Review
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''How I wish I’d taught maths' is an extraordinary and important
book. Part guide to research, part memoir, part survival
handbook, it’s a wonderfully accessible guide to the latest
research on teaching mathematics, presented in a disarmingly
honest and readable way. I know of no other book that presents as
much usable research evidence on the dos and don’ts of
mathematics teaching in such a clear and practical way. No matter
how long you have been doing it, if you teach mathematics—from
primary school to university—this book is for you.' Dylan Wiliam,
Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment, UCL
'How I wish I had taught maths' is a rare and wonderful book,
one that could only have been written by someone with Craig’s
devotion to teaching and willingness to become immersed in the
research literature on how people learn. In clear, concrete, and
compelling terms Craig illustrates evidence-based ways to upgrade
mathematics instruction, ways that are often unintuitive and/or
at odds with prevailing educational practices. It makes us wish
that young people the world over might have the good fortune to
find themselves in classes that incorporate Craig’s ins. In
fact, whereas Craig writes, “I’ll be honest—this book has been
created for maths teachers,” we think that Craig’s “lessons
learned” can, with some creativity, enhance any teaching.' Robert
A. Bjork and Elizabeth L. Bjork, Department of Psychology,
University of California, Los Angeles
'It’s rare that we change our habits and beliefs once they are
established - cognitive bias is strong in us. And that is what
makes this book so exceptional. Craig describes not only what
he’s learned from a methodical study of cognitive science but how
he’s changed over time despite his initial success. There’s a
joyful relentlessness to Craig’s study of teaching methods. He
starts out telling us he wants to “know every detail,” and what
makes the book so exceptional is just that- the way the story of
how something he learned about teaching played out in a specific
problem or lesson, was refined and improved. It’s an incredibly
useful book for maths teachers especially but really for anyone
who teaches and cares about getting it right.' Doug Lemov, former
teacher and author of Teach like a Champion, @Doug_Lemov
'This is a really thoughtful and thought-provoking discussion of
a series of important and practical questions about the best way
to teach.' Daisy Christodoulou, author of 7 Myths about Education
and Director of Education at No More Marking, @daisychristo
'History will look back on "How I wish I'd taught maths" as a
seminal book leading mainstream teachers into the new world. And
who else would you want to narrate us into the unknown than Craig
Barton, the leading maths educator in the UK? A role model for
excellence in professional development, Craig's enthusiasm,
intellect and critical skills navigate readers through vitally
important and complex concepts with ease. Pulling on contemporary
research from hundreds of papers and books, "How I wish I'd
taught maths" concisely summarises all that we know about
high-impact teaching and gives specific examples of what it looks
like in the classroom. This book will quickly become a classic.'
William Emeny, Teacher, Researcher, Author of Great Maths
Teaching Ideas, Creator of Numeracy Ninjas, Twitter:
@Maths_Master
'This book has the potential to have a huge impact on the way
maths is taught. It is so refreshing to see a maths teacher
honestly critiquing their own practice and suggesting alternative
approaches based on sound research and analysis. Craig's warm and
relatable style of writing is a pleasure to read. His book is
brought to life by hilarious anecdotes and humble reflections.
Craig summarises the key points of the relevant research
succinctly and his advice to teachers is perfectly pitched and
instantly transferable to any maths classroom. For the sake of
our current and future students, I certainly hope that this book
becomes essential reading for maths teachers.' Jo Morgan, maths
teacher and creator of resourceaholic.com, Twitter: @mathsjem
'How I wish I’d taught maths' is an honest and inful
reflection of Craig's years as a maths teacher. Through
experience, podcasting others and reading broadly, Craig
carefully considers every assumption he used to make when
teaching maths - assumptions we all make or made. In each chapter
he forensically analyses a theme from Explicit Instruction to, my
favourite, Choice of Examples, expounding his old approach and
backing up his new approach with rich examples and scholarly
references. Written in the way he speaks - upbeat, humble and
littered with "flippin' 'ecks" - Craig brings together so many
aspects of maths teaching and so many shared assumptions that
there's something in here for anyone involved in maths education,
including teacher trainers, early career teachers and those with
many years at the chalkface. Having read How I wish I’d taught
maths I'll now be a considerably stronger practitioner. No doubt
this will become the defining book on maths pedagogy for
generations of maths teachers.' Bruno Reddy, Former Head of Maths
at King Solomon Academy and creator of Times Tables Rockstars,
Twitter: @MrReddyMaths
'This is one of the most useful books on maths instruction that
I have read. Craig’s humility and honesty about his previous
reasoning, and responses to received wisdom (and his own biases),
invites the reader to examine their own preconceptions and blind
spots. The volume of research behind his conclusions – and the
down-to-earth summaries of its implications – make it accessible
for anyone interested in maths teaching. His stories ring
horribly true, encapsulating predictable errors made early (and
late!) in a maths teacher’s career. I wish it had existed when I
trained; I might have avoided making so many mistakes, and for so
long! As the debate about ‘teacher standards’ gathers pace, this
book is a timely contribution in answer to the question “What
should we expect all teachers, as professionals, to know about
the craft of teaching maths to children?” . I would not be
surprised if this became compulsory reading for a range of PGCE
courses and teacher inductions. Craig’s conclusions about how to
help pupils learn interrogate the most fundamental aspects of how
we think about teaching, regardless of curriculum area.' Dani
Quinn, Head of Maths at Michaela Community School, Twitter:
@danicquinn
'Evidence-fueled, down-to-earth, and hugely practical. The book
we maths teachers have all been waiting for.' Peps Mccrea,
Associate Dean at the Institute for Teaching, Twitter:
@pepsmccrea
About the Author
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Craig Barton has been teaching maths since 2004,
predominantly in two comprehensive schools in the sunny North
West of England – Range High School in Formby and Thornleigh
Salesian College in Bolton. Four years into his career, Craig was
appointed an Advanced Skills Teacher (AST), giving him the
rtunity to work with and learn from many teachers and
students in a wide variety of schools. Since 2009, he has been
the Secondary Mathematics adviser for the Times Educational
Supplement (TES), the largest professional network of teachers in
the world, reviewing, creating and sharing resources with
hundreds of thousands of teachers. Craig is the creator of two of
the country’s most popular maths websites: mrbartonmaths.com,
which provides free resources to teachers and students all around
the world; and diagnosticquestions.com, a formative assessment
website hosting the world’s largest collection of high-quality
maths diagnostic multiple-choice questions, which s to help
students and teachers identify, understand and resolve key
misconceptions. Craig is the host of the Mr Barton Maths Podcast,
interviewing leading figures from the world of education, such as
Dylan Wiliam, Doug Lemov, Daisy Christodoulou and Dan Meyer.
Craig has been fortunate enough to give talks, run workshops and
work with teachers and students all over the world, from Bangkok
to Basingstoke, and is the author of three (non-maths) novels.
Fingers crossed he is also still married to Kate when you are
reading this.