Summary: One weekend I was having lunch with a friend who works in petroleum engineering. We talked about the kind of research and data that he uses to determine which sites are best for drilling or exploration.<br><br> Investors are especially interested in the ability of a company to substantiate the reason they should commit to providing resources for research and development–or in drilling and exploration. <br> When the conversation switched to my work as a principal, my friend asked me a probing question. It was so different than any question I had been asked before that I asked him to repeat it. “In a meta-analysis of student data,” he asked, “what would you say are the most significant factors in predicting student success?”<br> After sitting on the question a few moments, I said, “Well, socio-economic backgrounds, parental education, and literacy in the home are some of the most significant indicators for student success—especially in assessments like ACT or SAT.”<br> We talked about why those factors play such a role in the lives of students, but I also mentioned how some schools beat the odds when they find ways to provide these necessary supports and resources to less advantaged students.<br> Better Answers To The Big Question<br> A few days later, I was listening to a presentation by <a href="http://tovanigroup.com/">Cris Tovani</a>, who shared a blog post by Grant Wiggins entitled <a href="https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/what-works-in-education-hatties-list-of-the-greatest-effects-and-why-it-matters/">“What works in education—Hattie’s list of greatest effects and why it matters”</a> which is an anlysis of John Hattie’s book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415704995?ie=UTF8&creativeASIN=0415704995&tag=williamdparke-20">Visible Learning</a>–an exhaustive research of almost every instructional strategy used in schools today, and which factors result in the most significant gains to student learning.<br><br> <br> Wiggin’s article was a brief synopsis of which factors Hattie identified in order of most effective top-down with the asterisk-marks showing an effect of almost a year of academic growth. Wiggins adds commentary on the last two:<br> <br> • Student self-assessment/self-grading*<br><br> • Response to intervention*<br><br> • Teacher credibility*<br><br> • Providing formative assessments*<br><br> • Classroom discussion*<br><br> • Teacher clarity*<br><br> • Feedback*<br><br> • Reciprocal teaching*<br><br> • Teacher-student relationships fostered*<br><br> • Spaced vs. mass practice*<br><br> • Meta-cognitive strategies taught and used<br><br> • Acceleration<br><br> • Classroom behavioral techniques<br><br> • Vocabulary programs<br><br> • Repeated reading programs<br><br> • Creativity programs<br><br> • Student prior achievement<br><br> • Self-questioning by students<br><br> • Study skills<br><br> • Problem-solving teaching<br><br> • Not labeling students<br><br> • Concept mapping<br><br> • Cooperative vs individualistic learning<br><br> • Direct instruction<br><br> • Tactile stimulation programs<br><br> • Mastery learning<br><br> • Worked examples<br><br> • Visual-perception programs<br><br> • Peer tutoring<br><br> • Cooperative vs competitive learning<br><br> • Phonics instruction<br><br> • Student-centered teaching<br><br> • Classroom cohesion<br><br> • Pre-term birth weight<br><br> • Peer influences<br><br> • Classroom management techniques<br><br> • Outdoor-adventure programs<br><br> Can you guess the next two items on the rank order list?<br><br> “Home environment” and “socio-economic status.”<br> Did you catch that? “Home environment” and “socio-economic status” ranked AFTER the long list of other strategies that research shows provide greater significant gains in student lear...
