In 2011, frustrated by the current state of education, David Didau (aka the Learning Spy) began to blog. He charted the successes and failures of his classroom and synthesised 15 years of teaching experienced through the lens of education research and cognitive psychology. The blog became very popular, very quickly. With well over 2.5 million readers, David’s blog – The Learning Spy – is widely recognised as one of the most influential education blogs in the UK and has won a number of awards.

In 2012, David left teaching. Over the last eight years he has spent a significant amount of time reading and thinking about teaching and learning, written books and blogs on the topic, and delivered training to thousands of teachers around the world. He recently launched the Learning Spy Academy, offering a library of resources and has started a YouTube show with Martin Robinson called ‘It’s your time you’re wasting’. You can tune-in every Friday to watch David and Martin discuss recent education events with their guests.

After an eight-year break from teaching, David Didau has returned to the classroom as an English teacher. Our Director of Chatting, Jamie Scott, spoke to David to find out about his return to the classroom.

They discuss:

Why he left teaching?

His time spent out of the classroom

What it’s like to be back in the classroom

Is teaching like riding a bike?

What are the big teaching challenges – are they the same as before or different?

For his blog and to find out more about David’s work, visit https://learningspy.co.uk