Classroom reinforcement

Blind spots in visible learning: A critique of John Hattie as an educational theorist

“…In four of the five heaviest meta-analyses connected with Hattie's coverage of feedback, it is unclear whether they used a feedback term identical to Hattie's (see also Blichfeldt, 2011). Two of the five meta-analyses did not even mention feedback (Lysakowski & Walberg, 1980;Witt et al, 2004). This realization raises a question: Did the large number of meta-analyses used by Hattie research the same phenomenon (feedback), or did he subsume different phenomena under a single header?…”

“…Among the 23 meta-analyses Hattie referenced in his synthesis of feedback research, five particularly heavy analyses included 62,761 people, equivalent to 92% of the total sample. In the following, we examine the quality of these five meta-analyses that Hattie used to understand feedback: Kluger and DeNisi (1996); Lysakowski and Walberg (1980); Lysakowski and Walberg (1982); Swanson and Lussier (2001);. In the following, we briefly discuss these five meta-analyses in greater detail.…”

“…Lysakowski and Walberg (1980) did not mention feedback; instead, they focused on reinforcement techniques: "In the studies, 39 distinct reinforcement techniques were identified that were used either to initiate or to improve educational behaviour, and generally to enhance educational outcomes of students in learning settings" (Lysakowski & Walberg, 1980, p. 115). Although Lysakowski and Walberg (1980) did not initially give a clear definition of reinforcement, they did in their 1982 paper. There, reinforcement included "the extent to which the student is rewarded for his learning" (Lysakowski & Walberg, 1982, pp.…”

Editorial.

“…Moving from the clinic to the schools, our next article is of interest to many parents making head start programs effective for all children. With behavioral interventions well established in the educational arena from the small but persistent effects of behavioral/academic objectives (Asencio, 1984) to the large effects for cues, feedback and opportunity to respond/learned units (Lysakowski, & Walberger, 1982) 1 to very large effects of contingency management systems (Lysakowski & Walberger, 1980, 1981), multiple attempts have occurred to extend these findings to younger children within the Head Start System. One group of researcher currently working to extend this line of researcher is Jennifer Tiano and Cheryl McNeil.…”