- Here is a reading list of 79 books about cognitive science and its application to the classroom.
There is a summary below for anything highlighted in green.
2. Here are my summaries of a selection of these books.
For each book there is
- a pdf of my summary
- a pdf with a blank column for your use as part of professional development.
I have given you the images for the first one. For the rest just click the links for either the full summary or the ‘Do This’ (PD version).
- These summaries are in the order in which I produced them.
- I would recommend that you read all of these books – they each have their own unique take on the subject, all have which have enriched my teaching enormously.
- It’s the interaction in making the summary that is important – please use the blank columns!
Do you have suggestions for books you think need a summary? Contact me
All the summaries are made with my brain.
No AI was employed at any stage.
How Learning Happens: Seminal Works in Educational Psychology and What They Mean in Practice (2024)
by Paul Kirschner, Carl Hendrick
The book that inspired the summaries!
This had a profound impact on me. So interesting and useful to read about the research and use it to evaluate my practice. A go-to book for evidence-based practice.
How Teaching Happens: Seminal Works in Teaching and Teacher Effectiveness and What They Mean in Practice (2022) by Paul Kirschner, Carl Hendrick, Jim Heal.
… and again, but for teaching. Remarkably useful… wish I’d had both books 35 years ago.
Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking (2025) by Tim Surma,
Claudio Vanhees, Michiel Wils,
Jasper Nijlunsing, Nuno Crato,
John Hattie, Daniel Muijs,
Elizabeth Rata, Dylan Wiliam,
Paul A. Kirschner
A SUPERB, thought-provoking book that discusses the ‘why, what, and how’ of a knowledge-guided curriculum from learning, societal and democratic perspectives. Very important read.
Download summary
Download the book – FREE to download!
Instructional Illusions (2025) by
Paul A. Kirschner, Carl Hendrick, and Jim Heal.
A remarkable book. 10 illusions it has been easy to be under, why, what the research says and, most importantly, what to do (and not do) to unmask them for the benefit of the learning of our students.
A must read.
Teach Like a Champion 3.0 (2023) by Doug Lemov
Brilliant to have the 63 strategies and routines that define the craft of teaching based on cogsci in one book, and now all in one summary.
Fabulous series of books about a wide range of research and how to use its ideas in the classroom. Read all of them.
Rosenshine’s Principles (2019) by Tom Sherrington
Fiorella & Mayer’s Generative Learning (2020) by Zoe & Mark Enser
Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory (2020) by Ollie Lovell
Collins et al’s Cognitive Apprenticeship (2021) by John Tomsett
Shimamura’s MARGE Model of Learning (2021) by Nimish Lad
Wiliam & Leahy’s Five Formative Assessment Strategies (2021) by Kate Jones
Berger’s An Ethic of Excellence (2022) by Sonia Thompson
Annie Murphy Paul’s The Extended Mind (2022) by Emma Turner, David Goodwin, Oliver Caviglioli
Dunlosky’s Strengthening the Student Toolbox (2022) by Amarbeer Singh Gill
Ausubel’s Meaningful Learning (2023) by Sarah Cottinghatt
Bjork & Bjork’s Desirable Difficulties (2024) by Jade Pearce, Isaac Moore
Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory (2025) by Dr Neil Gilbride
Nuthall’s Hidden Lives of Learners (2026) by Bennie Kara
Download summary
Download ‘Do This’ version
Motivated Teaching (2020), Memorable Teaching (2017), Lean Lesson Planning (2015), and Developing Expert Teaching (2023) by Peps Mccrea
To get so much useful material in so few pages is really is remarkable. Again, read all of them.
The Goldilocks Map (2021) by Andrew Watson
Everything I know about how to read the research in education I learned from Andrew in this book. It’s like having the magic veil lifted so you know what to do next time some says ‘The research says…’.
Evidence-Informed Wisdom by Bradley Busch, Edward Watson, Matthew Shaw
Short and impactful; read this if you’re interested in wisdom not just knowledge when it comes to the role of research in education. You’ll have a great toolkit to use.
Learning Begins (2017), Learning Grows (2019) by Andrew Watson
I did not realize how knowing about working memory, attention, and motivation would have such a positive impact in ways that I use daily.
Download summary
Download ‘Do This’ version
Do I Have Your Attention (2024) by Blake Harvard
Attention in the MOST important thing – and this is such an important book to read all about it… and how to get the ‘contagion’ you want.
The Homework Conundrum (2025) by Jovita Castelino
Fabulous book to make you really thing about what you are setting and WHY. And a BRILLIANT chapter about How Do We Learn. You’ll never think about homework in the same way again.
Just Tell Them (2024) by Zach Groshell
So grateful to Zach for a book about explaining things that explains things so clearly! A model of how do do it.
Teach Fast (2022) by Gene Tavernetti
…yes, strategies are great, but what does the actual lesson look like? Gene’s book is a masterclass in the why and how of putting together the lesson.
Powerful Teaching (2019) by Pooja J. Agarwal and Patrice Bain
A fantastic resource to power up your classroom practice. All the strategies explained, exemplified… so many good ideas.
Mental Models (2025) by Jim Heal, Rebekah Berlin
A wonderful resource that both sets the stage and delves deep into what it means to develop student thinking, and how to do it.
Why Don’t Students Like School? 2nd Ed. (2021) by Daniel Willingham
The first book I read about the application of cognitive science in the classroom. It had a profound effect on my teaching, for which I will be forever grateful to Daniel Willingham. Even better reading it again…
Guide to The Science of Reading (2025) by Doug Lemov, Colleen Driggs, Erica Woolway
An essential read for all teachers, not just those who teach students to read, including High School teachers (like me!) Research-informed, nuanced, and above all with practical ideas you can use on Monday.
The Digital Delusion (2026) by Dr Jared Cooney Horvath
This REMARKABLE book will clarify a number of important issues about EdTech in the hands of adolescents, with practical ideas for how parents and teachers can mitigate potential harm.
And read Chapter 7: The Deeper Threat of AI to Education. THIS should be central to every discussion around AI.
Embedded Formative Assessment (2017) by Professor Dylan Wiliam
I started teaching in 1989, a year after Inside the Black Box by Dylan Wiliam and Paul Black was published. It changed everything, because it gave us the concept of ‘formative assessment‘, which we have been using ever since.
This book accomplishes the remarkable feat of deep and nuanced detail about the history, research, and methods involved in formative assessment, together with the ‘effective things I can do in my classroom tomorrow’.
An absolute must-read for all teachers.
How Do We Learn? (2024) by Professor Héctor Ruiz Martín
The breadth and depth of this book is breathtaking. In terms of finding out what has a good likelihood of working in your classroom, and why that might be, you can find no better explanations.
There are no quick fixes, and after reading this you’ll be much better placed to look at whatever comes along and make informed judgements based on what we know about how people learn.
Another must-read!
Do you have suggestions for books you think need a summary? Contact me
It's a Learning Curve 