In 1991, Allan Collins, John Seely Brown and Ann Holum published Cognitive Apprenticeship: Making Thinking Visible. Nearly a quarter of a century later, John Tomsett encountered their paper, and it has influenced his teaching immeasurably.

Tomsett developed a number of techniques which made his expert subject thinking visible to his students, to great effect. Beyond his own practice, the principles behind Collins et al.’s paper have been woven throughout Huntington School in York (where Tomsett is headteacher), a research school whose teachers are committed to developing evidence-informed classroom practice.

In this book, 23 Huntington School teachers discuss, in a series of brief essays, what they consider to be the expert thought processes specific to their individual subject domains. They explain in detail how they use cognitive apprenticeship techniques ‘in action’ to make their disciplinary thinking visible and help their students learn those same expert thought processes.

This book is a priceless contribution to the current debate about the curriculum and how it is taught in our schools. In recognition of the significant influence of the researchED movement and the discursive forum it provides, a share of the royalties from this book will go to support the project in its ongoing non-profit work.