Making Kids Cleverer by David Didau
I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Didau’s books- they are invariably thought-provoking yet written with an extraordinary clarity of thought. So, I was very excited about this new publication. Whilst waiting for my copy I listened to Didau on the Craig Barton podcast and loved the clarity of his arguments. There was a wonderful exchange…
Oops! Helping Children Learn Accidentally by Hywel Roberts
This is a book about engaging pupils in class. Hywel Roberts writes in a way that helps you to picture him in the class, enthusiastic and engaging. He clearly lives by the idea that you create the weather in your own classroom. I am just taking this from the book, and it may not be…
Natural Born Learners by Alex Beard
This was a book I had seen on a couple of year-end recommendation lists. To an extent, it was a bit like Cleverlands, as the author visited many of the worlds ‘leading’ educational systems. Although it lacked the clarity of Cleverlands it was perhaps more ambitious. The author aimed to find out what the schools…
The Tyranny of Metrics by Jerry Muller
Another book that is popping up on books of the year lists. This is an overview of a trend toward performance measurement through metrics across all areas of life. It looks at the history and philosophy behind this trend. But it largely it focuses on the downsides. The impact of targets and performance related pay…
The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
This book popped up on a couple of best of the year lists and I was intrigued. I had read Haidt’s Righteous Mind for a second time recently and it offers a great insight into the polarisation of American politics, with some surprising conclusions. This book was a reaction to the rise in protests on…
Love to Teach by Kate Jones
This was a book by an enthusiastic young teacher focused on sharing their enthusiasm for all aspect of teaching and the ideas that she had learnt- particularly as she had become excited by educational research over the last few years. It summarised many of the key ideas that regularly appear at the moment but linked…
How to Explain Absolutely Anything to Absolutely Anyone by Andy Tharby
There have been several excellent books recently that cover a range of key aspects of teaching with clarity and insight. They do so in a way that gives you confidence in what you are doing well but also suggest what you could do differently. This book joins that list. I often wonder how these authors…
The Silent Guide by Prof Steve Peters
I enjoyed reading The Chimp Paradox and was excited to hear that Prof Peters had written a follow-up. Chris Evans was raving about it on Radio 2 and it had clearly grabbed people’s attention. When the book arrived, I flew through it. What I most enjoyed was its focus on positive, nurturing relationships based on…
An Ethic of Excellence by Ron Berger
Every now and then it is very rewarding to read a book that consistently contradicts many of your educational beliefs. This is one such book and it is beautifully written, engaging and often convincing. It outlines Berger’s belief in the educational importance of developing an ethic of excellence. An idea that, in itself, is hard…
Evidence-based Leadership and Management by Gary Jones
This is a dense book that systematically reviews various aspect of evidence-informed decision making. It was thorough and reviewed a wide variety of management ideas/models to support decision making- some more interesting than others. It also provided some nice summaries of key research ideas such as effect sizes. It included a range of checklists and…
Visible Learning Feedback by John Hattie and Shirley Clarke
This is the latest Hattie book and it focuses on an area which his Visible Learning analysis suggests has a large effect size but has often been misunderstood- feedback. The authors try to get into the details of what is actually meant by feedback, and the aspects that are most effective. Its focus on the…
Psychology in the Classroom by Jonathan Firth and Marc Smith
This book was written by a couple of psychologists who also teach and therefore had a good grasp of the practicalities of applying psychological theories in the classroom. It covered about 8 key topics such as memory and attention, and in each discussed the key theories before ending with a summary of practical applications (‘using the…
Understanding How We Learn – A Visual Guide by Yana Weinstein, Megan Sumeracki and Oliver Caviglioli
I am a big fan of the Learning Scientists’ poster about how best to study as illustrated by Caviglioli so to see it turned into a book was very exciting. The book itself starts by introducing cognitive science, and some of the ideas behind the educational research, and how best to approach it in a…
Perfect Teacher Led CPD by Shaun Allison
This is a small book that outlines 11 CPD techniques in quick to read and very practical chapters. The focus is entirely on CPD done by teachers in schools rather than paid for external speakers and courses. The chapters outline the strategies and their strengths before giving practical advice on implementation and evaluation. It would be an…
