It was only five years ago that Doug Lemov released his book on teaching, Teach Like a Champion. The book was revolutionary and quickly became a best seller.  Unlike many other books on the art of teaching, Teach Like a Champion delved into the practicalities of teaching.  It also made a bold claim: that good teaching was something that could be learned and developed, and wasn’t something that teachers were intrinsically born with.

In other professions, the idea that someone could learn to become a better accountant or lawyer would seem obvious. However, for so long the public image of teachers has been a dichotomy with the miracle-worker teacher on one side and the useless Ichabod Crane-like dunce on the other.  The very idea that teaching is an art that one can hone and improve goes against decades of indoctrination, but that was the very thing Lemov was arguing in his Teach Like a Champion.

Now, half a decade later, Lemov has released a new edition, Teach Like a Champion 2.0.  While the premise hasn’t changed, Lemov has tweaked the contents based on knowledge that he’s learned over the past few years.

Along with increasing the number of recommended techniques from 49 to 62, the book introduces a new-found emphasis on rigor.  This is indicative of a greater trend in education that has developed since the initial printing.  Books like Rigor Is NOT a Four Letter Word and The Smartest Kids in the World have argued for a renewed emphasis on introducing challenge to the classroom.  Lemov’s inclusion of rigor in 2.0 draws attention to the fact that when we’re looking at how teachers teach, we need to move beyond just the routines they establish and include the content that they introduce.

This is not to say that Lemov promotes a classroom where mistakes are met with ridicule.  In fact, it’s quite the opposite.  Another new portion of the book focuses on creating a classroom climate where students feel safe making mistakes.  In such a classroom, students will feel able to be open with their own struggles which will better enable the teacher to help them.

Teach Like a Champion 2.0 is currently available at bookstores nationwide.  For more information about Lemov’s methods, you can read up on his blog or watch this forum from the book’s launch.

email to friend

Print

comment

Permalink

Comments (0)

Submit a comment

Name and location

Email (not published)

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment