Product reviews for Improving Classroom Performance

I really like books that offer practical strategies and that is exactly what this book does. I also like books that you can dip in and out of, and this is also achieved. I have been fortunate to attend courses run by Stephen Chapman and Alan Jervis and I think this book captures the essence of their training” fun, engaging activities, supported with no-frills educational thinking and lots and lots of try now tasks.

I really liked the approach ofdo first, teach after to get the learners going on something, then to unpick the thinking later. I also very much liked the idea that the learners were producing the resources for the teacher and that the activities are easy to set up. You read about it before the lesson and can have it prepared quickly. The activities work” Ive already tried many of them” and the feedback from classes is positive.

As well as the practical activities, the other parts of the book are very useful. Part 2,At the Chalkface is great for staff training” Ive used it with NQTs and for training teachers. Part 1 on key principles is educationally sound without being overblown. It condenses current thinking into something manageable for the busy teacher. The best handbook for busy classroom practitioners since The Teachers Toolkit by Paul Ginnis.

This book is fun” you cant say that about much educational material. I hope some politicians and policy makers look at it and, instead of a curriculum forced on learners because it vaguely recalls their dewy-eyed memories of a public school education, they shape a curriculum which is about engagement.