Best of the Best. Progress eds. Isabella Wallace and Leah Kirkman, Crown House Publishing

Explore our understanding of this core educational concept!

According to the School Inspection Handbook: “In judging achievement, inspectors will give most weight to pupils’ progress.”

Source: The section on Pupil Outcomes, Paragraph 172, August 2015

But, ask yourself, how do we really measure progress? How do we know when pupils are demonstrating it? How do we differentiate and allow for learners’ different starting points? Should we be measuring everyone against the average or should we be looking at ipsative progress, where achievement is relative only to the pupil’s personal best? Indeed, if everyone is making expected progress, is that really progress or just doing as expected? Do we need to rethink assessment? Can we really make learning and progress visible?

These are just some of the questions that the educational experts delve into in this first volume in the Best of the Best series. In Progress, Isabella Wallace and Leah Kirkman explore our understanding of this core educational concept, drawing together ideas from leading international thinkers and practical strategies for busy teachers.

Isabella Wallace and Leah Kirkman have curated a collection of inspiring contributions on the theme of progress and have developed practical, realistic, cross-curricular and cross-phase strategies to make the most of these important insights in the classroom. Each expert has provided a list of further reading so you can dig deeper as you see fit. In addition, the Teacher Development Trust has outlined ideas for embedding these insights as part of CPD.

Suitable for all educationalists, including teachers and school leaders.

With contributions from: John Hattie, Geoff Petty, Sir John Jones, Sugata Mitra, David Didau, Mick Waters, Will Ord, Claire Gadsby, Robert Bjork, John West-Burnham, Guy Claxton, James Nottingham, Mark Burns, Martin Robinson, Mike Gershon, Pam Hook and Andy Hargreaves.

Isabella and Leah are available for interview, expert comment or by-lined articles on a range of topics, such as:

• Up close and personal with the Best of the Best in education
• Cutting out the middle man: classroom theory into classroom practice
• Education expert overload: how not to get buried under recent research and ideas
• Streamlining research for busy teachers
• The best experts, the best practice, the best classrooms
• Navigating the sea of educational experts
• Bringing educational research into the classroom

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