Nod to visible learning

FOR most parents, choosing the right school for their children can be daunting. After all, the many hours and experiences children go through at school will ultimately shape their personality and character.

One important aspect to consider is the method of teaching.

Private and international schools of today are far from being centres that spoon-feed students with information but rather a place where students learn the required skills to overcome life challenges and excel in the competitive 21st century.

In addition to finding an institution with good facilities such as a sports field, well-stocked library and well-equipped laboratories, parents must also be sure that the school provides top-class education under the supervision of dedicated and passionate teachers.

Recent years have seen growth in the evidence-based Visible Learning approach. Researched and developed by Prof John Hattie of the University of Melbourne, this approach looks at enhancing the role of teachers as they become evaluators of their own teaching and see learning through the eyes of students.

Students are taught how to set their own goals while recognising the importance of listening to and giving feedback. This gives them the opportunity to reflect on their mistakes.

Furthermore, they develop the ability to know what they have to do to succeed, with clear learning intentions and success criteria.

This learning approach has been adopted across Australia, New Zealand, the United States as well as other parts of the world such as Scandinavia.

The Australian International School Malaysia is the first and only certified Visible Learning school in South-East Asia.

Creating, editing and resetting learning goals throughout the year is common among students and every child is encouraged to be independent and responsible for his or her learning.

Based on the results of such an approach, teachers conclude that Visible Learning produces significant tangible improvements in diagnostic testing data and student engagement.

The findings also suggest that students’ pre-university results will continue to improve with the continuous implementation of Visible Learning.