27 book recommendations that will change the way you think about teaching

‘What book has made the biggest impact on your teaching practice?’ 

1. Concept-Based Inquiry in Action (Marschall & French)
   Concept-Based Inquiry is a framework for inquiry that promotes deep understanding. The key is using guiding questions to help students inquire into concepts and the relationships between them. Concept-Based Inquiry in Action provides teachers with the tools and resources necessary to organize and focus student learning around concepts and conceptual relationships that support the transfer of understanding. Step by step, the authors lead both new and experienced educators to implement teaching strategies that support the realization of inquiry-based learning for understanding in any K-12 classroom.
2. Making Humanities and Social Science come alive (Deborah Green & Deborah Price)
   Humanities and Social Science (HASS) education is integral in the development of active and informed citizens, and encourages learners to think critically, solve problems and adapt to change. Making Humanities and Social Sciences Come Alive: Early Years and Primary Education prepares pre-service educators to become high quality HASS educators who can unlock the potential of all students. Closely aligned with the Australian Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework, this text is designed to enhance teaching practices in history, geography, economics and business, and civics and citizenship. The text provides readers with an in-depth understanding of the curriculum structure, the individual disciplines, pedagogical approaches to teaching HASS, inclusivity, global connections and the transition to practice 
3. Making thinking visible (Ron Ritchart)
   A proven program for enhancing students' thinking and comprehension abilities Visible Thinking is a research-based approach to teaching thinking, begun at Harvard's Project Zero, that develops students' thinking dispositions, while at the same time deepening their understanding of the topics they study. thinking. 
4. Mathematical Mindset (Jo Boaler)
   Mathematical Mindsets provides practical strategies and activities to help teachers and parents show all children, even those who are convinced that they are bad at math, that they can enjoy and succeed in math. Jo Boaler—Stanford researcher, professor of math education, and expert on math learning—has studied why students don't like math and often fail in math classes. She's followed thousands of students through middle and high schools to study how they learn and to find the most effective ways to unleash the math potential in all students. 
5. The Bonsai Child  (Dr Judith Locke)
   In her work as a clinical psychologist and researcher, Judith Locke, PhD sees a disturbing link between high-effort parenting and poor outcomes for children. She believes parents make their children's lives too easy by doing too much for them and giving too much to them. This type of parenting produces 'the bonsai child', an apparently perfect child raised in a protected environment and nurtured on attention to their every need. Dependent on constant care, the bonsai child can remain confined by their ideal conditions, incapable of coping in the real world. In The Bonsai Child, Judith explains why the current generation of parents and children are in this mess, why parents are encouraged to parent this way, and what often happens to their children. Most importantly, she offers practical and realistic strategies that have worked for hundreds of parents she has helped.
6. The Power of Inquiry (Kath Murdoch)
   How can we create learning environments that cultivate curiosity and grow young people as confident, capable and creative inquirers?  How can we ensure that our teaching nurtures rather than diminishes the sense of wonder with which we are all born? How can we become better inquirers as we teach? How can we help our students grow as thinkers, collaborators, self-managers, communicators and researchers as they inquire? The Power of Inquiry is an inspiring and comprehensive guide to the implementation of quality inquiry practices in the contemporary classroom. Organised around ten essential questions, each chapter provides both a theoretical and practical overview of the elements that combine to create learning environments rich in purpose and passion. 
7. Whoever you are (Mem Fox)
   Despite the differences between people around the world, there are similarities that join us together, such as pain, joy, and love. Every day all over the world, children are laughing and crying, playing and learning, eating and sleeping. They may not look the same. But inside, they are alike. Available for the first time as a board book, this is an inspiring celebration for all children, whoever they are. 
8. Powers of Curriculum: Sociological Perspectives on Education (Gobby and Walker)
   Curriculum is powerful because it shapes what children and young people experience in educational settings. Educators are central to this as more often than not they have the most direct influence on learners' curriculum experiences. Powers of Curriculum explores the many issues surrounding curriculum in order to equip future educators with ideas, concepts and perspectives that can make a positive difference to the lives of children and young people in the early childhood, primary and secondary phases of education.The book explores a diverse range of topics related to curriculum, the experiences of learners, and how these experiences are shaped by powers within and beyond the field of education.
9. Stop talking and start influencing (Dr Jared Cooney Horvath)
   Love it or hate it, we are all teachers. Whether walking clients through a new program, guiding an audience through a novel proposition, or helping our children to kick a soccer ball, nearly every day we work to disseminate knowledge and wisdom to others. The problem is that very few of us have ever been taught how to teach! Drawing on Jared Cooney Horvath’s nearly 15 years of experience conducting brain research at prominent universities, teaching students from 10 to 80 years of age, and working closely with organizations and schools across 4 continents, Stop Talking, Start Influencing outlines 12 scientific principles of how people learn. 
10. Brain- based Learning (Eric Jensen)
    Formerly a publication of The Brain StoreIn this best-selling book, Eric Jensen leads you through brain research on how the brain processes and accesses information.Jensen translates those findings into practical methods and theories to infuse your teaching and training with energy and a renewed sense of purpose. Each fascinating topic features a "What This Means to You" section to ensure your understanding, as well as "Reflection Questions" to help make the information relevant to you. 
11. When The Adults Change, Everything Changes (Paul Dix) 
    Paul Dix upends the debate on behaviour management in schools and offers effective tips and strategies that serve to end the search for change in children and turn the focus back on the adults. 
12. Prevent-Teach-Reinforce: The School-Based Model of Individualised Positive Behaviour Support (Glen Dunlap. Rose Iovannone, Donald Kincaid,  Kelly Wilson,  Kathy Christiansen,  Phillip Strain, Carie English)
    Solve serious behaviour challenges in K'8 classrooms with this easy-to-use book, the first practical guide to the research-proven Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) model. Developed by some of the most respected authorities on positive behaviour support, this innovative model gives school-based teams a five-step plan for reducing problems unresolved by typical behaviour management strategies. 
13. What Teachers Make (Taylor Mali)
    Teacher turned teacher's advocate Taylor Mali inspired millions with his original poem "What Teachers Make," a passionate and unforgettable response to a rich man at a dinner party who sneeringly asked him what teachers make. Mali's sharp, funny, perceptive look at life in the classroom pays tribute to the joys of teaching...and explains why teachers are so vital to our society.
14. Reading Magic (Mem Fox)
    With passion and humor, Fox speaks of when, where, and why to read aloud and demonstrates how to read aloud to best effect and how to get the most out of a read-aloud session. She discusses the three secrets of reading, offers guidance on defining and choosing good books, and addresses the challenges that can arise. And this new edition boasts twenty pages of fresh material, including two new chapters on boy readers and phonics, a foreword, and a list of "Twenty Books that Children Love.” 
15. The Differentiated Classroom (Carol Ann Tomlinson)
    Drawing on nearly three decades of experience, author Carol Ann Tomlinson describes a way of thinking about teaching and learning that will change all aspects of how you approach students and your classroom. She looks to the latest research on learning, education, and change for the theoretical basis of differentiated instruction and why it's so important to today's children. Yet she offers much more than theory, filling the pages with real-life examples of teachers and students using-and benefitting from-differentiated instruction. 
16. Teach like a pirate (Dave Burgess)
    Based on Dave Burgess's popular "Outrageous Teaching" and "Teach Like a PIRATE" seminars, this book offers inspiration, practical techniques, and innovative ideas that will help you to increase student engagement, boost your creativity, and transform your life as an educator. You'll learn how to: • Tap into and dramatically increase your passion as a teacher • Develop outrageously engaging lessons that draw students in like a magnet • Establish rapport and a sense of camaraderie in your classroom • Transform your class into a life-changing experience for your students This groundbreaking inspirational manifesto contains over 30 hooks specially designed to captivate your class and 170 brainstorming questions that will skyrocket your creativity. Once you learn the Teach Like a PIRATE system, you'll never look at your role as an educator the same again. 
17. The Element (Ken Robinson)
    The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. In this groundbreaking book, world-renowned creativity expert Ken Robinson considers the child bored in class, the disillusioned employee and those of us who feel frustrated but can't quite explain why - and shows how we all need to reach our Element. Through the stories of people like Vidal Sassoon, Arianna Huffington and Matt Groening, who have recognized their unique talents and made a successful living doing what they love, Robinson explains how every one of us can find ourselves in our Element, and achieve everything we're capable of. With a wry sense of humour, Ken Robinson shows the urgent need to enhance creativity and innovation by thinking differently about ourselves. Above all, he inspires us to reconnect with our true self - it could just change everything. 
18. The Courage to Teach (Parker Palmer)
    Wisdom that's been inspiring, motivating, and guiding teachers for two decades The Courage to Teach speaks to the joys and pains that teachers of every sort know well. Over the last 20 years, the book has helped countless educators reignite their passion, redirect their practice, and deal with the many pressures that accompany their vital work. 
19. Teach Like a Champion (Doug Lemov)

