Excited about some new reading

I'm excited because Doug Lemov's book Teach Like a Champion just arrived on my doorstep. Doug Lemov is an amazing instructor, school leader, and author working with Uncommon Schools. He was recently featured in an article in the New York Times Magazine entitled "Building a Better Teacher." I encourage you to read the article if you haven't already. The Times also includes video clips from Doug's workshops. I was fortunate enough to participate in a three day training with Uncommon Schools lead by Doug in the summer of 2009. The practices he shares are very applicable and lead to real results for children and schools. I'll share more once I've had a chance to read the book.

The article also features Deborah Loewenberg Ball, a University of Michigan Dean of the School of Education and professor. She has developed a taxonomy she calls the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching, or M.K.T. The M.K.T. includes a multiple choice test for teachers of mathematics that examines a teacher's content knowledge as well as skills that make strong math teachers. It's a very interesting idea.
I also picked up Teaching As Leadership; The Highly Effective Teacher's Guide to Closing the Achievement Gap. I believe this is TFA's first book, and it's written by Steven Farr, with a forward by Jason Kamras and afterword by Wendy Kopp. I got a great deal on both online at Barnes and Noble. I paid under $35 for both books including shipping, and it arrived on my doorstep in two days. If you buy the ebook(s) version it's even cheaper, and Amazon.com has it for about $1 less than B&N. TFA also has a website specifically detailing the TAL framerwork. Good stuff as always! Sorry for the hyper-use of hyperlinks.