Confession of a Closet Data Avoider

There is a running joke in our Curriculum Office that 64% of the time we just throw out data percentages to make what we say seem more believable.  Obviously that is a joke, but it does emphasize the importance of using data as part of your decision making process.  However, I would caution anyone to solely use data to drive decisions.  It is not because I don’t support the use of data, remember I am a science guy who spent 15 years in the classroom, I understand how data can give a clearer picture.  I just think data helps paint a part of the picture, like the backdrop of a play, but the students and teachers are the focus of the scene and so it is how we use data to inform our next steps that is more important.  As much as I am a “science guy”, I have to admit I don’t always enjoy looking at data because it is easy to get lost in all the data that is out there, so I have to start this blog with a confession.  In 2009 when “Visible Learning- A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement” by John Hattie first came out I read the title, involuntarily yawned, and put the book at the back of my mind.  Recently feeling guilty about not at least giving the book a chance I pulled it out and began reading it and surprisingly found myself not being able to put it down.  I found that many of of the philosophical approaches to teaching and learning I believed and followed were supported by the meta-analysis done, but also there were some surprises that made me re-think how to approach each of these topics as well.

Stick with me here, Visible Learning is not the type of book you read from cover to cover.  As the title indicates it is a summary of over 800 meta-analysis from over 52,000 studies which then find a common way to compare each ( by effect size) , visually display the information through an easy to read “barometer of influence” diagram, and then follow up each diagram with an explanation of the impact on learning.  After reading the first three chapters, which set-up the data, it is really designed for you to skip around to investigate the research categorized into six contributing factors: the child, the home, the curricula, the teacher, and the approaches to teaching.  In summary, what Hattie found was the biggest effects on student learning occur when teachers become learners of their own teaching, and when students become their own teachers who exhibit the self-regulatory attributes that seem most desirable for learners: self-evaluation, self-assessment, and self-teaching.  Hattie emphasized that teachers do matter because they can determine the amount of teacher centered instruction and student centered instruction needed to balance the amount of surface knowledge vs.deep knowledge a student is exposed to by providing direction and re-direction in terms of content being understood and thus maximize the power of feedback while at the same time have the skill to get out of the way when learning is progressing towards the success criteria.  (Basically keeping kids in the zone of proximal development emphasizing the power of productive struggle which I addressed in this earlier post.)  

Here is a quick view of the top five, bottom five, and five other studies that made me go hmmm:

Most Positive Influence on Learning (Rank)	Comment
Self-Reported Grades	This was by far the greatest impact on learning and demonstrated to me the importance of having conversations with students.  They have an accurate understanding of what they know and sometimes tests can actual be a barrier because kids will limit their learning to meeting the test expectations.
(2) Piagetian Programs	Stressed the importance of students understand how they think.  Reminded me of the importance of growth mindset.
(3) Providing Formative Evaluation	Emphasis here was for teachers to pay attention to the formative effects of their teaching through data informed decisions (not data driven)
(4)  Micro-Teaching	Reminded me of readers’ or writers’ workshop with min-lesson prior to students working on their own, but emphasis here was also on video tape reflection and post discussion which can be VERY powerful.
(5)  Acceleration	I have to admit, this one surprised me as I have been a fan of enrichment (ranked #68) over acceleration of students, but this made me re-think the value of getting kids at the right level.  They addressed the social-emotion piece of gifted students as well.  Worth looking into more.

Least Positive Influence on Learning (Rank)	Comment (the data shows each of these listed has a negative influence on learning)
(138) Mobility	As you might have guessed, high mobility has the most negative impact on student learning based on these 800 meta-analysis.
(137) Television	This was related more to excessive use, but I would be interested to see studies for on-line binge watching as this is more common today.
(136) Retention	In Ohio, we have the third grade guarantee which forces students to be retained in ELA if they don’t meet a standard.  This data should add to our argument to reverse this policy.
(135) Welfare-Policies	This is interesting and was based on one meta-analysis of only eight studies.
(134)  Summer Vacations	Summer slide sound familiar?

5 things that made me go hmmm (Rank)	Comment
(9) Reciprocal Teaching	The biggest emphasis here was getting kids to share their learning which causes them to process their thinking before sharing.  One of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to someone else.
(26) Direct Teaching	There is obviously a time and place for direct teaching, but the importance is in the balance between teacher centered and student centered teaching.  I have to admit, I was surprised how high it ranked though.
(118) Problem Based Learning	How low this ranked was a surprise to me because I see the value of lab work in the science class.  At the same time, this emphasized productive vs. unproductive struggle and how the latter can take away from student learning if we are not careful.
(11)  Teacher-Student Relationships	Our superintendent always quotes the saying, “students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”, which stresses the importance of relationships.
(103)  Teaching Test Taking	The low rank of this is not a surprise, but I had to bring it up because it is an easy trap to fall into for many.

I, in no way, did justice of the book with this post, but I wanted to at least share enough information to suggest that it is worth purchasing to read yourself.  Hattie emphasized “that learning is a very personal journey for the teacher and the student…” and “it requires much skill for teachers to demonstrate to all their students that they can see their perspective, communicate it back to them so they have valuable feedback to assess, feel safe, and learn to understand others and the content with the same interest and concern.” (Hattie, 2009, p. 23)