The 2016 Annual Visible Learning Conference will convene educational thought leaders, and practitioners to share and dialogue around content and research aimed to deepen our understanding of what actually works best in schools to improve learning. The 2015 Visible Learning Conference attracted nearly 1,000 attendees from across the globe and we anticipate even more this year.

This event is a unique opportunity to share the progress made towards assessing the impact teachers have on student achievement. The 2016 Annual Visible Learning Conference will provide an interactive venue for educators and academics to share best practices; make connections; discuss trends, case studies, and breakthroughs; and ideate the future of innovative, inviting learning environments.

Upon the conclusion of the conference, attendees will have networked with a community that is equally committed to adopting and finding success with the Visible Learning framework and creating a new benchmark of achievement within our education systems.

The theme for the 2016 Annual Visible Learning Conference is: Mindframes and Maximizers

The single most powerful element underlying impact in our schools relates to how we think. Professor John Hattie's research identified ten mindframes that underpin every action and decision you make and influences your ability to impact student achievement on a daily basis. Do you know what it takes to think like a change agent? Are you equipped to maximize your impact through engaging in dialogue and seeking out new challenges? Can you call yourself an adaptive learning expert? Come join us at the 2016 Annual Visible Learning conference, where we will delve into the key takeaways of the most expansive, proven, and unprecedented educational research base in the world and show how you maximize learning, bring out the best in your school and inspire your students to believe in their own success.

During the conference, attendees will:
• Study what works best in raising student achievement and the impact that one practice can have on our students, our classrooms, and our schools.
• Discover a how-to guide for translating research into practice, building capacity, and significantly improving learner outcomes by aligning all levels of the school or system.
• Eliminate guess work and focus their efforts on using the most influential instructional practices within their schools.
• Hear from some of the top educational researchers in the world about the latest learning innovations and groundbreaking research on what works best in improving student achievement.
• Learn from the experiences of educators who have put Visible Learning methods into practice
• Become part of the global education network that is changing the way we think and talk about teaching and learning in the 21st century.

Conference Strands
The conference strands will align with the ten mindframes identified by John Hattie in his research:
Strand One: I am an evaluator: My practices bring out the best in my students
Strand Two: I am a change agent: My school climate fosters teacher efficacy
Strand Three: I talk about learning and not about teaching: My lessons are focused on the student learning experience.
Strand Four: I see assessment as feedback to me: I practice formative assessment to ensure that what I am doing in the classroom is actually working.
Strand Five: I engage in dialogue and not monologue: I engage in dialogue with my peers and my students where I listen to the thoughts of the person on the other side of the conversation.
Strand Six: I enjoy challenge: I teach my students that error encourages some of the best learning opportunities.
Strand Seven: I engage in positive relationships: I build positive relationships with my students, teachers, and peers.
Strand Eight: I use the language of learning: My school system use a common language around learning.
Strand Nine: I see learning as hard work: I engage in dialogue, dive deeply into assessment data, teach students about learning dispositions, and actively work towards becoming a change agent.
Strand Ten: I collaborate: I work within my grade level and department to help maximize results for my students.

Attendees will choose the strands that best describe the mindframes that they would like to develop and session content will be focused on explaining why the mindframe is important, the types of behaviors that will contribute to developing desirable mindframes, the interrelatedness between the mindframes, and the connection between the mindframe, student efficacy, and school improvement.
 
Presentation Formats
1. Workshops
2. Research Paper Sessions
3. Practitioner Sessions (Voices from the Field)

Workshops
This is a presentation type emphasizing interaction and exchange of information among the session participants. Led by Visible Learning content experts, workshops will identify and discuss the most important messages from the Visible Learning research, dig deeper into the five strands and eight mind-frames of Visible Learning, and explore the difference between the influences that ‘do’ and ‘do not’ make a significant difference to student achievement. Workshops will range in complexity from introductory level content for those that are new to Visible Learning to advanced, more in-depth subject matter for more experienced attendees.

Research Paper Sessions
This is a lecture presentation with an opportunity for participants to ask questions/comment at the end of the presentation. Each session may have a research or policy focus. Sessions should include a description of the conceptual or theoretical perspective, the research question(s) and design, data collection techniques and analyses, and a summary of findings. Discussions can be facilitated to allow early feedback on the presenter’s research, prompt a conversation around critical issues in education, or begin to frame new research directions.

Practitioner Sessions (Voices from the Field)
These sessions are led by practitioners who have been actively using the Visible Learning research, strands and/or matrix in their schools or organizations. These presentations may be given by groups from schools or individuals and will involve sharing the Visible Learning journey the presenter has undertaken thus far. In these sessions, participants will receive examples, models, and pragmatic suggestions from the presenters.
 
Session Submission
Proposed sessions must be submitted in one of the following three categories: workshops, research paper sessions, and/or practitioner sessions. If you are selected as a presenter for the conference, your session length will be 90 minutes.

Each presentation should address the conference theme and at least one of the ten conference strands:
• I am an evaluator
• I am a change agent
• I talk about learning and not about teaching
• I see assessment as feedback to me
• I engage in dialogue and not monologue
• I enjoy challenge
• I engage in positive relationships
• I use the language of learning
• I see learning as hard work
• I collaborate

Conditions of Submission
• All accepted presenters will be required to register for the conference. The conference registration fee for presenters is $649/person, which reflects a savings of $100 off of the standard registration fee.
• In order to submit your proposed session for review, please complete the Conference Presentation Submission Form and send the completed form electronically to vlproposals@corwin.com no later than the final submission deadline.
• Please submit a biography and high-resolution headshot for each of the session presenters along with your session proposal.
• Multiple sessions proposals must submitted on separate forms.
• Each presenter may participate in a maximum of two presentations.
• Accepted sessions may be photographed and/or recorded at the conference.

Important Dates
• February 24, 2016: Session submission deadline. Once your submission has been received, you will receive an email to confirm receipt within 24 hours.
• March 7, 2016: All presenters will have received notification of acceptance or non-acceptance.
• April 1, 2016: Final date for all conference presenters to register for the conference.
• April 19, 2016: Final date to submit all session handouts and presentations in electronic format to the conference hosts in order to have them included in the conference handout booklet.