When Can You Trust the Experts? : How to Tell Good Science from Bad in Education

by Willingham, Daniel T.

• ISBN13: 9781118130278
• ISBN10: 1118130278
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-07-24
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Clear, easy principles to spot whats nonsense and whats reliable Each year, teachers, administrators, and parents face a barrage of new education software, games, workbooks, and professional development programs purporting to be "based on the latest research." While some of these products are rooted in solid science, the research behind many others is grossly exaggerated. This new book, written by a top thought leader, helps everyday teachers, administrators, and family members-who dont have years of statistics courses under their belts-separate the wheat from the chaff and determine which new educational approaches are scientifically supported and worth adopting. Authors first book, Why Dont Students Like School?, catapulted him to superstar status in the field of education Willinghams work has been hailed as "brilliant analysis" by The Wall Street Journal and "a triumph" by The Washington Post Author blogs for The Washington Post and Brittanica.com, and writes a column for American Educator In this insightful book, thought leader and bestselling author Dan Willingham offers an easy, reliable way to discern which programs are scientifically supported and which are the equivalent of "educational snake oil."

Author Biography

Daniel T. Willingham is professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. His bestselling book, Why Don't Students Like School?, was hailed as "a triumph" by The Washington Post and "brilliant analysis" by The Wall Street Journal; it is recommended by scores of education-related magazines and blogs and is published in ten languages. Willingham writes a regular column called "Ask the Cognitive Scientist" for the American Federation of Teachers' magazine, American Educator.

Table of Contents

About the Author	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xii
Introduction: What Are You to Believe?	p. 1
Why We So Easily Believe Bad Science
Why Smart People Believe Dumb Things	p. 31
Science and Belief: A Nervous Romance	p. 57
What Scientists Call Good Science	p. 81
How to Use Science	p. 107
The Shortcut Solution
Step One: Strip It and Flip It	p. 135
Step Two: Trace It	p. 167
Step Three: Analyze It	p. 183
Step Four: Should I Do It?	p. 207
Endnotes	p. 223
Name Index	p. 237
Subject Index	p. 243
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