Thrive

Martha Boyne, Emily Clements and Ben Wright’s Thrive: In your first three years in teaching equips trainee secondary school teachers with the know-how to lay the foundations for a successful career in teaching, long after the challenging first few years are over.Martha, Emily and Ben are thriving teachers. In Thrive they share their personal experiences and demonstrate how you too can thrive during the tricky training year, the daunting NQT year and the crucial RQT year. Using their collective insights, and plenty of evidence-informed strategies and advice, they detail how you can get to grips with the classroom basics – from behaviour management and lesson planning to differentiation and providing for SEND – and effectively continue your professional development. This book is not just a survival manual to help teachers get through their first three years in teaching. Nor is it an academic text that has been written by authors who have only a distant memory of what it takes to stand in front of a class of teenagers for the first time. Thrive is something very different. It gives both the aspiring and the newly qualified the support and guidance to become a thriving teacher, and has been co-authored by three recently qualified teachers who in this book invest their passion and practical knowledge to inspire and inform others who want to pursue enjoyable and rewarding careers in teaching. Thrive is divided into three parts – specifically detailing what can be expected in the training year, NQT year and RQT year respectively – with the authors’ commentary threaded throughout to demonstrate how the ideas discussed can be successfully put into practice. Their accounts are also complemented by expert advice from two people who are at the very top of their profession, Lianne Allison and Dr Simon Thompson, who provide wider perspectives drawn from a wealth of teaching experience. Forty of the book’s forty-six chapters begin with a checklist outlining what a developing teacher is expected to do, and each chapter ends with a to-do list that can be used as a quick reference point to structure the strategies implemented. These to-do lists are also followed by lists of suggested further reading so that readers can delve deeper into topics and fields of research that they find particularly interesting or relevant. Furthermore, the book offers helpful counsel on choosing the best training route as well as an in-depth analysis of the change in priorities for busy teachers as they progress: encouraging constant reflection, outlining potential pathways and emphasising the importance of evidence-based practice and how new teachers can, and should, incorporate this into their teaching.Rooted in practical strategies and innovative ideas, Thrive is the essential guide for trainee secondary school teachers and teacher trainers.

Thrive is a no-nonsense, practical guide to all aspects of teaching and being a teacher. The first few years of teaching can feel daunting, but with this book's support any new teacher can thrive. Underpinned by educational research, the book is like a pocket mentor and provides a good first stop for professional advice as Martha, Emily and Ben draw from their own first-hand experiences a as well as on the perspectives of experienced educators a to offer helpful guidance for aspiring teachers. An ideal resource for potential teachers, trainee teachers and, above all, newly qualified teachers navigating their formative years in the profession.Dr Andy Chandler-Grevatt, Teaching Fellow in Education, University of Sussex and author of How to Assess Your Students, Accessible, inspiring and easily digestible, Thrive is also a wonderful read! The structure of each chapter, complete with to-do lists, tips, stories and signposts to further reading, is useful in allowing the reader to dip into each section as appropriate, and, as a training teacher myself, I consider the guidance included to be very valuable a with need-to-know content appealingly and practically presented for those starting their teaching journey. I feel well prepared for the NQT and RQT years having read this book. Elisha Hocking, trainee teacher, Fantastically practical and written in a friendly tone, Thrive offers an honest and supportive perspective of the highs and lows of teaching and breaks down the possibly daunting and overwhelming prospect of embarking on a career in education into simple, achievable chunks. Martha, Emily and Ben are clearly passionate about the profession and want everyone to share in this a while reading the book I get a genuine sense that they want me to succeed. By sharing their own trials and tribulations they make you feel like you are not the only trainee struggling to find a way through with that class. Indeed, the book offers a wealth of strategies which would aid even the most experienced teacher. Its user-friendly layout allows the reader to dip in and out of chapters when looking for answers to specific questions in times of need and lays out handy to-do lists and up-to-date academic research in an accessible format a allowing the lessons learned to be easily transferred to the classroom using the authors' practical advice. The inclusion of a range of professional perspectives and expertise a from RQTs, deputy heads and PGCE tutors among others a is also a big plus which ultimately makes the book a readily available, round-the-clock team of mentors that celebrates the sharing of ideas and concerns and alleviates any sense of struggling on your own. The authors also actively combat the negative stigma surrounding teaching in the media and recognise the vital role the teacher plays in learners' educational journeys. Armed with Thrive, teachers will be emboldened to take on any class and will feel empowered to not only survive their first few years in teaching but also become valued members of a department, able to inspire students and colleagues alike. It is an all-encompassing guide to teaching that will remain an essential resource for years into your practice. Nathan Goodby, PE teacher, St Paulas Catholic College, In Thrive Martha, Emily and Ben have written a realistic, optimistic and valuable guide to the first three years in teaching. The book is logically mapped out and can be read chronologically to give those new to the profession a comprehensive walk-through of what to expect, while it can also help more experienced teachers to pursue further avenues in their career. Full of fantastic insights from successful current teachers and those directly involved in initial teacher training, it offers an excellent resource of practical tips and advice in clearly delineated sections a I just wish I'd had it available to me during my own teacher training! A must-read for anyone embarking on, or already in, their first few years of teaching.Matthew Donald, history and politics teacher, St Paulas Catholic College, In writing Thrive Martha, Emily and Ben have produced a valuable resource that points beyond survival to help new teachers embrace the real joy of being a teacher. This is not a textbook issuing a prescribed toolkit approach a rather it presents a significant framework that provides both training and qualified teachers with strategies and reflective ways of thinking that can be applied in all contexts as they navigate through the initial stages of their careers. Each section is carefully thought out and considers those issues that are real concerns for educators at each stage of their early development. I highly recommend Thrive, which will now become required reading for my initial teacher training students.Dr Brian Marsh, Principal Lecturer in Science Education, School of Education, University of Brighton

Martha Boyne is a secondary school science teacher who has recently completed her MA in education. Martha has published research and also writes for the successful Thrive in Teaching blog. She has presented at numerous education events on the subject of how teachers can be supported to incorporate evidence-based practice into their teaching. Emily Clements is a subject leader for Key Stage 3 science and is also the science subject tutor for the South Downs SCITT. Emily has an MA in education and is interested in supporting teachers in using evidence to inform their practice. She shares her insights and experience regularly in the Thrive in Teaching blog. Ben Wright is lead practitioner of history at a successful secondary school in West Sussex and is passionate about developing thriving teachers, especially during those pivotal PGCE, NQT and RQT years. Ben has completed an MA in education and strives to embed a research culture in schools. He has delivered workshops, has presented widely and, together with his Thrive co-authors, regularly contributes to the popular blog Thrive in Teaching.