PQI Academic Conference Tuesday 10th November 2015 World-Class Qualifications for World-Class Schools
Professional Development Session Facilitated Discussions: What doesn’t work in education: the politics of distraction
Session Synopsis Delegates will engage in facilitated discussions with colleagues on a research article by Professor John Hattie in which he questions popular education ‘fixes’ and policies. In this thought-provoking article, Hattie asserts that the minimum goal of education should be for every child to make at least one year’s progress for one year’s input, regardless of starting point. He then sets about systematically debunking popular policy interventions, including smaller class size, performance pay, and increased school autonomy, amongst others, showing that they do not significantly improve student learning, and indeed distract from this very aim.
Pre-sessional Task (‘Entry Ticket’ to the Session) In order to get the most out of the discussion, please complete the following tasks prior to attending the PD session on 10 November. 1. Download and read Professor John Hattie’s article (What Doesn’t Work in Education: The Politics of Distraction, London, Pearson 2015)
2. Respond to at least three of the following prompts: • • • • •
A question I would like to ask John Hattie is... Something I’m not sure about or would like more information on... Something that surprised me in the article... Something that resonated strongly with me while reading… A challenge I would like to put to my staff/school after reading the article is…
3. Bring your responses to the prompts to the Conference on 10 November.