Inventing Ourselves – The Secret Lives of the Teenage Brains by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
This book is a fascinating summary of current research into the development of the adolescent brain and what that tells us about how young people behave. Perhaps most usefully, it also highlighted, how that might best inform how we support them through this challenging period in their lives. Some of the book included relatively dense…
This Much I Know about Mind Over Matter by John Tomsett
Having read John Tomsett’s first book about school leadership recently I was keen to read more. He is a very enjoyable writer thanks to a style that is highly autobiographical and a clear talent for the written word (he includes a few of his own poems and they are very good!). This book is an…
This Much I Know About Love Over Fear by John Tomsett
This is one of a few books I have read by experienced Head Teachers trying to pull together their thoughts and experiences. Like many of the best, it is filled with auto-biographical stories and reflections from beyond the walls of their schools. It was a great read, well-written and pacey. It also covered a wide…
The Working Class- Poverty, Education and Alternative Voices by Ian Gilbert
This book was long and challenging. It initially grabbed my attention because it often focused on an area of ‘clash’ in much of what I read elsewhere. I am increasingly convinced by arguments about a knowledge-rich curriculum being effective given cognitive science and also being a key way to tackle the attainment gap. Often, as…
When can you trust the experts? by Daniel Willingham
I enjoy Willingham books. Recently he wrote about how people read, and he is most famous for his outstanding book on ‘why don’t children like schools?’ This was an earlier book exploring how educationalists should treat educational research or proposed initiatives. It looked back at mistakes made in the adoption of things like Brain Gym…
Wholesome Leadership by Tom Rees
I have read a few books by experienced leaders outlining their view on successful leadership given their experiences. They are always thought-provoking and often inspiring. My favourite is probably Stephen Tierney’s Liminal Leadership which is packed full of lovely stories and wisdom. This book had a slightly different tone as it was a bit less…
The Curriculum: Gallimaufry to Coherence by Mary Myatt
I enjoyed Mary Myatt’s High Challenge, Low Threat and had seen this book pop up a lot on my Twitter feed. It is also another John Catt publication, during an incredible year for the educational publisher. It turned out to be a fairly dense book but was relatively easy to read as it was a…
The Writing Revolution by Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler
I had seen this book recommended a couple of times and had assumed it was a review of the current state of writing standards and a call for changes in what is being done. What it actually contains is a very thorough and systematic writing curriculum. The authors contend that extended writing is extremely challenging…
Progressively Worse by Robert Peal
This is a fascinating and undoubtedly one-sided review of the progressive educational movement in English education. It is a relentless, fairly rigorous and (for the most part) convincing review of how schooling has suffered from a progressive focus. He argues that there are four core progressive themes: He reviews a fifty-year history of educational change.…
Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey
This is an outstanding book. It describes McGravey’s upbringing, life in poverty and his struggles with substance abuse in the south side of Glasgow. It is powerfully written and thought provoking. It has won many awards and McGarvey is now a significant voice challenging the Scottish establishment. To me, much of its success comes from…
The Deepest Well by Dr Nadine Burke Harris
As a Modern Studies teacher, I thoroughly enjoy teaching the Social Issues aspects of the courses. Particularly the Social Inequalities section. Trying to understand and explain the Glasgow Effect has always been profoundly interesting. I have been lucky enough to listen to Sir Harry Burns talking about epigenetics and the biology of a hug several…
The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
This is a phenomenal book that I read a few years ago and raved about at the time. However, as time has passed, I was left with only a very vague memory of the key ideas. However, it has been referenced in a couple of educational books I have read recently (Battle Hymn of the…
Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath
I had read “Switch” by the Heaths and enjoyed their insight into making behavioural changes. Their new book popped up on someone’s summer reading list and I thought I would take a look. The introductory blurb made it sound like it would help you develop memorable lessons. However, there is one example of this, and…
The Teacher Gap by Rebecca Allen and Sam Sims
