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Dream Class:
Dreaming up Dream Classes
Dreaming up Dream Classes
My life changed in my BYU Economics of Education class taught by Eric Eide. I knew I had a passion for education, but I didn't realize that I loved education policy equally. The first day, he put a list of interventions on the board: class size, credentialing requirements, more pay for teachers, professional development, and so on. Then he asked us to erase the ones that had no impact.
He erased everything except "teacher quality."
I've always wanted to teach an economics of eduation class, but Econ of Ed it isn't really economics at all--it's just really hard empirical research about what works. And that's something that I have aimed to infuse into all of my classes. My dream is still to teach a class--or perhaps write a book--all about what the current research consensus has to say about educational practices and policy.
Why an evidence-based practice course?
Why an evidence-based practice course?
Every semester I do a presentation on the board where I re-create Eric Eide's experiment from my BYU days. The research is more updated (and always in need of updating) but the premise is the same: we come with strong priors about things that aren't as solid as we think.
If I were to pick a text, it'd be John Hattie's new book--Visible Learning: The Sequel. Hattie isn't perfect, and his work isn't gospel--but it's built to be accessible and rigorous, and he explains things carefully. He is easily the best voice in the field in terms of making evidence-based practice accessible to teachers.
Image taken from the amazon page for his book:
https://www.amazon.com/Visible-Learning-Sequel-John-Hattie/dp/1032462035
The second book I'd lean toward is by Dan Willingham, one of my favorite educational psychologists. He's another voice in favor of what works, and especially focuses on the neuroscience of learning.
https://www.amazon.com/Outsmart-Your-Brain-Learning-Hard/dp/B09L3GPM4J/
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