Product reviews for Neuroscience for Teachers

Having been teaching, researching educational practice, and leading teacher training for ten years now, I find Neuroscience for Teachers has filled an important space in the development of a research-driven approach to pedagogy that we are all trying to establish. By making neuroscientific material accessible to teachers in a way which directly links to classroom practice, this book provides a resource available nowhere else.

For busy teachers, who have little time for engaging with original research from the many, many multi-disciplinary fields which might possibly be relevant to the practice, a resource such as this is new and invaluable. It enables teachers to quickly master practices that work to improve learning. Even more importantly, it explains in an accessible way, the science underpinning the -˜what works' advice; this is a vital new tool to educate teachers about why we do what we do, but also in empowering teachers to resist unscientific pedagogical advice.

In the everyday life of teachers, the way the book is organised is exceptionally valuable, as teachers and teacher-trainers can use it section by section to dip into relevant areas. For example, for teachers like myself struggling with the vast amount of content students must learn to cope with the demanding new GCSEs and A Levels, a new kind of pedagogy is demanded; turning to the section on -˜attention', we find a series of absolutely clear and practical strategies for maximising the right kind of student attention, with the scientific rationale behind these explained. The teacher is thus equipped with pedagogical approaches fit for their specific need very quickly, but can also work from a perspective of enhanced professional understanding about why these are the right approaches. This book is thus about improving student outcomes, and also about improving the professionalism of teachers as practitioners of a complex science.

As a designer of teacher training and Continuing Professional Development programmes, this book is also invaluable to me in planning training for other teachers. The sections on mood, emotion, stress and other aspects of the developing adolescent brain approach teaching from an important new perspective, encouraging teachers to think beyond how they deliver, but to consider the importance of how information is received by teenagers in particular; to be able to discuss this from a scientific perspective elevates this debate above the stereotypical, and allows teachers to consider aspects of learning that they might not otherwise feel empowered to do - and in turn to improve student outcomes.



In terms of cost effectiveness, this book synthesises a huge body of research into the relevant, practical information teachers need. Teachers want to be involved in research, but often the best involvement is to have a clear, accessible understanding of the huge body of research out there, and this books makes that precisely available to any reader. I have used this in teacher training, and plan to use it much more in an integrated way in future training sessions to bring new perspectives to the attention of teachers I work with.  Few teachers will have time - or possibly the academic background and resources - to explore this body of information first hand. This book is thus a brilliant new addition to our pedagogical resources by making this valuable body of work available to us all.