Dr Tanya Vaughan, Associate Director, Evidence for Learning
Evidence-informed teacher practice
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, the elders of the
Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation and pay respect to their elders past,
present and emerging.
Acknowledgement to Country
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• Evidence ecosystem
• How we work
• Building, sharing and using evidence
• Teaching & Learning Toolkit
• Feedback Implementation materials
• Roundtable activity
Outline of roundtable
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True or false?
The current state of the evidence base suggests that…
1. Drinking six to eight glasses of water per day improves student outcomes
2. Individuals learn better when they receive information in their preferred learning
style (e.g. auditory, visual, kinaesthetic)
3. Feedback on how students complete a task is more effective than general praise
4. The most effective forms of feedback ranked from most (1) to least (4) effective are:
a) 1) self, 2) task, 3) process and 4) self-regulation
b) 1) self-regulation, 2) process, 3) task and 4) self
c) 1) self, 2) self-regulation, 3) process and 4) task
d) 1) process, 2) self , 3) task and 4) self-regulation
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Evidence ecosystem
evidenceforlearning.org.au/evidence-informed-educators/evidence-ecosystem
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Barriers to engaging with the wider evidence chain?
Three common barriers to accessing and using research:
• Shortage of time to engage with research
• Overload of information to process
• Insufficient contextualised information for practice.
Source: Sharples, J (2013), Evidence for the Frontline: A report for the Alliance For useful Evidence.
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Wider Evidence Chain - external
Adapted from Sharples J Evidence Chain for the Frontline (2013). evidenceforlearning.org.au/evidence-informed-educators/evidence-ecosystem
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Evidence ecosystem
Impact
valuation
Cycle
Impact
Evaluation
Cycle
Evidence for Learning Impact Evaluation Cycle
Intervention
Program
Practice-based
evidence
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What is evidence-informed decision making?
Source: Vaughan, Deeble and Bush (2017). Evidence-informed decision making. Australian Educational Leader. 39(4) pp.32-35
Evidence informed decisions are about “integrating
professional expertise with the best external
evidence from research to improve the quality of
practice” (Sharples, 2013, p. 7). This is not about
“prescribing what goes on from a position of
unchallenged authority” (Sharples, 2013, p. 7).
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Hierarchy of evidence
Source: Deeble, M. and T. Vaughan (2018) An evidence broker for Australian schools. Occasional Paper 155, 1-20. Retrieved from:
http://www.evidenceforlearning.org.au/evidence-informed-educators/an-evidence-broker-for-australian-schools/
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Evidence for Learning
Share knowledge
Drive use
Build evidence
Trials Unit (RCT)
Philanthropy + Govt $ on
school programs
(1 underway, 2 completed)
Teaching & Learning Toolkit
Global evidence summaries and
practice guides from international
partners
Tailored
evidence
Toolkits (21)
Guidance
Reports on key
topics (1)
Supporting school
networks
(104 events to date)
We are an Evidence
Intermediary; we
play a brokering role
between research
and practice
Better school
decisions
informed by
evidence
We specialise in translating
evidence and then help
implementing it in real
world settings.
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Current progress in Learning Impact Fund
15http://evidenceforlearning.org.au/lif/our-projects/
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What was measured: Thinking Maths
evidenceforlearning.org.au/lif/our-projects/thinkingmaths/
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What E4L reports
evidenceforlearning.org.au/lif/our-projects/thinkingmaths/
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The Toolkit aims to:
• Support evidence-informed decision making in Australian schools;
• Provide guidance for educators on how to use their resources to improve
educational outcomes for their students;
• Act as an introduction to educational research.
The Teaching & Learning Toolkit
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The Teaching & Learning Toolkit
Average months’ worth of learning progress;
Cost to implement; and
The security of evidence.
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Accessing the Teaching & Learning Toolkit
evidenceforlearning.org.au
Tablet or phone Laptop
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The Teaching & Learning ToolkitLaptopTablet or phone
evidenceforlearning.org.au/the-toolkit/
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Average cost
The approximate cost of
implementing an approach.
Evidence security
Based on the quantity and
the methodological quality of
the available evidence, and
the reliability or consistency
of impact estimates.
