Doug Lemov, author of the international bestseller Teach Like A Champion talks to Tassomai about retrieval practice, the pandemic, rising anxiety amongst teens, and creating a culture of belonging in the classroom.

Teachers aren’t always enthusiastic about getting up early on a Saturday morning, but the crowd gathered at the City of London School on this crisp April morning had set their alarms to join Doug Lemov for the first of his two UK speaking engagements.

The half-day event, organised by The Midland Knowledge Schools Hub was fast paced and interactive, with Doug clearly applying some of the Teach Like A Champion techniques that work so well with students on this group of educators.

As one of the event’s sponsors, Tassomai was excited to be in attendance, particularly as Doug’s approach to teaching and learning tallies with so many of the core-principles behind the Tassomai program. We also got the chance to catch up with Doug after the event concluded for a brief interview which you can watch below.

Watch clips from Tassomai’s interview with Doug Lemov

Just like Tassomai, the Teach Like A Champion approach incorporates methodologies from sports science, as well as research into the science of learning. We talked with Doug about the benefits of retrieval practice and the application of techniques like interleaving and spacing.

“Interleaving to me simulates the effect of the passage of time. By doing one task and then distracting you, essentially by causing you to engage in another task, I cause you to forget the first task. Then I bring that task back into working memory, students have to struggle more to think about it and remember it.

That struggle is what encodes it better in long term memory and actually accelerates their ability to retrieve it and find it when they need it.”

The pandemic and the epidemic

Doug talked about the changes that every teacher has noticed in students that have come back after the pandemic, but he also talked about an epidemic… the wave of anxiety exacerbated by the rise in social media in recent years.

“Teenage rates of anxiety, loneliness and depression have spiked since 2011… the year the like button was added to social media… and when social media became universally adopted enough among teengagers that it wasn’t really possible anymore to not have social media and have a normal teenage life.”

Creating a culture of belonging

The clips Doug showed in his presentation demonstrated how teachers could use techniques like “cold-call” without making students anxious or uncomfortable. In his words, it starts by setting expectations about how students interact with each other in the classroom and by creating a culture of belonging.

“That fundamental fabric of a great classroom allows students to become psychologically safe and risk tolerant.”

Meet Doug in the Midlands!

Doug will be back in the UK in June, you can catch him in the Midlands at Lichfield Cathedral for a full day event. Tassomai will also be in attendance, represented by the program’s creator Murray Morrison. If you’re interested in teaching, you definitely won’t regret giving up a Saturday to hear from Doug, he’s a fascinating speaker and shares lots of practical suggestions that can be implemented in the classroom. 

Get tickets for the Lichfield event on Saturday 17th June 2023 here