MAO'S MISTAKE When Chairman Mao ordered his arch-rival's plane to be shot down back in 1971, he unwittingly set in train a series of events that, forty years later, threatens to hand over control of China to a ruthless group of powerful men whose only objective is to get their hands on the country's enormous wealth. They must time their coup to coincide with the opening of the Olympic Games when all the eyes of the world are focussed on Beijing. SO THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS Mack Macdonald, a former Special ops soldier is an unwitting pawn in the game, and the beautiful Sally Chong, an expatriate Chinese with a mysterious past who suddenly enters Macdonald's life, becomes a key figure in the race to thwart the plot, while behind the scenes, a spymaster and the leader of a secret society are pulling the strings. The action sweeps across the globe from the exotic ancient cities of the fabled Silk Road to the bustling streets of modern day Istanbul, from Melbourne's Chinatown to the secluded world of Oxford's academia. AND THE CLOCK KEEPS TICKING ... ...

Thinking for Learning looks at the place of different thinking skills approaches in delivering a twenty-first century education. It is a practical book held together by an extensive range of detailed case studies. The authors have skilfully collected the arguments for and against a thinking skills approach, described the different ways of enhancing thinking and shown what is possible in the classroom. If you have begun, or are about to begin, developing a thinking for learning approach in your school, then this book will help you on your journey.

Included in the book: how to select a thinking for learning approach guidance on staff development effective design of activities whole school approaches the pros and cons of what is available the best questioning techniques sample schemes of work implementation of the NC Thinking Skills ssessment for Learning l the best books, resources and websites embedding thinking

This work takes the research completed by Alistair Smith together with the practical methods developed by Nicola Call and presents them in an easy-to-follow model. This book contains hundreds of practical examples of success. The ALPS Method will show anyone who works in primary classrooms how to motivate, stimulate and inspire the children in their care.

Alister Smith explains what research tells us about happiness, how to use the findings to improve your school, and suggests simple steps to enhance the well-being of students and staff. The book begins by looking at what is happening to young people today both in and outside school. The reader is then asked to consider what type of footprint they would like to leave behind them and is encouraged to find their core purpose. With this in mind, the book looks at how happiness involves our heads, hearts and health and how the reader can increase their happiness on a personal level by building on their strengths, broadening what they have learned by using it in different situations and balancing their lives. The same principles are then applied to creating a culture of happiness within the classroom and on a whole school level. The book covers: what research tells us about happiness, how to use the findings to improve your school, and simple steps to enhance the well-being of students and staff. It gives tools for learning how to: enhance the enjoyment of learning in your school, create a positive 'can do' culture, and audit the 'happiness quotient' in classrooms. Combining theory and guidance with practical exercises and tips that readers can immediately implement, this user-friendly and practical book will include cartoons, quotes, 'key points' boxes, and a question to start each chapter that is answered at the end of each one. Readers can either read from start to finish or dip in, as they prefer.

This book contains over 100 posters to help learners develop their creativity, thinking skills and attitudes towards learning. They can be used by parents, teachers and pupils and are ideal for classrooms, staffrooms, study areas, libraries or bedrooms. What do a professional boxer, a sailor and a poet have to tell us about learning? What are good rules for asking questions? Why don't sheep shrink when it rains? The book contains sections on resilience, responsibility, resourcefulness, reasoning and reflection. With posters which: encourage creativity, develop positive self-belief, provide rules for collaborative learning, test thinking and describe what successful individuals say about learning. The posters have been written or chosen by Alistair Smith and are used on his training programmes on accelerated learning. The posters have been trialled successfully in many schools.

Alistair Smith has been described as the UK's leading trainer in modern learning methods, and has identified and visited the top performing schools in the UK to find out what makes them so successful. This timely book is aimed at decision makers in schools worldwide and gives sound, evidence-based guidance on how to embark on the learning journey and where to head once the journey has begun.

For classroom practitioners there is also a great deal of practical guidance focusing on: Core Purpose; Outcomes; Independent Learning; Classroom Learning; Curriculum; Professional Development; and The School as a Community; and Parents and Caregivers. That being said, this is not intended to be a book of tips, but rather it is a sound 'how to' guide based on the findings of a detailed study of the best schools and how they have achieved their success.

This work offers nine principles for brain-based approaches to accelerating learning, improving motivation and raising achievement. It offers the reader a coherent structure and describes: guaranteed ways to motivate learners; esteem-building tools for schools, teachers and parents; how to access and teach to different types of intelligence; and 17 different ways in which schools can make accelerated learning work.