Dylan Wiliam
@dylanwiliam
Teacher, researcher, writer, mostly interested in the power of education to transform lives and how to do it better.
I've seen many posts about the role of subject knowledge in reducing cognitive load, and thus enhancing complex skills like problem-solving. I have seen much less on the role of subject knowledge in helping learners see that a solution is incorrect, or that one on the wrong track
Many thanks Dan, for this and your key role on the Editorial Board and as an author. And many thanks to @MichaelPetrilli for being on the Board of Policymakers and Practitioners, helping shape the design of the Live Handbook, and having me on the podcast. Please check them out.
I am a huge fan (and contributor to) @aefpweb's Live Handbook. It's a terrific one stop shop for an overview of many education issues (think Wikipedia for ed research) & @douglasharris99 does a great job talking about this resource on today's Gadfly. 👇 fordhaminstitute.org/national/resou…
A great listen!
The new TAITC this week is a partnership with @adamsmithworks First of an eight part series on Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations. This week: background and the Scottish Enlightenment! buzzsprout.com/2186249/episod…
The Australian Primary Principals Association's annual conference runs from August 26th-29th in Brisbane. The day before, I am running a workshop on leading effective change in education, and registration is open to those not attending the conference: bit.ly/4lG536z
In Brisbane, Queensland, at 4.30pm on August 25th, as part of St Margaret's Anglican Girls School "Trends in Education" series, I shall be giving a talk on "Formative assessment - High-utility strategies for success". It's free, but you need to register: bit.ly/4o4IQAK
Two In Action series - research and subject specifics. My role is tiny - but it's very gratifying to see this grow into something substantial, written by real experts; all of it rooted in classroom experience. A fab @JohnCattEd @WALKTHRUs_5 Production hachettelearning.com/search-results…
I tried to untangle some of the biologically primary/secondary nuances in this 2024 blogpost: Refocusing the biologically primary Vs biologically secondary distinction: Oral language can be vulnerable and reading can be resourceful. pamelasnow.blogspot.com/2024/04/refocu…
WHOLE BOOKS! I pop into this wonderful podcast episode from @Doug_Lemov via @KnowledgeMatrs on the value of reading whole books knowledgematterscampaign.org/post/ep-4-lite…
There are theories and there are theories. Creationists have attacked evolution by natural selection on the basis that it’s a ‘theory’. It’s worth reading the 4th para of this Stephen Jay Gould essay wise.fau.edu/~tunick/course…
I know that reading is typically regarded as what David Geary terms biologically secondary knowledge, but this may be an unhelpful simplification. Decoding is surely biologically secondary, but other aspects of reading seem to me to involve both primary and secondary knowledge.
Teachers are trained to spot and correct mistakes. Errors are typically treated as signs of confusion, poor preparation, inattentiveness, or worse. But what if making mistakes — when done deliberately — could be an effective tool for learning? kirschnered.nl/2025/07/15/del…
A useful paper on the role of teachers in using research in practice undermines the seriousness of its claims by including the graphic below: bit.ly/44PGrB7. Not quite in the same league as "The bicycle of education" (look it up) but...
🛀Use this weekend to relax and catch up on the 3rd season of the #KnowledgeMatters Podcast. 🧠@dylanwiliam talks w/ @MrZachG, @daisychristo and @PatriceBain1 in Episodes 1+2. Then, in Episode 3, you can hear from @Doug_Lemov, as he talks fluency!📖 🎧 tinyurl.com/ynnhd8jd
Higher levels of economic literacy seem to be associated with more—rather than less—extreme political (i.e., Republican vs Democrat) views: bit.ly/4kxDhaM ($)
You might find this paper interesting... "Even after learners are made aware of effective learning strategies, they do not automatically endorse or use those strategies." Turns out changing the behavioural habit is the hard part. They need some intervention in order to make the…
Just re-read @dtwillingham's "When can you trust the experts?" I dipped into it while planning a session at the @learningandtheb conference in November, but it's so good, I read the whole thing again: authoritative, and a delight to read. It really deserves to be better known!
New from yours truly at my Substack, "The Next 30 Years." Family structure appears to influence student outcomes than anything we can ever do in school. How should we respond to that? thenext30years.substack.com/p/family-struc…
Alpha platform in schools claiming extraordinary accelerated learning on 2 hrs a day AI platform (Rocket Math, Fast Math Pro, Duolingo and a lot of iXL). It's complicated butI feel that this model has legs, intense morning online, teacher-led rest of day astralcodexten.com/p/your-review-…
Yes, JUST THREE DAYS LEFT! Well, two now...
3 days left... The DfE funding for the Embedding Formative Assessment programme ends in 3 days, and this is the final year the subsidy is available. Don't miss out: ow.ly/fTfe50Wic7r #efa #education #schoolsuk
Loved this. Looking forward to episode 4!
Building off @dylanwiliam's insights about working memory & cognitive load theory to explore the connection between fluency, attention & reading comprehension....