Effective Teaching: Evidence and Practice

`Suitable for trainee and established teachers who wish to review their classroom practices, this is a well-written and interesting book. The emphasis is on academic research of various areas of education, from established controversies such as streaming/setting to newer and less well studied areas such as maximising the achievement of gifted students.

The strongest feature of the book is that discussion is always well balanced: arguments for and against certain approaches are put forward without bias. The information is ordered into well-structured chapters which allow the reader to access required information with ease and would be a good reference book for those wishing to obtain a broad picture of educational research. All of the chapters show a common structure and there is no over-emphasis on any one particular area.

The great strength of the book is bringing together a range of different ideas into one coherent view of our current understanding of learning and achievement in school, without dwelling on current political arguments′ - British Journal Education Technology

`This timely book... draws together many strands of a teacher′s professional activities and both informs and questions those individual aspects of teacher effectiveness. For current professional development initiative it provides a foundation of useful knowledge and technique′ - Bill Goddard, University of Greenwich

`This book is a "must-buy" for teacher educators, researchers and teachers and curriculum managers who are interested in developing the exchange between research and practice concerning effective teaching′ - Learning and Skills Research Journal

`The most effective way to enhance education is to improve the quality of teaching. This book provides, in a concentrated format, knowledge and understanding about this underestimated component of education. A rich data source, this book offers the reflective practitioner a combination of conventional wisdom and new insights into teaching which will enhance his or her professional knowledge and skills′ - B P M Creemers, Groningen Institute for Educational Research

`Effective Teaching will make an excellent addition to library shelves, and should prove invaluable to education students who will find a ready portal to an important and diverse literature′ - Keith S Taber, Escalate

Research into student learning and achievement shows that classroom teaching is at the heart of the process of schooling. What teachers do in the classroom is the factor, which most strongly affects pupils′ progress in school.

There is now a large body of evidence about effective teaching and learning. This book provides an accessible introduction to this international research base, drawing on quantitative and qualitative research in education, psychology, sociology and other related areas.

The authors present what is currently known about effective generic teaching skills such as: questioning techniques; and classroom management; as well as discussing specific issues such as: teaching able pupils; teaching pupils with learning difficulties; enhancing pupils′ self-esteem and social skills; teaching literacy and numeracy; and presenting effective classroom assessment practices.

With clear and accessible presentation, and a non-technical approach, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the evidence-base for effective teaching and learning in schools.

Daniel Muijs is Dean of the Faculty of Education and Society at Academica University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam, and visiting professor at the University of Southampton. He has worked in education departments at a range of UK universities, as well as at Ofsted, the English inspectorate of schools and social care. He is an experienced quantitative researcher and has taught quantitative methods to students from undergraduate to PhD levels.