@TeacherToolkit has a devoted following because of his pithy, incisive tweets, his ability to listen to people, and his eagle-eye for good teaching materials. Its combination of excellent, relevant advice for teachers, its brilliant presentation and Ross' diligence at responding to all queries on Twitter as well as the blog mean that it has become the one-stop-shop for ... Read moremany teachers to sort out their teaching problems and find out about the essential research they need to know about.
@wonderfrancis
This is a book by a teacher still in the classroom after 20 years. Want to know how to survive? Read this book; it's fizzing with ideas.
Ty Goddard, Co-founder of the Education Foundation
Every good worker needs a good toolkit. Ideally one that has a tool for all occasions. I'm not always a fan of `tips for teachers' books. We are a profession and, as such, we must go beyond just copying others and using superficial procedures in the classroom. McGill's teacher toolkit, is indeed tips for teachers - lots of them - but it does at least try to go beneath the surface of `what works' to explore why it works. You won't find a huge bibliography linking to cutting edge research, but it's clear that the approaches described come from more than just a superficial understanding of what makes good teaching. The overarching metaphor of the Vitruvian teacher is inspired and encompasses just those qualities we all seek to develop as teachers, regardless of how long we have been involved in teaching. Written in an engaging, active way, with a user friendly, humorous it has an easy-to-access structure. I was intrigued by the index, where under `G' there is just one entry - Grim Reaper. This set my mind racing - just what would I find when I looked up the 5 pages listed? A reference to the short life expectancy of teachers? No, it was my second thought and I'm clearly in-tune with McGill. If you want to know who the grim reaper is, I suggest you buy the book. It will do what it says on the cover - it will help you survive the first 5 years. The technology subject influence (McGill's subject) is clear, but the advice is solid and varied. You may not like all the activities and approaches, but I'm willing to bet there are plenty that will appeal to you and fit your developing teaching approaches.
James Williams, Lecturer in Science Education, University of Sussex The best thing about the book is the honesty; the author shares a lot of his own experiences, a lot of them from his training or early years, making it even more accessible to the trainees and NQTs like myself.
Lauren Gaisford, UCAS Teacher Training
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