The impetus for Teaching from the Middle of the Room, which had been brewing for years, surfaced in mid-October 2006. As part of Thoms's consultancy, he observed fourteen ninth-grade teachers throughout the day all standing at the front of the room talking at their students. That night he wrote them a letter disparging their practice, and the next morning began to write this, his first book.

Thoms addresses the inadequacy of traditional methods to stimulate learning, offers effective teaching strategies to activate learning, brings ideas from beyond the classroom to improve teaching, and explores ways for teachers to find personal meaning in their work.  

In each chapter, Thoms offers "Points to Pursue" and "Reflections" from Dan Hilliard, the protagonist in the book. To encourage teachers to commit to inivitational learning, Frank provides "A Teaching Manifesto" for teachers to sign and commit to.