A Minute to Think walks us through how adding blocks of open, unscheduled time, or “white spaces,” can change the nature of how we work. If you want a more sane flow of daily work or are looking to achieve a new level of effectiveness, this book is a must-read.

In the dramatically titled Learn or Die, Edward Hess uses research and models to nudge our thinking on two topics: how we learn and how we can build organizations where learning is at the center of all we do. If you like analyzing topics such as self-efficacy, System 1 and System 2 thinking, and positive psychology’s impact on learning then Learn or Die will scratch those intellectual itches and more.

Do you ever feel like while training to teach you learned concepts that sounded great, but when put into practice in the classroom did not seem to be effective? In her book, Seven Myths About Education, Daisy Chrisodoulou dispels seven myths she was repeatedly taught when she was training to be a teacher. After much research, Christodoulou wrote this book to demonstrate what modern science tells us we need to change about the education system.

As teachers, how do we foster and celebrate ability and natural capacities? In Out of Our Minds Sir Ken Robinson suggests that the answer may just be creativity. He points out that our world is shaped by human imagination. Emphasis is also placed on the fact that finding, and fulfilling, our creative potential helps us live a happier life.

In Think Like a Monk, Jay Shetty calls his readers to a life of service noting that service fulfills us on many levels. We are born to care for others, so service does us good. By design, teaching is a service profession. How long has it been since you have examined your practice as an educator through the lens of love and as an act of service?

Have you ever caught yourself ruminating about “What ifs…?” Or have you been paralyzed by fear, unable to make decisions? In Emotional Agility, Susan David provides a guidebook grounded in psychological research to help us embrace all of our emotions, even the most uncomfortable ones, discover our “why”, and align our lives with our values.

Stretch by Scott Sonenshein will encourage you to do more with less...and then show you how to do it. Concepts such as chasing, stretching, and being cognitively entrenched, combined with cautionary tales (Gerber singles, anyone?) and success stories (Yuengling and the book Green Eggs and Ham) to frame why it’s important to think more about “stretching” than “chasing.”

David Epstein uses Range to convince the reader that it may in fact be the generalists who add more value as the world becomes more and more complex. His basic premise is that for complex problem-solving and decision-making, it is often those with broad experience and diverse backgrounds who fare better (e.g., professionals with hobbies outside of their profession).

Screenwise, by Devorah Heitner, was written with parents in mind, but there are many helpful parallels to education. She also calls off the wolves on some parental concerns (e.g., most teenagers aren't looking to meet new people online and almost all digital interaction is polite and caring) and walks the reader through what the reality of the digital landscape is for kids. The overarching message is to engage with children in their digital world and seek to mentor more and monitor less.

What if the educational emphasis on cognition and ability was all a mistake? What if we focused on developing persistence, self-control, and curiosity instead of cognitive skills? In How Children Succeed, Paul Tough argues that teaching soft skills might be more important than the traditional educational curriculum.

How to Raise an Adult, by Julie Lythcott-Haims, is in many ways a meta-analysis of the dozens of books she references and curated over the course of her 14 years as a Dean of Freshman at Stanford University. A great read for any parent or parent-to-be who wants to reflect on how they were raised and improve on that standard for the next generation.

If you are interested in motivation for yourself, your students, or those you lead, you will find plenty of ideas and research in Drive. Daniel Pink sandwiches mastery, autonomy, and purpose in between his call for new methods of motivating and toolkits to do so. A masterful combination of history, research, and theory will be a joy for anyone interested in motivating themselves or others.

Different Schools for a Different World is a quick read for anyone who needs convincing or reminding why traditional education hasn’t, and isn’t, working. Links to organizations doing great work, the TRUDACOT model for tech integration, and examples of deep learning schools at the end are all handy. Use them to remind us that there are tools and examples for us to tap into for inspiration and guidance.

George Couros’, The Innovator’s Mindset convincingly makes the case that schools should exist to empower students to be innovative leaders, creators, problem finders, and problem solvers. He creatively introduces a blueprint for how schools can do this by introducing two different approaches focused on making meaningful connections by building trust and taking risks.

Will Richardson makes it clear from the get-go in From Master Teacher to Master Learner that the model teacher needs to now be a learner first and foremost. He reinforces the idea that our students no longer need teachers who have encyclopedic knowledge, but rather those who can model learning and guide students through what learning should look like in the digital age.

Are you ready to overhaul everything you thought you knew about assessment? In On Your Mark, Thomas Guskey asks us to unpack the philosophy of why we give grades at all.

In what is perhaps the most buzzworthy and conversation-inducing book within education this century, Mindset vividly demonstrates the difference between a “growth” and a “fixed” mindset. The former is a blueprint for a life of learning and achievement, and the latter, a life of low-effort, defensive responses creating a feeling of constantly not measuring up.

If you are a model thinking junkie, Quiet Leadership by David Rock will whet your whistle and then some, as it’s full of complex and interwoven models. If you prefer fewer diagrams and acronyms, Rock will still push your thinking to make sure your conversations are leading others to think for themselves.