Mark. Plan. Teach.: Evidence-based ideas that really work!

by Ross Morrison McGill (contributor)

There are three things that every teacher must do: mark work, plan lessons and teach students well. This brand new book from Ross Morrison McGill, bestselling author of 100 Ideas for Secondary Teachers: Outstanding Lessons and Teacher Toolkit, is packed full of practical ideas that will help teachers refine the key elements of their profession. Mark. Plan. Teach. shows how each stage of the teaching process informs the next, building a cyclical framework that underpins everything that teachers do.

With teachers' workload at record levels and teacher recruitment and retention the number one issue in education, ideas that really work and will help teachers not only survive but thrive in the classroom are in demand. Every idea in Mark. Plan. Teach. can be implemented by all primary and secondary teachers at any stage of their career and will genuinely improve practice. The ideas have been tried and tested and are supported by evidence that explains why they work, including current educational research and psychological insights from Dr Tim O'Brien, leading psychologist and Visiting Fellow at UCL Institute of Education.

Mark. Plan. Teach. will enable all teachers to maximise the impact of their teaching and, in doing so, save time, reduce workload and take back control of the classroom.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction

ebook

Published September 7, 2017

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

The more books on education I read, the more I think you can't get better than Doug Lemov 'Teach like a Champion'.

[Andre Mouton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one to add to the teacher toolkit. Ross Morrison McGill does a superb job at starting on the reflective nature of teaching. Being reflective is certainly something that teachers are good at and it's great to see that the book echoes this ethos. I love the examples provided in the book, which motivated me to try a few new things in the classroom.

I am on the fence regarding the five-minute lesson plan as my lesson plans always take more than five minutes. As a five-minute template yes, but when it comes to a detailed plan for many of the business topics I teach it's often not five minutes. Feedback, feed-up and feedforward resonates due to the value added. As teachers, we are already doing this, but we might not be using the same labels. School leadership is likely to see Mark. Plan. Teach. as a great CPD addition to establishing consistency across the school. At times I felt that examples could have contained more depth and maybe this is because many of the examples were not specific to my subject.

Ross Morrison McGill covers a wide range of varying techniques including the essential teaching standards which is a good thing concerning pedagogical choices. I am always willing to try new ideas when it comes to developing practice, but there were occasions when it felt like this was a new flavour of topping on a familiar ice cream. I hope the analogy makes sense.

I most certainly had fun with 'low-stakes' activities, and testing out 'stickability'. One of the key challenges I often face is time constraints and this book can be utilised to free up some time. Mark. Plan. Teach is well worth adding to the planning tool kit.

[Emma Sherlock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly skimmed the second half of this book after reading the first closely.

It claims to be useful across primary and secondary settings, but it isn't particularly. Most ideas are definitely pitched for older, secondary school children.

For me there weren't enough concrete examples of how to use the techniques described. In addition, many of the ideas weren't exactly ground-breaking. I've been teaching for six years and I only picked up a few snippets.

I would perhaps recommend this book for secondary teachers who have just started teaching.

[Emma Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable look into the idea of Mark. Plan. Teach. It was great to see that I was already embedding much of this into my (very new) teaching practice.

I like the way McGill writes with honesty and integrity. At the heart of his ideas he believes in protecting the health of teachers and providing ALL students with great, consistent and motivating teachers. Which is inspiring.

There is a lot of repetition- the last section was quite skimmable - but some great ideas for new teachers and a book I’m sure I’ll revisit and reflect upon in the future.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a few ideas I'll take away from this, but I found that a lot of it was overly vague and no grounded enough in examples to be particularly useful. The writer gives you a long list of things that are apparently "vital" to every classroom, but then only writes a short paragraph on how to go about actually implementing them into practice, then all of a sudden it's on with the next idea. A good overview but lacks depth.

[Gemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book began well, reflections from this experienced teacher makes you reflect on your own style of teaching. However, the sections became laborious, often the ideas presented were obvious ones rather than new ideas to invigorate your teaching. I also wasn't sure who the book was aimed at, sometimes it felt like it was aimed at NQTs, other times leaders in education. In summary, an interesting book in places, but overly drawn out. Worth a read, but skip the duller sections!!

[Paddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent call to arms - one which focuses on a drive to improve the policy to ensure all teachers can do their job without potentially undermining each other. Not about improving the teacher as the end product but improving teaching and therefore learning as the end product. This then means all teachers can improve.

[Georgina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots to take from this and apply to your classroom practice. Even more for school leaders to reflect on and hopefully use to lead their decision making. Uses current research and also tools McGill has used successfully during his career.

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lent this book by a colleague. I personally think the book isn’t useful for me as my schools attitude as changed a lot. However I would recommend this to any new teacher or a teacher that is struggling over their work.

[Jane Scholey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at the stages of the teaching process and how they all link to each other. Very readable but needs to be backed up by further reading into deeper pedagogy.

[James Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for all teachers, lots to inspire you, give you peace of mind, question your own practice, lots of useful tools and insights on what teaching does and should look like! Thanks Ross!!!!!!

[Helen Stonier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant - loads of easy yet effective ideas. Particularly useful suggestions for marking and assessment.