Visible Learning

One of our latest apps is called Symmetricon and whenever we show it to young and old we can’t help but be struck by the swift change that comes about in the player. There is an initial mystification as to what a symmetrical design in a triangle could possibly be. But after a short time, usually no more than 5 minutes, the player shows a high level of skill in creating designs that are symmetrical about any of the three axes of symmetry that can be found in an equilateral triangle. For example:

Here the challenge is to colour 3 triangles using 2 colours to make a symmetricon. Initially, the player will try to make designs that are symmetrical about a vertical axis, just like we are, but soon they experiment with designs that are symmetrical about one of the other axes, as in the example.

As you watch, the player changes from not understanding what is meant by the challenge to being very capable of creating symmetrical designs quickly and accurately. Isn’t this kind of transformation what we understand by ‘learning’? And because of the short time that the transformation takes, the change can be seen to have taken place, in other words, the transformation is ‘visible’ to the onlooker. John Hattie has coined the phrase ‘visible learning’ and three of the key elements that he describes in visible learning are:

1.  transparent goals,
2.  success criteria, and
3. rapid formative feedback.

The Symmetricon app has these three ingredients built in and could well be described as a microcosm of visible learning. 

One of our early experiences of this type of visible learning occurred when we were running a parent evening at a Brisbane school. In the warm-up session parents and their children were invited to play mathematical games together and we felt it would be a great opportunity to test out an IWB game that we had designed for the Strategic Maths: Number series. In the Lower Primary 1 book there is an game called Removing Numbers. One parent had brought along her 4-year old whose brother was in Year 2. The 4-year old appeared to be fascinated by the game and after a little help understanding how the game was played, she was soon removing pairs that added to 6 with ease and confidence. What we found most impressive was the look on her mother’s face as she witnessed a transformation of the learning type. Removing Numbers is an activity that promotes visible learning as you really can see the change that takes place in the player. It also has embedded the Hattie criteria mentioned above.

On a broader time-frame, one can see the key elements of visible learning at work when you introduce a problematised situation by grabbing the student’s attention with a story that makes the goals clear. You can also encourage the individuals in the class to set their own criteria for success, which can be in the form of making a positive start on finding a solution. Then, at the reflection stage, rapid and formative feedback can be gained from sharing methods of solution and setting goals for what approach could be tried next time.