New Books In Education

Today’s book is: A Teacher’s Guide to Learning Student Names: Why You Should, Why It’s Hard, How You Can (University of Oklahoma Press, 2024), by Michelle D. Miller, which asserts that if teachers want an inclusive, engaging classroom, they must learn students’ names. Eschewing the random tips and mnemonic tricks that invariably fall short, Dr. Miller offers a clear explanation of what is really going on when we learn a name, and a science-based approach for using this knowledge to pedagogical advantage. Drawing on a deep background in the psychology of language and memory, Dr. Miller gives a lively overview of the surprising science of learning proper names, along with an account of why the practice is at once so difficult and yet so critical to effective teaching. She then sets out practical techniques for learning names, with examples of activities and practices tailored to a variety of different teaching styles and classroom configurations. In her discussion of certain factors that can make learning names