Like
professionals in other industries, educators are recognizing the power of data
and are using it to guide their decision-making. Yet quantifying what works and
what doesn’t when it comes to something as variable-rich as learning is
extremely difficult.
Hence, as bright as they are, educators have only a 14%
accuracy rate when interpreting student data. Fortunately, authors Rees and
Wynns have exactly what is needed to remedy this problem.
They offer the
hard-but-important-to-look-at facts concerning data use in our schools and pair
it with a clear path to fixing problems. They pull engaging stories from their
extensive experience and have a whip-smart writing style I envy.
One wonders
how a book on data that uncovers harsh realities can be such an enjoyable read –
the kind too enthralling to put down.
This book helps school and district leaders avoid the pitfalls that await those making sense of their school's data. Whether you're interpreting achievement gaps, graduation rates or test results, you're at risk of reaching a mistaken judgment. By learning about common errors and how they're made, you'll be ready to choose safer, surer paths to making better sense of the wealth of data in your school or district. The authors help educators build better evidence, see conclusions more clearly, and explain the data more persuasively.
Special features Include:
"Questions to Spark Discussion" in each chapter encourage school site, district leaders,…
One of my favorite podcasts is David McRaney’s You Are Not So
Smart, so I guessed his latest book would be fantastic. I was not disappointed.
Too many books that address the cognitive biases governing our beliefs either 1)
treat the topic like a basket of insurmountable problems or 2) treat the topic
like something we can only impact within our own mind.
The third option is what
fascinates me most, and it’s what McRaney bravely and superbly tackles: How can
we use an understanding of how minds think and change to guide how we
communicate with others (a space where our own mind, another’s mind, or both
could change)?
I will be citing McRaney heavily in my next book on this; no one
can top his guidance on deep canvassing. This book is perfection.
Genes create brains, brains create beliefs, beliefs create attitudes, attitudes create group-identities, group identities create norms, norms create values, and values create cultures. The most effective persuasion techniques work backwards.
Ideas sweep across cultures in waves, beginning with early adopters who reduce uncertainty for the rest of the population. It's rarely because the innovation is amazing in and of itself, but because early adopters signal to the group that it's safe to think again.
This book explains how minds change - and how to change them - not over hundreds of years, but in less than a generation, in less…
Did you know a song by Eddie Cantor triggered the Great
Depression?
I was taking Coursera’s free online course on narrative economics with
Yale professor Robert Shiller, who was dishing insights like the above when my
thirst for even more on the topic was triggered.
I had loved Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking,
Fast and Slow concerning behavioral economics and was getting the sense
that Shiller’s narrative economics work might be just as Nobel Prize-worthy. If
Shiller does get a Nobel nomination or win, this book will let you nod your
head knowingly when it happens.
Not only is Shiller’s premise of narratives
driving the economy compelling, but he also gives super-engaging evidence in the
form of stories and research. Jaw-dropping examples (like the Cantor story)
await you in this book.
From Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times bestselling author Robert Shiller, a groundbreaking account of how stories help drive economic events-and why financial panics can spread like epidemic viruses
Stories people tell-about financial confidence or panic, housing booms, or Bitcoin-can go viral and powerfully affect economies, but such narratives have traditionally been ignored in economics and finance because they seem anecdotal and unscientific. In this groundbreaking book, Robert Shiller explains why we ignore these stories at our peril-and how we can begin to take them seriously. Using a rich array of examples and data, Shiller argues that studying popular…
Knowledge only has an impact if it is shared widely and well.
If
you want to share what you know, you cannot merely state facts because people
forget most of what they read or hear, and they can even resist your
information. This book empowers you to bypass such problems by
communicating findings widely and effectively.
The book helps you break into the media (e.g., land interviews,
be a go-to expert on the news, etc.) and share knowledge through a variety of
platforms (book deals, TED Talks, conference keynotes/plenaries, podcasts,
etc.). It also helps you leverage social media in practical, time-saving ways
to propel your brand as an expert. Networking, winning honors, and other
avenues for getting information to go viral are also covered.
