Some years ago I was quite horrified when, in response to my mentioning Bruner, the teacher I was speaking to said “Who?"

Now, one might argue that Bruner was writing over 80 years ago. Since then, our understanding of how the brain works, and how children learn, have undergone dramatic changes.-Therefore, what can the writings of a long-dead theorist tell today's teachers?

Moreover, hardly a month seems to go by without a new book appearing on the topic of myths about learning, and new (supposed) insights from the field of neuroscience.

And yet, if one regards teaching as a craft, and the teacher as a craftsperson and not merely a cipher whose role is to put into practice the latest approved approach or, worse, to act as a mere "facilitator", one is led to an inescapable position.

Any craftsperson must needs draw on a rich legacy of accumulated insights and wisdom. Furthermore, in an ideal world they will automatically draw on and apply the approach that is most apposite for that particular class at that particular time. They cannot do that without at least a passing knowledge of the different approaches available

That’s where this book comes in. In around a dozen or so pages, each of fourteen thinkers and their theories of education are covered.

Obviously, fourteen pages is not enough to explore a theory in any great depth, and so subtleties may be glossed over. For example. Bloom's (cognitive) taxonomy is covered, and treated as a hierarchy, yet Bloom himself appeared not to do so, regarding knowledge (the "lowest" skill) as important as evaluation.

Nevertheless, the book gives a very succinct account of each theory, and provides a good starting point for further education, If one is cynical, one could regard this as a sort of educational version of books with titles like “How to became ridiculously well-read in a week”. Hopefully, though, readers will gain some familiarity in several theories, and more in-depth knowledge of others.

At the very least, this book should provide a sound basis on which to evaluate new theories as they emerge.

Summary notes

Covers 14 theories, including Etienne Wenger’s communities of practice, beloved by Mirandanet.

Format of chapters: Introduction, biography, overview, details, links with other theories, critique, application in the classroom, summary, further reading, references, reflective task.