Teachers, education workers and others with a stake in education policy and practices often struggle with what to do with new ideas and initiatives for schools. New books, articles, fads and theories in education inundate us, but how many of these ideas are actually valid, and how can we tell?

Tom Bennett, a secondary teacher in the UK, struggled with this same frustration, and confronted those questions in his popular book, Teacher Proof: Why research in education doesn’t always mean what it claims, and what you can do about it. In it, he debunks several popular educational myths, such as Multiple Intelligences, Brain Gym, and Thinking Hats. Bennett has also cultivated a large online community of like-minded educators interested in holding new ideas in education up to scrutiny and demanding scientific evidence of their efficacy.

This movement eventually spawned a new organization, researchED, whose moto is: “Work out what works.” Its goal is to provide low-cost, research-based professional development to teachers, education workers, administrators and academics. Over the past few years, researchED has facilitated education research conferences across Europe and North America.

The first researchED conference in Canada will be held on November 11, hosted by the University of Toronto. On Saturday, April 14, 2018, OSSTF/FEESO will be sponsoring its own researchED conference in Mississauga. This conference will be of particular interest to Education Services Officers, although all members are encouraged to consider registering. While the list of speakers and presenters has not yet been confirmed, more information will be available in future issues of Update.

If your education practice is informed by research and you would like to be considered as a presenter at our conference, please contact Randy Banderob at randy.banderob@osstf.ca.