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What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Psychology
Much of what we do in classrooms is intuitive, steered by what 'feels right', but all too often intuition proves a poor, sometimes treacherous guide. Although what we know about the workings of the human brain is still pitifully little, the science of psychology can and has revealed certain surprising findings that teachers would do well to heed.
Over the past few decades, psychological research has made real strides into understanding how we learn, but it's only in the last few years that education has become aware of these insights. Part of the problem is a tendency amongst teachers to resist being told 'what works' if it conflicts with intuition. Whilst we cannot and should not relinquish our professional judgement in the face of outlandish claims, we should at least be aware of what scientists have discovered about learning, thinking, motivation, behaviour and assessment over the past few decades.
This though is far easier said than done. Every year thousands of research papers are published, some of which contradict each other. How can busy teachers know which research is worth investing time in reading and understanding?
Here, David Didau and Nick Rose attempt to lay out the evidence and theoretical perspectives on what we believe are the most important and useful psychological principles of which teacher ought to be aware. That is not to say this book contains everything you might ever need to know - there is no way it could - it is merely a primer. We hope that you are inspired to read and explore some of the sources for yourself and see what other principles can find a home in your classroom. Some of what we present may be surprising, some dubious, but some in danger of being dismissed as 'blindingly obvious'.
Before embracing or dismissing any of these principles we urge you to interrogate the evidence and think carefully about the advice we offer. While nothing works everywhere and everything might work somewhere, this is a guide to what we consider the best bets from the realm of psychology.
Over the past few decades, psychological research has made real strides into understanding how we learn, but it's only in the last few years that education has become aware of these insights. Part of the problem is a tendency amongst teachers to resist being told 'what works' if it conflicts with intuition. Whilst we cannot and should not relinquish our professional judgement in the face of outlandish claims, we should at least be aware of what scientists have discovered about learning, thinking, motivation, behaviour and assessment over the past few decades.
This though is far easier said than done. Every year thousands of research papers are published, some of which contradict each other. How can busy teachers know which research is worth investing time in reading and understanding?
Here, David Didau and Nick Rose attempt to lay out the evidence and theoretical perspectives on what we believe are the most important and useful psychological principles of which teacher ought to be aware. That is not to say this book contains everything you might ever need to know - there is no way it could - it is merely a primer. We hope that you are inspired to read and explore some of the sources for yourself and see what other principles can find a home in your classroom. Some of what we present may be surprising, some dubious, but some in danger of being dismissed as 'blindingly obvious'.
Before embracing or dismissing any of these principles we urge you to interrogate the evidence and think carefully about the advice we offer. While nothing works everywhere and everything might work somewhere, this is a guide to what we consider the best bets from the realm of psychology.
280 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 17, 2016
39 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 12, 2016
I know what my next present to fellow teachers will be.
November 28, 2023
Reporting the latest Educational research, the authors work through a couple of dozen topics which have direct relevance to classroom practice.
The first part of the book focuses upon Learning and Thinking, and that section is particularly clear. Much of the research has settled into ‘consensus views’ and so there is relatively little controversy to report. We hear about how memories are created, and the differing ways in which they can be strengthened, through teaching techniques which involve desirable difficulties (Spacing, Interleaving, Variation, Testing, Reducing Feedback). The sections on Cognitive Load and Working Memory, go into a little more detail about the limitations of memory and thus the important role which teachers have in making the curriculum digestible in small enough chunks.
One of the areas where a little more information would have been helpful is in terms of the different types of memory techniques which exist. For centuries, if not millennia, people have used verbal and image models to chunk large quantities of information into their memories. In the past people would memorise speeches of several hours in that way. The book mentions such techniques in passing, but it would have been interesting to know if there is any research on the relative advantages or disadvantages of those differing ancient techniques.
Similarly it was good to see older theories such as Ebbinghaus’ forgetfulness curve from the 1880s, which tells us that after an hour a student will have forgotten around ½ of a lesson. By the next day it will be around 2/3 that has dribbled into forgetfulness. The book tells us that that research was based upon remembering strings of nonsense. But how often are children really learning strings of disjointed nonsense in (good) classrooms? If a teacher deploys the good practice in the rest of the book then information to be learned should be carefully chunked and linked to prior learning. So, is Ebbinghaus’ curve really relevant to that kind of more carefully planned learning? Perhaps in the last 140 years, there is a more apposite forgetfulness curve that it would be good for teachers to be aware of?
The second part of the book focuses upon Behaviour and Motivation. It demolishes some myths about the role of praise and feedback, which (it seems) should be delayed and reserved, as well as focused specifically so that it doesn’t inadvertently reinforce fixed mindsets that people can either do tasks, or they can’t. There were also some potential warnings. For example, many schools use Restorative Justice to deal with bullying. But some research was cited which suggests that that may not always be the best approach (p.186). And when it comes to motivating students, teachers need to be particularly attentive to the fact that around ½ of what they teach will probably be already known to the students in some shape or form (p.121).
