David Didau

Bristol

Writer at Freelance

Making Meaning Field Guide OUT NOW: https://t.co/CDgvRJzY0a - For bookings contact [email protected]

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Articles

Learning to learn: why real school improvement is recursive and reflective

5 days ago | daviddidau.substack.com | David Didau

Everyone wants school improvement, but few seem prepared to ask what it actually means—or, more importantly, how it happens. We pour time, money, and energy into strategies, frameworks, and interventions, all designed to drive progress. And yet, so much of what we do feels oddly repetitive. There’s a constant nagging deja vu inherent in so much of what schools do. Haven’t we been here before?
David Didau: The Learning Spy

6 days ago | daviddidau.substack.com | David Didau

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Rethinking the purpose and practice of assessment

1 week ago | daviddidau.substack.com | David Didau

What is assessment for? Professor Rob Coe argues that for assessment data to be useful it must meet five criteria.
Seeing is believing

1 week ago | daviddidau.substack.com | David Didau

This post is available early for paid subscribers. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. With the advent of increasingly inexpensive access to brain imaging technology, neuroscience has entered a fascinating period of rapid advancement. The ability to generate images of what’s going on in our brains is hugely exciting, and the enthusiasm for trying to apply this science to education should come as no surprise.
How do I know all students are paying attention?

1 month ago | learningspy.co.uk | David Didau

This post is also on Substack. As a reminder, I’m planning to stop posting here in the short to medium term so I’d be really grateful if you could subscribe over there. Thanks, DavidIn Attention, Meaning & Mastery I wrote that all teachers need to answer four questions every lesson:How do all know that all students are paying attention? How do I know that all students have made sense of what has been taught? How do I know all students are mastering the skills I want them to learn?
How can we teach so that all students experience success?

1 month ago | learningspy.co.uk | David Didau

A reminder that I’m shifting my output over to Substack, so it would be wonderful if you could subscribe over there. I’ve been reworking some older posts on this blog and publishing them there so you may recognise a few old favourites. In Attention, Meaning & Mastery I wrote that all teachers need to answer four questions every lesson:How do all know that all students are paying attention? How do I know that all students have made sense of what has been taught?
Attention, meaning and mastery: The questions every teacher needs to answer every lesson

1 month ago | learningspy.co.uk | David Didau

After a loooong hiatus from blogging I’ve decided to give substack a try. You can subscribe here. For the next few blogs I’ll also post here on the Learning Spy site but, depending on how things go, I’m intending to eventually port everything over. I hope you’ll come with me. ***Training teachers how to use pedagogical techniques is, I’ve decided, of limited use.
It’s always better to know

1 month ago | learningspy.co.uk | David Didau

Over the last few years I’ve made a habit of teaching demonstration lessons in the schools I work with in order to make it clearer how to teach effectively. One of the things that makes this useful is that I’m always teaching students I don’t know and so, instead of watching a slick performance with students who have been thoroughly trained in the routines of a functional classroom, teachers get to see me work to establish expectations and build relationships in real time.
check for understanding

1 month ago | learningspy.co.uk | David Didau

It’s always better to know David DidauMarch 12th, 2025|Featured| Over the last few years I've made a habit of teaching demonstration lessons in the schools I work with in order to make it clearer how to teach effectively.
Help shape the future of educational resources PLUS a chance to win a £30 Amazon voucher

2 months ago | teachwire.net | David Didau

PrimaryArt & DesignAssessment ... We want to hear from you… by Your insights are invaluable in helping us create the best educational resources tailored to your needs. Whether you’re a primary school teacher or former educator, your feedback will guide us in developing tools and materials that truly make a difference.