Over the last year or so we’ve all had to learn to adapt to a completely different way of teaching. By stating from the outset that he and his colleagues were as unsure as everyone else, Lemov paradoxically enhances the book’s authority. He acknowledges from the outset that face-to-face learning is a better experience than online learning, so addresses how teachers might begin to approach the richness of the in-class experience while teaching online. An excellent observation is that even small changes can have profound effects.

Each chapter includes handy hints in boxes and a different font, making them easy to discover, and ends with a summary, and the book itself finishes with a very useful summary of the twenty two teaching techniques mentioned.

It’s rather disconcerting to come across unfamiliar terms for familiar concepts. Nevertheless, this slim volume, which is supported by video clips, is excellent value for money.

This review was first published in Teach Secondary magazine.