Doug Lemov's field notes

Reflections on teaching, literacy, coaching, and practice.

02.15.23 “Polling” As a Prelude to Cold Call

  Been thinking a lot lately about how much what a teacher does before a Cold Call shapes its success. Watch for example how in this clip BreOnna Tindall has her students write a response to a key question, then Turn and Talk to discuss their thoughts. When she Cold Calls the first student to share–he’s…


02.05.20 TLAC Global: Two Great Videos from Chile

For the last couple of years we’ve been partnering with an organization in Chile called Aptus. They’ve taken TLAC materials and not only translated them but developed training and support systems to develop teachers throughout Chile. Recently they taped a few of their own champions to give teachers local examples to study and happily they sent…


01.07.19 Things To Do When You Don’t Get Many Hands

In the annals of being a teacher, hoping to see 20 eager hands raised when you’ve asked a question but seeing only two or three instead is among the most common challenges. Since this blog is a judgment free zone I just want to say it’s ok. We have all, every single one of us, been…


01.04.19 Building Mental Engagement Among Athletes Through Questioning

Coaches love to ask questions to help their athletes understand the decisions they must make during performance. This is especially true in group invasion games like soccer (football), rugby, basketball and hockey–games that require an especially high degree of coordination and shared decision-making. One potential problem with asking questions of athletes is making sure that the…