Key Quote
“What I found was that while each great teacher is unique, as a group their teaching held elements in common. I started to see both theme and variation, so I began to make a list of the things they did and the ways in which they did them” (p. xxxvi). — Doug Lemov
Key Points
#3 – Stretch It. “The sequence of learning does not end with a right answer; reward right answers with follow-up questions that extend knowledge and test for reliability. This technique is especially important for differentiating instruction” (p. 41).
#5 – Without Apology. “Content is one of the places that teaching is most vulnerable to assumptions and stereotypes” (p. 53). Therefore, teachers shouldn’t apologize for introducing students to material that they assume won’t interest them.
#8 – Post It. “Once your objective is complete, ‘Post It’ in a visible location in your room – the same location every day – so everyone who walks into the room, your students as well as peers and administrators, can identify your purpose for teaching that day” (p. 63).
#17 – Ratio. “A successful lesson is rarely marked by a teacher’s getting a good intellectual workout at the front of the room. Push more and more of the cognitive work out to students as soon as they are ready, with the understanding that the cognitive work must be on-task, focused, and productive” (p. 93).
#38 – Strong Voice. “A formal register, it turns out, bespeaks the importance of the message and causes a purposeful attentiveness in the listener. And transplanted into the classroom, that’s powerful” (p. 189).
The five principles of “Strong Voice” are:
1) “Economy of Language.” Less is more.
2) “Do Not Talk Over.” If what you’re saying is important and worth attending to, then the students have the responsibility to listen to it. You shouldn’t talk over them.
3) “Do Not Engage.” Avoid engaging in topics other than the one you set for the conversation.
4) “Square Up/Stand Still.” Your body language should show that you’re committed to each request from students.
5) “Quiet Power.” Drop your voice, make students strain to listen, and exude poise and calm.
#42 – No Warnings. Minor interventions and small consequences help maintain control in the classroom.
Act early, act reliably, and act proportionately when addressing the behaviors.
Also important is to consider when to address behavior privately or publicly. “If a behavior doesn’t affect anyone else, deal with it privately. If a student has appeared to get away with something in front of the class, the class needs to know there was accountability. They don’t need all the details, but they need to know action was taken” (p. 201).
#43 – Positive Framing. “Make corrections consistently and positively. Narrate the world you want your students to see even while you are relentlessly improving it” (p. 205). Correct and guide behavior by following six rules:
1) “Live in the Now.” Avoid harping on what students can no longer fix, and talk instead about what needs to happen next.
2) “Assume the Best.” “Don’t attribute to ill intention what could be the result of distraction, lack of practice, or genuine misunderstanding” (p. 205).
3) “Allow Plausible Anonymity.” Correct them without using their names.
4) “Build Momentum, and Narrate the Positive.” “Narrating your weakness only makes your weakness seem normal. If you say, ‘Some students didn’t do what I asked,’ you have made that situation public. Now your choice is consequence or countenance” (p. 208).
5) “Challenge.” Use competition to get them to prove what they can do.
6) “Talk Expectations and Aspirations.” Keep the focus on whom the students are becoming and where they’re going.
#44 – Precise Praise. Differentiate acknowledgment and praise. “In the long run, a teacher who continually praises what’s expected risks trivializing both the praise and the things she really wishes to label ‘great’” (p. 212).
Lemov, Doug. (2010). Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Act early, act reliably, and act proportionately when addressing the behaviors.
In the long run, a teacher who continually praises what’s expected risks trivializing both the praise and the things she really wishes to label “great”.