Lean Lesson Planning: A practical approach to doing less and achieving more in the classroom: 1 (High Impact Teaching)
£15.20
“A great little book for teachers based on robust evidence.” Carl Hendrick, Head of Learning and Research at Wellington College
This book is for any teacher who’s interested in improving their lesson planning and practice. It has been carefully constructed to be a highly efficient reading experience. It is short, sparse and you should be able to read it in about an hour.
However, it is not about quick fixes. If you’re looking for ways to short-cut the amount of time you spend planning lessons, then this book is not for you. Lean Lesson Planning draws on the best available evidence from educational research and cognitive science to provide a coherent set of mindsets and ‘habits of planning’ that will help you power up the learning experiences and outcomes in your classroom, in ways that make your life easier and more enjoyable. In short, it’s about doing less, but better.
Lean Lesson Planning is the first instalment in the High Impact Teaching series.
—–
Contents
Act I: Lean foundations
- 1. Defining lean
- 2. Lean mindsets
- 3. Lean habits
Act II: Habits for planning
- 4. Backwards design
- 5. Knowing knowledge
- 6. Checking understanding
- 7. Efficient strategies
- 8. Lasting learning
- 9. Inter-lesson planning
Act III Habits for growing
- 10. Building excellence
- 11. Growth teaching
- 12. Collective improvement
—–
Praise for Lean Lesson Planning
“Things that make teachers’ lives simpler like this are few and far between.” Doug Lemov, Author of Teach Like a Champion
“Breezy recap of best practices in lesson planning.” Dan Meyer, Chief Academic Officer at Desmos
—–
Praise for other books in the High Impact Teaching series
“I doubt you’ll find an education book with more useful insights per minute of reading time.” Dylan Wiliam, Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at UCL
“I can’t remember when I have ever read a book that takes such complex ideas and communicates them with sophistication and simplicity.” Oliver Caviglioli, Education author & information designer
“A truly excellent book which sets out the science behind learning with remarkable clarity.” Mark Enser, Head of Geography at Heathfield Community College
“All I can say is that it was everything I’d hoped for and more.” Jon Hutchinson, Assistant Head at Reach & Visiting Fellow at Ambition
“Another absolute gem from Peps Mccrea.” Helene Galdin-O’Shea, English teacher & researchED organiser
“Peps packs the punches from the first page.” Kathryn Morgan, Advisor at TDT & ubergeek
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (19 May 2015) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 112 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1503241459 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1503241459 |
| Dimensions | 13.34 x 0.66 x 20.32 cm |
by Amazon Customer
The title of this book is a total misnomer. I bought this book in an attempt to cut down the amount of time I spend planning lessons but it doesn’t address this problem AT ALL!
I found it to be frustratingly facile, introducing concepts and then merely citing references where they can be explored in more depth.
It’s all heavily spaced out and includes many pointless diagrams which give it a ‘padded’ feel. (e.g fig 11, p103: ‘trio of indicators’, in which three factors, first identified as a list, are then reproduced as a completely illogical and redundant triangle taking up a whole page. It took an hour to read the whole book!
If you are thinking of buying this book you are almost certainly already a reflective practitioner who is interested in improving their work in terms of quality and efficiency, and I doubt you will learn anything from its content. Save yourself £11 and invest in one of the books that is cited within (that you are probably already aware of e.g Wiliam, Lemov etc).
Another thing that grated was that it reads as a work in progress. At the end of one chapter, a note/reference reads ‘I can’t remember where I read this. Doug, if you know, please give me a clue!’
This is the problem with self-publishing. If you’re going to charge a professional fee for your book, then go through a professional process before you put it out there.
Apologies to the author, whose intentions are genuine, I am sure.
by A. Moore
With a couple of brews, I’ve binged this book in an hour or two. It was such a refreshing way to reflect on my current classroom practice and I particularly loved the use of questioning. I came across Peps during my NPQLTD through Ambition and also as a mentor and love the informal and honest style of his writing (also his humour). Mindsets was one of my favourite chapters as many of us fail to see ‘planning as a process rather than a product’. A useful book for teachers old and new. Look forward to the next one!
by A. Moore
I was introduced to Peps’ work at the start of lockdown by my former coach. Since then I have lived and breathed the memorable teaching and lean lesson planning books, using them as valuable evidence to inform coaching sessions with NQTs and UQTs. Although I found most of it is what I already do it is fascinating to understand the science behind what has become instinctive as an experienced teacher. My favourite part of this book found your references for further reading. His book is concise as to not cognitively over load the reader but these further reading references offer you the opportunity to delve deeper into any areas that peak your interest. Thanks Peps!
by T Oakley
The funny thing about planning and teaching at an expert level, is that you need to be able to THINK like an expert, not just reproduce apparently expert behaviours in ways which may or may not work because of how you have adapted them in execution. To get REALLY good at teaching, it really helps to KNOW how learning actually works. It’s not just students who need key threshold concept knowledge, it’s teachers too. And that’s what this little book gives you. Huge, necessary, relevant ideas in a little accessible package. Keep it with you , return to it fortnightly, be honest about whether your lesson structured fit with this expert knowledge and you really will end up teaching like a champion. In fact, this could be the Teach Like A [Conceptually-Up-To-Date] Champion! So if you found Lemov learning-lite and Hattie too heavy for your handbag/staff/9 period day, this is the book for you.
by Miss SN Wilson
I wanted to thank you for all the input contained in those words. As a teacher trainee and English as a foreign language, I particularly find your books (Lean lesson planning and Memorable teaching) extremely useful. I consider they are a must for everyone involved in the education world. Certainly, describes the efficient process to get to be a ‘lean’ teacher/educator. I have enjoyed reading about the ‘Pareto’ and ‘Growth’ mindset as I identify myself with the quote ‘do less but do it better’ which has become my mantra. This is something I work every day to develop these mindsets…
by Hannah Slimm
Lean Lesson Planning gives a good overview of current educational research with a specific focus on how to cut waste from your lessons and structure them in a way that maximises learning time. The concepts are explained clearly and simply, often with diagrams to aid and some specific techniques you can implement in your practice.
The strength of this book is it’s efficiency – I read it in about two hours, and considering that minimal time investment, the book gives serious bang for your buck. Perfect for busy teachers who struggle to get time to keep up to date with current research.
Caveats:
1. If you’re the kind of person who does read a lot about current pedagogies, there will be less in it that you haven’t heard, but the way concepts are organised and illustrated with diagrams does help give a different perspective on these.
2. The title of the book refers to cutting the fat from the lesson more so than cutting it from the planning. It may or may not cut your planning time, but that’s not the focus – the focus is in minimising time in lessons where pupils aren’t learning or aren’t learning as much as they could be.
by Lydia M.
I am a trainee teacher and I wish I read that book earlier. I learn how to approach lesson planning as a tool instead of as a chore I had to show my school mentor. Thanks !
by Steve in Highbury
I’ll begin by saying this won’t be for everyone, but it IS for me. It’s exactly what I want from an education theory book. It’s concise, practical, encouraging and research linked. So if I want to go away and read more, I can. I love being able to read it through in an hour, or go back to it and remind myself of key messages in a minute or two. I think this book is a staffroom essential and will recommend it to others. I look forward to reading Expert Teaching next year.