Reading Library

The following have all influenced our approach to teaching and learning at Durrington and are well worth a read:

RESEARCH PAPERS & REVIEWS

Great Teaching Toolkit: Evidence Review – Evidence Based Education

Principles of Instruction – Barak Rosenshine

What makes great teaching? A review of the underpinning research – The Sutton Trust

What will improve a student’s memory? – Daniel Willingham

The science of learning – Deans for Impact

Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques – Dunlosky et al

EEF Metacognition and self-regulated learning guidance report

Putting students on the path to learning – Clark, Kirschner & Sweller

Test enhanced learning – taking memory tests improves long term retention – Roediger and Karpicke

Cognitive load theory: research that teachers really need to understand & Cognitive load theory in practice: examples for the classroom – Centre for education, statistics & evaluation: New South Wales Department for Education.

Eight Ways to Promote Generative Learning –  Fiorella & Mayer.

BOOKS

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

Teach Like a Champion – Doug Lemov

Teach Like a Champion 2.0 is a complete update to the international bestseller. This teaching guide is a must-have for new and experienced teachers alike. Over 1.3 million teachers around the world already know how the techniques in this book turn educators into classroom champions. With ideas for everything from boosting academic rigor, to improving classroom management, and inspiring student engagement, you will be able to strengthen your teaching practice right away.

The first edition of Teach Like a Champion influenced thousands of educators because author Doug Lemov’s teaching strategies are simple and powerful. Now, updated techniques and tools make it even easier to put students on the path to college readiness. 

The Curriculum: An evidence informed guide for teachers – Clare Sealy

researchED is an educator-led organisation with the goal of bridging the gap between research and practice.

This accessible and punchy series, overseen by founder Tom Bennett, tackles the most important topics in education, with a range of experienced contributors exploring the latest evidence and research and how it can apply in a variety of classroom settings.

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.

Assessment – Sarah Donarski

A teacher’s job is to create an environment where our students’ engagement in learning proceeds towards an intended direction. In order for this to occur, we must form a bridge between the teaching of material in the classroom and how the learning of that information is being processed and manipulated by our students. The only way we can do this effectively is through the process of assessment.

Recent theoretical history on how to effectively establish and implement assessment strategies into policy has caused much confusion; it is high time to consider how assessment, marking and feedback have changed over the years so that conversations about how best to move forward can begin.

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

Closing the Reading Gap – Alex Quigley

Our pupils’ success will be defined by their ability to read fluently and skilfully. But despite universal acceptance of reading’s vital importance, the reading gap in our classroom remains, and it is linked to an array of factors, such as parental wealth, education and book ownership, as well as classroom practice. To close this gap, we need to ensure that every teacher has the knowledge and skill to teach reading with confidence.

In Closing the Reading Gap, Alex Quigley explores the intriguing history and science of reading, synthesising the debates and presenting a wealth of usable evidence about how children develop most efficiently as successful readers. Offering practical strategies for teachers at every phase of their teaching career, as well as tackling issues such as dyslexia and the role of technology, the book helps teachers to be an expert in how pupils ‘learn to read’ as well as how they ‘read to learn’ and explores how reading is vital for unlocking a challenging academic curriculum for every student.

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.

How Learning Happens – Paul Kirschner & Carl Hendrick

How Learning Happens introduces 28 giants of educational research and their findings on how we learn and what we need to learn effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably. Many of these works have inspired researchers and teachers all around the world and have left a mark on how we teach today.

Exploring 28 key works on learning and teaching, chosen from the fields of educational psychology and cognitive psychology, the book offers a roadmap of the most important discoveries in how learning happens. Each chapter examines a different work and explains its significance before describing the research, its implications for practice, how it can be used in the classroom and the key takeaways for teachers. 

Running the Room: The Teacher’s Guide to Behaviour – Tom Bennett

Good behaviour is the beginning of great learning. All children deserve classrooms that are calm, safe spaces where everyone is treated with dignity. Creating that space is one of the most important things a teacher needs to be able to do. But all too often teachers begin their careers with the bare minimum of training – or worse, none. How students behave, socially and academically, dictates whether or not they will succeed or struggle in school. Every child comes to the classroom with different skills, habits, values and expectations of what to do. There’s no point just telling a child to behave; behaviour must be taught.

Behaviour is a curriculum. This simple truth is the beginning of creating a classroom culture where everyone flourishes: pupils and staff.

