Happy New Year! To welcome in the year, I will write a Friday post about art or teaching. As this is a trial, you can expect something that you might find helpful every Friday until March 27, 2015.
A little backstory
In October of 2014, I started teaching Physical Education. It challenges me daily to think of how kids will best learn new games and how to guide them toward working well together.
I work with an independent school, and the morning starts with a meeting for all the students in which there are announcements and sometimes a presentation. One presentation was by the youngest person to fly around the world. Another was by a young female student who lived in Saudi Arabia. Sometimes the students put on a skit. At the end of each morning meeting, one student comes forward and asks us to think of how we would like to be treated and how we would like to treat others. The Golden Rule. It’s the work of a lifetime.
A great resource
A few years ago, I found an article in the New York Times Magazine called “Building a Better Teacher.” I set it aside, thinking that some day it might be useful. Sure enough, I found myself struggling to hold the attention of a large class outside, so I needed some strategies. Digging up the article, I found reference to Doug Lemov’s work. Through studying common strategies of the best teachers, he assembled a list of teaching tips called, “Teach Like a Champion.” You can get access to a short version (12 pages as opposed to >500) here:
“Teach Like a Champion” by Doug Lemov
I wish I’d known about these teaching tips resource sooner. I’ve found some of the techniques — like cold calling, and 100 Percent — to be extremely helpful, and hope you will too.
You should also read ‘What Great Teachers Do Differently.’