In true Sue Cowley style, this book is an utterly practical guide to the profession of teaching. Drawing on the advice of professionals from all areas of education, Cowley provides a vivid insider's guide to the work of being a teacher in its many aspects—from planning, teaching, assessment and technology, to management, career progression and much, much more. Illustrated throughout with checklists, real-life documents and soundbites from teachers at the chalkface, this is the most user-friendly, entertaining, realistic book on teaching ever published.

Guerrilla Teaching is a revolution. Not a flag-waving, drum-beating revolution, but an underground revolution, a classroom revolution. It's not about changing policy or influencing government; it's about doing what you know to be right, regardless of what you're told. It's sound advice for people on the ground: people in real classrooms, working with real children, trying to make a real difference. Jonathan Lear's new book, Guerrilla Teaching, is packed with ideas to refresh teaching practice - combining direct teaching with creative child-led learning - and forge cross-curricular links to create engaging, motivating and fun learning experiences. Ultimately, Guerrilla Teaching is about making a difference. It's a book Jonathan Lear never meant to write, but it was just too important not to. Guerrilla: to be a member of an unofficial group of combatants using the element of surprise to harass a larger less mobile target. Guerrilla teaching: To put children, and their learning, at the heart of lessons. To embrace problem-solving and risk-taking in the classroom. To be adaptable and creative. To think about the skills and knowledge children will need in the future. To stand up and make sure children get the education they deserve (even if it means subverting the system!). Filled with thoughts, ideas and strategies that will help to develop creativity and creative thinking in the primary classroom, Guerrilla Teaching is for trainee teachers, new teachers, teaching assistants, experienced teachers and head teachers - there's something for everyone!

Fully updated second edition, user-friendly, entertaining realistic book with a vivid insiders' perspective into the work of being a teacher.A practical and definitive guide brought to you by Sue Cowley.

A "good" programmer can outproduce five, ten, and sometimes more run-of-the-mill programmers. The secret to success for any software company then is to hire the good programmers. But how to do that? In Joel on Hiring, Joel Spolsky draws from his experience both at Microsoft and running his own successful software company based in New York City. He writes humorously, but seriously about his methods for sorting resumes, for finding great candidates, and for interviewing, in person and by phone. Joel’s methods are not complex, but they do get to the heart of the matter: how to recognize a great developer when you see one.

A light-hearted look at the teaching profession shares some of the author's many different teaching experiences.

Based on her successful book Starting Teaching, Sue Cowley here offers ways of dealing with all the typical issues that arise during the first year of teaching, including how to plan for, control and teach classes; how to cope with the administrative workload; how to develop positive relationships with students, colleagues and parents and how to prepare for mentoring sessions, inspection and promotion.

Written by Jonathan Lear, The Monkey-Proof Box: Curriculum design for building knowledge, developing creative thinking and promoting independence is a manifesto on how to dismantle the curriculum we're told to deliver and construct in its place the curriculum we need to deliver. A group of monkeys. A box full of nuts. A lever. A chute. The monkeys excitedly poke at the box with rocks ... nothing happens. Meanwhile, one monkey sits to the side, observing. Then, when the others wander off, he gets up and - with a curious push of his palm - presses the lever and the nuts tumble down the chute! Not believing his luck, he eats the nuts, presses the lever again and is rewarded with yet more nuts. He's cracked the challenge of the monkey-proof box. In their early years, children experience a world full of monkey-proof boxes - it's a time of discovery, observation and experimentation, as they engage in the frustration and joy of learning how to release life's nuts. Then, as they progress through school, learning becomes more formal, easier in many ways. The nuts are handed to them on a plate and something important is lost. But it doesn't have to be that way. In this absorbing book, Jonathan sets out how primary school teachers can resist the 'nuts on a plate' approach and deliver a curriculum rich in authentic learning experiences that help children learn from one another and grow into empowered, knowledgeable and creative thinkers who are driven by insatiable curiosity. In doing so, he inspires educators to unclutter their classrooms of the latest shiny initiatives and to foster a more refined pedagogical approach - incorporating elements of facilitated and concept-based learning - that simply improves pupils' learning. Suitable for teachers, middle leaders and head teachers in primary school settings. Contents include: Part I: Curriculum. 1 - Slippers; 2 - Less is more; 3 - Skills; 4 - Tightrope walking; 5 - Planning; 6 - 'Love and hugs, Dave C.'; 7 - Softly, softly, catchee monkey; 8 - Hitches and hiccups. Part II: Pedagogy. 9 - Monkey sex; 10 - Rapid and sustained nonsense; 11 - Nuts on a plate; 12 - Nuts scattered in a clearing; 13 - Across the curriculum; 14 - The awkward banana; 15 - Caveman Dave and the TARDIS; 16 - Mastery and independence; 17 - The monkey-proof box; 18 - A spanner in the works; 19 - Freedom.