Learn And Apply Pocketbook

Ninety percent of all training is a waste of time (reveals a US investigation) either because the training is not transferred into the workplace, or the training design/delivery is poor or the participants are unable/unwilling to learn. The Learning Needs Analysis Pocketbook will ensure that your people development solutions are tied to the organisation's strategic plans and objectives. The authors simplify the analysis process and demonstrate that it can be strategic, rewarding, career-enhancing and, even, fun! The book is divided into three sections: 1. The Six Windows: a method of looking into the organisation to identify the most pressing and results-oriented learning needs. 2. The 10 Point Training Plan: the document, spreadsheet or wall chart where you can record all your notes from the learning needs investigation and plan for each training course or event. 3. The Tool Box: to help you do a great job at every step of the process.

It was in response to requests from teachers that Learning to Learn came to be written. Hard-pressed to cover what to learn, finding time to research or devise materials on how to learn was, we were told, a problem. Tom Barwood's highly- regarded workshops for teachers and students in schools address just this issue - and now so does his pocketbook. Working on the premise that successful learning depends partly on knowing why you want to learn, the first part of the book looks at motivation. How to learn - registering, retaining, recalling, revising - is the focus of the remainder. From slicing, mind-mapping and learning styles, through mnemonics, mind pegs and the seven keys of memory, to reviewing, snowballing and recording, the art of learning is explored and demonstrated. Full of practical, fun techniques for successful learning, this is a book for teachers and their students.

'The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled' (Plutarch). The trouble is that, as much as we believe those words, we're sometimes under such pressure to 'deliver' that we're tricked into the spoon-feeding shortcut. We then become trapped, with our pupils, in an unhealthy cycle where we do more and more of the work and they rely on us more and more heavily. The Independent Learning Pocketbook is about breaking that cycle and creating ambitious learners who are self-regulated, self-motivated, resourceful and resilient - learners with clear goals and direction and who use their initiative to achieve success. Peter Anstee draws on a variety of research, as well as first-hand classroom experience and observation, in this clear-sighted look at how to inspire and nurture the people you teach to become lifelong learners.

There are more similarities than differences between girls and boys, but there are innate differences in how they think, feel, behave, communicate and learn. That said, not all boys and not all girls are the same. The challenge for education is to avoid gender stereotyping, while understanding and exploiting gender differences for better teaching and learning. Ian smith argues that by letting boys be boys and girls be girls we can help them become successful learners who will mature into confident adults, comfortable with themselves and with others. He covers how to motivate both boys and girls through a combination of challenge and support; how to connect with both genders; how to create a structured environment that will work for girls and for boys; how to actively involve both in their own learning; how to give effective feedback; and whether boys and girls should be taught separately or together. This is not another book that harps on about 'the problem with boys'; it takes a refreshing look at the broader picture and gives practical classroom advice.

Transfer of learning is the application, back at work, of knowledge, skills and attitudes obtained in learning situations. The amount of learning that is transferred back to the workplace after a training event is the key measure of the success of that training. There is, after all, no point carrying out the training if nothing changes as a result of it. But the transfer doesn't only depend on how good the training is. A number of key factors have to be in place. In the Transfer of Learning Pocketbook, authors Dr Paul Donovan and John Townsend identify 17 factors that determine whether or not new learning will be transferred and used to improve job performance. After extensive research within the HR community, the factors were identified and then prioritised according to their impact on return on training investment. The book sets out each of the 17 factors in turn before giving the reader 70 specific action tips, grouped into five sections that follow the five stages of the training process. Donovan and Townsend have collaborated on several other Pocketbooks, including the highly-regarded Training Evaluation and Training Needs Analysis.

Good assessment focuses mainly on improvement and is used to support progress. It helps learners to know how well they have learned and provides feedback on how they can do better; it encourages learners to support and help each other; it builds self-motivation, self-confidence and self-reliance. Sound familiar? These are the principles of formative assessment. They're at the heart of the national Assessment for Learning initiative and they form the core of the "Assessment & Learning Pocketbook". You know the theory but how do you turn it into practice? That's where Ian Smith comes in. Let Ian explain the difference between formative and summative assessment. Let him walk you through writing and sharing learning intentions and success criteria; promoting high quality interaction in lessons, verbal and written feedback, self- and peer- assessment. You'll find classroom strategies and inspiring ideas galore. "Great book: I am hugely impressed by it. It is very accessible, easily read and full of practical tips and strategies which can be easily implemented. I am sure that teachers will be inspired by it." Linda Kirkwood, Rector, Oban High School

Teachers are responsible for shaping the connections inside learners' brains on a day-to-day basis, connections that will remain in place for the rest of those learners' lives. Understanding the science of learning in the brain is, therefore, a powerful way to inform teaching and have an impact on learning. Furthermore, research evidence shows that teaching children about how the brain learns can improve their motivation to learn. So, when education writer and former teacher Richard Churches got together with two neuroscientists and a group of teachers they saw an exciting opportunity to pool their expertise and explore how insight from neuroscience could translate into classroom practice. Learning & the Brain Pocketbook is full of accessible information about how the brain works, how it learns, how it memorises and how it develops. At every turn, the material is discussed in relation to the classroom. Numerous tips and strategies draw on the neuroscience to enhance and support what you do with your learners. Learning about the brain is fun - and it makes for great professional development.

By adopting accelerated learning principles you can teach in a way that maximises your students' chances of reaching their potential. This pocketbook offers practical strategies and techniques that get results. After outlining the background to accelerated learning, Brin Best explains how to prepare your students for learning and how to create the right learning environment. A chapter on teaching strategies covers questioning techniques and styles of teaching and learning, with suggested activities helpfully linked to each of the multiple intelligences first identified by Howard Gardner. A detailed self-evaluation framework allows you to review and develop practice. To quote one head of science, "some books have a good idea every few pages; this one has a few good ideas on every page".