Posted: 09 May 2010 at 10:06pm | IP Logged

There is an interesting article in today's Observer called 'Making the grade: can you learn to be a better teacher?'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/may/09/can-you-lear n-to-be-a-better-teacher

The article refers to the publication of Teach Like a Champion by an American called Doug Lemov. The author is a managing director at Uncommon Schools, a network of fourteen schools based mainly in New York and New Jersey. Uncommon Schools are 'charter schools' – independently run but state funded, which in return for being freed from some rules and regulations have to deliver on specific aims – in Uncommon's case it is to boost the achievement of low-income students and prepare them to graduate from college.

Teach Like a Champion is a teaching manual covering the principles that Lemov and his colleagues have been employing in their Uncommon Schools.

Lemov sought out the teachers who produced the best results, observed what it was that they were doing and, over the course of five years, distilled the results of his research into the 49 techniques that make up the book.

Large sections of the book are available to read online at Google books.

Health warning: tip #46 encourages teachers to give pupils nicknames in order to inject fun into the classroom!