Schools haven’t changed all that much in 4000 years. In this post I argue that’s a good thing. I discuss evolution, evolutionary psychology, culture and make the claim that schools are the first — and most important — educational technology. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

We've just launched an exciting new post-16 writing assessment! We're going to use our AI-enhanced Comparative Judgement system to assess Year 12 writing at the start of next academic year. Read more and find out how to take part here. help.nomoremarking.com/en/article/a...

Chapter 66 of The Second Summer of Love open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...

Chapter 66 of The Second Summer of Love open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...

This is excellent, although as an aside I worry a bit about people in power looking at principal coaching as the silver bullet to fix the lack of headship candidates in the system. I think it’s a good idea (if coaches are good enough, as @didau.bsky.social makes clear), but not enough to do that.

Huzzah

Coaching only takes you so far While good schools can multiplies coaching; a bad school absorbs it. If behaviour, curriculum, assessment and leadership are weak, coaching just tries to compensate for the system. Instead, we should coach principals. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Retrieval practice goes wrong when it becomes a ritual for teachers to perform. The aim is making knowledge available when it’s needed: recalled successfully, used purposefully, corrected visibly, and strengthened for elsewhere and later. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Retrieval practice goes wrong when it becomes a ritual for teachers to perform. The aim is making knowledge available when it’s needed: recalled successfully, used purposefully, corrected visibly, and strengthened for elsewhere and later. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

If you're a midlands based English teacher this might be the best decision you ever make. Immaculate behaviour. Incredible curriculum. High performance department. You would - however - have to work with me. DM for details and please share! mynewterm.com/jobs/138290/...

Chapter 64 of The Second Summer of Love open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...

A really interesting post. As someone who loves a spreadsheet, a useful cautionary tale sits here.

Good data can still lead to bad decisions. A behaviour log doesn’t show behaviour itself. It shows what’s noticed, challenged, escalated and recorded. My latest: The Problem with Patterns. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

The Take-You-Away. A Willerby Story. Any meal you've ever had in the place you had it, all over again. What would you choose? Whare would you go? open.substack.com/pub/willerby...

Chapter 62 of The Second Summer of Love open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...

Schools are right to ban phones. But maybe a phone-free school should begin with culture, not expensive tech solutions. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Chapter 61 of The Second Summer of Love open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...

Do MWBs have limitations? open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

NEW BLOG: Oracy - talk is cheap but group work is costly learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2026/05/orac...

Latest podcast with me and @didau.bsky.social www.youtube.com/live/DM_WyT2...

Enjoyed this.

I fundamentally do not like this man. Anyone who is incapable of talking about a crime or event without going ‘but what about THIS’ doesn’t care about either.

Schools need simplifications: labels, data, policies, maps. But the danger is that these tools start thinking for us. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Schools need simplifications: labels, data, policies, maps. But the danger is that these tools start thinking for us. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

An argument against ongoing assessment. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Writing transition isn’t a baton pass where primary hands over and secondary drops it. It’s a compatibility problem. Primary writing rewards expression, description and voice. Secondary writing demands clarity, explanation and disciplinary argument. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Writing transition isn’t a baton pass where primary hands over and secondary drops it. It’s a compatibility problem. Primary writing rewards expression, description and voice. Secondary writing demands clarity, explanation and disciplinary argument. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Chapter 59 of The Second Summer of Love open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...

Enjoy reading @didau.bsky.social to watch his thinking. Don't agree with him on everything. But he's a generous sharer of how his ideas are shaped.

Questioning is so woven into teaching that it’s easy to stop noticing it. Weak questioning gives us the illusion of learning whereas effective questioning makes thinking visible, expands students’ horizons & provides feedback to teachers on how to Improve further. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Bonkers to see attention on making school dinner's healthier (when they are already far better than they were) when the real scandal is portion size which has got smaller and smaller.

I set out to run a marathon with a ludicrously ambitious goal, got injured, ignored advice, turned up anyway & somehow dragged myself round in 3:38:44. Marathons, like writing books, are about, stubbornness, & the willingness to keep going when plans fall apart. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

I’d be really interested in reading this evidence.

The curriculum is not a mirror. It’s a selection. If we replaced An Inspector Calls, the case for doing so shouldn’t be representational optics but literary & curricular merit. Still, it’s striking how many plausible alternatives exist. What stops us is expedience. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Finished Newport marathon in 3 hours 38 mins and 44 seconds. Legs an absolute mess.

Read this thread twice. I have no idea what @stulock.bsky.social’s retail experience is here. I just can’t get my head around what’s going on. Would Cathie be able to explain it to me? (I suspect not)

Scaffolding is not a synonym for support. It should be temporary, responsive, and designed to disappear. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Scaffolding is not a synonym for support. It should be temporary, responsive, and designed to disappear. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Chapter 56 of The Second Summer of Love Fiona’s back open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...

It’s easy to excite a roomful of kids. It’s much harder to build calm, order and the habit of hard work. Too often, schools mistake visible engagement for learning. . open.substack.com/pub/daviddidau/p/easy-things-are-easy-hard-things?r=18455&utm_medium=ios

A new chapter of The Second Summer of Love has just landed. open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...

NEW Five principles of effective modelling open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Good modelling is harder than it looks. It requires restraint, careful selection, and that teachers to think not only about what they want students to produce, but about what they want them to notice, compare and understand.

Great read and an excellent evaluation of the strengths and pitfalls of modelling. Thanks @didau.bsky.social

NEW Five principles of effective modelling open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

NEW chapter of The Second Summer of Love open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...

NEW chapter of The Second Summer of Love open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...

Listening, attending, holding, and repeating are already forms of mental action. Students cannot infer or predict about an explanation they have not followed. Checking for attention is not the enemy of thought. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

@cmooreanderson.bsky.social here you go open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Chapter 53 of The Second Summer of Love open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...