The third section of the book was called ‘Controversies’ because it focused on issues where there are still considerable differences of opinion. Can Resilience and Grit be taught? Maybe, but studies suggest such small benefits to students that time might be better spent on other strategies. Teaching ‘Brain Gym’ or shaping lessons around Personality types was dismissed as mistaken approaches. Then the issue of creativity was explored in the final chapter, presenting a clear account of its confusing ambiguities.
Overall, this is a good summary of a long list of topics which teachers will benefit from some familiarity with. It reports the research in a relatively clear and simple way, whilst also providing some interesting quirky details. Where it uses technical terms it explains them thoroughly, so the book is potentially accessible to any graduate interested in better understanding education.
The first part of the book focuses upon Learning and Thinking, and that section is particularly clear. Much of the research has settled into ‘consensus views’ and so there is relatively little controversy to report. We hear about how memories are created, and the differing ways in which they can be strengthened, through teaching techniques which involve desirable difficulties (Spacing, Interleaving, Variation, Testing, Reducing Feedback). The sections on Cognitive Load and Working Memory, go into a little more detail about the limitations of memory and thus the important role which teachers have in making the curriculum digestible in small enough chunks.
One of the areas where a little more information would have been helpful is in terms of the different types of memory techniques which exist. For centuries, if not millennia, people have used verbal and image models to chunk large quantities of information into their memories. In the past people would memorise speeches of several hours in that way. The book mentions such techniques in passing, but it would have been interesting to know if there is any research on the relative advantages or disadvantages of those differing ancient techniques.
Similarly it was good to see older theories such as Ebbinghaus’ forgetfulness curve from the 1880s, which tells us that after an hour a student will have forgotten around ½ of a lesson. By the next day it will be around 2/3 that has dribbled into forgetfulness. The book tells us that that research was based upon remembering strings of nonsense. But how often are children really learning strings of disjointed nonsense in (good) classrooms? If a teacher deploys the good practice in the rest of the book then information to be learned should be carefully chunked and linked to prior learning. So, is Ebbinghaus’ curve really relevant to that kind of more carefully planned learning? Perhaps in the last 140 years, there is a more apposite forgetfulness curve that it would be good for teachers to be aware of?
The second part of the book focuses upon Behaviour and Motivation. It demolishes some myths about the role of praise and feedback, which (it seems) should be delayed and reserved, as well as focused specifically so that it doesn’t inadvertently reinforce fixed mindsets that people can either do tasks, or they can’t. There were also some potential warnings. For example, many schools use Restorative Justice to deal with bullying. But some research was cited which suggests that that may not always be the best approach (p.186). And when it comes to motivating students, teachers need to be particularly attentive to the fact that around ½ of what they teach will probably be already known to the students in some shape or form (p.121).
The third section of the book was called ‘Controversies’ because it focused on issues where there are still considerable differences of opinion. Can Resilience and Grit be taught? Maybe, but studies suggest such small benefits to students that time might be better spent on other strategies. Teaching ‘Brain Gym’ or shaping lessons around Personality types was dismissed as mistaken approaches. Then the issue of creativity was explored in the final chapter, presenting a clear account of its confusing ambiguities.
Overall, this is a good summary of a long list of topics which teachers will benefit from some familiarity with. It reports the research in a relatively clear and simple way, whilst also providing some interesting quirky details. Where it uses technical terms it explains them thoroughly, so the book is potentially accessible to any graduate interested in better understanding education.
April 2, 2020
A short and concise summary of the most important psychological prinicples for teaching and learning, such as motivation. As a university-educated teacher-to-be I did not really gained many new insights, however, it was very useful to remind myself of certain crucial basics I need to keep in mind when teaching. Additionally, the authers also provide some practical suggestions and tips in order to relate theory to practice, which I always enjoy.
January 20, 2019
A helpful book. The points about bullying, motivation, rewards, sanctions, stress, and social norms were especially insightful. Much of the first half of the book has been covered elsewhere, but is still useful. The bullying research I found especially insightful. If you are a teacher that wants to know more about what the research says on how students thing, check out this book.
December 12, 2021
Dear writer, if you preach about using storytelling and examples in teaching, then why do you not use it yourself? I'm sorry, there was some at the very beginning, but then it went away at 5-10% of the book. I gave up after 30%, because it was too dull and general.
December 31, 2017
Quite hard going! Best read in small chunks.
September 20, 2018
Intressant och lättfattlig. Har diskuterat många intressanta forskningsresultat med mina elever.
November 24, 2019
Important in every aspec.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews