TES interview with John Hattie: “Statements without evidence are just opinions”

In an interview with the Times Educational Supplement — who once dubbed his work the “holy grail” — John Hattie says the praise for his book Visible Learning is “a bit ambitious”. But then he continues in his characteristic outspokenness to talk about teacher training as “the most bankrupt institution I know”, says educationalists spend too much time debating “things that don’t matter” and claims too many teachers waste time looking for the “magic bullet”. Speaking as a researcher and education expert Hattie says: “One of the things we need to work on as academics is speaking out on the basis of what our research says. I’m prepared to call it as I see it until someone proves otherwise. Statements without evidence are just opinions – there are too many of those in education and that’s what’s got us into trouble.”

You can read the full article “He’s not the messiah …” at www.tes.co.uk

The Independent: John Hattie talks about British schools Visible Learning Panel Discussion, Interview John Hattie & Helen Timperley: Visible Learning and Feedback John Hattie at the London Festival of Education 2012