1st Edition
The Illustrated Guide to Pedagogy A Toolkit for Research-Informed Teaching
Research is not just theoretical, but a direct description of the actions, approaches, and choices that teachers make every day in the classroom. Providing a comprehensive look into how learning happens in the brain, this essential guide provides practical teaching strategies and scaffolding frameworks that help create meaningful learning experiences for all students.
The book reveals the cognitive science behind learning, knowledge acquisition and memory, and demonstrates how they can be supported through teaching. It walks the reader through what works in the classroom, explains why it works and then offers step-by-step guidance to support teachers in making this knowledge an everyday part of their practice.
Covering cognitive load theory, desirable difficulties, memory processing, questioning, assessment, progress, curriculum design, attention, and much more, the book encourages teachers to reflect on their pedagogy and consider what works for their pupils. Each chapter features artistic sketchnotes that summarise the key principles and research into one-page visuals, simplifying complex research into straightforward concepts. There are also clear worked examples, scaffolded tasks and reflective questions to help teachers make well-informed decisions and apply the research to their own context.
Highly visual and packed full of professional development tools, this essential resource empowers teachers to adopt a research-informed approach and create learning experiences that truly resonate with how the brain works.
Foreword
Patrice M. Bain
Introduction
1. How to use this book
2. How learning happens
3. The importance of forgetting
4. Cognitive load, what it is and how to manage it
5. Varying the conditions of learning for improved thinking
6. How to create deep learning
7. Making learning desirably difficult
8. Talk improves learning
9. Using questions to progress
10. Why the sequence of learning matters
11. The three-legged stool of learning
12. Improving teaching practice, your own and others
13. Lethal mutations, what getting it wrong can look like
14. Is It Working?
Biography
Finola Wilson is the Director of Impact School Improvement Ltd., a trusted partner to a wide range of education organisations across the UK and beyond, which uses the latest research and evidence to create professional learning and bespoke consultancy with impact.
“This book is an essential read for schools that want to move beyond ‘what works’ in the classroom to truly understanding why it works. Finola Wilson expertly bridges the gap between research and real teaching. The principles explored here have already proven their impact within Hyndland Secondary having previously worked with Impact Wales on our journey to excellence. Whether you are refining your practice or driving whole-school improvement, this book offers the clarity and structure needed to make lasting, meaningful change. A must-read for any school committed to professional growth, consistency and the success of young people.”
Jodie Stewart, Depute Headteacher (Lomond House) Hyndland Secondary, UK.
“At the heart of this book is the simple, yet vital (and often overlooked) truism that we learn with reference to what we already know. Finola has done an incredible job of distilling so many key findings from cognitive science. In this ground-breaking book these findings are explained and interleaved across 14 Principles which teachers can then use to improve their own practice (and habits). Talk about evidence informed!
The workbook format, complete with sketchnotes, pre-questions, deliberate practice tasks and discussion questions, means that this book can be used as a powerful whole-school, departmental, peer coaching, or individual CPD tool. The book is a triumph!”
Damian Benny, Headteacher, Penyrheol Comprehensive School, UK.
“As headteacher of a 3–16 all-through school in Pontypridd, I believe The Illustrated Guide to Pedagogy has the power to transform practice at every level. Finola Wilson distils essential, research-informed strategies into an engaging, accessible format that genuinely supports reflection and change. This isn’t just another CPD tool – it’s a catalyst for deeper thinking, purposeful action, and meaningful impact. For any teacher or school serious about improving the quality of teaching and learning, this workbook is nothing short of essential.”Claire Crocket, Headteacher, Ysgol Afon Wen, UK.