Months’ impact
The additional months'
progress you can expect
students to make as a result
of an approach being used.
evidenceforlearning.org.au/the-toolkit/
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Approach summaryLaptop
Tablet or phone
evidenceforlearning.org.au/the-toolkit/feedback
26evidenceforlearning.org.au/the-toolkit/feedback
Approach references
27evidenceforlearning.org.au/the-toolkit/feedback
Approach references
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Feedback
evidenceforlearning.org.au/the-toolkit/feedback
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Effect size
Kingston &
Nash, 2011
Bangert-
Drowns et
al., 1991
Kluger &
DeNisi,
1996
Graham et
al., 2015
Fuchs &
Fuchs, 1986
Tenenbaum
& Goldring,
1989Lysakowski
& Walberg,
19820.63 Mean
weighted
effect size
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Approach summaryLaptop
Tablet or phone
evidenceforlearning.org.au/the-toolkit/feedback
30evidenceforlearning.org.au/Australasian-research-summaries/
Australasian Research Summary
Summary of Australian and New Zealand
Research
References
Databases searched
Search terms
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Practitioners thoughts on the Toolkit
I spend a great deal of time collecting,
reading and unpacking research around
teaching practice and approaches with
our teachers. The Toolkit is neat,
concise and easy to use. It will save me
countless hours in the way it lights the
path directly to the most relevant and
reliable research. Frances Roberts, Head of Curriculum,
Bounty Boulevard State School
This resource is outstanding and has
given me a rich understanding of the
impact of specific teaching and learning
and supported decision making of what
best fits a particular student/cohort. Trish Johnstone, Teacher, Kennington
Primary School
We were very much driven by the
research and the evidence-based
approach that was provided by the
Toolkit. All the hard work was done. We
had lots of faith that this would work if
we implemented in. I believe that it has. Kath Perrier, Assistant Principal, Lourdes Hill
College
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How are practitioners using the Toolkit?
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• What is feedback?
• What are some types of feedback you can give to
students or teachers to help improve their learning
or teaching?
• What are some challenges?
Think, Pair, Share
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A trusting relationship for feedback
In the end, it all comes down to the relationship between the teacher and
the student. To give effective feedback, the teacher needs to know the
student - to understand what feedback the student needs right now. And to
receive feedback in a meaningful way, the student needs to trust the
teacher—to believe that the teacher knows what he or she is talking about
and has the student's best interests at heart. Without this trust, the student
is unlikely to invest the time and effort needed to absorb and use the
feedback.
The only thing that matters is what the student does with the feedback.
If the feedback you're giving your students is producing more of what you
want, it's probably good feedback. But if your feedback is getting you less of
what you want, it probably needs to change.
Source: Wiliam, D. (2016). The secret of effective feedback. Educational Leadership, 73(7), 10-15.
ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/apr16/vol73/num07/The-Secret-of-Effective-Feedback.aspx .
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Models of feedback
aitsl.edu.au/feedbackaitsl.edu.au/feedback/
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The four types of feedback that teachers can give
The most useful feedback is at the process and self regulation level, although
sometimes it may be appropriate to give feedback at the other two levels.
educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/improving-secondary-science/
Level The question it helps students to answer Example Impact
Self
evaluation
How good am I? Well done, you’ve worked really hard
this week.
Ineffective
Task How can I get this done?
How can I make this better?
Next time you do a calculation like
this, try to set it out the way I showed
you.
Useful
Process How can I get better in tasks like
this?
What does it mean to be good in
this subject?
Your understanding of Ohm’s Law is
good, but be careful to use the
correct units.
Powerful
Self-
regulation
How can I manage myself to learn
better?
How can I motivate myself?
Are you happy that you understand
photosynthesis now? What could you
do to extend your understanding
further?
Powerful
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Guidance Reports
• Useful starting point into specific topics. They are
intended to support practitioners in putting
research evidence to work in their setting.
• Can be used to inform teachers classroom
practice and assist leaders with planning for
change that leads to school improvement.
• Three other guidance reports will be released
this year:
• Effective use of Teaching Assistants
• Parental engagement
• Metacognition and self-regulated learning.
evidenceforlearning.org.au/guidance-reports/guidance-report-overview
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Roundtable Activity
• Pick one or a few of the Toolkit approaches to help you address a specific
challenge within your school.
• From the Toolkit approach page and drawing from the Australasian Research
Summary, identify three teaching practices and three things to consider to
determine the impact of this approach (what will you measure?) (20 min).
For example targeting feedback to students at the self-regulation and
process level.
• Be ready to share your approach with the rest of the group.
evidenceforlearning.org.au/the-toolkit/approaches-by-organisation/acer/evidenceforlearning.org.au/the-toolkit/full-toolkit/
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Questions?
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Where to now?
• Join our Evidence Informed Educator Network
evidenceforlearning.org.au/evidence-informed-educators/join/
• Webinar series - evidenceforlearning.org.au/evidence-informed-
educators/webinars/
• Subscribe to our newsletter for updates evidenceforlearning.org.au/
• Follow us on Twitter @E4Ltweets and Facebook Evidence for Learning
• Comments and feedback please [email protected]
Helping great practice become common practice in education
[email protected] | evidenceforlearning.org.au | @E4Ltweets