About the Book
“Every student deserves a great teacher, not by chance, but by design” — Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, & John Hattie
What if someone slipped you a piece of paper listing the literacy practices that ensure students demonstrate more than a year’s worth of learning for a year spent in school? Would you keep the paper or throw it away?
We think you’d keep it. And that’s precisely why acclaimed educators Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie wrote Visible Learning for Literacy. They know teachers will want to apply Hattie’s head-turning synthesis of more than 15 years of research involving millions of students, which he used to identify the instructional routines that have the biggest impact on student learning.
These practices are “visible” for teachers and students to see, because their purpose has been made clear, they are implemented at the right moment in a student’s learning, and their effect is tangible. Yes, the “aha” moments made visible by design.
With their trademark clarity and command of the research, and dozens of classroom scenarios to make it all replicable, these authors apply Hattie’s research, and show you:
How to use the right approach at the right time, so that you can more intentionally design classroom experiences that hit the surface, deep, and transfer phases of learning, and more expertly see when a student is ready to dive from surface to deep.
Which routines are most effective at specific phases of learning, including word sorts, concept mapping, close reading, annotating, discussion, formative assessment, feedback, collaborative learning, reciprocal teaching, and many more.
Why the 8 mind frames for teachers apply so well to curriculum planning and can inspire you to be a change agent in students’ lives—and part of a faculty that embraces the idea that visible teaching is a continual evaluation of one’s impact on student’s learning.
“Teachers, it’s time we embrace the evidence, update our classrooms, and impact student learning in wildly positive ways,” say Doug, Nancy, and John. So let’s see Visible Learning for Literacy for what it is: the book that renews our teaching and reminds us of our influence, just in time.
Table of Contents:
List of Videos
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Laying the Groundwork for Visible Learning for Literacy
The Evidence Base
Meta-Analyses
Effect Sizes
Noticing What Works
Learning From What Works, Not Limited to Literacy
Teacher Credibility
Teacher–Student Relationships
Teacher Expectations
General Literacy Learning Practices
1. Challenge
2. Self-Efficacy
3. Learning Intentions With Success Criteria
Conclusion
Chapter 2. Surface Literacy Learning
Why Surface Literacy Learning Is Essential
Acquisition and Consolidation
Acquisition of Literacy Learning Made Visible
Leveraging Prior Knowledge
Phonics Instruction and Direct Instruction in Context
Vocabulary Instruction
Mnemonics
Word Cards
Modeling Word Solving
Word and Concept Sorts
Wide Reading
Reading Comprehension Instruction in Context
Summarizing
Annotating Text
Note-Taking
Consolidation of Literacy Learning Made Visible
Rehearsal and Memorization Through Spaced Practice
Repeated Reading
Receiving Feedback
Collaborative Learning With Peers
Conclusion
Chapter 3. Deep Literacy Learning
Moving From Surface to Deep
Deep Acquisition and Deep Consolidation
Deep Acquisition of Literacy Learning Made Visible
Concept Mapping
Discussion and Questioning
Close Reading
Deep Consolidation of Literacy Learning Made Visible
Metacognitive Strategies
Reciprocal Teaching
Feedback to the Learner
Conclusion
Chapter 4. Teaching Literacy for Transfer
Moving From Deep Learning to Transfer
Types of Transfer: Near and Far
The Paths for Transfer: Low-Road Hugging and High-Road Bridging
Setting the Conditions for Transfer of Learning
Teaching Students to Organize Conceptual Knowledge
Students Identify Analogies
Peer Tutoring
Reading Across Documents
Problem-Solving Teaching
Teaching Students to Transform Conceptual Knowledge
Socratic Seminar
Extended Writing
Time to Investigate and Produce
Conclusion
Chapter 5. Determining Impact, Responding When the Impact Is Insufficient, and Knowing What Does Not Work
Determining Impact
Preassessment
Postassessment
Responding When There Is Insufficient Impact
Response to Intervention
Screening
Quality Core Instruction
Progress Monitoring
Supplemental and Intensive Interventions
Learning From What Doesn’t Work
Grade-Level Retention
Ability Grouping
Matching Learning Styles With Instruction
Test Prep
Homework
Conclusion
Appendix: Effect Sizes
References
Index
About the Author :
Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association William S. Grey citation of merit and an Exemplary Leader award from the Conference on English Leadership of NCTE. He has published numerous articles on teaching and learning as well as books such as The Teacher Clarity Playbook, PLC+, Visible Learning for Literacy, Comprehension: The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading, How Tutoring Works, and How Learning Works. Doug loves being an educator and hopes to share that passion with others.
Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is a Professor in Educational Leadership at San Diego State and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. Her published titles include Visible Learning in Literacy, This Is Balanced Literacy, Removing Labels, and Rebound. Nancy is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California and learns from teachers and students every day. John Hattie, Ph.D., is an award-winning education researcher and best-selling author with nearly 30 years of experience examining what works best in student learning and achievement. His research, better known as Visible Learning, is a culmination of nearly 30 years synthesizing more than 1,700 meta-analyses comprising more than 100,000 studies involving over 300 million students around the world. He has presented and keynoted in over 350 international conferences and has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to education. His notable publications include Visible Learning, Visible Learning for Teachers, Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12, and 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning.
