Educational Book Recommendation - Responsive Teaching - by Harry Fletcher-Wood

The latest evolutionary discourse on cognitive learning and teaching theory. This book has a foreward by  Dylan Williams and is excellent.

Written by an experienced teacher and teacher educator, the book balances evidence-informed principles and practical suggestions. It contains:

• A detailed exploration of six core problems that all teachers face in planning lessons, assessing learning and responding to students.
• Effective practical strategies to address each of these problems across a range of subjects.
• Useful examples of each strategy in practice and accounts from teachers already using these approaches.
• Checklists to apply each principle successfully and advice tailored to teachers with specific responsibilities.

This innovative book is a valuable resource for new and experienced teachers alike who wish to become more responsive teachers. It offers the evidence, practical strategies and supportive advice needed to make sustainable, worthwhile changes. (from Amazon description)

From cognitive learning to the latest and best ways to turn AfL and any other technique into something that impacts learning of every child in the class. Its not what we do in class but how we respond to what we do in class and change the teaching to take learners further. One of the best out there currently.

Educational Book Recommendation - An Ethic of Excellence by Ron Berger

Despite the advent of the kindle and e-books, educational books are still best bought in paper. Here is my recommendation to support your own research and development. 

An Ethic of Excellence

"...Drawing from his own remarkable experience as a veteran classroom teacher (still in the classroom), Ron Berger gives us a vision of educational reform that transcends standards, curriculum, and instructional strategies. He argues for a paradigm shift - a schoolwide embrace of an "ethic of excellence." A master carpenter as well as a gifted teacher, Berger is guided by a craftsman's passion for quality, describing what's possible when teachers, students, and parents commit to nothing less than the best. But Berger's not just idealistic, he's realistic - he tells exactly how this can be done, from the blackboard to the blacktop to the school boardroom....." from Amazon.co.uk

A superb book. Many schools are searching for that mystical jump from good to outstanding. In this book Ron Berger outlines how children are encouraged to explore projects and that the excellence/outstanding is a culture that is developed over many years. He used the collection of portfolios of examples of the very best work. These were then used each time a project was started. Examining these portfolios was an active process where the best features or characteristics were highlighted. Ron Berger shares these stories with a wonderful narrative voice that carries you easily through the text. Great book.