John Hattie is one of the most influential educational researchers in the world. His book "Visible Learning" has caused an international furore and is now available in German. At the University of Oldenburg, Hattie addressed the question: What determines how well pupils learn?
How can I create a lively discussion in the classroom? A question that comes up again and again in German classrooms. For John Hattie, educational researcher from New Zealand, the answer is obvious: "The only thing I can do as a teacher to get a discussion going in the classroom is to keep my mouth shut."
John Hattie is currently one of the most influential educational researchers in the world; his book "Visible Learning", published in 2009, has caused a furore among international experts. Now, on his only visit to Germany, he stands in front of the lectern in the lecture theatre at the University of Oldenburg and captivates his audience.
The reason for his visit is the German translation of "Visible Learning" - now presented by the Oldenburg educational scientist Prof Dr Klaus Zierer and his Swiss colleague Prof Dr Wolfgang Beywl. The lecture theatre is filled to capacity. There is also a large crowd downstairs in the foyer: there is a live broadcast for the 400 or so visitors who can no longer get in.
Hattie speaks freely, using deliberate pauses and punchlines. His lecture is a demonstration of a person who is totally absorbed by his subject. The word he often uses is "passion". According to him, this is precisely what makes a teacher good. Who, according to Hattie, sparks dialogues as a "change agent" and learns to understand their impact.
Hattie knows what he is talking about: at the beginning of his career, he worked as an English and music teacher. He then worked as a lecturer and research assistant before becoming Professor of Education at the University of Auckland (New Zealand). Since 2011, Hattie has been Professor of Education at the University of Melbourne (Australia).
"Making Learning Visible", the title of the translated book, is 440 pages long, with the literature section alone comprising almost 90 pages. The book is the result of 15 years of hard research by Hattie. 800 meta-analyses have been incorporated into the work; Hattie used data from 250 million pupils for these analyses. From his material, the educational researcher identified 138 factors for good learning. He ranks these factors according to how successful the pupils are at learning.
Right at the top of Hattie's ranking: The factor "Students' confidence in their own performance". In eighth place is "clarity of the teacher", in tenth place "feedback to the teacher". For Hattie, "class size", which is currently the subject of much discussion in Germany, has little influence on pupils' learning success: it ranks 106th, while not being promoted is in third-last place.
Klaus Zierer pointed out even before the German translation was published that conclusions should not be drawn prematurely from this ranking. The ranking requires a "differentiated view of the results", he wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 15 March. "Its predominantly Anglo-American results can only be applied to the German education system with caution," says Zierer, who warns against a simplistic reception of Hattie: slogans such as "The teacher is the most important thing" overburden teachers. "And they are wrong because it is not the teacher who is the most important factor, but the pupils themselves."
Hattie also points this out - with what he calls his "mantra": teachers, he says in the lecture theatre at the University of Oldenburg, must be able to see learning through the eyes of the students. They need to get pupils to see themselves as their own teachers. And sometimes the best way to do that is for the teacher to do something rare: say nothing.
John Hattie: "Lernen sichtbar machen", revised German edition by Wolfgang Beywl and Klaus Zierer, Schneider Verlag, 439 pages, 28 euros. On sale next week.