The researchED Guide to Education Myths

Overall verdict: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Why this book?
I quite simply loved this book. If you are a fan of the common-sense approach that prevails at researchED events then, unsurprisingly, you will mostly likely love this book too. Whether its Mark Enser cautioning that retrieval quizzes risk becoming the next education fad or Greg Ashman stating that differentiation as we know it is overhyped; the authors of this book are brave in their discussions. They skilfully articulate what so many of us were thinking as we (only recently) sat through training sessions on attachment theory or technology in the classroom.

What’s more, although centred around debunking myths that persist in education, the authors do not seek to reach consensus. They recognise that it is often the distortion of originally well-founded ideas that result in new education-myths. Each chapter challenges your thinking and indeed, there are elements with which you will not agree. But this book forces you to think, reflect and consider- all equally powerful in improving your teaching. The best way to sum up this book is that it equips you with a critical eye- you’ll never look at resources on Twitter or elsewhere in the same way- always alert to a possible fad arising (but, I’d argue this is no bad thing…)!

Three key takeaways:
1. We need to constantly question as teachers- when something ‘new’ is presented to us, we need to be critical of this new or revitalised approach and regularly stop to think: ‘Is this actually working?’

2. “Understanding the why of a strategy we deploy in the classroom is vital if we are to avoid creating new cargo-cult practices and education myths.” (p.23)

3. Changing the beliefs and practice of colleagues is hard and requires skill because “being right is not an effective persuasion strategy”. (p.100)