Teach Like Nobody's Watching: The essential guide to effective and efficient teaching - Softcover

Mark Enser

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1785833995 ISBN 13: 9781785833991

Publisher: Crown House Publishing, 2019

Synopsis

In 'Teach Like Nobody's Watching: The essential guide to effective and efficient teaching', Mark Enser sets out a time-efficient approach to teaching that will reduce teachers workload and enhance their pupils levels of engagement and attainment.

At a time when schools are crying out for more autonomy and trust, teacher and bestselling author Mark Enser asks educators the critical question How would you teach if nobody were watching? and empowers them with the tools and confidence to do just that.

Mark argues that a quality education is rooted in simplicity. In this book he convincingly strips away the layers of contradictory pedagogical advice that teachers have received over the years and lends weight to the three key pillars that underpin effective, efficient teaching: the lesson, the curriculum and the school's support structure.

'Teach Like Nobody's Watching' explores these three core elements in detail, and presents teachers with a range of practical, time-efficient approaches to help them reclaim their professional agency and ensure that their pupils get the excellent education they deserve.

Part I considers the individual lesson and explores how lessons can be built around four simple elements: recap, input, application and feedback. Each chapter considers one aspect of the lesson in turn and discusses its importance with a particular focus on how educational research can be applied to it in the classroom, how it might look in different subjects, and the potential pitfalls to avoid.

Part II recognises that lessons don t happen in isolation but as part of a wider curriculum. This section tackles: the creation of a programme of study that takes pupils on a journey through your subject; the super-curriculum of what happens outside the classroom; the principles of assessment design; and how time in departments can be used to reduce workload and support a culture of excellence.

Finally, Part III looks at the role of the wider school in supporting teachers to teach like nobody's watching and how leaders can help to set them free from some of the more burdensome pressures. In this section, Mark draws on the experience of school leaders in a range of different contexts to illustrate what they have done to support effective and efficient teaching in their schools.

Suitable for all teachers in both primary and secondary schools.

About this title

Review

’Teach Like Nobody’s Watching’ is a fabulous book. Practical, principled and inspiring, it exudes an authenticity that is all too rare. It’s the voice of someone who actually walks the talk in the classroom every day – a popular and successful teacher with plenty of front-line wisdom to share.

As ever, Mark’s message is grounded and practical as well as principled, and it’s great to see the effusive enthusiasm and no-nonsense pragmatism of his conference presentations shine through in his writing. Mark covers everything from delivering lessons to planning a curriculum and designing assessments, all from the perspective of making it efficient for the teacher and effective for the students. His recap-input-application-feedback model is so brilliantly simple and clear, as are the excellent key points and reflections for each chapter. I love the chapter on the department meeting – this is territory so often neglected and, here, Mark sets out a manifesto for change that I’m sure will inspire many teachers and leaders.

Finally, Mark’s use of case studies from the likes of Stephen Adcock and Sam Gorse adds some interesting insights to the section on leadership. It is important to know that there are schools out there in which “teaching like nobody’s watching” is already a reality – and after reading this book I’m certain that, as the word spreads, Mark will rally more teachers and leaders to follow this path.

- Tom Sherrington, education consultant and author of ’The Learning Rainforest’ and ’Rosenshine’s Principles in Action’

This book is about integrity. It’s about teaching day in, day out in a manner that you believe is best for the children and young people in your care. Teachers must take responsibility for ensuring that this “best” gets a little bit better every day, and reading ’Teach Like Nobody’s Watching’ will undoubtedly help.

- Stephen Tierney, CEO, Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust, blogger and author of ’Liminal Leadership’

’Teach Like Nobody’s Watching’ is a refreshing read that provides beautiful clarity on educational debate. I am going to have all my staff read it!

- Katharine Birbalsingh, Headmistress, Michaela Community School

Backed by relevant research and filled with an abundance of invaluable and practical examples, ’Teach Like Nobody’s Watching’ makes a compelling case for teaching to become more effective, more efficient, more simple. The book cuts through the unnecessary, and frankly overcomplicated, nonsense that has impeded the progress of our wonderful profession in recent times and gets to the heart of everyday practice that reduces workload and creates a culture of excellence in your classroom.

Working with integrity is about doing the right thing even when no one is looking, and what Mark has successfully done in this book is outline how teachers can improve the efficacy of their practice by applying a straightforward and clutter-free approach to lesson design. However, unlike many books about teaching, this isn’t a “tricks and tips” guide. It carefully, yet simply, describes where this efficient approach to teaching fits within the bigger picture of curriculum, assessment and school leadership, and sets out how teachers of all levels of experience can be rightfully trusted to teach with the knowledge and confidence that they are doing the right thing for their pupils.

- Chris Moyse, Head of Staff Development, Bridgwater and Taunton College Trust, Managing Director, TLC Education Services Ltd

About the Author

Mark Enser has been teaching geography for over a decade and is a head of department at Heathfield Community College. He contributes articles to TES and to the Guardian Teacher Network and often speaks at education conferences. Mark also writes a blog called Teaching It Real and tweets @EnserMark. He spends the rest of his time reading, drinking coffee and running in the hills.

Edition details

• Publisher: Crown House Publishing
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1785833995
• ISBN 13: 9781785833991
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 192