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As I said a lot of new technology is being
built.

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But it's very easy to be distracted by
this technology.

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It's easy to forget what to focus on
because of all the shiny visuals.

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Simultaneously technology can open new
doors

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or put in new constraints on our pedagogy.

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So let's think again, let's refocus.

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When we teach what should we care about
the most?

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While I have some practical experience as an instructor,

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but I am not an expert in education.

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So I rely on an influential study by John
Hattie

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He looked at 800 meta analyses and
synthesized them.

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He was looking for what influences
learning,

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which circumstances, tools and techniques
had

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the best effects, or which just had average
effects.

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So let's pick and choose a few of those
factors in no order at the moment.

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The first is physical attributes.

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The class size, for instance.

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It's clear that this is relevant in a MOOC
setting.

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The second factor is computer-assisted
instruction.

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It's also clear that this is crucial in a MOOC

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There are other factors that will affect
teaching.

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Things that are maybe more intrinsic to
the student.

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Course, we would like to think that we can
teach anyone, but we expect the

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students' disposition to learn, their
intrinsic motivation, to

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have to be a factor in the outcome.

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In some way, MOOCs have a self-selected
audience for now so this is mitigated.

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There's also the factor of the student's
prior cognitive ability.

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Think of something like their IQ, for
instance.

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We have little control there.

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Fortunately, there are parts we can
actively change.

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The instructional quality of the course,
for instance.

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That is, the student's perception of the
quality of the instruction they get,

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according to Hattie's definition.

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What about individualization?

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The design of a learning program
specific to the student.

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Or maybe mastery learning.

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This is when students are given tests

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on relatively easy material soon after
instruction.

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And if it seems necessary they're given more work again. 


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They're retested until they get it.

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Maybe a teacher could challenge students
by outlining goals,

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but there is also feedback, which in Hattie's
mind, includes

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positive reinforcement for what has been
done well, information about

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what needs to improve but also includes merely clarifying the goals,

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as part of the feedback.

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There's also peer tutoring, where the

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students explain, check, and assess each
other.

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How about a good old test?

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How about external factors, such as the
presence of a television at home?

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Hattie identified 130 different such
factors.

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I only picked a few here.

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But it's already a lot of influencers on
the student's achievement.

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But how do you rank them so we could make

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sense of the potential thug of that large
number of influencers [sic: influences]?

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So what do you think ranked the best?

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What ranked the worst?

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You can maybe guess that television is the
worst.

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That seems kind of an obvious candidate.

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In fact, television slowed down a student's progress.

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Next up, and very controversially, was class
size.

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This is still very much at the bottom; in
fact the data indicates

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inconclusively that small class sizes have


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a tiny positive effect on the student's 
learning.

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The best way to make sense of this is probably

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to better understand Hattie's methodology.

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This result comes after accounting for all

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the other effects, if all else remains
equal.

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So if a politician somewhere bases a
decision on this study, and

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blindly doubles the class size of all the
classrooms in their country -

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presumably, importantly, by firing half of the
teachers -

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well the teachers that remain will suddenly be swamped with work.

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And unable to do some of the other

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techniques that actually have a very
positive effect.

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So this would be bad.

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Now on to the positive effects.

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When Hattie performed this study he very
well understood

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that most of those techniques had a
positive effect.

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The point was to identify those that were
MOST effective.

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So he set the bar at the average effect
size.

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Obviously we're interested in the top
effects, those way above the bar.

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But we should proceed methodically.

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Below that bar, still with a positive
effect

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but not so great, are computer assisted
instruction,

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individualization, and testing.

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Above that, and in a position that starts
to be

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very useful, are challenging students with
goal [sic: goals],

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peer tutoring, mastery learning, and, slightly

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above all those three, the student's disposition to learn.

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But the three stellar effects are feedback,

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student's prior cognitive ability,

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and instructional quality.

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Each is at a level where you expect a 50%
increase in the pace of learning.

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Of course feedback is a bit of an umbrella
term here.

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It covers pure feedback or mastery
learning, for instance.

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Note, also, that computer-assisted goes up

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as the course becomes more interactive
and more engaging. And also that smaller

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effects can be combined to accumulate traction.

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So nothing should be fully dismissed.

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So, we now have Hattie's final ranking for
the effects I've selected.

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Why am I talking about this?

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Well, because in MOOCs some of it is
especially relevant.

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Mastery learning has been trumpeted again and again for MOOCs.


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You can offer a quiz, sampling questions and answers until the student gets it.


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Interaction as well. More and more MOOCs have interactive components 


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that students can use to visually see what
they are learning.

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So this is all a success story for MOOCs

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integrating fully those effects in the
format, if you want.

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Peer effects are also important and also
present in MOOCS.

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But they're not fully mastered yet.

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There are some structured peer grading
components in MOOCS

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but they're still in early stages and can
be improved.

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Also, few people know for sure how to get
a forum started,

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one that encourages students from all
backgrounds to engage with their peers.

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I'm certainly not one of those
experts.

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It's a skill, something that needs to be
learned and practiced.

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Some of those experts, on the other hand,
might be lurking in this class.

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So please help the discussion get started
on the forums, if you feel you can help.

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I would love to engage with all of you.

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Share your opinion, don't be afraid.

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There's definitely no right or wrong.

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Even Hattie's study is open to criticism.

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And especially my retelling of it.

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This is education. There is no one answer.

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So, I would love to have a discussion on
the forums about all that.

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The last effect I want to discuss, that
will be the

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next video, is the most important, according
to Hattie: that is "feedback".