10 Essential Education Books to Improve Teaching and Instructional Practices
- Tara Harvey
- Nov 10
- 11 min read
Google Got the Information from Somewhere…
Reading educational books may seem like an outdated practice to some teachers who have a best friend in AI or Google to help with instructional questions and planning. I am a person who likes to go to the source of the information. I say this frequently in coaching conversations, “don’t take my word for it… we can check the research and the experts”.
I believe in my heart that teachers can impact the molding minds of our students through their daily interactions and meaningful teaching strategies.
For the Sake of This Blog Post: How These Books Strengthen Instructional Practices
I will recommend some of my tried-and-true favorites regarding instruction and share a few additional items to help save your Amazon cart from overflowing with titles that might reinforce or reframe similar concepts.
I will start by describing the book's length as either short, with fewer than 200 pages, or longer, with more than 200 pages.
There are two categories of books listed below:
Teachers as change agents. Directly derived from Chapter 4 of "10 Mindframes for Visible Learning" by John Hattie and Klaus Zierer. It is daunting to consider the amount of responsibility that comes with teaching when you think about the impact we can have on our students, and I will unpack the books that I believe support our calling.
Learners and their perspectives. As experts in our field, it is critical to remember what it is to not know and be in the process of learning.
Choosing the Right Book for Your Instructional Growth
Reading a book to me feels like a personalized professional learning experience.
There are two philosophies to reading, with one being that I finish every book I start, and the other is to hit the abort button and move on. I abandon books that aren’t giving me inspiration or ideas.
Any book worth recommending has had a lasting impact on my thinking and ideally my coaching practice and/or influence on policy through discussions with administration and district leadership.
Understanding Instructional Practices Across Roles
Teachers and mentors are reading for immediate classroom implementation ideas. Department leaders, professional developers, and instructional coaches are also reading for practical pedagogical ideas to share and even model in teachers' classrooms. The reading purpose is more than likely teacher-driven. Lesson design, a boost or idea that will enhance a unit of learning, or sometimes even a turnkey formative or mastery assessment.
Additionally, professional developers and instructional coaches are reading about what is happening in education that will be referenced next. I tell my new teachers that if they aren’t comfortable with change, teaching will be a challenge. We are always learning and improving our practice based on learner needs and an ever changing world.
Administrators and district leaders are often reading for the why. They need all stakeholders to keep learners at the center of all decision-making. At that level, the specificity of an instructional practice is nice to have, but probably not the goal of a new educational read.
In my opinion, they are looking for the glue. How do they explain how all the pieces happening in a school or district at any given time work together?
There is a column next to the books where I have indicated an ideal audience. In the spirit of humans being fallible, I may not have labeled these the same as another instructional leader, but I gave it a go!
Teachers as Change Agents
Title & Author | Key Points | Why read this? |
|---|---|---|
 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning: Teaching for Success |
| This is a book I keep coming back to time and again. I mark up my books with post-it notes, highlighters, tabs to keep pages, etc. This book has all the reminders that these pages are gold. Hattie’s work is the most referenced in current practices and has the influences and approaches that are worth knowing, learning, and mastering in your modern classroom. Examples of the mindframes include: I give and help students understand feedback, and I am a change agent and believe all students can improve. Ideal Audience: Teachers, Mentors, Department Leaders, Professional Developers, Instructional Coaches |
 Experience Inquiry: 5 Powerful Strategies 50 Practical Experiences |
| Understanding inquiry is necessary to inspire curiosity and an innovative spirit. Without inquiry, we cannot attempt problem or project based learning. The inquiry strategies are not unlike coaching strategies, including talking less and extending thinking time. The experiences in the book are filled with practical classroom ideas and vignettes from teachers and students, including the importance of storytelling. There is something for everyone in this book. Ideal Audience: Teachers, Mentors, Department Leaders, Professional Developers, Instructional Coaches |
 Rigor by Design Not by Chance: Deeper Thinking Through Actional Instruction and Assessment |
| Each teacher has their own “comfort food,” I call it. Instructional strategies that make sense in their brain and they can implement with ease. This book is an excellent resource to check those comforts and make sure they are recognized as having the impact that you intend. For example, if the choral or cold call is a comfort food, this book is a reminder that we need our learners to ask more questions and that one right answer from the crowd doesn’t mean to move on. Ideal Audience: Teachers, Mentors, Department Leaders, Instructional Coaches, Administrators |
 Teaching for Deeper Learning: Tools to Engage Students in Meaning Making |
| Learning has got to attach to other knowledge or it is too soon gone. Encouraging our learners to make meaning for themselves is a crucial part of the learning process. If I had this book as a new teacher, I would have made a permanent fixture in my “go home bag". Knowing that we don’t take home books or work we aren’t going to use. It is a short but dynamic read, and anyone planning a lesson can find a deep learning strategy to connect with it. McTighe and Silver are masters of meaning making, and this book is a keeper! Ideal Audience: Teachers, Mentors, Department Leaders, Professional Developers, Instructional Coaches |
 Teaching for Transfer: A Guide for Designing Learning with Real World Application |
| The spine of this book is literally falling apart. I reference it so frequently. Teaching is a very complex dynamic when teachers are responding to learners. This book is an example of how to communicate success criteria to all the learners and design a real-world application for them to attach their learning to. McDowell also uses real-world examples as starting points rather than waiting, as many of us are guilty of, to unveil the worldly application of the skill at the end of the learning. Ideal Audience: Teachers, Mentors, Department Leaders, Professional Developers, Instructional Coaches, Administrators |
