Book Review: Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov
Teach Like a Champion is one of my all time favorite books about teaching. It was the basis for my teacher training as well as the summer reading assigned by my school. I was moved to re-read it this summer and picked up on a lot of techniques that I would like to focus on this coming school year.
The best thing about this book is that it doesn’t require you to change your entire style of teaching. Rather, it recommends small, easy to implement techniques that have a huge impact in the classroom. During my training, the focus was on techniques such as tight transitions (increasing the amount of learning time by decreasing time spent on administrative tasks, transitions, etc.), behavior management techniques such as Do Not Talk Over (exactly what it sounds like–don’t yell over the students), Square Up Stand Still (making yourself look authoritative when giving directions), and using the least invasive form of intervention to deal with student behavior issues. Many of these techniques come naturally to teachers, but I found that Lemov’s discussion of the techniques has helped me be more purposeful and refined in the way that I approach student behavior.
This coming year, I would like to focus more on techniques that are not related to behavior management. For example, Voice (a way to ask students to speak up in a positive manner), Ratio (focusing on increasing the ratio of student thinking/discussion vs. teacher thinking/discussion) and Stretch It (rewarding students for correct answers by asking more challenging follow-up questions). TLAC offers easy-to-implement suggestions to help teachers turn these techniques into habits.
In many ways, I am lucky that my teacher training so closely mirrored the school that I now work at. As a teacher at a data-driven charter school, these techniques are embraced and encouraged by my coaches and administrators. However, I can see how some of these techniques might not fit in at a school that takes a different approach to learning. Ultimately, while not every technique in the book will speak to every teacher, there is something in it for everyone. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in refining their teaching methods using small, but high-impact techniques.
