Gold Paper Series
Searching for educational gold
How do we know that what we do really works
Cognition Education Group and Corwin Press are proud to present the Gold Paper Series, a research collaboration between Dr Arran Hamilton (Cognition Education) and Laureate Professor John Hattie (Melbourne University).
In this series of publications, Arran Hamilton and John Hattie discuss the critical questions and critiques of the Visible Learning research and provide a compass for finding “education gold” in student learning.
Read each of the Gold Papers to:
– Hear about effective practices for evaluating your impact on student learning.
– Reflect on your own strategies and tools to learn how to get closer to the gold of what works best in education, at both school and system level.
– Gain a deeper understanding of the research methodology behind the mindset and movement of Visible Learning™.
Michael Fullan
Professor Emeritus, OISE/Univeristy of Toronto
'John Hattie and Arran Hamilton are about to create another Gold Rush! Using a unique and exciting entry into the complex domain of Visible Learning, Hattie and Hamilton have created a series of short forays to find and clarify the ‘veins’ of gold that can enrich learning and its impact. The first two entries in the series are fantastic. The first one – “As Good As Gold” – shows us how we can find and leverage the best ideas for impacting learning – how to avoid false hopes and fruitless forays in favor of actions that matter for student learning. The second – “Real Gold vs. Fool’s Gold” – shows that we don’t have to take the gold prospector’s word. There are other ways of verifying if “there’s gold in them there hills’; Hattie and Hamilton get inside the critiques and enable the reader to traverse complex pathways and where they might lead.'
Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey
Professors of Educational Leadership, San Diego State University
On As Good as Gold?: “Strategic investment in the limited funds (estimated at 4%) available for products, resources, and in-service teacher professional learning is critical if schools are going to ensure learning for all students. Too often, educators use their instincts and personal experiences to make these decisions. To overcome this, educators would be wise to carefully consider what works best to accelerate learning. As Hattie and Hamilton note, there is “educational gold” out there, it’s just not in the form that many expect it. Rather, it can be found in the large-scale reviews of educational research, meta-analyses, that can point to influences that are more likely to ensure that teachers and schools achieve their aims. Imagine the possibilities for students when those making decisions actually consider evidence rather than their own cognitive biases.”
Jim Tucker
Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
'All educators – everyone – should read this material. I plan to make it required reading in my courses, which include graduate courses in school psychology, educational psychology, and special education.'
Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey
Professors of Educational Leadership, San Diego State University