This book popped up on my Twitter feed a couple of times, but I wasn’t sure whether to buy it as it seemed to be focused on the teacher recruitment crisis in England. However, when it popped up again it caught my eye. It covered two main areas that interested me. One was the workload…
Unleashing Great Teaching by David Weston and Bridget Clay
This book is a rigorous outline of what the authors feel is an effective approach to whole school ‘reflective professional development’. It covered a huge amount of content and was a little dry in the presentation. However, it is an invaluable reference guide for anyone leading professional learning or auditing how a school is doing.…
The Truth About Teaching by Greg Ashman
This book is aimed at new teachers and provides a summary of the current body of research evidence in key areas like assessment, behaviour and lesson planning. I was initially a bit sceptical as the opening chapter looked at the history of teaching and dipped into the progressive v traditional debate in a manner that…
Successful Difficult Conversations in School by Sonia Gill
I think I am quite effective at having difficult conversations with parents. Fifteen years as a pastoral leader has involved a wide range of interesting, challenging and at times very difficult, emotional conversations. However, it dawns on me that these are very different from the kind of challenging conversations that sometimes take place with colleagues.…
Responsive Teaching by Harry Fletcher-Wood
This is an extraordinarily rigorous and thought-provoking book. It is basically about AiFL/formative assessment as first highlighted by Dylan Wiliam and Paul Black in “Inside the Black Box”. Wiliam is now deeply frustrated by how his ideas were applied and he questions whether the titles used were the problem. He has now suggested that “responsive…
The Invisible Lives of Learners by Graham Nuttall
I read this book as it regularly gets recommended as a seminal text. It outlines one of the most in-depth studies into what happens in a classroom. We all tend to think we know how children learn because we spent such a long time doing it ourselves when we are young. As teachers we then…
What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Psychology by David Didau and Nick Rose
There are a few books available that try to outline the key lessons we can learn from psychology to teaching and learning. This is one of the best. It is thorough, and as with anything that Didau turns his mind to, it is written with great clarity. It covers a wide range of topics from…
The Secret Literacy by David Didau
Didau applies his insight and an extraordinary clarity of thought, when writing about all aspects of teaching and learning. In this book he turns to an area where he has particular expertise- literacy. Before focusing on consultancy, he was an English teacher and I would imagine a very good one. As part of his consultancy…
Embedded formative assessment by Dylan Wiliam
I have always loved listening to Dylan Wiliam talk about education. When I first joined the profession I watched his presentation to Glasgow Head Teachers about ‘Inside the Black Box’ many times. I have also relistened to his interviews with Craig Barton, in the Mr Barton Maths Podcast on several occasions. When listening I am…
Leadership for Teaching and Learning by Dylan Wiliam
This book outlines a holistic approach to improved teaching and learning through promoting effective formative assessment. When I first read it, I think I misjudged what it was attempting to do as I thought it was promoting a new Wiliam designed teaching programme. What I hadn’t picked up on was the justification for focusing so…
Making Good Progress by Daisy Christodoulou
Christodoulou is one of a handful of incredibly consistent educational writers who shine a light on an aspect of teaching and give it wonderful clarity. This was Christodoulou’s second book after her excellent ‘Seven Myths About Education’. In this one she focuses on an area of clear expertise, how we can create valid and reliable…
Grit: Why Passion and Resilience are the Secrets to Success by Angela Duckworth
I read this book at a time when I was thinking hard about character education. I had read some of Paul Tough’s ideas and I was trying to clarify my own thinking on whether you could teach character. I don’t get the impression that there is much evidence for the effective teaching of character in…
Seven Myths About Education by Daisy Christodoulou
This was Daisy Christodoulou’s first book and was one of the first myth buster books in education. There is now a surfeit of books in this area but in its time Christodoulou’s book was ground-breaking. The great thing about myth busting books is that they beg the question – what else don’t I know. Reading…
Making it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter Brown, Henry Roediger and Mark Mcdaniel
I came to this book late in my reading. I felt I should try it as it is often quoted alongside the work of Willingham as a seminal text. It is a key outline of how memory works and the importance of encoding knowledge. It challenges misconceptions around learning styles and promotes more effective teaching…
Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov
This is not a book but rather a very impressive teaching toolkit. It has been developed for a group of American schools to exemplify exactly how they want classes taught. It builds on a lot of what we have recently learnt from cognitive science. It describes, justifies and exemplifies a huge array of techniques that…
Creating the Schools our Children Need by Dylan Wiliam
This is a fascinating read covering a range of the most interesting educational debates. For this book Wiliam is trying to write for a wider audience and hopes that it will be read and inform a range of educational stakeholders. I loved the pace and tone of the book and as always, the clarity with…
Memorable Teaching by Peps Mccrea
This was a short book but was written with an incredible clarity. Peps Mccrea has an exceptional gift for concision and quality explanations. I think Dylan Wiliam said it best “If you have a spare half-hour or so, you could read Memorable Teaching from cover to cover. I doubt you’ll find an education book with…
How Children Succeed by Paul Tough
As a pastoral leader I have spent much time considering the school’s role in developing pupil character. I have also developed a lot of PSE and have often pondered the extent to which character is teachable. Paul Tough seems to have been on the same journey. His latest book has become an international best seller.…
Closing the Vocabulary Gap by Alex Quigley
This is a fascinating read on the importance of vocabulary in school. It is not simply a review of how to teach vocabulary and develop literacy. It is a strong argument that improving the vocabulary of the word-poor is at the heart of improving social mobility. Quigley is an advocate of the Matthew Effect- the…
Visible Learning for Teachers by John Hattie
This was a ground-breaking book in education. It presented an extensive meta-analysis of key aspects of teaching and highlighted their impact by effect size. Hattie’s analysis was originally published in 2008 although this version of the book was written in 2011 aimed at teachers. Since it was written it has been at the heart of…
When Adults Change Everything Changes by Paul Dix
As a pastoral leader with responsibility for discipline I found this book fascinating. It helps that I tend to hold relatively progressive values relating to discipline. As I read it, I agreed with a lot it said and could empathise with many of the examples. The book has become a huge success and has courted…
Why Don’t Students Like School? By Daniel Willingham
This was a breakthrough book that was a first read for many teachers getting engaged in how cognitive science can enhance teaching. It is part myth-busting and part a very clear introduction to some of the basics of what we are discovering about how pupils learn, and what doesn’t work in classrooms. When I read…
What if Everything You Knew About Education was Wrong by David Didau
This is a superb book and would be one of my top recommendations for a teacher first engaging in educational research and wanting to learn more. It is thorough, well written and thought provoking. It was exciting to read as it constantly made points and outlined things that directly applied to the classroom and crucially…
The Science of Learning: 77 Studies That Every Teacher Needs to Know by Bradley Busch and Edward Watson
This is an outstanding book. 77 key studies beautifully summarised over two pages each. The joy in the book lies in the fact that each study is quick and simple to review. In each case the book attempted to outline how reliable the results are and potential criticisms. It is also colour coded into a…
What Does This Look Like in the Classroom by Carl Hendrick and Robin Macpherson
This is a superb book. It takes a range of key educational areas and reviews recent research and discusses how this can be applied practically. For me this came at the perfect time as I was getting more comfortable with the key themes of educational research and the consensus gathering but wanting some help applying…
10 Mindframes for Visible Learning by John Hattie and Klaus Zierer
This book attempts to take key aspects from the Visible Learning meta-analysis and identify the ten key mindframes that a teacher should endeavour to have that will have the greatest impact on pupil success. It covered a wide range of areas from motivation to positive relationships and was a fascinating, if not always convincing read.…
Beyond Discipline by Alfie Kohn
This is a seminal text on discipline from the progressive side of the debate. Kohn places children at the centre of his approach and looks at how the adults in their life can take responsibility for the behaviour issues and make the changes that will help children improve. It sits nicely with the work of…
Drive by Daniel Pink