    This teaching guide is a must-have for new and experienced teachers alike. Over 700,000 teachers around the world already know how the techniques in this book turn educators into classroom champions. With ideas for everything from classroom management to inspiring student engagement, you will be able to perfect your teaching practice right away. 
20. Powerful Teaching (P.Agarwal and P.Bain​)
    Empowers educators to harness rigorous research on how students learn and unleash it in their classrooms. In this book, cognitive scientist Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D., and veteran K–12 teacher Patrice M. Bain, Ed.S., decipher cognitive science research and illustrate ways to successfully apply the science of learning in classrooms settings. This practical resource is filled with evidence-based strategies that are easily implemented in less than a minute—without additional prepping, grading, or funding! 
21. 7 myths about education (Daisy Christodoulou)
    Daisy Christodoulou offers a thought-provoking critique of educational orthodoxy. Drawing on her recent experience of teaching in challenging schools, she shows through a wide range of examples and case studies just how much classroom practice contradicts basic scientific principles. 
22. Teachers v. Tech (Daisy Christodoulou)
    Ed tech has so much potential, both for teachers and learners, so why hasn't it yet had the transformative impact on education that has long been promised? Daisy Christodoulou tackles both sides of the ed tech debate in answering this question, critiquing missed opportunities about how we learn, as well as areas of success. Rooted in research, and written from the educationalists' perspective, Teachers vs Tech? examines a broad range of topics from the science of learning and assessment, to personalisation, and the continued importance of teaching facts. It explores international examples from both big brand digital teaching programs and up-and-coming start-ups in considering what has and hasn't worked well. 
23. The Teachers Toolkit (Paul Ginnis) 
    Whatever subject you teach, this comprehensive volume will help you to develop thinking skills in your students; promote citizenship and an understanding of democracy; fine-tune study skills and help students acquire the attitude and skills for true independence. Drawing on neuroscience, psychology and sociology The Teacher's Toolkit provides an overview of recent thinking innovations in teaching and presents over fifty learning techniques for all subjects and age groups, with dozens of practical ideas for managing group work, tackling behavioural issues and promoting personal responsibility. It also presents tools for checking your teaching skills - from lesson planning to performance management. 

1. Teaching for Tomorrow  (Michael McQueen)
2. A Whole New Mind - Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future  (Daniel Pink)
3. The Gifts of Imperfection (Brene Brown)
4. Limitless (Jim Kwik)