John Hattie's work on Visible Learning is applied to Mathematics in his book titled Visible Learning For Mathematics: What Works Best to Optimize Student Learning. In this book, the authors examine the plethora of "research-based" instructional practices in an effort to provide recommendations for best-fit teaching. In a seminar in Toronto this summer, John Hattie recommended that educators resist getting seduced into a single form of instruction and opt for an understanding of the impact of various types of instruction to produce significant results and maximize student achievement. He labelled it the Goldie Locks approach to instruction:"Not too hard and not too boring". This reminds me of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. Matching instructional practices and strategies with the student's readiness to learn. In sum, Hattie et al.'s framework asks the teacher to consider when particular teaching strategies are most beneficial, and where a student is in his or her understanding of a concept.Thursday, November 8, 2018
Knowing Thy Impact
Knowing Thy Impact
John Hattie's work on Visible Learning is applied to Mathematics in his book titled Visible Learning For Mathematics: What Works Best to Optimize Student Learning. In this book, the authors examine the plethora of "research-based" instructional practices in an effort to provide recommendations for best-fit teaching. In a seminar in Toronto this summer, John Hattie recommended that educators resist getting seduced into a single form of instruction and opt for an understanding of the impact of various types of instruction to produce significant results and maximize student achievement. He labelled it the Goldie Locks approach to instruction:"Not too hard and not too boring". This reminds me of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. Matching instructional practices and strategies with the student's readiness to learn. In sum, Hattie et al.'s framework asks the teacher to consider when particular teaching strategies are most beneficial, and where a student is in his or her understanding of a concept.
John Hattie's work on Visible Learning is applied to Mathematics in his book titled Visible Learning For Mathematics: What Works Best to Optimize Student Learning. In this book, the authors examine the plethora of "research-based" instructional practices in an effort to provide recommendations for best-fit teaching. In a seminar in Toronto this summer, John Hattie recommended that educators resist getting seduced into a single form of instruction and opt for an understanding of the impact of various types of instruction to produce significant results and maximize student achievement. He labelled it the Goldie Locks approach to instruction:"Not too hard and not too boring". This reminds me of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. Matching instructional practices and strategies with the student's readiness to learn. In sum, Hattie et al.'s framework asks the teacher to consider when particular teaching strategies are most beneficial, and where a student is in his or her understanding of a concept.
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As I was reading through this post, my mind jumped to the “Zone of Proximal Development” thought as well. I think this is crucial to a good pedagogical approach regardless of the subject material. My experiences in teaching, coaching, and life in general indicate that people, especially students, want to be challenged. However, as educators in a subject that is often maligned by students such as math, we must be very careful to not present too great a challenge that it overwhelms students.
ReplyDeleteI think that the notion of exploring many different approaches is beneficial for students. Similar to the concept of manipulatives, I believe the idea of good for all but necessary for some applies here. As a teacher, it is a requirement for certain students to modify or accommodate. However, the practice of differentiated instruction can be applied to larger groups or even entire classes of students. Certain people may respond better to different approaches, so having an arsenal of different activities, analogies, presentation methods, and general concepts at one’s disposal is an absolute asset and in many cases a necessity.
Thank you for this resource. I too thought of Vygotzy's ZPD when I read Hattie's "Goldilocks" approach. I find that when students are given a hands-on exploration task, they are highly engaged.This is of course true for math, but for all other subjects, as well. I think another worthwhile approach is partner/group work. According to Vygotsky, social learning precedes development. When students are placed in a group, they learn from each other through social interaction and will retain the learning at and individual level. When grouped by ability, students will also learn from the members of the group that have a better understanding of the topic. Teachers must thoughtfully form groups for these reasons. This is just another way teachers can differentiate their instruction to ensure their students understand a concept.
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