#8 John Hattie | Visible Learning and Intentional Alignment – Purposes and Problems

ResponsAbility - Dialogues on Practical Knowledge and Bildung in Professional Studies

The guest of this episode is John Hattie, one of the world’s best-known and most widely read education experts. In our conversation with him, he explains the cornerstones and intentions of his Visible Learning approach. We also discuss several points of criticism that he received for his approach and how he developed it further based on the critique he faced. Furthermore, John also explicates the concept of intentional alignment and why the practice of this concept needs an ethical dimension in order not to be misused. Finally, he advocates a shift of perspective in education from autonomy towards responsibility.

00:01:12 – What is Visible Learning?

00:02:59 – On “Know thy impact”

00:05:55 – On the impact of Visible Learning

00:07:01 – The main critiques of the Visible Learning approach

00:10:23 – On interpreting and building a story around data

00:12:02 – On “What works best”

00:14:37 – The relevance of self-knowledge in the Visible Learning approach

00:16:38 – The Dodo Bird Verdict

00:21:22 – Intentional alignment

00:27:13 – How does a competent teacher become a good teacher?

00:32:48 – On phronesis, Bildung and ResponsAbility

00:36:32 – From autonomy towards responsiblity

Further literature:

• Hattie, J. (2023): Visible Learning: The Sequel A Synthesis of Over 2,100 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. New York, NY: Routledge.
• Hattie, J. & Larsen, S. N. (2020): The Purposes of Education. A Conversation Between John Hattie and Steen Nepper Larsen. New York, NY: Routledge.
• Hattie, J. & Clarke, S. (2019): Visible Learning: Feedback. New York, NY: Routledge.