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Greg Ashman has written something about behaviour management that is rare in education: useful and evidence-informed. So many commentators write about children as we would like them to be rather than the ones we find on classrooms. His focus on prevention and cure as simultaneous strategies of core importance, is one of the most overlooked manifestos in the craft of running a room.
This is a highly readable, practical and thought-provoking account of the evidence about how we learn and how to teach. Anyone interested in improving education should read it.
Greg Ashman changed my life. I was introduced to his blog via Dylan Wiliam, and Greg’s subsequent interview on my Mr Barton Maths Podcast in 2017 left me and thousands of listeners questioning everything in teaching that we had previous taken for granted. It took me 12 years to think deeper about the the way I planned lessons, the things I did in the classroom, how I marked books, and many other things. The Truth about Teaching is the book I wished I’d had all those years ago.
...Ashman admits that "teaching cannot claim to be evidence-based ... Instead, we can hope to be evidence-informed." It's a welcome admission that cognitive models and large scale meta-analyses might not tell us everything about what goes on in the classroom, and sets the tone for the rest of this detailed and absorbing book.
New and aspiring teachers will find this book gives valuable insights. The author's extensive background in teaching means he writes from an informed and empathetic viewpoint, giving his readers confidence. An understanding of educational research is demonstrated, along with the most vital ideas necessary to succeed in teaching... It's a practical book, firmly rooted in actual classroom experience with real children - it's just what teachers will encounter and therefore reassuring and positive to use and apply.
The book starts conversations about evidence informed practice within education. Taking a positivist stance the book explores debates around trends and policy shifts in education. This would be a good starting point for education students engaged in knowledge contests around scientific versus philosophical arguments for pedagogical approaches.
Greg Ashman has written a superb book which is accessible to trainee teachers and thought provoking for experienced teachers. It is refreshing to read a book written by a practicing teacher. After 23 years of teaching, I realise that I have spent too much of my time investigating my energy into the latest fads in education, often as a result from a diktat from someone who have never taught in a classroom. This book cuts right to the core of what is important, how to teach effectively and efficiently.