Visible Learning in Early Childhood

Kateri Thunder, Ph.D., has the pleasure of collaborating with learners and educators from school divisions and early learning centers around the world to translate research into practice. She has served as an inclusive early childhood educator, an Upward Bound educator, a mathematics specialist, an assistant professor of mathematics education at James Madison University, and Site Director for the Central Virginia Writing Project. Her research, writing, and presentations focus on equity and access in early childhood and mathematics education, as well as the intersection of literacy and mathematics for teaching and learning. Kateri has collaborated with thousands of educators to catalyze change in their classrooms, centers, and schools. She is the chair of NCTM’s Research Committee and co-creator of The Math Diet. Additionally, she is a best-selling author for Corwin’s Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom Series, the Success Criteria Playbook, and Visible Learning in Early Childhood. John Almarode is a professor of education at James Madison University. He was awarded the inaugural Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship in 2015 and received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia in 2021. John started as a mathematics and science teacher in Augusta County, Virginia. John has written multiple books, book chapters, papers, and reports. His collaborative work with colleagues on what works best in teaching and learning includes How Tutoring Works, Visible Learning in Early Childhood, and How Learning Works, all with Corwin Press.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.

"In their fascinating new book, Visible Learning in Early Childhood, Kateri Thunder, John Almarode, and John Hattie examine the studies that show which teaching practices have made the greatest impact on young learners in their early childhood classrooms. As readers, we gain insight into how these evidence-based practices are embedded in classroom instruction by learning from five early childhood educators who take us along their teaching journeys. This book is a beautiful, accessible blend of research and practice–where the research sets the foundation for teacher decision-making and comes alive in teachers’ enacted practices with young children."

• List of VideosAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsINTRODUCTIONWHAT WORKS BESTVISIBLE LEARNINGTHE POTENTIAL FOR IMPACTWHAT WORKS BEST WHENHOW THIS BOOK WORKSCHAPTER 1. TEACHING WITH CLARITY IN EARLY CHILDHOODFOUR-YEAR-OLDS AT WORKVISIBLE LEARNERSTEACHER CLARITYSURFACE, DEEP, AND TRANSFER LEARNINGPROFILES OF FIVE EDUCATORSINSIDE MS. DAVIS’S DISTANCE LEARNING CLASSROOMCHAPTER 2. VISIBLE LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD PLAYFUL LEARNINGEFFECTIVE PLAYFUL LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOODMS. DEMCHAK AND SORTINGMS. BULLOCK AND OCCUPATIONSMR. HEATON AND ANIMAL HABITATSMS. DAVIS AND DISTANCE PLAYFUL LEARNINGTIPS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR PLAYFUL LEARNINGCHAPTER 3. VISIBLE LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD MATHEMATICSEFFECTIVE MATHEMATICS LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOODMS. DEMCHAK AND NUMBERSMS. BULLOCK AND MEASUREMENTMR. HEATON AND GEOMETRYMS. DAVIS AND DISTANCE LEARNING IN MATHEMATICSMATHEMATICS AND PLAYFUL LEARNINGCHAPTER 4. VISIBLE LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD LITERACYEFFECTIVE LITERACY LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOODMS. DEMCHAK AND OUR NAMESMS. BULLOCK AND LISTSMR. HEATON AND ANANSI THE TRICKSTER SPIDERMS. DAVIS AND DISTANCE LEARNING IN LITERACYLITERACY AND PLAYFUL LEARNINGCHAPTER 5. VISIBLE LEARNING AND UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD IN EARLY CHILDHOODEFFECTIVE LEARNING TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD IN EARLY CHILDHOODMS. DEMCHAK AND STEM CHALLENGESMS. BULLOCK AND BEING A SCIENTISTMR. HEATON AND MAPSMS. DAVIS AND DISTANCE LEARNING TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLDUNDERSTANDING THE WORLD AND PLAYFUL LEARNINGCHAPTER 6. VISIBLE LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENTEFFECTIVE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOODMS. DEMCHAK AND PERSPECTIVESMR. HEATON AND GOAL SETTINGMS. DAVIS AND DISTANCE SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNINGSOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE DAYCHAPTER 7. VISIBLE LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CREATIVE ARTS AND MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENTEFFECTIVE ARTS AND MOTOR LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOODMS. DEMCHAK AND FAMILY PORTRAITSMS. BULLOCK AND STORYTELLINGMS. DAVIS AND DISTANCE LEARNING IN ART, MUSIC, AND MOTOR SKILLSARTS AND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN PLAYFUL LEARNINGCHAPTER 8. KNOWING YOUR IMPACT: EVALUATING LEARNING PROGRESSVISIBLE LEARNERSEFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATING CLARITY FOR VISIBLE LEARNINGENGAGING AND RIGOROUS TASKS FOR VISIBLE LEARNINGFORMATIVE EVALUATION FOR VISIBLE LEARNINGFEEDBACK FOR VISIBLE LEARNINGMS. DAVIS AND STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES IN DISTANCE LEARNINGCONCLUSIONAppendix: Effect SizesReferencesIndex