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Teaching in the Online Classroom: Surviving and Thriving in the New Normal, by Doug Lemov and the Teach Like a Champion Team
Teaching in the Online Classroom: Surviving and Thriving in the New Normal, by Doug Lemov and the Teach Like a Champion Team (2020), 192 pp., Jossey-Bass, $19.95.
The book was edited by Lemov and has seven chapters, each authored by two or more Teach Like a Champion Team members. Following is a brief overview of each chapter, along with a section about what topics you can and cannot expect the book to cover.
Spring break of 2020 thrust teachers into a unique situation. First, many teachers received an extra week of spring break while districts awaited both guidance from their respective states and hoped to welcome students back after an unprecedented 2-week spring break. Unfortunately, students were not welcomed back, and guidance from state education agencies changed almost daily. One thing was certain, and that was that school had to resume in some form. Teachers began publishing their lesson content in various learning management systems (e.g., Canvas) and content management systems (e.g., Google Classroom), and creating paper copies of that content for students who could not access the internet at home. This practice was the modus operandi for the remainder of the school year. After the summer break, teachers returned to their classrooms and learned that online synchronous and online asynchronous instruction were part of the new normal. In response to this paradigm shift, Doug Lemov and the Teach Like a Champion team wrote Teaching in the Online Classroom: Surviving and Thriving in the New Normal. The Teach Like a Champion Team is an organization (part of Uncommon Schools) that analyzes examples of teaching to produce literature and professional development to help teachers improve their craft. The team, lead by Lemov, is composed of: Darryl Williams, Erica Woolway, Rob Richard, Colleen Driggs, Hilary Lewis, Hannah Solomon, Dan Cotton, Brittany Hargrove, Joaquin Hernandez, Dillon Fisher, John Costello, Jen Rugani, Emily Badillo, Beth Verilli, Kevin Grijalva, Jasmine Lane, Jaimie Brillante, Kimberly Griffith, Tracey Koren, and Michelle Wagner.
Lemov and his team...