my 5 favorite Books for Teacher Professional development

The search for the best teacher professional development book can be an overwhelming task. In an effort to make your search easier, I want to share 5 of my favorite professional development books. The topics vary but these are books that I always come back to help remind me of the best practices in teaching or have really helped me grow as a teacher. 

---

Teaching Outside the Box
by LouAnne Johnson

This is one of my favorite books for new teachers. I found this book by accident when I was looking around in a Barnes & Noble. What I love about this book is that it is very real. She is very up front about the challenges of teaching and ways that you can engage your students in practical ways. She gave me some practical ways to approach teaching and think about how I interact with students and think about teaching and what I really want to get out of teaching. 

This was the book that I came back to when I left teaching for a year to pursue my masters degree and relocate. Every time I read it I feel like I gain something new or it reminds me of what I have lost in my practices. 

---

The Essential 55
by Ron Clark

This is one I am sure most people are familiar with. My copy was a gift to me from my Cooperating Teacher during student teaching. I love this book because it applies to life and education and works for any grade level. As a secondary teacher, I often struggle to find books for that work for me in the same way they would for elementary level. This book doesn't have that issue. I feel this is a must read for all teachers. Many of the rules discussed in the book are things that I would think most teachers would consider best practices and it a great reminder when we need it. 

---

A Repair Kit for Grading
by Ken O'Connor

This book I came across when my district was working on grading practices and looking at standards based grading. 

In this book the author takes you through 15 fixes for broken grades. What I liked about this book is that it made really think about what I am grading, why am I grading, how I communicate grades. This book is what got me started on the path to focusing my grades on assessments rather than behavior. It lead me to try and shift my grades to reflect what students have learned rather than the behavior of school. I do have to say though that there are some things that I am not fully on board with like the no zero policy. 

On the whole though I recommend this book for someone that is interested in rethinking grading practices and some different ways to approach grading. 

---

The Fundamental 5
​by Sean Cain and Mike Laird

This book was a school book study that my district did a couple of years ago. This book is a really quick read and is very practical for all grade levels, but I feel really works in the middle and secondary levels. 

This book takes you through what they consider 5 fundamental practices for teaching. All of these practices are practical and probably things that many of us have heard about in some form before, but I like how this book presents them with ways to implement and how it can benefit the classroom. 

---

Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design
by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe

This book I came across because I have become dedicated to writing quality curriculum and creating a differentiated classroom. 

This book is all about how to take your curriculum and make sure that it really addresses the standards, but also talks about how to take your curriculum and created a differentiated model to go with it. What I really loved about this book was that it is the first time I really had someone take me through what it really means to be differentiated. This book has really made me think about my curriculum, my classroom processes, and my assessments/activities. A full review of this book can be found here.

---

These are some of the professional development books out there on a range of topics related to teaching, but I find all of these to be useful and interesting. What good professional development books would you recommend? Have read any of the books above? We would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for all teachers!