Month: October 2011

A whole load of books that have inspired me that I heartily recommend.

• Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure – a fascinating explanation of why human nature and psychology means we often plan the wrong way to improve. It explains how to use the principles of evolution to be successful.
• Alex’s Adventures in Numberland – a wonderful array of stories and history of maths, from the insanity of Pythagoras’ cult to the Amazonian tribes who can only count to 3.
• High Performers: The secrets of successful schools – a distillation of all the best practice from schools all over the country. A clear, concise and invaluable read.
• Switch: How to change things when change is hard – a brilliant recipe for changing the minds of stubborn people and groups, with a clear explanation of how and why at every stage.
• Fred Jones Tools for Teaching: Discipline, Instruction, Motivation – a refreshingly simple and powerful set of tools for the classroom teacher. Full of real-life examples, this book won’t fail to inspire your classroom practice.
• Building a Professional Learning Community at Work: A Guide to the First Year – an introduction to the wonderful world of professional learning communities, with discussion of everything that can possibly go wrong, and how to deal with it.
• Evidence-Based Teaching A Practical Approach Second Edition – the bible for every teacher. This is an absolute must-read if you want to stop wasting effort on fads and transform the teaching and learning in your classroom with proven methods.
• Mistakes were Made (but not by me) – a mind-blowing book that changed my view of the world. Once you realise why your brain is tricking you in to justifying mistakes and beliefs you will see the world in a different, clearer and more understandable light.
• Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions – if you’ve ever wondered why so many people make the same mistakes again and again, and why people ignore logic and make rash decisions, this is the book for you.
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – built on some ground-breaking research, Carol Dweck explains how you can transform learning by changing the language you use: in classrooms, homes, and workplaces.
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us – considering performance pay to get better results? Not if you’ve read this book, which should be on the bedside table of every policy maker.
• Good to Great – the classic tome that gives the secrets to success for leading great organisations.
• Multipliers: how the best leaders make everyone smarter – does your leadership style create growth in your colleagues, or diminish and suppress them? Read this book and find out some surprising things about yourself.