Research School Network: Our top picks: best educational books of 2018 We present here our five favourite new books of 2018 (in reverse order for added suspense). We hope there is something here for everyone.

The end of the year is traditionally a time for reflection; to take stock of the last 12 months and look forward to future opportunities and challenges. Here at Blackpool Research School, we have been blown away by both the quantity and quality of educational books published this year – it truly feels as though we are living in a golden age of educational writing. 

But with so much out there, how can a busy teacher or leader decide what is worthy of their time and money?

We present here our five favourite new books of 2018 (in reverse order for added suspense). We hope there is something here for everyone.

5. Alex Quigley – Closing the Vocabulary Gap

Alex Quigley has had a busy year (he also wrote the EEF’s Metacognition guidance report). In this fascinating and useful book, Alex looks at ​‘word poverty’, discusses why it matters, the implications for our students, and what can be done about it. An excellent summary of research evidence for teachers, it looks at morphology, etymology, phonics, reading comprehension, and more. Fascinating for all teachers – not just teachers of English or literacy.

4. Yana Weinstein, Megan Sumeracki, and Oliver Caviglioli – Understanding How We Learn

This summary of the science of learning from two co-founders of the ​‘Learning Scientists’ website is beautifully illustrated and set out in the trademark style of Oliver Caviglioli. An excellent source of evidence on how we learn, including examples, anecdotes and myth-busting, this book is very well researched and yet extremely accessible. Highly recommended!

3. Andy Tharby – How to Explain Absolutely Anything to Absolutely Anyone

Effective teacher explanation is a very difficult skill to pin down, and one which teachers (especially novice teachers) often do not pay enough attention to. In this timely and highly practical guide, Andy Tharby looks at the evidence around effective explanation incorporating ideas from cognitive science, educational research, and linguistics to produce a book which is simply a ​‘must read’ for all classroom practitioners.

2. Harry Fletcher-Wood – Responsive Teaching

Dylan Wiliam famously said that he wished he had called Assessment for Learning ​‘responsive teaching’ to put the emphasis on the response to pupils’ needs rather than a toolkit of assessment techniques. Here, Harry Fletcher-Wood does just that: with chapters looking at the difference between performance and learning, on strategies such as the use of Exit Tickets, and on how we can genuinely make our teaching responsive to our students’

needs, this is a carefully considered guide which is likely to impact immediately on your classroom practice.

1. Craig Barton – How I Wish I’d Taught Maths

This is an astonishing piece of work: Craig discusses the mistakes he made as a novice mathematics teacher, describes his journey through the minefield of educational research, and emerges from the other side as an evidence-informed practitioner busting to share his findings with the world. Reading this is a significant undertaking, but you won’t regret it: it is simply essential reading for mathematics teachers at all key stages (and teachers of other subjects will find it useful, too!).