermine motivation and internalize incorrect routines and strategies.
Inquiry-based teaching (Note: Hattie wondered why effect wasn’t higher and since publishing, has learned that teaching content so students have some background knowledge about which they are inquiring increases effect)

0.31

 Art of developing challenging situations—students observe and question phenomena, pose explanations, devise and conduct experiments, collect data, analyze data, draw conclusions, design and build models, or any combination. Open-ended. Greater effects when teaching process rather than content. Shown to produce transferable critical thinking skills.
Using simulations and gaming

0.33

 Typically involves use of model or game (such as role playing, decision-making) with an aim to engage students in learning. Aims to mimic real-world problems.
Decreasing disruptive behavior

0.34

 Teachers need skills to ensure no student disrupts his/her own learning or that of others. Argument is NOT that disruptive student should be removed.
Computer-assisted instruction (Note: Web-based learning, interactive video methods, and simulations are analyzed separately)

0.37

 25 times out of 100, computer-aided instruction in the form of tutoring, managing, simulation, enrichment, programming, and/or problem-solving will make a positive difference. Majority of studies are about teachers using computers in instruction compared to those who don’t—fewer about students using them in learning in different ways. Use of computers more effective when a diversity of teaching strategies, when teachers receive pre-training in their use, when multiple opportunities for learning, when the student (not teacher) is in control of learning, when peer learning is optimized, and when feedback is optimized.
Integrated curricular programs (e.g. global studies class that incorporates both science and social studies or thematic unit– Friendship)

0.39

 More effective in elementary and middle school than high school. Greater effect when instruction was organized around a theme (0.46) and process skills were emphasized (0.36). Greater effect for lower achieving compared to middle and higher achieving students and when more experienced teachers implemented.

Effect Size greater than 0.4 effects student achievement
How to develop high expectations for each teacher (Note: Hattie contends teachers must stop over-emphasizing ability and start emphasizing progress—steep learning curves are the RIGHT of ALL students regardless of where they start. Be prepared to be surprised!)

0.43

 Studies included effects related to the notion of self-fulfilling prophecy—teachers are more likely to have their students reach their expected outcomes regardless of the “veracity” of the outcomes. Studies in this meta-analysis also show students know they are treated differentially in the classroom due to expectations by teachers for certain students to take AP courses, for example, or others to pursue technical fields.
Professional development on student achievement

0.51

 Research re: PD seems to focus more on changes in teachers rather than impact on student outcomes. PD likely to change teacher learning but has less effect on teacher behavior. PD in science has highest effects on student outcomes (0.94) then writing (0.88). Seven themes re: what works best in PD were advocated as a result of 72 studies.
Home environment

0.52

 Includes measures of the socio-psychological environment and intellectual stimulation in the home. Most highly correlated factors with achievement were maternal involvement, variety and play materials.
Peer influences on achievement

0.53

 Studies include a variety of influences: peer tutoring, helping, friendship, and giving feedback. Studies examining what happens when a student moves schools show single greatest predictor of subsequent success is whether student makes friend in first month.
Phonics instruction

0.54

 Teaching students the alphabetic code. Designed for beginners in early elementary.
Providing worked examples

0.57

 Typically consist of a problem statement and the appropriate steps to a solution. Three steps: introductory phase, acquisition/training phase, test phase (assess learning). Reduces cognitive load for students such that they concentrate on the processes that lead to the correct answer and not just providing an answer.
Cooperative vs individualistic learning

0.59

 Most powerful when students have acquired sufficient background knowledge to be involved in discussion and learning w/peers. Most useful when learning concepts, verbal problem-solving, spatial problem-solving, retention and memory.  Effects increase with age.
Direct instruction

0.59

 Not to be confused with didactic teacher-led talking from the front. Refers to 7 major steps:

  1. Teacher specifies learning outcomes/intentions
  2. Teacher knows and communicates success criteria
  3. Builds commitment and engagement in learning task (the hook)
  4. Lesson design: input, model, check for understanding
  5. Guided practice
  6. Closure
  7. Independent practice

Speaks to power of stating learning intentions/outcomes and communicating standards for performance and then engaging students in getting there. Effects were found to be similar for regular education and special education—i.e. direct instruction is effective for all.
Concept mapping

0.60

 Involves development of graphical representations of the conceptual structure of content to be learned. Importance of concept mapping is in its emphasis on summarizing main ideas in what is to be learned. Assists in synthesizing and identifying major ideas, themes, and interrelationships.
Comprehension programs (Interesting note: Hattie did not find a 4th grade reading slump, just no growth or increase during upper elementary years. Several possible reasons for plateau: most curricula does not attend to reading progressions, lack of building upon learning to read once students have learned to read, and possibly perceived “unimportant” reading difficulties appear for the first time in Grade 5 when students encounter information materials and multiple text types requiring more inference and comprehension.

