1st Edition

The Confident Teacher Developing successful habits of mind, body and pedagogy

By Alex Quigley Copyright 2016
    302 Pages 19 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    302 Pages 19 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The Confident Teacher offers a practical, step-by-step guide to developing the habits, characteristics and pedagogy that will enable you to do the best job possible. It unveils the tacit knowledge of great teachers and combines it with respected research and popular psychology. Covering topics such as organisation, using your body language effectively, combatting stress, managing student behaviour, questioning and feedback, and developing confident students, it shows how you can build the confidence and skill to flourish in the classroom.

    This book will be an essential resource for all qualified and trainee teachers wanting to reach their full potential in this challenging but rewarding profession.

    1. Introduction

    Section 1: The Confident Mind

    2. How Much Confidence is Enough?

    3. Developing Self-confidence

    4. The Pursuit of Expertise

    Chapter 5: The Productive Teacher

    Section 2: Our Confident Body

    6. Our Confident Body – Introduction

    7. Combatting stress

    8. The Performance of Teaching

    9. Managing Student Behaviour

    Section 3: Confident Pedagogy

    10. Confident Pedagogy – Introduction

    11. Exemplary Explanations

    12. Confident Questioning and Feedback

    13. Successful Modelling and Metacognition

    14. Memory for Learning

    Section 4: Confident Learners

    15. Confident Learners

    Biography

    Alex Quigley is Director of Teaching and Learning at Huntington School, UK.

    "[Quigley] has distilled the most pertinent cognitive and behavioural psychology research to provide a sound evidence base for his methods. The academic element is combined with recognisable scenarios, which show how the principles of confidence can be applied in realistic settings. […] Newly qualified teachers will gain much from the pragmatic, sensible approach; experienced teachers will gain a sense of relief that often, day in, day out, most of what they do is right, while at the same time learning ways of making marginal – but not burdensome – gains in pedagogy. […] Would I recommend this to classroom teachers? Happily." Gwen Nelson, Schools Week

    "Alex Quigley has a remarkable gift to bring together the latest research with real classroom experiences. This book is carefully researched and completely accessible. He not only provides helpful advice for teachers but also for school leaders. How can we create a new generation of successful and confident teachers? This book has some great answers." - David Weston, author

    "'The Confident Teacher' (2016) by Alex Quigley grapples with the darker moods that teaching can provoke and the toll it can take on the individual. Quigley is frank about the challenges of stress and burnout, as well as the frustrations of ‘political meddling’ and ‘unhelpful bureaucracy’. In response, he offers a hopeful and uplifting guide to remaining healthy, positive and productive in this challenging profession and to being the best you can be for your students. ‘Being a confident teacher’, he writes, ‘is not about being blind to the issues faced by our profession, nor the obstacles that inhibit our students, but it is about possessing a belief that we have the power to help our students to overcome those obstacles.’" - Matt Lloyd-Rose, social researcher, NGO leader and writer.