Fiorella & Mayer’s Generative Learning in Action – Mark Enser & Zoe Enser

Generative Learning in Action helps to answer the question: which activities can students carry out to create meaningful learning? It does this by considering how we, as teachers, can implement the eight strategies for generative learning set out in the work of Fiorella and Mayer in their seminal 2015 work Learning as a Generative Activity: Eight Learning Strategies that Promote Learning.

At a time when a great deal of attention has been paid to the teaching and learning from the perspective of effective instruction, Generative Learning looks at the flip side of coin and considers what is happening in the minds of the learner. This book takes a teachers-eye view of a range of theories of learning and keeps their application to the classroom firmly in mind through the use of case studies and reference to day to day practice.

Teaching Walkthrus: Five Step Guides for Instructional Coaching – Tom Sherrington & Oliver Caviglioli

Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli team up to present 50 essential teaching techniques, each with five clear and concise illustrations and explanations. It forms a truly unique repository of key teaching methods, valuable to any classroom practitioner in any setting.

The book covers important practical techniques in behaviour and relationships; curriculum planning; explaining and modelling; questioning and feedback; practice and retrieval; and Mode B teaching. Each technique is simply explained and beautifully illustrated in five short steps, to make sense of complex ideas and support student learning.

Retrieval Practice: Research and Resources for Every Classroom – Kate Jones

Retrieval practice may appear to be the latest buzzword in mainstream education … but in fact it is a very powerful learning strategy. Retrieval Practice: Research and Resources for every classroom is a very practical book written by a teacher in the classroom for teachers and leaders in schools. This book combines educational research with examples of how retrieval practice can work inside and outside of the classroom.

Filled with evidence-informed ideas to support all teachers and leaders across Primary and Secondary. Retrieval practice is a vital element of the science of learning. Understanding how children learn is essential for all educators from NQTs to more experienced teachers and senior leaders.

Explicit & Direct Instruction – Adam Boxer

researchED is an educator-led organisation with the goal of bridging the gap between research and practice. This accessible and punchy series, overseen by founder Tom Bennett, tackles the most important topics in education, with a range of experienced contributors exploring the latest evidence and research and how it can apply in a variety of classroom settings.

Bringing Words to Life – Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown & Linda Lucan

Hundreds of thousands of teachers have used this highly practical guide to help K–12 students enlarge their vocabulary and get involved in noticing, understanding, and using new words. Grounded in research, the book explains how to select words for instruction, introduce their meanings, and create engaging learning activities that promote both word knowledge and reading comprehension. The authors are trusted experts who draw on extensive experience in diverse classrooms and schools. Sample lessons and vignettes, children’s literature suggestions, end-of-chapter summaries, “Your Turn” learning activities, and a Study Guide for teachers enhance the book’s utility as a classroom resource, professional development tool, or course text.

Embedded Formative Assessment – Dylan Wiliam

By integrating classroom formative assessment practices into daily activities, educators can substantially increase student engagement and the rate of student learning. The second edition of this best-selling book by Dylan Wiliam presents new research, insights, and formative assessment strategies teachers can immediately apply in their classrooms. Updated examples and templates are included to help teachers elicit evidence of learning, provide meaningful feedback, and empower students to take ownership of their education. 

Understanding How we Learn – Yana Weinstein

Educational practice does not, for the most part, rely on research findings. Instead, there’s a preference for relying on our intuitions about what’s best for learning. But relying on intuition may be a bad idea for teachers and learners alike.

This accessible guide helps teachers to integrate effective, research-backed strategies for learning into their classroom practice. The book explores exactly what constitutes good evidence for effective learning and teaching strategies, how to make evidence-based judgments instead of relying on intuition, and how to apply findings from cognitive psychology directly to the classroom.

The Science of Learning: 77 Studies that every teacher needs to know – Bradley Busch & Edward Watson

Supporting teachers in the quest to help students learn as effectively and efficiently as possible, The Science of Learning translates 77 of the most important and influential studies on the topic of learning into accessible and easily digestible overviews.

Demystifying key concepts and translating research into practical advice for the classroom, this unique resource will increase teachers’ understanding of crucial psychological research so they can help students improve how they think, feel and behave in school. From large to- small-scale studies, from the quirky to the iconic, The Science of Learning breaks down complicated research to provide teachers with the need-to-know facts and implications of each study. Each overview combines graphics and text, asks key questions, describes related research and considers implications for practice.

The CRAFT of Assessment – Michael Chiles

In the ‘CRAFT of Assessment’, Michael unpicks the five key principles to support middle and senior leaders in creating a climate for a meaningful, manageable and motivational whole-school approach to assessment through condense, reflect, assess, feedforward and target-driven improvement.

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