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Teacher Toolkit
Ross Morrison McGill, aka @TeacherToolkit believes that becoming a teacher is one of the best decisions you will ever make, but after more than two decades in the classroom, he knows that it is not an easy journey! Packed with countless anecdotes, from disastrous observations to marking in the broom cupboard, TE@CHER TOOLKIT is a compendium of teaching strategies and advice, which aims to motivate, comfort, amuse and above all reduce the workload of a new teacher. This beautiful high-spec paperback includes humorous illustrations, photocopiable templates, a new-look 5 minute plan, QR codes to useful videos and flaps with a detachable bookmark. As anyone who has followed him on Twitter knows, Ross is not afraid to share the highs and lows of his own successes and failures. He strives to share great teaching practice, to save you time and to ensure you are the best teacher you can be, whatever the new policy or framework. His eagerly-awaited new book continues in this vein and is a must-read for all new teachers. Vitruvian teaching will help you survive your first five years: Year 1: Be resilient (surviving your NQT year) Year 2: Be intelligent (refining your teaching) Year 3: Be innovative (take risks) Year 4: Be collaborative (share and work with others now your classroom practice is secure) Year 5: Be aspirational (moving towards middle leadership) Start working towards Vitruvian today.
224 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2015
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71 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 4, 2019
I enjoyed reading this book. It is simple to digest yet informative. It is definitely a must-read for 21st-century educators out there!
January 13, 2021
My new teaching bible. This is a book I will continue to return to throughout my teaching career. It covers 5 key attributes of great teaching and correlates these perfectly to the first 5 years of teaching. I'm in my 4th year of teaching and found the previous sections a great read to reflect and use as a reminder of all the important 'little bits' that impact on teaching practice.
The book was set out in a way which was easy to read with clear subtitles, top tips and reflection boxes. I loved the '5 minute' parts which gave manageable tips. Throughout, it had links to the teaching standards which offered a great reminder to what teaching is all about.
A great book for CPD for teachers at every stage of their career and one I'll revisit annually.
The book was set out in a way which was easy to read with clear subtitles, top tips and reflection boxes. I loved the '5 minute' parts which gave manageable tips. Throughout, it had links to the teaching standards which offered a great reminder to what teaching is all about.
A great book for CPD for teachers at every stage of their career and one I'll revisit annually.
July 20, 2022
GUYS, I'VE HIT 5 YEARS.
This book must have worked, not really thanks to this book.
This book must have worked, not really thanks to this book.
April 10, 2024
Reviewing this book retrospectively after reading it when it was first published in 2015.
At the point of reading, I was fresh out of Teach First. 2 intense years of teacher training, I'd made it through some challenging hurdles in a disadvantaged secondary school in West London....and felt like a complete charlatan. On a referral from a friend who was all into her teachers on twitter, strongly recommended teacher toolkit aka Ross.
This book gave me the confidence that not only did I have a wealth of pedagogical knowledge, but that there was plenty left to learn and the way its worded made me feel like even experienced teachers can learn something too. And I felt motivated. Looking back over the notes I made, the post it's they are covered in of techniques I'd tried and with who (which was fun to reread 9 years later) I took a lot of food for thought away from this book.
I actually reread this in 2021 while on MAT leave, and even at that point, after 9 years of teaching I still had things that were renewed, simple things I had long since forgotten and things I'd not tried last time!
Even now, as a prior mentor to trainees, I still recommend this book before they start their first teaching post. I'd recommend it veterans like me too who are into their pedagogy and just want some different/variety of techniques to their toolbox. Ross uses his own experience backed by research. A must read that is well written and personable.
At the point of reading, I was fresh out of Teach First. 2 intense years of teacher training, I'd made it through some challenging hurdles in a disadvantaged secondary school in West London....and felt like a complete charlatan. On a referral from a friend who was all into her teachers on twitter, strongly recommended teacher toolkit aka Ross.
This book gave me the confidence that not only did I have a wealth of pedagogical knowledge, but that there was plenty left to learn and the way its worded made me feel like even experienced teachers can learn something too. And I felt motivated. Looking back over the notes I made, the post it's they are covered in of techniques I'd tried and with who (which was fun to reread 9 years later) I took a lot of food for thought away from this book.
I actually reread this in 2021 while on MAT leave, and even at that point, after 9 years of teaching I still had things that were renewed, simple things I had long since forgotten and things I'd not tried last time!
Even now, as a prior mentor to trainees, I still recommend this book before they start their first teaching post. I'd recommend it veterans like me too who are into their pedagogy and just want some different/variety of techniques to their toolbox. Ross uses his own experience backed by research. A must read that is well written and personable.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews