books
Mind over matter – practical ways to make a real impact
10 Mindframes for Visible Learning. Teaching for Success. By John Hattie and Klaus Zierer. Routledge: paperback, 168 pages
This book makes the large-scale meta-analysis research previously undertaken by Hattie (and explained in detail in his book, Visible Learning) accessible to practitioners of all experience levels and curriculum areas. As the title implies, the book identifies 10 mindsets that teachers should have, or adopt, that lead to successful learning through the implementation of effective and impactful teaching. It is unlikely that the 10 mind frames identified will come as a surprise to most great teachers who are already focused on learners. However, the underlying aim of the book is to initiate self-reflection and practitioner collaboration. It links back to Hattie’s maxim of “know thy impact”. This relatively compact book of 168 pages covers
a massive range of topics pertinent to the education and training sector. These include assessment, feedback, progress, behaviour, relationships and learning dialogue. As a result, some topics are dealt with more briefly than others. However all sections do have ample information to inform your practice, self-reflection and collaboration. Each section is organised in a consistent way
starting with a short self-assessment questionnaire. The questionnaire is then referred to in the chapter plenary so that changes in perspectives, as a result
of engaging with the chapter, are ‘visible’ to the reader. I found these questions repetitive, predictable and lacking in challenge. But there is a plethora of questions in the text that are more thought-provoking and initiated more professional discussions than the self-assessment questions. The chapters offer various practical strategies for use in teaching sessions. And, although many of the strategies suggested are already familiar in many classrooms – e.g. jigsaw activities, group puzzles etc. – reflecting on them in light of the research and information presented in each section provides a new perspective and an understanding of why they work, and why they have an impact. For most experienced teachers, this book will not bring any great moments of enlightenment. But it will provide evidence-based confirmation that what we know does matter, and does have an impact on our learners. So it should be in every staff room, communal teaching area and on the reading lists for trainee teachers. One final thought. Throughout the book teachers
are encouraged to collaborate, reflect and plan lessons together. However, I wonder how many teachers can overcome the challenges they face in reality to make this happen. So this book also needs to be read by those in management who can influence these factors.
Reviewer: Sally Reeve is teaching and learning manager at Lincoln College Group. She is a Member of SET.
MEMBER OFFER SET members can
claim 20 per cent off te or this book when ordering direct ro otlee Use discount code VL20 when rote e offer s al ntl a,
1. Leadership Dialogues II. Leadership in Times of Change By Dave Harris and John West-Burnham Crown House Publishing: paperback, 216 pages Describing itself as more of a toolbox than an instruction manual, this book has an intriguing structure and links to a range of online resources that are aalable or onloa
32 ISSUE 31 • SPRING 2018 INTUITION
There are eight themes – such as securing equity and engagement, learning and technology, and developing evidence-based practice – and each themed chapter contains key questions, discussions aimed at provoking debate and links to te onloaable resorces The resources are all alpha-numerically coded and can be downloaded from the
ron ose blsn ebste ost are n tablar or This style is lively, and those
who like to immerse themselves in dense pages of narrative may be distracted by a fragmentary approach which intersperses narrative with quotes, questions an, o corse, ces to onloa The advantage of this
approach is that you never feel browbeaten by facts or the academic literature around the
important issues tackled in the book – not that it isn’t well referenced and dusted with quotes from key educational boos an aers It’s about school leadership but, leadership being a reasonably transferable commodity, there will be much in this book for leaders in further education and training, and those aspiring to leaers roles
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