Product reviews for The Teacher's Toolkit

The Teacher's Toolkit combines theory and practice in teaching and learning: a rare combination in educational texts. The usual books are either a series of tips for teachers without an overriding rationale or a theoretical treatise without any practical example. The beauty of this book is that it brings together a vast array of research evidence and theory from the fields of education, biology, psychology and change management to give a theoretical underpinning for approaches to teaching. This is exemplified by many tried and tested practical examples which teachers can apply immediately in their classrooms. The book also has considerable space devoted to how to use these approaches in the classroom to manage students' learning. Finally there is a section for teachers to guide their own development.

One of the best things about the book which also sets it apart from others is that it is not formulaic. Good teaching for effective learning is a complex business; Paul helps the reader to understand the process, work with it and to develop their own creative approach with a helpful structure and some ideas to get started. It is clear to the reader that Paul himself is an expert practitioner with a genuine passion for improving learning in schools.

The book is usable in so many different ways: it provides an interesting and very digestible summary of the important developments in research and theory of the last 20 years; it can give you ideas for your lesson period 5 tomorrow and it can give teachers the tools to reflect on their practice to develop and change in very profound ways. All this used together is a very powerful tool for individuals and a whole school for developing the quality of classroom practice and enriching the learning experiences of students.



Most teachers I know enter the profession because they enjoy learning, in my view they are happiest at work when they can learn more about applying their professional skills effectively. This book is an absolute must for every teacher who still wants to learn.