A Conversation with John Hattie (Visible Learning): Beyond What Works to What Works Best

When John Hattie’s original Visible Learning® book was published in 2008, it instantly became a sensation. Recently, this revolutionary educator returned to his groundbreaking work and published a new edition. The research underlying Hattie’s book is now informed by more than 2,100 meta-analyses (more than double that of the original), drawn from more than 130,000 studies, and has involved more than 400 million students from around the world.

If you’ve read the book, you know this is more than just a new edition. This book is a sequel that highlights the major story, taking in the big picture to reflect on the implementation in schools of Visible Learning, how it has been understood—and at times misunderstood—and what future directions research should take.

Join us as we talk with Hattie about the need for education to move beyond claiming what works to what works best by asking crucial questions like: Why is the current grammar of schooling so embedded in so many classrooms, and can we improve it? Why is the learning curve for teachers after the first few years so flat? How can we develop teacher mindframes to focus more on learning and listening? How can we incorporate research evidence as part of the discussions within schools?

During the podcast, we will discuss these topics:

• What Hattie means by visible learning
• Three ways of making learning visible: student voice, student artifacts, test scores, and how the teacher interprets that information, and decides where to go next with a student’s learning
• The importance of play in early learning
• The need for intentional alignment of learning and teaching strategies
• The evidence base and reactions to Visible Learning
• The Visible Learning model
• The influence of home, students, teachers, classrooms, schools, learning, and curriculum on achievement
• The impact of technology

If you’re in education either as a researcher, teacher, student, school leader, teacher trainer, or policy maker, this episode is for you!