But according to Australian professor John Hattie, author of the book Making learning visible (Visible Learning) from 2008, which has achieved cult status among teachers worldwide, the most important parameter for good learning is something else entirely.
Extensive investigation
To understand which principles are most effective when it comes to learning, Hattie has analyzed as much data as possible over the years.
Now he comes with the book Visible Learning – The Sequelin which the Australian professor argues that the most important factor in good teaching is simply teacher involvement.
He also writes that students should be able to see the purpose of education and understand the ‘learning journey’ they are on.
To reach this conclusion, Hattie and his team compared 2,100 meta-analyses over the past 40 years, based on 130,000 studies and 400 million students from around the world.
‘It’s not about tips and tricks about how schools can easily boost their grades. It’s about changing the culture of learning and making sure that teachers love to teach and students love to learn,” Hattie said to Scimex.
And if you feel like learning isn’t for everyone, Hattie has an answer ready.
“All children can learn, and all can learn to appreciate. The best a teacher can do, therefore, is to have high expectations of all students and see differences as opportunities to learn in different ways. But it’s also about giving students the courage to challenge themselves by setting high learning goals,’ concludes Hattie.