Teaching skills,motivating students,assessment techniques, curriculum for excellence, UK

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BEST BET BOOKS

LEARNING CENTRED SCHOOLS

Book	Rating	Ian's comments
The two key texts are:
Peter Senge The Fifth Discipline Random House, London, 1990.	2B	This is the classic book on the ‘Learning Organisation’. If you are interested in organisational development it is the book to read, but some parts are hard going especially the material on systems thinking.
Peter Senge et al Schools that Learn Nicholas Brealey, London, 2000.	3B	One of the handbooks spawned by ‘The Fifth Discipline’, this one aimed at schools. Contributors from all over the USA and a lot of practical suggestions and useful references in it. At 600 pages its more a reference book than a read.
Four practical books on improving schools generally are:
Roland Barth Improving Schools from Within 1990	3D	American again, but a classic book from an inspiring headteacher and educationalist. Shows how teachers parents and headteachers can make a difference.
Donna Brandes and Paul Ginnis The Student Centred School Simon and Schuster, Hemel Hempstead, 1990	4D	Still for me the most readable and practical book on developing a Learning School. Although I don’t think schools should be student or teacher centred but learning centred.
Tim Brighouse and David Woods How to Improve Your School 1999	3C	Lots of ideas and practical examples from the sterling work carried out in Birmingham under Tim Brighouse. Includes ‘butterflies’ – lots of small steps schools and teachers can take to make a difference.
Michael Fullan and Andy Hargreaves What’s Worth Fighting for in Your School? OU Press, Buckingham, 1992	4D	Classic text on school improvement been reprinted four times. Short and readable.
Others worth considering are:
John Macbeath Schools Must Speak for Themselves Routledge, London, 1999	3C	.The best book on the case for school self evaluation and how to do it. Based on work carried out for the NUT in England and Wales by John Macbeath and his team at Strathclyde University.
Paul Schlechty Schools for the 21^st Century Jossey Bass Oxford 1990	2B	Not the most accessible read but has some good stuff in it about why schools must change as well as how to go about it strategically. Has written another book since called Inventing Better Schools, which takes longer to say the same thing.
John Macbeath and Peter Mortimore School Effectiveness OUP Buckingham 2001	2B	A series of articles from researchers working in schools as critical friends. Some good stuff in it but is detailed and aimed at the academic rather than the practitioner
Good books on improving organisations generally are:
Ken Blanchard Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, 1996	4D	Excellent small book on empowerment in organsiations
Stephen Covey Principle Centred Leadership	4D	Can’t resist adding two Covey classics. This is his highly accessible book on leadership.
Stephen Covey and Roger Merrill First Things First Simon and Schuster, London, 1994.	4D	For me the book on time management.
Timothy Gallwey The Inner Game of Work Orion Business Books, London, 2000	2C	Transfers his thinking from the golf course and the tennis court to the workplace. The thesis is that success comes through not trying too hard. He says the focus should shift from performance to learning and enjoyment.
And also relevant is my favourite book on personal development:
Stephen Covey The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Simon and Schuster, Hemel Hempstead, 1989	4D	No one book has influenced my thinking more than this one. Not everyone’s cup of tea but the best selling business book of all time.

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