What is Visible Thinking?

According to the Harvard Graduate School of Education "Visible Thinking is a flexible and systematic research-based conceptual framework, which aims to integrate the development of students' thinking with content learning across subject matters".

"When teaching and learning are visible, there is a greater likelihood of students reaching higher levels of achievement." John Hattie

Visible Learning ...occurs when teachers “see” learning through the eyes of their students and students see themselves as their own teachers.”

- Teaching in the Visible Learning Classroom (2019)

Why is it essential? Visible learning is the LINK to building students expectations of their own work. It is the instructional bridge from Surface Learning to Deep Learning to Transfer Learning. On John Hattie’s effect size scale, Direct Instruction is rated high with an effect size of 0.6. Based on this number, direct instruction should be a good method, right?... ONLY when the teaching and learning is VISIBLE during direct instruction does true learning happen!

Want more details? Check out this short article: “Direct Instruction is Not the Enemy”

CORE Visible Thinking Routines

Teaching Toolbox of Visible Thinking.pdf

Chalk Talk

Chalk Talk (Vocabulary Sense-making): Post each essential vocabulary term in the middle of a sheet of chart paper. Each student has a marker and rotates from term to term adding his or her definition or comment about that term. Students may not talk. Your “chalk,” in this case a “marker,” does the talking. You could also use this format for Mathematical Reflections by posting each question on a different sheet of chart paper around the classroom. Students could add their understandings, specific examples, and clarifying questions

Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12: What Works Best to Optimize Student Learning by John Hattie, Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Linda M. Gojak , Sara Delano Moore and William Mellman

Reproducibles from the book "Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12: What Works Best to Optimize Student Learning" can be found by following this link: https://resources.corwin.com/VL-mathematics/student-resources/chapter-1, including Sample Language Frames for Mathematics (see below)

Page updated

Report abuse