Tag Archives: books

Academic Book Chapters⤴

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Every time I have an academic book chapter published I promise myself that I will never do it again, because it takes so long from first submitting an expression of interest to finally seeing it published. But then I forget, and see a call for chapters that interests me, and before I realise what I am doing I’ve committed myself to the process again.

But, on the other hand, there’s something really fulfilling about seeing the final publication and reading over what I wrote again  – not least because it’s been so long that I have actually forgotten what I wrote. So recently I was really pleased to find that I had chapters in two books published.

The first was a book about similarities and differences between disciplinary research and SoTL:

Honeychurch, S. (2025). SoTL and Disciplinary Research in Education Sciences: Collaboration, Bricolage and Remix. In: Bohndick, C., Kordts, R., Leschke, J., Vöing, N. (eds) Scholarship of Teaching and Learning und disziplinäre Forschung: Eine komplexe Beziehung. Doing Higher Education. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-47908-4_14

The second was, on the face of it, on the very different topic of Hope:

Honeychurch, S. (2025). 3. Serious fun: Reimagining Higher Education from a humane perspective. In S. Abegglen, T. Burns, R. F. Heller, R. Madhok, F. Neuhaus, J. Sandars, S. Sinfield, & U. Gitanjali Singh (Eds.), Stories of Hope (1st ed., pp. 41–48). Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0462.03

As I read both chapters over I realised that both owe a lot to my remix communities in different ways. The title of the first explicitly talks about bricolage and remix, though the chapter itself discusses it in the context of an academic group who are not themselves bricoleurs. The second doesn’t mention remix in the title, but the chapter itself uses DS106 as an example of how to infuse HE with hope and fun.

When I talk to newer academics about starting out in publishing I advise them to find a golden thread – a theme that they see recurring in their work, or would like to develop. I guess it’s no surprise that I’ve found mine.

Growing up with Franz Kafka⤴

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Which book has the best opening lines?

When I started as an apprentice electrician, I hadn't read anything literary. The only book that I remember us reading at school was Clive King's Stig of the Dump. A year later, when we were fifteen and knew everything, we almost read John Christopher's brilliant sci-fi novel of environmental catastrophe The Death of Grass. But we stopped after a couple of chapters because the class hated it. We did West Side Story instead. I guess that might have been because it was the east-end of Glasgow, and our English English teacher thought we'd be able relate to violent gang fights. The experience made three lasting impressions: 
  • firstly that I hated English teachers;
  • secondly, that the idea of relevance was a repugnant one - and thirdly,
  • a lifelong and totally unjustified hatred of poor old Lenny Bernstein's music.

When I started as an apprentice, the EETPU shop-steward told me that I should be reading Camus and Kafka. He wasn't the sort of person who suggested things, so at the end of my 39-hour week and with my newfound wealth of £38.17 minus travel expenses, minus the pocket money that I was told that I had to give my younger brother, minus my mum's dig money, minus money to buy tools, I managed to put a little aside to buy Albert Camus' The Outsider at the end of the first month and Franz Kafka's The Trial at the end of the next. I bought both books from that great Glaswegian institution of John Smith and Sons on St. Vincent Street. It's long gone now, of course, but it became part of my life after that first visit. And even though it's gone, it still is.

The question at the top of this post was asked by Laura Hackett in The Times newspaper's Culture newsletter. Paraphrasing Tolstoy, Ms. Hackett observes that books with great opening lines are all uniquely different. For my part the choice was straightforward.  It was either 

Camus' Outsider:

Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday. The telegram didn't say.

or,

Kafka's Trial:

Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.


Twenty years later, when I left Glasgow City Council's employ, that same shop steward wrote The Outsider's opening lines in my going away card. The ones I've automatically signed tend to contain nothing better than façile "good luck" wishes. No-one, in my experience, really wants to tell the truth. But after all that time, he'd remembered. And it seemed like perhaps in buying those books at his "suggestion" that that had mattered something to him. I hadn't known that. The Camus book has been lost along the way, but I still have the Kafka. It's been with me my whole adult life. Strange things books.

In the end, it had to be the Kafka. Nothing was quite the same after both books. But it had to be the Kafka.

I replied to Ms. Hackett, and was chuffed to see it selected the following week:


Teaching Walkthrus⤴

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I was looking for a new book to read and was recommended this by a friend. It is excellent value, only £3 on kindle! A really good book and I loved reading it – the kind that you just want more and that motivates you to pick it up each time.

The book is structured into three main sections as outlined below in the sketchnote. For those interested in pedagogy, this book is for you. I particularly enjoyed the section called ‘Why?’ which delved into the research and theory behind high quality learning and teaching.

There are many many books out there all promoting high quality learning and teaching and at times it is difficult to know which one you are actually looking for or going to benefit from. This one is the one for me. It has handy top tips that are broken down into smaller ‘how to’ sections. I can easily see this being the focus of a faculty or whole school meeting.

Also, trying to engage all teachers should be an easy prospect, however not all teachers have the time or know where to begin. The focus on short sharp overviews if research really helps everyone to engage in research without become too overwhelmed.

@olicav

@teacherhead

If you have a spare few minutes this summer, purchase this book for the kindle.

@EduBletherJase

Episode 24 – An EduBlether with Patrice Bain (Powerful Teaching – Unleash the Science of Learning)⤴

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In this episode of EduBlether, we welcome Patrice Bain, co-author of the book ‘Powerful Teaching – Unleash the science of learning’. We discuss knowledge, critical thinking, assessment, curriculum and lots more.

It was a fascinating discussion with some great practical ideas for how to begin using these research-informed strategies or ‘power tools’ in your classroom.

http://www.powerfulteaching.org
http://www.patricebain.com

Listen: https://soundcloud.com/edublether/edublether-episode-24-an-edublether-with-patrice-bain

Episode 21 – Cognitive Science and Retrieval Practice⤴

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In this Episode we have a discussion about retrieval practice and developments in cognitive science. We look at the implications for teaching and learning, as well as what this means for the role of Education in a wider debate. We have many tangents in this episode discussing hegemony, knowledge, politics and much more. I hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Listen: https://soundcloud.com/edublether/episode-21-cognitive-science-and-retrieval-practice

EduBlether John Catt Educational Series⤴

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John Catt Educational are a leading publisher of professional development books for educators around the world. Check out their titles at JohnCatt.com

We have teamed up with John Catt Educational to bring you a series of EduBlethers with a select group of authors from John Catt Educational.

We are in the middle of securing dates and will publish them below.

July

An EduBlether with Haili Hughes – Preserving Positivity

Episode 17 – An EduBlether about Behaviour⤴

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In this episode we discuss all things behaviour. An hour is not really time to do this justice, but we hit on some of the big themes and hopefully this will prompt wider discussion amongst our listeners. We also have our usual features with in the news and we recommend. Check out edublether.wordpress.com for more great content and please rate us on iTunes.

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Episode 9 – Back to School⤴

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In this episode our Main Feature is Back to School, where we discuss how things change over the summer and what it is important to focus on in those first weeks back. We also have the usual features: in the news, we recommend and inspired by. Please check out edublether.wordpress.com and rate us on iTunes.

Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/edublether/episode-9-back-to-school

The Magic-Weaving Business⤴

from @ edublether.wordpress.com

Sir John Jones is the most inspirational speaker there is on the educational speaker circuit at the moment. He is funny, passionate and down to earth kind of guy. It was a joy to hear him speak and I would recommend you read his book.