Teaching "like a champion"

I have seldom been so inspired by a publication about my field as I am by this book, "Teach Like a Champion" by Lemov.  The author is a managing partner for an establishment that is focused and has been highly successful in educational reform, called "Uncommon Schools."  They are located in the New York/New Jersey area and primarily set up their charter schools in areas where high risk student populations reside.  Some of their schools have 100% poverty level student populations who have made incredible gains, such as learning to speak Chinese, and producing standardized test scores that have outshone their white, "privileged" counterparts at neighboring schools.  They have proven that the biases in existence about students who are predestined to learning limitations based on their race are futile and false.  They have shown how rigor and high expectations for 100% of their students have realized results scarcely found in any other educational organization in the United States.

There are some basic principles that Lemov introduces, first in written form and then supplemented by short video clips that were taken in real classrooms that inspired him to differentiate between the "good" and the "great" educator.  He carefully observed their methods and strategies, gave names to the masterful ones that he feels are integral to bringing about optimal student performance, and explains in detail how to make these part of your pedagogy.

One such art form is the "No Opt Out" technique of cold calling students to answer skill and comprehension questions.  If they try the "I don't know, blank stare, or any other form of opting out of answering, the teacher redirects the question to another student until it is correctly answered, then goes back to the original student who "opted out" and has them repeat the answer back to her.  This produces more learning for each student, keeps kids on their toes because they know they cannot opt out, and creates a great opportunity to present rigor and differentiation without a lot of "high tech" technique!  You can differentiate the levels of the questions as you are calling upon students, keeping the questions manageable and appropriately challenging for the individual student.

His chapter on lesson planning goes WAY beyond anything presented in university education prep programs, as well as most employer programs.  His explanation of the importance of defining objectives and identifying them as the "end result" in starting with the end in mind, then using these to design and guide the pace of instruction is intricately defined in a way that is clearly understandable and doable.

These are only 2 of the many amazing tenets of this book, which has left me committed to reading it in its entirety a minimum of three times in the next month, committed to not only putting into practice many of the practical and rigorous positive instructional methods, but to make them such a natural part of my pedagogy that they flow forth effortlessly and become part of the educator I am.

HIGHLY recommend this for anyone in the education field!!