The main ideas of the book are:
- The big idea – know thy impact!
Expert teachers are not wedded to specific teaching strategies – rather, they regularly focus on evaluating the effects they have on students, and adjust teaching methods accordingly.
- When teaching and learning are “visible” – that is, when it is clear what teachers are teaching and what
students are learning, student achievement increases.
John Hattie made quite a splash with the publication of his earlier book, Visible Learning, in 2009. This book is based on a huge 15-year research project to discover what works in schools. In fact, one reviewer called it “Teaching’s Holy Grail.”
By synthesizing over 50,000 studies related to achievement in school-aged students, Hattie conducted the biggest ever evidencebased research project in education.
While research in education has come up with many findings, by synthesizing an enormous number of studies in such a rigorous and thorough way, Hattie has provided us with a much more solid foundation of scientific research than we have ever had in the field of education!