0.60

 Comprehension programs with dominant focus on processing strategies (e.g. inferential reasoning, rules for summarizing, and chunking texts) produced higher effect than did text programs (e.g. repetition of concepts and explicitness) and task programs.
Teaching learning strategies

0.62

 Teaching kids how to learn and developing students’ strategies for learning. Need to provide students with learning strategies in the context of learning, a chance to practice, and assurance that the strategies are effective. Need to understand intention to use, consistency in appropriate use ,and knowing when chosen strategy is effective—learning to learn or self-regulation.
Teaching study skills

0.63

 To get to deeper levels of understanding and effectiveness, combine study skills instruction with the content.
Vocabulary programs

0.67

 Students who experienced vocabulary instruction experienced major improvements in reading comprehension and overall reading skills. Most effective vocabulary instruction included providing both definitional and contextual information, involved students in deeper processing, and gave students more than 1 or 2 exposures to the word to be learned.
How to accelerate learning (e.g. skipping a year)

0.68

 Other forms of acceleration include compacting curriculum, telescoping curriculum, and advanced placement. No negative social effects for accelerated students were supported by the research. Effect size for 2 meta-analyses and 37 studies regarding all forms of acceleration was 0.88.
How to better teach meta-cognitive strategies

0.69

 Meta-cognitive strategies refer to those “thinking about thinking” strategies: planning how to approach a learning task, evaluating progress, and monitoring comprehension. Self-questioning is another meta-cognitive strategy.
Teacher-student relationships

0.72

 Interestingly, “when students, parents, teachers and principals were asked about what influences student achievement, all BUT the teachers emphasized the relationships between the teachers and the students.” “Building relationships implies agency, efficacy, respect by the teacher for what the student brings to the class (from home, culture, and peers) and recognition of the life of the student.”
Reciprocal teaching

0.74

 Teaching cognitive strategies intended to lead to improved learning outcomes. Emphasis on teachers enabling students to learn and use strategies such as summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting. Dialogue between teacher and students around text. Students take turns as teacher and lead dialogue to bring meaning to written word with assistance to learn to monitor their own learning and thinking.
How to provide better feedback

0.75

 Among most powerful of influences, especially when it is from the student to the teacher. If the teacher is open to feedback regarding what students know and understand, where they make errors, when they have misconceptions, and when they are disengaged, then they can respond accordingly.  Feedback is about providing information about the task performance. Effect sizes from these studies show considerable variability, meaning some forms of feedback are more powerful than others. Least effective: programmed instruction, praise, punishment, and extrinsic rewards. Feedback is more effective when it provides information on correct rather than incorrect responses and when it builds on changes from previous trials.
Providing formative evaluation to teachers

0.90

 Refers to teachers attending to what is happening for each student in their classrooms as a result of their instruction—when teachers ask, “How am I doing?” Highest effects when teachers seek evidence on where students are not doing well.
Teacher credibility in the eyes of the students (Note: This link is to an interesting article on credibility and how to build it: http://bit.ly/WRZ5iA)

0.90

 “If a teacher is not perceived as credible, the students just turn off. If a student doesn’t get (the value of education) by the age of 8, they are behind for most of the rest of their school life. Students are very perceptive about knowing which teachers can make a difference to their learning. And teachers who command this credibility are most likely to make the difference.”
How to develop high expectations for each student

1.44

 Refers to students’ expectations for and beliefs in themselves. Involves students predicting or self-reporting their grades. Implications: teachers need to provide opportunities for students to be involved in predicting their performance. “Making the learning intentions and success criteria transparent, having high, but appropriate, expectations, and providing feedback at the appropriate levels is critical to building confidence in taking on challenging tasks.”

(See above for effect sizes and context/explanation.)

  1. Retention (holding back a year)
  2. Open vs traditional learning spaces
  3. Student control over learning
  4. Teacher subject matter knowledge
  5. Ability grouping/tracking/streaming
  6. Gender (male compared with female achievement)
  7. Matching teaching with student learning styles
  8. Within-class grouping
  9. Extra-Curricular
  10. Reducing class size
  11. Individualized instruction
  12. School finance
  13. Teaching test-taking and coaching
  14. Homework
  15. Inquiry-based teaching
  16. Using simulations and gaming
  17. Decreasing disruptive behavior
  18. Computer-assisted instruction
  19. Integrated curricular programs
  20. How to develop high expectations for each teacher
  21. Professional development on student achievement
  22. Home environment
  23. Peer influences on achievement
  24. Phonics instruction
  25. Providing worked examples
  26. Cooperative vs individualistic learning
  27. Direct instruction
  28. Concept mapping
  29. Comprehension programs
  30. Teaching learning strategies
  31. Teaching study skills
  32. Vocabulary programs
  33. How to accelerate learning (e.g. skipping a year)
  34. How to better teach meta-cognitive strategies
  35. Teacher-student relationships
  36. Reciprocal teaching
  37. How to provide better feedback
  38. Providing formative evaluation to teachers
  39. Teacher credibility in the eyes of the students

