Great Learners by Design : Principles and Practices to Supercharge Learners

Supercharge learners and learning

Today’s students need more than great teaching of the curricula; they must also be taught the love and strategies of learning. It’s time for a balanced approach that teaches students how to access and process information and inspires a desire for continuous learning.

Written by renowned researchers and educators, Great Learners by Design advocates moving away from rote learning and teacher-centric classrooms. Instead, it promotes cultivating self-sufficient, strategic, and visible learners through effective learning strategies. This approach helps foster a learning environment where mistakes are seen not as embarrassments but as opportunities for growth. Inside, you’ll discover

• New and traditional learning theories and how to implement them in the classroom
• 12 learning strategies and 13 learning principles that will transform your class and school into an organization dedicated to excellence
• How to use and integrate tools for measuring learning

With the goal of creating lifelong learners, Great Learners by Design offers an in-depth analysis of learning theories, practical classroom applications, and tools. It is a vital resource for enhancing students’ skills and encouraging them to use optimal strategies to succeed both in the classroom and beyond.

John Hattie, PhD, is an award-winning education researcher and best-selling author with nearly thirty years of experience examining what works best in student learning and achievement. His research, better known as Visible Learning, is a culmination of nearly thirty years synthesizing more than 2,100 meta-analyses comprising more than one hundred thousand studies involving over 300 million students around the world. He has presented and keynoted in over three hundred international conferences and has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to education. His notable publications include Visible Learning, Visible Learning for Teachers, Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12, and 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning.

Tim O′Leary, PhD is Founding Director of Educational Data Talks and an Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne. Tim has worked in education for 20+ years, with experience in Government, Independent and faith-based schools. Within schools, Tim′s roles have ranged from classroom teacher to school leadership; his most recent role was as Director of Learning in an inner-city F-12 school. Since leaving the school grounds, Tim has consulted with schools to consider how to use evidence best to support school improvement. Tim’s passions are classroom climate, collective efficacy, and developmental approaches to teaching and learning. Tim is published in the areas of effective score reporting and collective teacher efficacy, and his debut book, Classroom Vibe: Practical Strategies for Better Classroom Culture, was published in 2021.

Kyle Hattie is a Year 6 Teacher at Harvest Primary school (1000 students in north Melbourne).  He has taught at all levels of primary school in NZ and Victoria, specialised in innovative learning environments, and was an acting Assistant Principal of Stonefields in Auckland. He is elected into the Exemplary Teaching Program, has been a Learning Specialist, and coordinated teachers in  “The nature of learning” project to identify students and teachers conceptions of learning, leading a team in developing the school’s 7 Learning Dispositions, and now integrating into the schools model of teaching and learning.  He has been published in passion projects, and the nature of learning, and recently co-authored (with John Hattie) 10 Steps to Developing Great Learners.

Gregory Donoghue Ph.D has over 30 years of experience working with vulnerable children - as a former child abuse detective with Victoria Police and statutory child protection investigator, and currently as a researcher and lecturer in the science of human learning and student wellbeing.  Greg completed his PhD in educational neuroscience and combines his other qualifications in psychology, criminology, education and neuroscience to develop and deliver evidence-based learning interventions for children and adults with various learning difficulties, particularly those caused by trauma and mental health issues.