Pupil motivation has always been an area that fascinates me and I was delighted to see a book focused entirely on the theories and research behind motivation – albeit not from an educational perspective. I was particularly fascinated on the discussion of the dangers of rewards and the impact they can have on intrinsic motivation.…
Why Knowledge Matters by E. D. Hirsch
The importance of knowledge is at the heart of current educational debates. Progressives promoting the importance of skills development, others arguing that all skills are built on a foundation of excellent knowledge. It is an issue I have pondered long and hard and increasingly I believe that knowledge is crucial to learning. More importantly, I…
Peak: How All of Us Can Achieve Extraordinary Things by Anders Ericsson
In this book Ericsson looks at how some of the most skilful people develop their skills. It outlines the idea of deliberate practice. Deliberate practice being practice that focuses on the small aspects of skill and developing them through focused effort and quality feedback. This book wasn’t focused on education but offered plenty to reflect…
Blueprint: How DNA Makes us Who We Are by Robert Plomin
This is a fascinating if controversial book. Plomin argues that we underestimate the importance of DNA. His work looks at correlations between DNA and certain aspects of our lives. He argues that the impact of our DNA is much more than commonly assumed, particularly in terms of how people learn. That is partly because it…
Mindset by Carol Dweck
Growth mindsets is one of those ideas that enters the teaching lexicon and excites because they are so relatable and believable. They feel right. However, the idea of growth mindsets has run in to a key scientific problem- the research behind it hasn’t been repeatable. Some of the wider criticisms of growth mindset reflect all…
The Learning Rainforest: Great Teaching in Real Classrooms by Tom Sherrington
This is an outstanding book. It was amazing to see a school leader pull together their reflections on teaching and learning in such a powerful metaphor. It addressed some of the key debates of the day, not least the decision as to whether to promote discovery learning or focus more on a teacher led experience.…
Rosenshine’s Principles in Action by Tom Sherrington
Tom Sherrington has been at the leading edge of promoting the effective use of educational research and is a leading light in the ResearchEd movement. Lately he has focused on taking the best from Rosenshine’s seminal text – Principles in Action. Rosenshine gathered some key observations on what works in the classroom. Sherrington bundles them…
Cleverlands by Lucy Crehan
This is a wonderful book. Part travelogue part educational review. Crehan travelled to a few countries with differing educational systems and tried to work out what makes them tick. She writes in a lovely style, very engaging. I think it is a book that is accessible beyond the teaching profession- partly because everyone loves travel,…
The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker
I read this because I am keen to improve my writing- in particular my accuracy. It was a thoroughly enjoyable, if detailed, look at how to write well. A style guide for today. However, I am pretty sure I improve simply by reading a style guide, it didn’t lead to me undertaking much deliberate practice.…
The Reading Mind by Daniel Willingham
Daniel Willingham is famed educationally for writing one of the great books on how learning happens and how we could teach much better. But he has also written some other great books including one on spotting good science over bad. This book was a journey into the mind and how it helps us to read.…
Flip the System UK: A Teachers’ Manifesto by Lucy Rycroft-Smith
This is a book about how we can tackle concerns over staff turnover and morale in the teaching profession in the UK. It focuses on the importance of promoting teacher agency. I have read books on teacher agency before and they can be dry affairs. This one kept the attention because it was bold and…
Trivium 21C by Martin Robinson
This is a much-lauded book. It challenges the ideas of 21st Century skills that need modern teaching to be developed and instead challenges educationalists to look back to the past. It suggests that we could develop the skills need for the future based on Grammar, Dialect and Rhetoric. It was a challenge to read at…
Make Every Lesson Count by Shaun Allison
This book identifies six key principles to support great teaching and learning and expands on each of them. It has proved a great success and the author has subsequently worked with subject specialists in a variety of areas to apply those principles to a range of subjects. It focuses on challenge, explanation, modelling, practice, feedback…
High Challenge, Low Threat by Mary Myatt
This book is a very readable summary of some key lessons learnt from effective leaders. Its strength is in the engaging stories that Myatt tells when making her points and the conversations she has. A quick and encouraging read- perfect for any leader wanting to stop and think- an I wise? Read this book if……
Leverage Leadership by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo and Doug Lemov
