Reading Materials

Books on Learning, Teaching and the Curriculum

Making every lesson count – Shaun Allison & Andy Tharby 

This award-winning title has now inspired a whole series of books. Each of the books in the series are held together by six pedagogical principles challenge, explanation, modelling, practice, feedback and questioning and provide simple, realistic strategies that teachers can use to develop the teaching and learning in their classroom. Packed with practical teaching strategies, Making Every Lesson Count bridges the gap between research findings and classroom practice. Shaun Allison and Andy Tharby examine the evidence behind what makes great teaching and explore how to implement this in the classroom to make a difference to learning. 

Why don’t students like school – Daniel Willingham 

Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham focuses his acclaimed research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning. His book will help teachers improve their practice by explaining how they and their students think and learn. It reveals–the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine in building knowledge and creating lasting learning experiences. 

The hidden lives of learners – Graham Nuthall 

The Hidden Lives of Learners takes the reader deep into the hitherto undiscovered world of the learner. It explores the three worlds which together shape a student’s learning – the public world of the teacher, the highly influential world of peers, and the student’s own private world and experiences. What becomes clear is that just because a teacher is teaching, does not mean students are learning. Using a unique method of data collection through meticulous recording – audio, video, observations, interviews, pre- and post-tests – and the collation and analysis of what occurred inside and outside the classroom, Graham Nuthall has definitively documented what is involved for most students to learn and retain a concept 

What does this look like in the classroom? – Carl Hendrick & Robin Macpherson 

In this thorough, enlightening and comprehensive book, Carl Hendrick and Robin Macpherson ask 18 of today’s leading educational thinkers to distill the most up-to-date research into effective classroom practice in 10 of the most important areas of teaching. The result is a fascinating manual that will benefit every single teacher in every single school, in all four corners of the globe. 

What every teacher needs to know about psychology – David Didau & Nick Rose 

Here, David Didau and Nick Rose attempt to lay out the evidence and theoretical perspectives on what we believe are the most important and useful psychological principles of which teacher ought to be aware. That is not to say this book contains everything you might ever need to know – there is no way it could – it is merely a primer. We hope that you are inspired to read and explore some of the sources for yourself and see what other principles can find a home in your classroom. Some of what we present may be surprising, some dubious, but some in danger of being dismissed as ‘blindingly obvious’. 

Closing the vocabulary gap – Alex Quigley 

As teachers grapple with the challenge of a new, bigger and more challenging school curriculum, at every key stage and phase, success can feel beyond our reach. But what if there were 50,000 small solutions to help us bridge that gap? In Closing the Vocabulary Gap, Alex Quigley explores the increased demands of an academic curriculum and how closing the vocabulary gap between our ‘word poor’ and ‘word rich’ students could prove the vital difference between school failure and success 

The learning rainforest – Tom Sherrington 

The Learning Rainforest captures different elements of our understanding and experience of the art and science of teaching. It is a celebration of great teaching and the intellectual and personal rewards that it brings. It’s aimed at all teachers; busy people working in complex environments with little time to spare. The core of the book is a guide to making teaching both effective and manageable using a three-part structure: establishing conditions; building knowledge; exploring possibilities. 

Boys Don’t Try? Rethinking Masculinity in Schools – Matt Pinkett & Mark Roberts 

There is a significant problem in our schools: too many boys are struggling. The list of things to concern teachers is long. Disappointing academic results, a lack of interest in studying, higher exclusion rates, increasing mental health issues, sexist attitudes, an inability to express emotions…. Traditional ideas about masculinity are having a negative impact, not only on males, but females too. In this ground-breaking book, Matt Pinkett and Mark Roberts argue that schools must rethink their efforts to get boys back on track. 

The Curriculum: Gallimaufry to Coherence – Mary Myatt 

Increasingly, across the system, people are talking about knowledge and curriculum. In this timely new book, Mary Myatt is at her brilliant best as she passionately argues that the solutions to overcoming achievement barriers lie in understanding the curriculum and in what children are meant to know.For the education system to reach coherence on the curriculum, it’s going to require teachers in schools to engage in the conversation; it’s a journey we need to share if we’re going to deliver a curriculum we understand and believe in. In a series of crystal clear chapters, Mary guides teachers and school leaders through one of the most important debates in education. 

