What If Everything You Knew About Education Was Wrong? (Paperback edition) Reprint Edition

It says something about the institution of public education that Didau decided he needed to open this book with more than 100 pages on the psychological and statistical reasons why we -- both collectively and individually -- can be wrong about things we have always taken for granted. He does so with with the intention of leaving you, as he puts it, "thoroughly tenderized", and ready to be convinced that most of what constitutes "accepted best practice" today has about as much empirical backing as the medical procedures of a thousand years ago. Hold the leeches, guys! I think he's on to something.The title should be taken literally. Didau does not seem to be out to push a new framework or gimmick, but to make you think skeptically about anyone that does, and to make you realize that most of your teacher education was probably a stew of this rubbish.This is not to say that Didau has no recommendations. He does! But you will be surprised at how tentative he is about some of them, by how shaken he has been left from his own experience of swallowing the metaphorical "red pill". Can we be absolutely certain of anything? Perhaps not. But some pedagogical assertions are absolutely better supported by science than others, and Didau gives you a fascinating tour of things you would be justified in trying in your classroom.If you're like me, you've already been doing some of what he suggests under a cloud of baseless guilt. But you will find some other suggestions so shockingly counter-intuitive that you'll bleed out your highlighter and shake yourself dizzy doing double takes. You will pace the room thinking nervously about just how much your bosses trust you, and wonder whether you actually have the stomach to take these kinds of risks.There are a pair of interesting appendices (bonus chapters, really) by Didau's collaborators at the end. As an American, I can't speak much to Jack Markwood's look at the (lack of) value in the data collected by England's educational system. But I will commend Andrew Sabisky's "Five myths about intelligence" for its clarity and courage. IQ is, as he acknowledges, an "impolite" subject.If you're looking for catchy acronyms and feel-good fluff, look elsewhere. This isn't that kind of book. It is very readable, with a conversational semi-scholarly style. But it is not *easy*.If Didau is right, this is absolutely for the best.

At this point of my life, I've read a LOT of books about education: ed policy, ed theory, ed history, ed practice, ed this, ed that, ed cetera. I can't say, though, that I've read any quite like David Didau's here, mainly because I haven't encountered anything that so effortlessly and thoughtfully mashes up all the standard ed book types. On one hand it's a useful research work, challenging some long-accepted practical truisms to explain and demonstrate how cognitive scientific findings can enhance classroom practice. On another, it's a note of affirmation from a colleague in education's trenches. On still another--well, that'd be three hands, and two is quite enough. You get the idea.In short this book taught me a lot, made me argue with it occasionally, and presented information I'd previously been familiar with in fresh, exceedingly clever ways. If you love reading about education and are passionate to learn more about what can work and why, I can't recommend many single titles more highly than this one.

This is one of the better books on education and learning I've read. And I've read quite a few. It does a splendid job of pulling together a lot of research and applying it to the task of education, without being prescriptive or idealogical. It is a long book, and the first section about our various biases was a load to plow through. The book moves much quicker after that first section though. Well worth the effort!

A profoundly good book--essential reading for teachers and administrators everywhere. Didau adroitly disassembles every certainty you have ever held about education, teaching, and learning, allowing you to take a fresh, more informed view of the institution, and of your mission as an educator. The ideas here should represent a new starting place for talking about and thinking about education in the 21st century. Make this a key part of your ongoing professional development.

First off, this book probably taught me more about teaching and research than my entire teacher training. Seriously.Second, it is written well and is actually interesting to read unlike your standard "learning is important and everyone needs to excel, blabh albhsighfeigh" that permeates both teaching programs and ed books. Kudos to David, I now want to read everything he's written. Really makes you think here.