Learners are our Focus
Title & Author | Key Points | Why read this? |
|---|---|---|
 Design for How People Learn |
| This book also utilizes brain science and does an amazing job of reframing ideas we take for granted in education. We have due dates and deadlines, while Dirksen writes in terms of time and resource constraints, which puts another spin on lesson design to create urgency. Habits, attention span, memory, and their impact on learning are deconstructed at length, and there are analogies that stuck in my brain when it comes to making memorable activities. Ideal Audience: Department Leaders, Professional Developers, Instructional Coaches, Administrators, District Leadership |
 Evolving Education Shifting to a Learner- Centered Paradigm |
| Does education need to look different? It worked for so many, etc,. as an argument for keeping best practices of the past does not hold water with Martin. She explains the why and how of learner outcomes as the primary goal of instruction. This aligns with our understanding that learner comprehension and transfer are the only reliable evidence we have to work with. Taking a strength-based perspective with the reader, teacher, and learners, this book is filled with optimism for the new learner and centers the classroom accordingly. Ideal Audience: Professional Developers, Instructional Coaches, Administrators, District Leadership |
 To Read Stuff You Have to Know Stuff: Helping Students Build and Use Prior Knowledge |
| This book is applicable to teachers of any content that has students suffering from “word poverty.” Gallagher takes academic vocabulary and all the words around it to the granular level. Building a schema is for everyone. Our vocabulary capacity is limitless if we have the time and tools for our learners to access the words. The scaffolds provided are ready to implement in classrooms, and using them time and again will just increase their effectiveness. Ideal Audience: Teachers, Mentors, Instructional Coaches |
 Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn |
| Referred to me by a friend who teaches brain science to her neurodivergent learners, I have acquired a new vocabulary from this book. Collaboration is not new, but the brain benefits were not obvious until the authors pointed them out. Uncommon sense is aligned with brain science to create active over passive learning spaces in your classroom using the power of planning with the learners in mind to leverage each component of planning from a new paradigm. Ideal Audience: Teachers, Mentors, Department Leaders, Professional Developers, Instructional Coaches, Administrators |
 Upgrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) |
| This book is a much-needed read and starts a larger conversation. Considering that grades are a gatekeeper for secondary education, we have the opportunity to unpack the framework that holds our learners captive, raises their anxiety, and encourages cheating. Could we embrace a system that is designed to encourage risk-taking, deep thinking, and honor mistakes as a part of learning? The curated list of authors that tackle the topic believe it is possible through a variety of methods, including doubling down on feedback for learning, conferring with learners, and intentionally defocusing on grading practice. Ideal Audience: Department Leaders, Instructional Coaches, Administrators, District Leadership |
Grassroots or Game Changer: Applying What You Learn to Instructional Practices
After reading your personal professional development from these books, what do you do with the knowledge you've acquired?
Next steps will likely depend on your reading intention. Again, as a teacher, you are ideally trying a new instructional strategy and sharing the pain or progress that you encountered. This is where feedback from trusted colleagues and instructional coaches yields those amazing moments of brainstorming between classes, on how to tweak and try again, because there is rarely life changing learning or change from one-and-done PD.
Administration and district leaders as policy makers and changers often use current research and reading to audit current standards, procedures, and frameworks. We are all leading from the seat we are in, and as ideas that impact student learning are shared via grassroots efforts or from the top, we continually improve for our current learners and future leaders.
Respect Your Non-Readers: Differentiating Professional Learning
Lastly, respect your non-readers. Required book studies have not had the desired impact in my 28 years of educational experience. Finding entry points to the meaningful ideas and practices from the books that rocked your brain by creating infographics or writing up summaries that pique the interest of teachers and leaders. I also make work products for immediate use and share them with particular teachers I think may find them helpful.
I am also married to a career teacher who has not read a single book during his 25 years; however, he does work with the instructional coach, is invested in new technology tools, and is constantly updating lessons and units to fit the common era. I send him quotes and links constantly, and he isn’t even in my district- LOL, but he gives me feedback when his team finds a graphic organizer or website of resources from a book applicable.
The One-Page Trick: Sharing Instructional Insights Efficiently
One last trick in my reading and sharing toolbox is to write a one-page summary of a book. It is printable and can be strategically put in a mailbox or on a teacher’s desk with a post-it saying- I think this has some great stuff ! Let's meet up.
I work with secondary English Language Arts teachers every year, and I cannot recommend They Say, I Say enough! It is a fantastic book for any teacher teaching writing. But after recommending and suggesting without response, I will share a copy of my They Say, I Say one-pager with their name as the title, and that will spark questions and a coaching conversation.
Next thing, we are likely looking at writing samples or discussion prompts and having a robust discussion about next steps in the classroom. Grassroots coaching yields goodness most of the time, and occasionally, one of the quotes or books is a game-changer in the best sense of the term. Encouraging and achieving educator and learner agency using research-based instructional practices.
Final Thoughts
At the heart of both is a shared truth: learning never stops. Whether we are teachers, coaches, or leaders, we read to expand our thinking, connect ideas, and remain open to new perspectives.
Coaching isn’t about knowing everything. It’s about learning alongside others. It is also important to remember that teaching isn’t about perfection. It’s about continually adjusting, improving, and creating opportunities for students to thrive.
So, whether you’re exploring the why behind your instructional practices or the how of supporting others in theirs, I hope these books inspire you to continue learning, leading, and finding joy in the process.