The Visible Learning Conference That Changed…Everything!

It was promoted as the 2nd Annual Visible Learning (VL) International Conference. Last year it took place in Brisbane, Australia, but this time it happened outside of San Diego, California (USA), and it was indeed…international. Presenters and participants came in from Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, North America, and of course…New Zealand.

As a participant and presenter, I have been to many conference, and this was unlike any I have ever attended. At most conferences, participants arrive a few minutes late to each session. Even worse, those who arrive early tend to sit in the back of the room first. They leave the dreaded front row seats empty for those participants who arrive late. It seems to be their penance for talking with friends or taking an extended break.

Those who took time to notice, and there were many, realized timeliness and seating arrangements were just two of the areas where the Visible Learning International was different. Participants arrived early, even after lunch…that dreaded time when people take a bit longer to eat. Not only did participants arrive early, they sat in the front rows first. This is unheard of at most conferences.

Even with the beautiful southern California weather, participants wanted to be inside learning about the most effective ways to implement Visible Learning from VL trainers, experts and keynote speakers so they could bring it back to use in their classrooms, school buildings, districts or states.

John Hattie provided the opening keynote speech for the event. When John speaks he is direct, passionate and confident. After all, he has the benefit of over 20 years of research encompassing over 1,100 meta-analysis involving close to 300 million students behind him when he talks about learning strategies, class size, and the most effective ways students learn.

What attendees love about John is that he simply “gets it.” No matter what country you live in, you are most likely surrounded by adults fighting about what is wrong with education, what needs to change and what doesn’t. In many countries, our educational system is based on a political cycle, and not one that is grounded in good practice or research. When adults fight about what they think should happen in education, it is typically based on the adult in the classroom, and not on the student.

John Hattie refers to this as the Politics of Distraction. And it is indeed a distraction from what we should be talking about, which are the students…and learning. No wonder why some students feel lost in the shuffle.

Do Your Students Want to Come to School?

In addition to John, internationally-recognized experts like Michael Fullan, Andy Hargreaves and Russ Quaglia provided keynotes and breakout sessions. Michael and Andy focused separately on systems approaches to implementing Visible Learning in schools. Russ, an expert in student voice, helped address the need and importance to make sure students have a voice in their educational pursuits. He brought the idea of the Assessment Capable Learner to a new level.

One of the most powerful keynotes came from a school leader who is not internationally recognized…yet. Make no mistake though, because she will be very soon. Sarah Martin, the School Leader at Stonefields School (Auckland, New Zealand) began her inspiring and engaging keynote with the question…“Would Your Students Come to School if They Didn’t Have to?”

It was a simple question with powerful ramifications. As attendees in the standing room only audience sat and reflected on the question, no one shared out loud whether their students would show up to school if they were not required to.

Sarah is quiet and unassuming, but her keynote provided important messages about what learning should look like, and as quiet as Sarah is from time to time, she knows exactly what she is doing when it comes to learning…she puts the students at the center of it.

As the model Visible Learning School, Stonefields’ staff have the goal to make sure all students are assessment capable. That does not mean that they are good at taking state and national assessments. Assessment capable means that students know where they are in the learning process, know how to approach learning in different ways, and understand where they are going to next.

In the End

As I sat in attendance over the two day event, I met friends from all over the world. Our discussion at meals centered around Visible Learning. No one skipped sessions in order to get some extra time in the Southern California sun. They showed up early and stayed late. During breaks they talked with speakers and had meetings with Visible Learning consultants. They bought books to bring back to their colleagues who could not attend.

The 2nd annual Visible Learning International Conference was hosted by Corwin Press, and supported by Cognition Education. Everything was carefully thought out. Every session started on time, the printed program was perfect, their were prizes and funny moments. It was 48 hours that seemed to go by in a flash.

And at the center of it all was learning.

About the Author: Peter DeWitt, Ed.D. is a Visible Learning Trainer in North America and a Corwin Press author. He writes the Finding Common Ground blog for Education Week, and presented on Flipped Leadership at the 2nd Annual Visible Learning International Conference. He can be found at www.petermdewitt.com