3 minute read
BOOK REVIEWS
All books have been reviewed by DR ANNE DAVIS, head of mathematics at Earlscliffe, an independent sixth-form college in south-east England. She is also a cycling and kayaking coach specialising in coaching disabled athletes. She has experience as a manager in industry and teaching at university. Her other interests include chemistry, astronomy and classical guitar.
FORGET SCHOOL
by Martin Illingworth, Independent Thinking Press, 2020 The cover of this book promises a valuable read for those of us educating the young people of today’s culture. The author immediately challenges me as an educator to consider what my students are learning from me and what they are fi nding out for themselves, and directly comparing the two.
Martin Illingworth uses his 18-month investigation into the school experiences of a group of young people as evidence of the ways in which the current schooling system is useful and also a hindrance. He builds upon this to challenge our current curriculum as unsuitable for students.
A main theme running through this book shows that the young are profi cient in using technology eff ortlessly to communicate and do research – this is the real world of today and our methods and materials in the classroom are becoming rapidly outdated and further removed from reality.
This is not a book that off ers solutions; rather, it urges us to begin to ask questions about today’s young and the relevance of the education system. It is a call to engage with the modern world and its inclusion in our lessons.
This book prompts lots of questions and self-examination and would be of interest to all educators, across the system.
A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE LEVEL 5 DIPLOMA IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING, THIRD EDITION
by Lynn Machin, Duncan Hindmarch, Sandra Murray and Tina Richardson, Critical Publishing, 2020 This book has good reviews and is regarded as an essential text for those working towards the Diploma in Education and Training (DET). It is well set out, with informative notes on background studies and relevant references and has good examples of case studies which well match the topic being covered.
This edition has been updated to ensure that the policies and literature are recent and that practice examples refl ect current teaching and learning. The chapters have been aligned to meet the 2014 teaching standards and contain information and tasks to encourage refl ection and further in-depth study. There is also a new chapter on mental health and emotional wellbeing of both the educator and the student.
Critical questions are spread throughout the chapters, linked to comments to assist in further refl ection. Links to relevant background resources are given with summaries of the important points.
This is an ideal book for anyone doing the DET by distance learning, but will also be valuable to all who are taking this route into teaching.
TEACHERS VS TECH: THE CASE FOR AN ED TECH REVOLUTION
by Daisy Christodoulou, OUP, 2020 Beginning with the science of learning and the challenges facing educators, this book explores past and present teaching methods when applied to the classes of today. The concept that education has been looking for transformations due to technology for over a century is discussed. Technology has been embraced throughout the rest of our society but not in education, argues the author.
However, this book does not come across as a criticism of the hard work and eff ort of today’s educators but rather as a recognition of the challenges faced by the profession. The aim of this book is to provide a short guide to what teachers need to know about technology and what it can and cannot do for teaching and learning.
A further aim is to encourage educators to evolve their own learning and to explore technology to improve learning experiences, especially in areas where standard teaching methods have not been wholly successful. Alongside is an argument that while technology is vital it cannot replace our memory or learning processes in student development.
The timeliness of the publication of this book couldn’t be better with the lockdown in place and educators exploring the possibilities of online teaching.
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