Mickaela Biron

EDES 350

October 21st, 2018

Learning Opportunity 2

The situation I will be discussing in the following learning opportunity is the entirety of a

period with a certain one of my groups, rather than a specific situation. I find myself having a lot

of trouble with this specific group mainly when it comes to interest and motivation in the subject

of English Language Arts, which in turn leads to issues with behavior. The group in question is a

secondary 5 class with approximately 25 students. The reason I am using the word

“approximately”, is because there is a very high rate of absenteeism in this group. The school in

question is a very small, inner-city high school which caters to a highly diverse body of students.

There is a very high rate of coded students in each class, international students, students with

behavioral issues which have been transferred from other schools, and students who come from

difficult backgrounds (ex: foster homes, low income households, and first generation immigrant

parents which cannot necessarily help children with homework due to language barriers). Due to

all these factors, the students in my class are not as academically advanced as most students their

age in other schools. Out of my two secondary 5 groups, one of my groups is weaker than the

other. Although not all the students in my stronger group are necessarily stronger, and not all the

students in my weaker group are necessarily weaker, as a group, they move at different speeds

and require different approaches. A specific period with the weaker group is therefore the

situation I will be discussing in this Learning Opportunity.

After reading parts of Doug Lemov’s textbook Teach Like a Champion 2.0, I decided to

try to implement several of his techniques into one period with the specific group in question to
see if I was able to alter the atmosphere and mood of that group. I do not know if this group acts

the same in their other subject area courses, but when they enter the English classroom, they are

disinterested, unmotivated, and in turn, distracted and unorderly. The main thing Lemov argues

in Chapter 11 of his textbook, is that in order to create a classroom of high academic rigor, one

must establish a strong classroom culture through order (383). I therefore decided to run my first

class of the week with this group following as many of Lemov’s techniques as I could, with the

hope of creating an atmosphere that was orderly and in turn encouraged academic motivation.

Although I tend to do this at the beginning of every class, I made a point of being at the door the

second the bell rang to greet every single one of my students by name as they walked in—

Lemov’s technique number 45. Once they entered the classroom, I ensured they were all seated

at their desks and ready to start once the bell rang with their “Strong Start”, which was reading

their pocket novels (Lemov technique 46). After letting them read for 10 minutes, I went through

the agenda for the day with them. In doing so, I ensured every student was aware of what needed

to be completed during that period, and structured the lesson in a manner that was specific,

concrete and sequential, a practice Lemov presents in his technique 57. Technique 57, What To

Do, states that directions should be “specific, concrete, sequential, and observable… to tell

students what to do, as opposed to what not to do” (416). I therefore structured the entirety of the

lesson in a very specific way as to ensure students knew exactly what was being asked of them,

with the hopes of limiting off-task behavior. Throughout the period, I tried to implement

technique 60, Warm/Strict, which argues that teachers should be “both warm and strict at the

same time to send a message of high expectations, caring, and respect” (437). I did so by

showing that I cared about the students’ success, offering individual help to students who needed

it during individual work time, answering questions as best I could, and offering praise, whilst
also remaining strict in my demands and expectations. I remained strict by utilizing many of

Lemov’s techniques from Chapter 11: Radar/Be Seen Looking, Make Compliance Visible, Strong

Voice, Least Invasive Intervention, and Firm Calm Finesse. I stood at the corner of the class

when giving instructions, circulated, and looked at students after giving instructions to ensure

they complied. Ensured students followed through on instructions by looking at them, but also by

making instructions clear and observable (ex: “pencils down and eyes on me” rather than “stop

writing”). I utilized my strong voice when explaining stuff, but lowered my volume when

students were starting to lose focus in order strain them and regain their attention. I tried to

interrupt the class to address the behavior of individual students as little as possible by calling

them out through subtle actions like tapping on the desk, eye-contact, and general, subtle, and

quick statements addressed to the entirety of the class like “check your slant”. And finally, I tried

to exude “Firm Calm Finesse” by being passionate about my subject matter, but being very calm

and composed when it came to discipline (403). I did so by utilizing Lemov’s tactic of using

“universal language” when prompting students to participate and behave by using his suggested

statements like “we need you with us” rather than “I need you with me” (404).

Although I was utilizing most of these techniques prior to this specific period with this

specific group, being conscious and deliberate about their usage seemed to have a positive effect

on the students. The structure and constancy that such techniques provided for the students

seemed to create an atmosphere more prone to learning. Because students felt organized and

distractions were stopped quickly, the entirety of the period was able to run more smoothly, and

in turn, students seemed more engaged in the material. Although the material itself was similar to

other periods, the students seemed slightly more motivated to learn and participate because they

felt expected to do so. These techniques allowed me to create an atmosphere within the
classroom that was very demanding and more mature, and I think students responded well to this

by they themselves becoming more mature and demanding more of themselves.

Although the implementation of these techniques did not radically change the behavior of

all the students in this group, it did improve the overall flow of the lesson. With this being said,

Lemov does talk a lot about the implementation of most of his techniques over a long period of

time. Over the next few days, I continued to implement these techniques in all of my groups, for

all of my periods, and I did find a positive correlation between doing so, and the running of each

of my lessons. Some techniques worked better in some groups, and some techniques did not

work at all in other groups, but overall, the conscious implementation of a couple of Lemov’s

techniques improved the overall experience of my students and myself within my classroom. I

have therefore decided to keep using these techniques for each of my groups where needed, and

will definitely continue to utilize them in the future. It has informed my future teaching practice

by showing me the power of small actions within a classroom. Although Lemov presents a lot of

techniques that may sometimes seem obvious or insignificant, my experience this week has

proven that a lot of his suggestions are valuable, and I will therefore continue to read his work

and use his techniques to improve my mastery of teaching.

 Works Cited

Lemov, Doug. (2014). Teach like a Champion, 2.0: 62 Techniques that put students on the path

to college. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.