Mark. Plan. Teach.: Save Time. Reduce Workload. Impact Learning.

There are three things that every teacher must do: mark work, plan lessons and teach students well. This brand new book from Ross Morrison McGill, bestselling author of 100 Ideas for Secondary Teachers: Outstanding Lessons and Teacher Toolkit, is packed full of practical ideas that will help teachers refine the key elements of their profession. Mark. Plan. Teach. shows how each stage of the teaching process informs the next, building a cyclical framework that underpins everything that teachers do. With teachers' workload at record levels and teacher recruitment and retention the number one issue in education, ideas that really work and will help teachers not only survive but thrive in the classroom are in demand. Every idea in Mark. Plan. Teach. can be implemented by all primary and secondary teachers at any stage of their career and will genuinely improve practice. The ideas have been tried and tested and are supported by evidence that explains why they work, including current educational research and psychological insights from Dr Tim O'Brien, leading psychologist and Visiting Fellow at UCL Institute of Education. Mark. Plan. Teach. will enable all teachers to maximise the impact of their teaching and, in doing so, save time, reduce workload and take back control of the classroom.

About the Author :
Ross Morrison McGill, aka @TeacherToolkit, is the most followed teacher on Twitter in the UK. His practical, inspiring lesson ideas are what make him so successful. His 5 Minute Lesson Plan is used by teachers all over the world! In 2015 he was listed in the Debrett's 500 as one of the 'most influential people in Britain' and in education. He is the bestselling author of 100 Ideas for Secondary Teachers: Outstanding Lessons and Teacher Toolkit.

Review :
It's great to see a book with great practical guidance and ideas to enthuse and support our amazing teachers as they work tirelessly to educate the next generation. Future careers as yet to be invented need a future workforce with great skills and knowledge across the educational spectrum. Mark. Plan. Teach. should be an essential toolkit for any teacher intent on improving their practice. Ross' enthusiasm and experience as a master teacher shines through every paragraph. His practical advice comes through years of research, reflection and responding to student needs. This well-referenced book is both an overview of current evidence and a goldmine of practical tips and techniques. I would be very happy to recommend this book to novice teachers and would consider it to be a very useful addition to the reading lists for ITE programmes. Feedback is fundamental to development of an organisation, society, or individual. This is a book on the how of effective feedback in the classroom, written by a practising teacher for the pupils. In many ways this is the future of education, developed far from the hands of politicians, civil servants or regulators. Government and its agencies have been interfering for far too long. It's refreshing to find such understandable and expert advice on a topic vital to all learning. This book gets a huge HURRAH from me! [Ross McGill] challenges assumptions with a clear “now do this” call to action which is empowering, rather than directive, for teachers. This is something I'd recommend to teachers as an on-hand go-to, whether they be looking for new ways of working, clarifying ways to mentor other teachers, lead teams, or if they are brand new to the profession. This has a place in every educator's bookshelf. This is a refreshing reminder, after a period of policy-driven approaches to marking, of the power of formative assessment to improve learning. It is full of practical suggestions and ideas for ensuring that marking and feedback remain at the heart of teaching and learning, without unduly burdening busy teachers with the need to take measurements in order to satisfy the demands of an accountability framework. As education continues to grow and evolve, assessment has to keep pace. This new book is filled with practical ideas that will ensure educators are evaluating their students effectively. McGill offers useful grading tips and strategies that help to maximise the time of busy educators and are guaranteed to significantly impact student learning. I am immediately sceptical when I pick up anything about marking. The absolute joy in this book is that it rightly places marking on a continuum of feedback and provides teachers and school leaders with practical and evidence-based approaches to make marking meaningful. Ross' experience and clear desire to improve the lives of teachers and children shines clearly through the easy-to-follow ideas and links them masterfully with the research. Three Bridges will benefit immensely from this work. [This book is] written with due regard to evidence and input from highly regarded educational professionals. The content is communicated clearly and many strategies are incredibly easy to implement into both primary and secondary schools. Mark. Plan. Teach. should be essential course reading for all teacher training providers for their students. Mark. Plan. Teach. is a practical, no nonsense, evidence informed guide which focuses on the things that really matter to student and teacher learning. Grounded in common sense and personal experience, this book contains a wealth of constructive ideas for busy teachers to trial in the classroom. Ross skilfully navigates a wide range of academic research, summarising the key takeaways whilst relating it back into the classroom. As teachers, the biggest concern we have in our profession is whether we are effectively making a difference in our students' learning. Are they making good progress based on our feedback? How do we help them improve without being buried under yet-to-be-marked papers? Will we ever have a life beyond the classroom? Mark. Plan. Teach. is an oracle that provides all of the answers to these burning questions and more. Surely this book is going to be a staple in any school's pedagogy library; there are ideas for newly qualified teachers and CPD foci for the senior leadership team. Ross provides a variety of practical solutions around the dogma of marking, including psychological perspectives and research to affirm the strategies he puts forward. All the tried and tested ideas can be implemented by all primary and secondary teachers at any stage of their career and will genuinely improve practice. What struck me, and of course it would, is the focus on the win-win situation of reducing staff workload while improving impact on student learning.