This book is basically an extremely structured attempt to systematise the recipe for leading a successful school based on studying the Uncommon Schools network. It is extremely thorough but also very inflexible. This was my problem with the book- it focused on monitoring teaching and learning but did so through data-driven leadership- which seemed to…
Liminal Leadership by Stephen Tierney
This is a super book on leadership. One of my favourite types, where an experienced senior leader reflects on many years of experience in a variety of contexts. He then describes what he has learnt with humour, heart and bundles of wisdom. It was a page turner and one that I will return to as…
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Teachers by Katharine Birbalsingh
I became aware of Michaela two or three years ago and it fascinated me. Birbalsingh set up a new school in an area of London with high deprivation and built it from scratch on a knowledge rich, rigorous discipline and high expectations model. Similar to books you read about having academies enjoying great success in…
How I Wish I’d Taught Maths by Craig Barton
Jeez, this is a magnificent effort by Craig Barton. He is a tremendous asset to the education profession- he has taken his desire to improve and reflect on his own practice and shared it to the benefit of thousands of others. A key figure at Maths conferences, he also produces an outstanding podcast that has…
The Confident Teacher by Alex Quigley
This is one of a large number of education books written recently describing how very effective teachers apply their skills. It is clearly written and easy to follow. I would recommend it to new teachers wanting to get a feel for the basic aspects of their teaching that they need to get right. There are…
Trivium in Practice by Martin Robinson
Having enjoyed, if struggled, with the original Trivium I was excited about this guide to how others were applying it. The original book promoted teaching Grammar, Dialect and Rhetoric to develop the skills needed to thrive in the 21st Century. This follow up offers plenty of practical ideas as to how to interpret the ideas.…
Slow Teaching by Jamie Thom
Another one of a wealth of excellent books by effective teachers outlining their key principles and strategies in a clear manner. It applies these across a wide range of aspect of teaching from subject knowledge and classroom dialogue to relationships. Not the first of such books and it won’t be the last, but it is…
Dual Coding with Teachers by Oliver Caviglioli
Caviglioli is the go-to man for educationalists wanting to add excellent diagrams to clarify the concepts in their new educational books. His handiwork can be seen across many of the best recent books. The idea that we learn better from an effective combination of words and diagrams relates to the concept of dual coding. This…
Turn the Ship Around by L. David Marquet
I loved this book about leadership. It was written by a top leader in the American navy reflecting on their experience leading submarine crews. The context was fascinating and the focus on relationships was very thought provoking. The most important lesson that he promotes is that leadership doesn’t sit at the top- to be effective…
The Ingredients for Great Teaching by Pedro de Bruyckere
This book reviews the recipe for great teaching by working through the key ingredients. The strength lies in the links to educational research. It goes beyond some of the ‘it works for me’ discussions and ties the ideas into what the research currently tells us. It also challenges the idea that one recipe exists, each…
The Secondary Curriculum Leaders Handbook by Roy Blatchford
This is a collection of essays on the curriculum. Although I am a pastoral leader, it is an area I think about often. I would love to have the time to really think about what a school curriculum should look like, or even what the curriculum in my own subject should include. But these are…
Don’t Send Him in Tomorrow by Jarlath O’Brien
Jarlath is a leader in special schools and a powerful advocate for the “marginalised, disenfranchised and forgotten children of today’s schools”. He reviews many aspects of schooling and challenges us to do better for those children. His experience and passion make it convincing and though provoking. I was particularly taken by the chapter on behaviour.…
Better Behaviour by Jarlath O’Brien
Having read O’Brien’s first book and been blown away by the chapter on behaviour I was delighted that he took that and expanded it to a full book. He has a wonderful clarity of vision as to how behaviour can be improved. That vision has children’s needs at the centre and suggests adults have a…
Making Every Geography Lesson Count by Mark Enser
Having read and enjoyed the original Making Every Lesson Count I was delighted to see it applied to Geography. The first book took a handful of key principles and outlined how they could be applied in the classroom with clarity. This book builds on those same ideas and exemplifies them for the Geography classroom. Many…
What I Talk About When I Talk About Education 