Powerful Teaching takes the reader through a journey to develop a deeper understanding of powerful teaching strategies by exploring cognitive science research. These scientifically-based strategies apply to all grade levels and content areas and can be implemented without additional preparation, resources, or required time for grading.

Ever wonder how your mind works on its own and/or with others? If you answered yes, boy are you in luck! Dawna Markova and Angie McArthur have written Collaborative Intelligence with you in mind. You will learn about the kinesthetic, visual and auditory patterns of thinking, how to put forth the best thinking for different situations, and understand the Inquiry Compass.

In this book, Simon Sinek draws a line between organizations with short-term thinking/goals and those playing The Infinite Game. He argues that those leading with future generations in mind will create cultures that will weather hard times, inspire others, and build organizations that will thrive.

Whether you use humor to lead and want to know how it works or just wish work was more fun, Humor, Seriously is the book for you. Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas use their research, experience with improv, years of teaching about humor, and their vast network of comedians and writers to produce an impressive (and witty) book about humor.

Why do employees stay silent in the workplace when they know something is wrong? In The Fearless Organization, Amy Edmondson explores the idea of psychological safety and argues that establishing a psychologically safe workplace can lead to increased workplace safety, better teamwork, and increased innovations.

Wonder what’s ailing American schools? Ted Dintersmith spent a year traveling America to find out and highlight solutions. What Schools Could Be is the report from his trip to 50 states, 200 schools, over a hundred community forums, and over a thousand meetings. Innovation from K-12, online, colleges and universities as well as more short-term immersive experiences are all highlighted.

Weinstein and Sumeracki, two cognitive psychologists and hosts of The Learning Scientists blog have made an easy-to-digest guide for educational practitioners to become familiar with the tenets of memory and learning in Understanding How We Learn. They primarily focus on practical advice for incorporating these best practices in the classroom. A must-read for any teacher at any level.

Mindful School Communities by Mason, Rivers Murphy, and Jackson have written a practical guide for school leaders and teachers who wish to create a school environment in which students can develop skills to cope with stress and pressure. By creating schools where teachers and administrators model positive relationships with each other and with the students in their care, students can learn how to care for their own social and emotional well-being which can better help students develop academic skills.

Patrick Lencioni spends the first two-thirds of The Ideal Team Player explaining the three most important virtues of employees: humble, hungry, and smart. The final third is dedicated to understanding and applying those virtues to optimize teamwork in any organization.

Have you ever wondered why we offer a similar education to nearly every child around the world? Have you thought about why we use grades and standardized tests to measure learning when real-world learning looks nothing like that? Hansen uses The Future of Smart to explain the educational landscape in terms of where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we should go.

In his book Distracted, James Lang explains that “the human brain is an eminently distractible organ. We thus are fighting a losing battle if we try to solve the problems of attention by eliminating distraction. Banning devices from the room still leaves pencils for doodling, windows to stare through, coughing and sniffing humans to irritate us, and the endless chaotic swirling of our thoughts. Instead, we need to think about how the learning environments that we build for students can be safe and supportive spaces.

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.”

Written as sort of a group workbook, The Power of a Positive Team by Jon Gordon is 90% inspirational and 10% solid examples of ways to create positive teams. The reader travels from athletic fields to boardrooms while Gordon illustrates how positivity has made the difference for various team experiences.

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).

Do you desire true belonging? Are you courageous to the point that you always stay true to who you are? In Braving the Wilderness, Brene Brown breaks up the word B-R-A-V-I-N-G into a wilderness checklist because you are going to have to be brave enough to enter the unknown wilderness of vulnerability to achieve that sense of belonging.

Alan Jacobs’ How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds blends a practical approach to thinking with the structured, researched-based approach of an academic. Whether diagnosing past and current problems of human thinking or prescribing tailored solutions to these problems, Jacobs provides just the right information needed right now to rebuild and maintain the social fabric of our country (and our schools) while still pursuing truth in earnest.

Am I Invisible? by Murphy Lynne, gives her account (physically, mentally, emotionally) of what school was like as a student on the autism spectrum. Her brutally honest and eye-opening journey will leave all readers with a better understanding of how school is different for all students, and how we, as educators can help to make sure all students are seen.

In The Social CEO, Damain Corbet produces a collection of advice from leading CEOs across a breadth of industries on how CEOs can and MUST leverage social media in order to connect with all stakeholders, from parents and community partners to board members and — especially — employees. If you are wondering how or why school leaders need to embrace social media, this book is a must-read.

Are you always asking questions about the world? Do you wish you were more curious? Warren Berger uses A More Beautiful Question to train you to think systematically and deeply about questions that we ask.

In The Power of Moments, the Heath brothers piece together research, personal anecdotes, history, and psychology to clarify something that affects us all… moments in our lives. They clarify the conditions that increase the chances they are memorable, like creating “peak moments”(eg. college acceptance communication), “leveling up” your pride (e.g. Boy Scout levels), and connections (e.g. team-building exercises) all enhance the moments of our lives