Table of Contents

About the authors

Foreword from the first edition – John Hattie

How teachers use it

Introduction

Studies:

1 The one about memory

2 The one about aspirations and expectations

3 The one about the planning fallacy

4 The one about spacing your learning

5 The one about growth mindset

6 The one about predicting future behaviour

7 The one about teacher mindset

8 The one about teenagers and social rejection

9 The one about teacher expectations

10 The one about IQ and success

11 The one about parents and grades

12 The one about student resilience

13 The one about marshmallows and self-control

14 The one about mindset and purpose

15 The one about spacing and interleaving

16 The one about parental views on failure

17 The one about revising to music

18 The one about the Dunning-Kruger effect

19 The one about parental praise

20 The one about effort being contagious

21 The one about teacher evaluation

22 The one about talent bias

23 The one about retrieval practice

24 The one about thought suppression

25 The one about effective feedback

26 The one about motivating bored students

27 The one about self-analysis over time

28 The one about asking why

29 The one about sleep

30 The one about mobile phones

31 The one about marshmallows, reliability and self-control

32 The one about note-taking

33 The one about Impostor Syndrome

34 The one about reading out loud

35 The one about eating breakfast

36 The one about streaming

37 The one about academic buoyancy

38 The one about the spotlight effect

39 The one about resilience

40 The one about phones and sleep

41 The one about pictures and words

42 The one about teaching others

43 The one about experts overclaiming

44 The one about the Köhler effect

45 The one about the IKEA effect

46 The one about parental beliefs

47 The one about motivation

48 The one about student daydreaming

49 The one about banning mobile phones

50 The one about going for a walk

51 The one about stress mindsets

52 The one about how to give better feedback

53 The one about self-talk

54 The one about parents and reading

55 The one about the seduction of neuroscience

56 The one about deadlines, choice and procrastination

57 The one about smart reputations

58 The one about emotions and achievement

59 The one about interacting with nature

60 The one about stress and uncertainty

61 The one about metacognition

62 The one about helping disadvantaged students

63 The one about picturing the process

64 The one about what teachers say

65 The one about parental warmth

66 The one about how much we forget

67 The one about homework

68 The one about mindset, attitude and self-esteem

69 The one about pre-questions

70 The one about the learning style myth

71 The one about eating dinner together

72 The one about electronic note taking

73 The one about the bandwagon effect

74 The one about struggling scientists

75 The one about effective teachers

76 The one about retrieval practice and stress

77 The one about false confidence

78 The One About Sound In PowerPoints

79 The One About Identifying Expert Teachers

80 The One About Reading and Background Noise

81 The One About Transitioning to Secondary School

82 The One About Drawing for Learning

83 The One About Effective Teacher-Student Interactions

84 The One About How Metacognition Helps

85 The One About Parental Involvement

86 The One About Bad Decision Making

87 The One About Age and Self-Concept

88 The One About Self-Regulated Learning

89 The One About Cognitive Load

90 The One About The Effects of Screen Time

91 The One About Perfect Multiple-Choice Tests

92 The One About Parents And Sleep

93 The One About Classroom Decorations

94 The One About Summer Learning Loss

95 The One About Knowing The End Is Near

96 The One About Interleaving and Discrimination Learning

97 The One About How Teachers Give Feedback

98 The One About The Peak End Effect

99 The One About The Importance of Failing

Tips:

Tips for improving memory

Tips for improving mindset, motivation and resilience

Tips for improving self-regulation and metacognition

Tips for students

Tips for teachers' attitudes, expectations and behaviours

Tips for parents

Tips for overcoming thinking biases

When The Science of Learning Meets the Art Of Teaching

When the science of learning meets the art of teaching

Retrieval Practice

Creating a Growth Culture

Developing Independent Learners

Managing Mobile Phones

Mastering Your Classroom

A Home Environment That Aids Learning

Improving Self Awareness Through Self-Reflection

Reference List

About the Author

Edward Watson is the founder of InnerDrive, UK.

