professional reading – you should read this – Professional Reading for Teachers and Leaders

More Less New

More Less New Whilst working with our staff on our school’s strategic plan evaluation about three years ago, I became stuck on how we would move ahead. Our staff had spent a lot of time across the previous six months, pulling apart our data in every conceivable way trying to effectively evaluate our impact. They…

If you only read one educational leadership book in 2017 make it this one

Leading Teaching and Learning Stephen Dinham If you are only going to read one educational leadership book in 2017, then make it Leading Teaching and Learning by Stephen Dinham (and then get your priorities in order and read more books!). This book is an excellent summary of the broad range of educational research and evidence,…

You should read this if you want to be a Superboss

Superbosses – Sydney Finkelstein Superbosses is an amazing piece of research, summarised into outstanding lessons for leaders of organisations and schools, that ultimately works better as a short article than a book. I came across this book in an HBR article (HBR – January-February 2016), which summarised the main findings of author Sydney Finkelstein’s research….

You should read this if you want to understand everything wrong with leadership

Leadership B.S. – Fixing Worplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time by Jeffrey Pfeffer – Stanford Graduate School of Business I have written often about the great work of Bob Sutton from Stanford University, and now his faculty colleague and sometimes writing partner Jeffrey Pfeffer has given us Leadership B.S. – Fixing Workplaces and…

Closed loop classrooms – Tom’s Restaurant vs. Scotty’s Diner

Closed loop classrooms – Tom’s Restaurant vs. Scotty’s Diner A couple of questions have been tormenting me for a few weeks now, regarding teachers and leaders for whom things on the surface seem to be going well. We all know that there are teachers out there who seem to make things look easy. Their classes…

Three great books I haven’t blogged about yet – but that every educational leader should read!

Three great books I haven’t blogged about yet – but that every educational leader should read! We’ve recently started a new feature in our PLT’s, where each session a different member brings along an article, book or reading that has had an impact on them as a teacher. Last week a colleague brought along an…

Leadership Transitions

Earlier this week I co presented a workshop for aspiring leaders within my school and local school network. The workshop was the first of three for the year, and was designed to get participants to actively and honestly engage in self-reflection, as a foundation for leadership development. The workshops are designed to assist leaders at…

Leadership books you may have missed in 2014

Leadership books you might have missed in 2014 Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a sucker for a good list, and the New Year’s period always provides some worthy list fodder such as Top 5 Movies of 2014, Top social media fails of 2014 and other such nonsense. So I thought…

You should read this if you want to improve the organisational health of your school

The Advantage – How organisational health trumps everything Patrick Lencioni Staff opinion surveys are the bane of many a school leader. Many tend to see them more as an imposition, rather than a chance to really understand how their school is operating. Staff may realise the survey…

You should read this if you want to think better, teach better and understand people better

Think! Before it’s too late Edward De Bono It is not for this review to outline the decades of influence on education and thinking that has made Edward De Bono’s career. However, if you are looking to improve your students’ depth of thinking and creativity, enhance your own thought processes, and understand school, work and…

You should read this if you want to be a better boss

Good Boss, Bad Boss Robert L. Sutton Following on from his hugely successful, zeitgeist-grabbing book “The No Asshole Rule”, Robert Sutton delivers again with his book “Good Boss, Bad Boss”. The genesis of this book is in the hundreds and thousands of emails Sutton received after the publication of “The No Asshole Rule”. Startlingly many of…

You should read this is you want to sharpen your skills as a classroom teacher

Teach Like a Champion – 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College Doug Lemov Doug Lemov has fast become a leading name in educational practice. His instant classic ‘Teach Like a champion’ provides teachers and school leaders with over 40 simple, yet highly effective strategies that can be incorporated into any classroom,…

Rules for analysing your student learning data @ysreadthis

Rules for analysing your student learning data From youshouldreadthisblog.wordpress.com Data causes teachers to react in many strange ways. Many teachers gleefully dive into reams of data, poring through pages intent on finding every nuance, detail and wrong answer. Some put their head in the sand, hiding their data in the dark recesses of a…

You should read this if you want to develop skill and passion in your career

So Good They Can’t Ignore You – Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love Cal Newport I’m a sucker for a good book title, and this book does not disappoint. What a cracker of a book this is by Cal Newport. ‘So good they can’t…

Top 5 books for aspiring educational leaders

Top 5 books for aspiring educational leaders Who can resist a top 5 list? Well certainly not me. Here’s a top 5 list of books for aspiring leaders in education. If you are at the stage of your teaching career, where you are considering applying for responsibility positions or leadership positions, there are far worse…

You should read this if you want the best research into leadership, management and organizational change

Harvard Business Review Why should educators read Harvard Business Review? The prospect of reading a periodical like HBR might seem unnecessary for many educational leaders. We are in teaching after all, not business. Many think that the worlds of business and education are just too far apart…

You should read this if you want to see how Obama built an election winning team

Game Change* John Heilemann and Mark Halperin Halperin and Heileman’s definitive account charting the course of the historical 2008 US Presidential election campaign may seem like an odd choice to include on an educational leaders reading list. However, the lessons from the candidates, their teams and their strategies are highly relevant to educational leaders. Many…

You should read this if you want to lead in a civilised workplace

The No Asshole Rule – ‘Building a civilized workplace and surviving one that isn’t’ Robert L Sutton The No Asshole Rule is an outstanding read and a must for anyone looking to improve the culture of their schools and staffrooms. Perhaps the subheading best sums up the nature of this book, ‘Building a civilized workplace…

You should read this if you want to lead but don’t have a title

Seth Godin Tribes True leaders don’t need a title, and true leaders don’t wait to be asked to lead are just two of the key messages which shine through in ‘Tribes’ by Seth Godin. Seth Godin is a force of nature. Author, blogger, marketer, theorist, entrepreneur, ideas man… the list goes on. ‘Tribes’ is one…

You should read this if you want to make a lasting impression

Made to Stick Chip and Dan Heath Have you ever struggled to make your ideas stick? Have you ever taught your students concepts which they have promptly forgotten? Watched your staff nod in agreement during a meeting, only to watch them continue to act and behave the same old way? Well, help is at hand…

You should read this if you want to fix your meetings

Patrick Lencioni Death by Meeting If you work in a school that has an outstanding culture of collegiality, sharing and team planning; where everyone enjoys and adds value to their meetings, then you can probably skip reading this book. For most of us though, the reality is that a couple of nights a week we…

You should read this if you want the definitive research into what works best in education

Visible Learning John Hattie Every single time I open this book, I find something that changes the way I think, act and lead educationally. John Hattie’s seminal work “Visible Learning” is now the Bible for all educators. The key premise; most things that teachers and schools do work, but there are some things which work…

You should read this if you want to learn the basics of human leadership

The Secret – What great leaders know and do Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller’s “The Secret – What Great Leaders know and do” (not to be confused with culty self-help book The Secret) is a great little read for aspiring leaders. The book focuses on developing human leadership, and takes…

you should read this – Professional Reading for Teachers and Leaders

Tag: professional reading