The Visible Learning research synthesizes findings from 1,600 meta-analyses of 95,000 studies involving 300 million students, into what works best in education.

DOWNLOAD, PRINT IN COLOR, DOUBLE-SIDED, AND THEN LAMINATE this 1-pager that has ALL factors color-coded by effect size and organized by domain.

DOWNLOAD AND SAVE this GLOSSARY OF INFLUENCES which defines all the factors.

Based on Effect Size, factors have been ranked on their:

• Potential to considerably accelerate student achievement (dark blue),

• Potential to accelerate student achievement (light blue),

• Likelihood to have positive impact on student achievement (green),

• Likelihood to have small positive impact on student achievement (yellow), and

• Likelihood to have a negative impact on student achievement (red).

The factors have been grouped into 9 domains (student; home; school; classroom; teacher; curricula; student learning strategies; teaching strategies; and technology, school, and out-of-school strategies). Teachers have greater control over some domains than others.

Effect size is a measure of the magnitude of the difference between the averages of two groups. Effect size goes beyond answering the question, “Does it work or not?” to answering the question, “How well does it work?”

Effect size is useful when comparing differences because it puts the results of studies on the same scale. This allows one to make comparisons between groups in a single study. It also allows one to make comparisons between studies. Examples in educational settings include quantifying differences between factors that influence achievement, such as:

• Instructional Strategies (e.g., jigsaw method vs. humor),

• Learning Strategies (e.g., student-centered teaching vs. student control over learning),

• Student Attributes (e.g., motivation vs. boredom), and

• Teacher Attributes (e.g., teacher estimates of achievement vs. teacher performance pay).

Effect size is typically reported as Cohen’s d. Effect sizes (d) in achievement typically range from -0.2 to +1.2, with an average effect size of 0.4. Negative effect size means the factor has a negative influence on student achievement; positive means the factor has a positive influence on student achievement. An effect size of zero (0) means there is no influence on student achievement—neither positive or negative. Ninety percent of effect sizes in education are positive.

The larger the absolute value of an effect size, the greater the influence. Folks with the Visible Learning framework suggest we focus on those influences with effect sizes of 0.40 or greater. This is the hinge point, where the factor has a “greater than average” influence. This is where we start to see real-world and powerful differences.

Here's a link to a SIMPLE GRAPHIC SUMMARIZING SMALL, MEDIUM, AND LARGE EFFECT SIZES

WEBSITES

• Visible Learning - Information About What Works Best For Learning
  https://visible-learning.org/
  This website contains a wealth of information about Visible Learning. It has new, videos, podcasts, Hattie's rankings, a glossary, and more.
  

• Visible Learning - Building the Capacity of Learners to Learn (Corwin Visible Learning Plus)
  https://www.visiblelearning.com/
  This commercial website has a number of resources worth browsing through. Check the Resources link for access to a wealth of material.

VIDEOS

• Visible Learning: What Works? by the Science Education Trust (2018)
  https://youtu.be/9v3FRoHSXwE
  This short (2:58) video effectively introduces Visible Learning. It highlights the most common interventions and assesses their impact in achievement. The graphics provide an easy way to gauge what works and what does not work.
  

• John Hattie: What Does It Mean to Be a Successful Teacher? (2018)
  https://youtu.be/NT1T8o9P87o
  John Hattie discusses what it means to be a successful educator with Education Week’s Elizabeth Rich. Engaging students in a passion for learning, collaborating with colleagues, appreciating feedback, and standing up for the teaching profession are just a few of Hattie’s strategies that he shares in this 11:50 video.
  

• Effect Size by Jon Boniello (2016)
  https://youtu.be/6uYNVCy-8NA
  This short (3:22) video gives a clear and concise explanation of effect size. It uses a simple example in teaching to illustrate what effect size is and how we interpret effect sizes.
  

• Calculating Effect Sizes—from the book VISIBLE LEARNING FOR LITERACY by Stephen Johnson
  https://youtu.be/VupAofWhZZo
  This very short, 3-minute video shows you how calculate an effect size for your own classroom. With the use of a few easy steps in Excel, you can see what influence your teaching and instruction is having on student achievement.
  

• What is and How to Calculate Cohen’s d? by Steven Bradburn (2019)
  https://youtu.be/IetVSlrndpI
  This 7:51 animated video gives a very clear explanation of what effect size is. Stick through the example calculations to get a good idea of what a small, medium, and large effect size it—the example will surprise you.
  

• Introduction to Effect Size by David Dunaetz (2006)
  https://youtu.be/2AKTNvVN3Dk?t=156
  This is a short (5 minute) video explanation of what effect size is. It has a nice example from leadership training. It concludes with a description of what the value of an effect size means—is it a small, medium, or large effect?

ARTICLES

• Hattie, J. (2015). The applicability of Visible Learning to higher education. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 1(1), 79–91. https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000021
  https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/660a/8c4b3d2d94ce233f9a7a61902523800c445e.pdf
  This article in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 1(1) describes the methodology behind Visible Learning. It includes the ranking of the original 195 factors, along with a discussion of the implications in teaching and learning.
  

• It’s the Effect Size, Stupid: What Effect Size is and Why it is Important by Robert Coe (2002)
  https://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00002182.htm
  This is a very good, more technical introduction to effect size for those who want to dig into the details. The article describes why effect size is important, how it is calculated, how to interpret effect sizes, the differences between “effect size” and “statistical significance,” what the margin of error is in estimating effect size, and what other factors can influence effect size.