Doug Lemov's field notes

Reflections on teaching, literacy, coaching, and practice.

08.22.14 On Giving a Consequence with Humanity (Video)

At a recent workshop, I asked participants: “How many people in the room have given a consequence and had it make the behavior you were trying to stop get worse?” Then I asked: “How many people in the room have given a consequence and had it have no effect on the behavior you were trying to…


07.02.13 On the ‘Art of the Consequence’

We’ve been doing a lot of work at Taxonomy Towers on a new topic: The Art of the Consequence. Roughly, it’s how to give a consequence in a way that successfully changes student behavior and avoids a downward spiral where behavior actually gets worse in response to a consequence. A few rules of thumb.  In general…