Put students in the right place at the right time every day

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“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”
– Sheryl Sandberg

As a teacher and as a teacher advocate and as a supporter of public education and education for ALL students I often think about creating systems and structures that allow our students the benefits of “being in the right place at the right time“. Often I have written about we educators only having one year to make the absolute best impact on our students. Students only have one chance to be in kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc. We have around 175-180 days per year to facilitate learning in the most meaningful way possible. We don’t get do overs for our students – we have tremendous power over their lives and we have tremendous responsibility to ensure that all of our students are in the right place at the right time.

As leaders it is incumbent upon us, in my opinion, to create and sustain optimal learning structures so that the right place at the right time is not due to chance but due to deliberate planning and creation. Look at the quote at the start of this post from Facebook’s COO (Chief Operating Officer), substitute the word “leader” with “teacher” … our work is to make others better. We can make others

The major findings - distilling from millions of studies on what works.
The major findings – distilling from millions of studies on what works.

better by adopting a Right place at Right time mindset. When every day in school is a day of meaningful discovery and when every day we create sustainable structures that allow for differentiated, individualized, and ultimately to personalized learning, we will be living this concept of helping ALL students be in the right place at the right time.

Think about your own life’s experiences, when have you felt you were in the right place at the right time?

When have you described someone’s “luck” or “good fortune” as saying “X” was in the right place at the right time?

Let’s challenge one another to make every day one in which ALL students are in the right place at the right time!

ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER
ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER

Connecting Hattie’s Research to your own Beliefs and Journey

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“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

Reflections from teaching and researching – voice/input/respect – keys to success and growth

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“The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back.”
– Abigail Van Buren

Early in my career I learned that student choice in how they could produce learning increased their engagement levels. I also learned that by teaching students how to think about thinking (metacognition) their understanding and reasoning skills were enhanced. When I was a middle school teacher I believed ALL students could learn and I believed ALL students deserved rigorous, relevant, results focused learning. I was successful as a teacher because I built a foundation based upon trusting relationships and respect. It is part of my mission, passion, and calling to this profession to ensure that all educators believe in ALL students and that learning remain the focus of our business. We are in the business of learning. We produce learners and thinkers.

About 12 years into my career I was fortunate to have the opportunity to pursue and complete post-graduate studies earning the degree of Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in curriculum & instruction. I published my dissertation: Effective Instruction in Middle School Social Studies. One statistically significant finding from my research and studies was in the area of student voice/choice. Statistically significant essentially means that what occurred did so as a result of something other than chance … meaning, the deliberate conditions (in the case of my study student choice in learning assessments) yielded higher levels of student satisfaction. The purpose of the study was to analyze student learning in 8th grade social studies classes with both traditional and constructivist philosophy based instructional settings, and to analyze the impact upon student learning in three areas: achievement, satisfaction, and perception. The findings that were significant refer to satisfaction.

Students took the Student Satisfaction Survey from the Comprehensive Assessment of School Environments (CASE) from the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). The student satisfaction survey used in this study was part of the Comprehensive Assessment of School Environments (CASE) published and created by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). The satisfaction survey applied to the research in this dissertation study was used to establish satisfaction levels for the two comparison groups, the control group and the treatment group.

Research in the literature shows connections between student success and elements of constructivist philosophy. The ultimate implication for the education community, based upon the data presented in my dissertation study, is the social justice implication inherent in research studies designed to determine student satisfaction, perception and achievement. Students are the primary stakeholders, or constituent groups, in America’s classrooms this should not be forgotten or looked over. That these students have opinions and their ideas can be windows into the best and most appropriate educational methods of instruction should not be forgotten. Today’s student may be the same and he may be different from yesterday’s student, but the fact that student success is a just and viable goal for all school systems lends itself to the need for additional research into how best to educate children.

In my current leadership role, in addition to sharing meaningful research (i.e. Hattie’s findings), I also work to implement meaningful ways to impact student and staff learning. Lessons I have learned from personal research as well as from secondary research continue to govern and inform my work. Increasing satisfaction, engagement, happiness, respect, value – and by holding high expectations for ALL – we will continue to show growth!