I’ve rarely found the time (or inclination) to write a book review, but this book is special.First, a disclaimer: this is not an easy read. Not because of the style of writing (David Didau’s style is clear and enjoyable to read) but because1. it’s a big book (for an education book anyway)2. for many teachers it will challenge an awful lot of what we believe/assume to be good teaching practice.Didau starts off by explaining how the human brain is pretty bad at making rational, evidence based decisions due to significant cognitive bias: “we make decisions on emotional grounds and then justify and rationalise our choices after the fact“. I was aware of many of these psychological principles before reading this book, but Didau summarises them brilliantly. This is almost like tenderising a steak before cooking; knowing how bad our decision making can be is essential if we are to make it through the cognitive dissonance we are about to experience…Didau then carefully dismantles large swathes of what is standard (and considered to be good or outstanding) practice in many classrooms across the country. I won’t/can’t go into more detail here, as I feel I wouldn’t do it justice, but it’s really quite an uncomfortable experience. As a teacher who has made a very successful career utilising a “progressive” teaching style, the amount of cognitive dissonance I experienced whilst reading this book was massive. It’s clear that Didau has been through the same process himself. He does, thankfully, offer plenty of ideas (backed up by evidence) for how to improve teaching and learning.There have been a few education books I’ve been positively evangelical about throughout my teaching career, either because they’ve summarised my beliefs about education or they’ve been immensely useful. Inside The Black Box (Wiliam/Black), Essential Motivation In The Classroom (Gilbert), The Teacher’s Toolkit (Ginnis), How To Teach (Beadle), Visible Learning (Hattie) and Evidence Based Teaching (Petty) are all books that I’ve ended up buying for others, or raving about to schools and teachers, particularly those new to the profession. "What if everything…" joins that list (and at times, contradicts some of the content of the other books). However, it will be my more experienced colleagues to whom I’ll be recommending it most; we have the most cognitive dissonance to experience. This is essential reading for all who work in education (particularly school leaders). Providing a copy for staff and giving them two days inset to read (and act) on it would probably be the most effective CPD a school could do. Sadly I can’t see that happening in many schools, as those higher up in schools probably have the most dissonance to experience and the most to lose…The challenge I now face is to take what I’ve learnt from this book and apply it to my day to day practice. I can already feel the “experienced teacher” part of me itching to start the term teaching in the way I find comfortable. The scientist/rational part of me needs to fight that. It won’t be easy (most of our education system encourages my old habits), but then (and this is a key theme of the book) learning should be hard.

Given the title of the book, many readers might be expecting an uncomfortable and frustrating experience. Indeed, any teacher approaching this book should do so with the expectation that many of their most deeply held beliefs about teaching, learning and schools will be subject to Didau’s criticism. At no point, however, did this leave me frustrated or aggrieved. This is down to the following:1. The style. Even though it is very unnerving to have your beliefs challenged, the writer, through a mixture of wit, anecdote and a lively style manages to do so in a very entertaining manner.2. The viewpoint. Unlike many other educational texts, this is not written by someone who writes from a position of asserting their own ‘correctness’. It’s both reassuring and refreshing to read an educational book where the author openly discusses times where they have also been wrong or mistaken.3. The research. On almost every page there is a wealth of knowledge and research leaping off the page. Synthesising the sheer breadth of research, some of it on very complex topics, is a fantastic achievement.4. The practical suggestions. Although the writer never claims to know the answer, the comprehensive review of the research does allow him to suggest practical ways for schools and teachers to improve their practise.5. The possibilities. Yes, many of our ideas about education might be wrong. Ideas about marking, lesson observations, curriculum design and even our concept of learning rest on shaky ground. But once we acknowledge this, we can look to the future with renewed optimism. If we’re wrong about these things, then we can do better for our students, which is a exciting and uplifting message.

So it's the night before the Scottish LEarning Festival and I'm sitting in the Premier Inn on Glasgow's Pacific Quay reading David Didau's latest tome, 'What if everything in education was a load of horse hooie (or suchlike)'. Really really good. So frustrating when I keep nodding my head and saying to my inner self 'Aye THAT's what happens at our place!' As I slowly work my way through the various chapters and themes I realise that education in the UK is changing. For the first time in a long time people at the top (the inspectors, the politicians) seem to be actually taking notes from the frontline staff; Didau, Bennett, Ashes, PIeper, Cameron (the Scottish educator not the other less well educated one). David goes into great detail but explains things clearly and I kept having these 'lightbulb' moments that also saddened me because they should be the norm not the unusual in teaching. Highly recommended. Should be issued to ALL trainee teachers UK wide. Bugger the ridiculous nonsense about Scotland having a separate system - it's not keeping up with the English for a start! Follow David on facebook and twitter @learningspy and you will also see the light and improve your practice - or in fact just do what you would/should have been doing anyway if only the data fiends and superior beings would let you. David gives you the background detail you need to fight for your students. Best book read since Lord of the Rings when I was aged 14 sitting on a beach in Majorca wearing my full school uniform including the blazer.

Interesting

This is a magnificent book; if you're a teacher you should buy it.In some senses reading this book is like having a conversation with a respected colleague in the staffroom. Didau was very recently a classroom teacher, and the issues he discusses are completely relevant to my teaching practice. However, he has read more, knows more, and has more insight than any teacher I have ever encountered. It is a brilliantly researched book, and he takes this erudition and writes paragraph after paragraph of well argued sense about teaching. It is a big book, and not a page is wasted, I have it on kindle and must have highlighted about have of it.Often, I had to stop and think about what I had just read. Make no mistake, this is not a book to read to comfort you in your existing views, it looks to challenge every notion about education, to find the ideas that actually work, and to make one question one's most cherished beliefs. This book has had an immediate, beneficial effect on my teaching. I wish I had read it years ago.