Bradley Busch is a chartered psychologist at InnerDrive, UK

Reviews

Reviews from Teachers Using the Book"No resource is perfect for all contexts, but the well-thumbed and annotated copies of this book lying around our schools is evidence that, in our context, giving every teacher a copy has been beneficial."George Casley, CATS College London"I’ve used The Science of Learning extensively when leading on Teaching and Learning at West Coventry Academy. I produced readers of key studies for teachers and based a lot of the whole-school CPD sessions I designed around the accessible, easily digestible infographics and summaries"Bertram Richter, Coventry Academy"As a CPD lead in the school, I have been able to refer back to the book to create resources for CPD sessions and foster meaningful conversations and discussions between the teachers in the school."Brad Williams, Co-op Academy, WalkdenReviews from the 1st Edition: ‘This is the book I have been waiting for. Ever since I first started working with teachers on preservice and inservice programs (US) and teacher training and inset courses (UK) in the 1980s, I wished there were a book that presented seminal studies in education and psychology in an accessible way, and drawing out implications for practice. This is it. In this wonderfully readable book, Bradley Busch and Edward Watson present 77 key studies from education and psychology, spanning over 60 years that every teacher should know about. Whether you are just beginning as a teacher, or a seasoned veteran, there will be something here that will be directly relevant to your practice, and, perhaps more importantly, will make you think. Highly recommended.’Dylan Wiliam, Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at UCL, UK‘This book will prove irresistible to anyone keen to understand more about essential educational research findings in the most accessible manner possible. The authors identify the most influential and important findings of research relating to key issues in classrooms such as effective teaching, student behaviours, the impact of family and practice that develops skilled learners. Busch & Watson offer a concise, punchy and engaging resource for everyone seeking to help children and young people learn in the most effective way. An absolute must for every school.’Professor Dame Alison Peacock, Chief Executive at The Chartered College of Teaching, UK‘The Science of Learning is a timely and precious gift to teachers. We know that research and evidence, used well, are vital complements to teachers’ experience and professional judgement, but finding the most relevant research, understanding what it shows, and knowing how to implement these findings accurately can be really tricky. No wonder that despite the burgeoning interest in research among teachers there is still limited application of research in teachers’ practice. This book provides an appealing and trustworthy solution: a range of fascinating studies – from large-scale and replicated to small and quirky – has been selected and their findings summarised with brilliant clarity. The discussions are brief but nuanced, and the sections on ‘classroom implications’ offer thoughtful suggestions about how this knowledge can inform teachers’ practice. The explanations are simple but not simplistic – a remarkable achievement. Interpreting research accurately and applying it intelligently are not easy tasks. This book has made them far easier. Every teacher should be given a copy.’Jonnie Noakes, Head of Teaching and Learning at Eton College, UK‘This is the educational research book I have been waiting for!As a profession, it is important that we are evidence-informed so that our most precious resource – time – is well spent on activities that will have the most impact on learning and progress for our students. But we are caught in the catch-22 scenario of not having enough time to engage fully with the research studies themselves. Add to this the problems of academic paywalls, complex and frequently impenetrable presentation and language style, and the sheer volume of educational research available, and the opportunity cost becomes too high for a busy teacher to read the journal articles that might just help them be more effective.Fortunately, Busch and Watson have the solution in this instantly-accessible summary of 77 vital research studies that every teacher should know. The vibrant, infographic-style presentation leaps off the page, and the structure of the book lends itself to browsing and dipping in-and-out rather than cover-to-cover reading. You can digest the key findings from an important study in just a few minutes – ideal for a busy teacher, whether in training, in the first few years of their career or wearing the badge of experience.The studies themselves are well-chosen, covering the fields of memory, motivation and metacognition as well as behaviour, bias and parenting. The interleaved structure encourages the reader to see the connections between the studies too, building up a coherent overall picture of what might, actually, work in the classroom.Busch and Watson have come up with that rarity: an educational must-read. I will be recommending it to every teacher I know!’Chris Hildrew, Headteacher at Churchill Academy, UK‘Two key questions facing classroom teachers today are firstly, what research do I need to know? and secondly, how can I use it in my classroom? This book is a highly practicable guide to the often impenetrable field of education research and is a very useful compass for school leaders, classroom teachers and parents alike in seeking which evidence-based strategies to implement.’Carl Hendrick, author of What Does This Look Like in the Classroom?, UK‘Like me, I trust you will enjoy reading, dipping into, thinking about, following up, questioning and asking for more – as you touch this book. This is my ‘book of the decade’.’John Hattie, Laureate Professor at Melbourne University, Australia‘The presentation of the topics in 77 succinct sections make this a really accessible, easy to use book. It's not daunting to just tackle one topic at a time, and in total the articles add up to really practical and useful knowledge, presented clearly.’Sarah Brew, Parents in Touch‘If you’re a teacher who wants to find out about many interesting findings from educational research, without having to spend precious free periods or leisure time looking for it, you should buy this book. And if you’re a team leader, buying a copy for each member of your team would not be a bad investment – especially if you used selected studies as the basis for team discussions.’Terry Freedman, Schools Week‘This is a really excellent resource for the busy teacher, education student or study support tutor with plenty of food for thought and easy to understand classroom or teaching suggestions.’Jan Beechey MCILIP, Dyslexia Review