Hodder Education
Teach to the Top: Aiming High for Every Learner
Megan Mansworth
Teach to the Top: Aiming High for Every Learner
US$ 23.99
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Description
Contents
Reviews

Teach to the Top is a research-informed guide to aspirational teaching, focusing on how embedding higher-level knowledge in the classroom empowers students to succeed and to enjoy learning. Questioning existing orthodoxies around ability, Teach to the Top sets out a vision for an education system in which pupils of all attainment levels are enabled to make fantastic progress by being exposed to sophisticated concepts, and afforded opportunities to think deeply and grapple with stimulating ideas. Making a convincing case for the centrality of subject knowledge, the book also shows how affording teachers the professional autonomy to participate in continual development of their own knowledge benefits both teachers and students. As well as engaging critically with a wealth of educational research, Teach to the Top outlines a plethora of research-informed strategies for teaching to the top. Topics include embedding advanced knowledge in curriculum planning, approaches to challenging classroom talk, the fundamental importance of increasing learners’ confidence, the dangers of differentiation and grade-focused feedback, and the value of an adaptable approach to planning. Both thoughtful and practical, Teach to the Top develops a persuasive justification for the entitlement of every child to higher-level knowledge, alongside providing teachers with a range of practical suggestions and questions for reflection to enable the application of this philosophy to their own classrooms.

Language
English
ISBN
9781914351419
About the Author
Copyright
Praise for Teach to the Top
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Reframing teaching to the top
Chapter 1 – Building the foundations: developing high-level subject knowledge
It begins with your knowledge
A continual state of knowledge development
Developing individual subject knowledge
Subject knowledge as a communal endeavour
Owning and sharing our expertise
Being brave enough to make subject knowledge a whole school priority
Questions for reflection
Chapter 2 – Embedding challenge across the curriculum: ideology and mindset
An ideology of high-level knowledge in curricula
A caveat to the ideology of challenge
Fostering a collective mindset of challenge
Ongoing reflection on teaching to the top
Planning for challenge in the curriculum
Questions for reflection
Chapter 3 – Thinking hard and challenging students conceptually
Thinking hard
Planning for accessible challenge
The simplifying nature of complex concepts
Questions for reflection
Chapter 4 – Teaching to the top, not the test
The harmful consequences of grade-focused teaching
Aiming for the top, not the test
The problem with the ZPD
High-level examples and practising perfect form
Balance and framing
Questions for reflection
Chapter 5 – The dangers of differentiation
Differentiation by expectation: why it prevents us from teaching to the top
Differentiation by setting: placing limits on learning
Differentiating for pupils at the top: surely we are meant to ‘stretch and challenge’ our highest prior attainers?
The ‘values cost’ of ability grouping
Teaching to the top in a system that pushes some to the bottom
Questions for reflection
Chapter 6 – Teaching to the top with flexibility, adaptability and spontaneity
The problem with set lesson structures
The value of flexibility
Unexpected directions and the benefits of responsive teaching
Reflecting on unexpected learning opportunities
Questions for reflection
Chapter 7 – Creative approaches in the high challenge classroom
Resisting dichotomies, seeking balance
Challenging students through dialogic learning
Challenging questioning
Counterfactual thinking
Students as questioners, researchers and presenters
Creativity and teaching to the top
Questions for reflection
Chapter 8 – Giving students the confidence to reach for the top
Self-esteem and self-perception
Breaking the academic self-concept vicious circle: high challenge, high encouragement
Increasing motivation alongside confidence
Habitus, cultural capital and the confidence to reach for the top
Questions for reflection
Conclusion
Aspiration for our students
Creating space for success
References
Index
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