industry & reform
Professor John Hattie . Photo : Supplied
Focus on the rebound , and accelerate the rate of learning when returning to regular in-class schooling .
Lockdown learnings
John Hattie gives his thoughts on the impact and lessons of remote learning .
By Wade Zaglas
Laureate professor at the University of Melbourne John Hattie recently presented a paper to the Victoria Education State Principals Conference , highlighting the effect of remote learning on school communities .
Hattie ’ s presentation focused on a number of topics , including the effects of remote learning on student performance .
EFFECTS ON STUDENT PERFORMANCE Hattie referred to seven studies to discuss the impact of remote delivery on student learning , as well as what can be taken away from the experience .
One of the global studies he referred to was the first meta-analysis of seven European countries based on more than five million students . It found there “ were small but important effects ” on student achievement in primary school ( - . 17 ), high school ( - . 10 ), mathematics ( - . 17 ) and native language ( - . 11 ).
“ These are small but important effects showing that distance learning is not optimal , so any claims that schools should stay in COVID mode teaching would be hard to defend ,” he said .
“ The key question is to learn about what did and did not work well , focus on the rebound , and accelerate the rate of learning when returning to regular in-class schooling .
“ This low negative effect indicates that rebounding is highly likely – provided we ‘ do not presume ’ and have a deliberate strategy to accelerate – as we should every year .”
In gauging the Australian experience , Hattie highlighted the conclusions of a study conducted in NSW . The study compared the performance of 1,300 Year 3 and Year 4 students across 113 schools .
The study showed that “ somewhat surprisingly our analysis found no significant differences between 2019 and 2020 in student achievement growth as measured by progressive achievement tests in mathematics or reading ”, with the study also noting “ these findings are a testament to the dedicated work of teachers during the 2020 pandemic to ensure that learning for most students was not compromised , despite unusually trying circumstances ”.
However , in what has been a common observation across the school sector , the effects were slightly more negative in lower SES schools .
The performance of Victorian students was also brought up , with Hattie ’ s stating that a lot of “ angst was expressed about the effects of those students engaged in high stakes exams , particularly for those wanting access to high demand university courses ”.
However , Hattie said the 2020 VCE outcomes were “ relatively stable ” compared to 2019 . The mean percentage scores for the VCE English exam were also better than the previous three years .
LESSONS LEARNED In considering all of the studies , the academic concluded that , overall , the effects on student achievement “ were small negatives ”. A point he emphasised was that a lot of learning still occurred in lockdown-affected jurisdictions , and the use of the language such as “ learning loss ” was incorrect , as it insinuated that “ learning was missing ” or “ went backwards ”.
Hattie said the key messages of the studies focused on how school leaders , educators , students and parents “ rallied to meet the challenge head on ”.
“ School attendance rates remained high – the vast majority of students took part in remote and flexible learning every day ,” he said .
“ Morale also stayed high , in the main , as teachers and school leaders worked together to address difficult dilemmas with a sense of mutual respect and common purpose .
“ Parents gained unprecedented insight into their children ’ s education and school , bringing potential benefits for years to come . New skills were acquired ; new pedagogical opportunities trialled .”
The University of Melbourne professor also pointed out that many students found online learning “ more efficient ”, and that normally shy and quiet students contributed more in the online learning environment . However , there were a number of issues about remote learning that students did not like , with the top three being missing peer connections , trying to maintain motivation despite distractions at home , and not having a teacher present to explain concepts or instructions in detail .
“ There was more trimming of content coverage to allow for depth , and the fact that most assessments administered in-class did not apply ... new methods of evaluating the impact of teaching and the learning of students had to be invented ,” he added . ■ educationreview . com . au | 11