Teach Like Nobody’s Watching: The Essential Guide to Effective & Efficient Teaching – Mark Enser 

In ‘Teach Like Nobody’s Watching: The essential guide to effective and efficient teaching’, Mark Enser sets out a time-efficient approach to teaching that will reduce teachers workload and enhance their pupils levels of engagement and attainment. At a time when schools are crying out for more autonomy and trust, teacher and bestselling author Mark Enser asks educators the critical question How would you teach if nobody were watching? and empowers them with the tools and confidence to do just that. Mark argues that a quality education is rooted in simplicity. In this book he convincingly strips away the layers of contradictory pedagogical advice that teachers have received over the years and lends weight to the three key pillars that underpin effective, efficient teaching: the lesson, the curriculum and the school’s support structure. 

Making Good Progress: The Future of Assessment for Learning – Daisy Christodoulou 

Making Good Progress is a research-informed examination of formative assessment practices that analyses the impact Assessment for Learning has had in our classrooms. Making Good Progress? outlines practical recommendations and support that Primary and Secondary teachers can follow in order to achieve the most effective classroom-based approach to ongoing assessment. 
Written by Daisy Christodoulou, Head of Assessment at Ark Academy, Making Good Progress? offers clear, up-to-date advice to help develop and extend best practice for any teacher assessing pupils in the wake of life beyond levels. 

How to Explain Absolutely Anything to Absolutely Anyone – Andy Tharby 

In ‘How to Explain Absolutely Anything to Absolutely Anyone: The art and science of teacher explanation’, Andy Tharby talks teachers through a set of remarkably simple techniques that will help revolutionise the precision and clarity of their message. Explanation is an art form, albeit a slightly mysterious one. We know a great explanation when we see or hear one, yet nevertheless we struggle to pin down the intricacies of the craft … 
Just how exactly is it done? In ‘How to Explain Absolutely Anything to Absolutely Anyone’, Andy Tharby eloquently explores the art and science of this undervalued skill and illustrates how improving the quality of explanation can improve the quality of learning. Delving into the wonder of metaphor, the brilliance of repetition and the timeless benefits of storytelling, Andy sets out an evidence-informed approach that will enable teachers to explain tricky concepts so well that their students will not only understand them perfectly, but remember them forever too. 

Dual Coding With Teachers – Oliver Caviglioli 

As part of the discovery of cognitive science, teachers are waking up to the powers of dual coding – combining words with visuals in your teaching. But cognitive scientists aren’t graphic designers, and so their books don’t show teachers how to be competent in producing effective visuals. Until now. 
Dual Coding With Teachers is a truly groundbreaking educational book. No other book has been designed with both cognitive science and graphic principles in mind. Every page contains diagrams, infographics, illustrations and graphic organisers. It has been designed to cater for both the busy teacher in a rush, as well as the research-hungry colleague. Over 35 teachers, teacher developers, psychologists and information designers are profiled, each with a double-page spread, highlighting their dual coding practice. 

When the Adults Change, Everything Changes: Seismic Shifts in School Behaviour- Paul Dix

Offers effective tips and strategies that serve to end the search for change in children and turn the focus back on the adults. 

You can buy in the best behaviour tracking software, introduce 24/7 detentions or scream ‘NO EXCUSES’ as often as you want – but ultimately the solution lies with the behaviour of the adults. It is the only behaviour over which we have absolute control. 

Drawing on anecdotal case studies, scripted interventions and approaches which have been tried and tested in a range of contexts, from the most challenging urban comprehensives to the most privileged international schools, behaviour training expert and Pivotal Education director Paul Dix advocates an inclusive approach that is practical, transformative and rippling with respect for staff and learners. An approach in which behavioural expectations and boundaries are exemplified by people, not by a thousand rules that nobody can recall. 

When the Adults Change, Everything Changes illustrates how, with their traditional sanction- and exclusion-led methods, the ‘punishment brigade’ are losing the argument. It outlines how each school can build authentic practice on a stable platform, resulting in shifts in daily rules and routines, in how we deal with the angriest learners, in restorative practice and in how we appreciate positive behaviour. 

Each chapter is themed and concludes with three helpful checklists – Testing, Watch out for and Nuggets – designed to help you form your own behaviour blueprint. Throughout the book both class teachers and school leaders will find indispensable advice about how to involve all staff in developing a whole school ethos built on kindness, empathy and understanding. 

Suitable for all head teachers, school leaders, teachers, NQTs and classroom assistants – in any phase or context, including SEND and alternative provision settings – who are looking to upgrade their own classroom management or school behaviour plan.