Thursday, April 30, 2009

Classroom Instruction that Works

Amanda Sinko
Position Paper #2

Classroom Instruction that Works
Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering & Jane Pollock (2001)



Research based strategies
o The “art” of teaching is becoming the “science” of teaching
o Researchers at Midcontinent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) conducted a meta-analysis on instructional strategies that could be used by teachers in K-12
o The goal of the McREL was to identify instructional strategies that have a high probability of enhancing student achievement for all students in all subject areas at all grade levels
o 9 categories were identified


Identifying similarities & differences
o Student’s understanding of and ability to use knowledge can be enhanced by...
§ presenting students with explicit guidance in identifying similarities and differences
§ asking students to independently identify similarities and differences
§ representing similarities and differences in graphic or symbolic form


Summarizing & Note Taking
o To effectively summarize students must delete some information, substitute some information, and keep some information
§ To effectively do this students must analyze the information in a fairly deep level
o Being aware of the explicit structure of information is an aid to summarizing information
o Verbatim note taking is the least effective way to take notes
o Notes should be considered a work in progress
o Notes should be used as a study guide for tests
o The more notes that are taken, the better


Reinforcing Effort & Providing Recognition
o Not all students realize the importance of believing in effort
o Students can learn to change their beliefs to an emphasis on effort
o Rewards do not necessarily have a negative effect on intrinsic motivation
o Reward is most effective when it is contingent on the attainment of some standard or performance
§ vs. simply performing a task (which may decrease intrinsic motivation)
o Abstract symbolic recognition is more effective than tangible rewards
§ Verbal reward vs. tangible reward such as candy


Homework & Practice
o The amount of homework assigned to students should be different from elementary to middle school to high school (increasing with age)
o Parent involvement in homework should be kept to a minimum
§ Help facilitate homework vs. help do homework
o The purpose of homework should be identified and articulated
o If homework is assigned it should be commented on
o Mastering a skill requires a fair amount of focused practice
§ Practice spread out over time
o While practicing students should adapt and shape what they have learned
§ Do not expect students to perform skill with significant speed during the shaping phase


Nonlinguistic Representations
o A variety of activities produce nonlinguistic representation
§ Graphic representations
§ Physical models
§ Generating mental pictures
§ Drawing pictures
§ Engaging in kinesthetic activity
o Nonlinguistic representations should elaborate on knowledge
§ The process of nonlinguistic representations engages in students in elaborative thinking
§ This can be magnified by asking students to explain and justify their elaborations


Cooperative Learning
o Organizing groups based on ability levels should be done sparingly
§ Negative effect for low ability students
§ Small effect for high ability student
§ Benefits medium ability students
o Cooperative groups should be kept rather small in size
o Cooperative learning should be applied consistently and systematically, but not overused
§ Misused when the tasks are not structured
§ Overused when students have had insufficient time to practice independently


Setting objectives & Providing Feedback
o Instructional goals narrow what students focus on
§ Negative effect on outcomes other than those specified in goals
o Instructional goals should not be too specific
o Students should be encouraged to personalize the teacher’s goals
o Feedback should be corrective in nature
o Feedback should be timely
o Feedback should be specific to a criterion
o Students can effectively provide some of their own feedback


Generating and Testing Hypotheses
o Hypothesis generation and testing can be approached in a more inductive or deductive manner
§ Inductive- the process of drawing new conclusions based on known information
§ Deductive- using a general rule to make a prediction for the future
o Teachers should ask students to clearly explain their hypotheses and their conclusions
o Ask students to explain what principles they are working from, what hypotheses they draw from the principles, and why these hypotheses make sense


Cues, Questions & Advance Organizers
o Cues and questions should focus on what is important as opposed to what is unusual/interesting
o “Higher level” questions produce deeper learning than “lower level” questions
§ analyze vs. recall
o Waiting briefly before accepting responses from students has the effect of increasing the depth of students’ answers
o Questions are effective learning tools even when asked before a learning experience
§ Questions before the learning experience provide a “mental set” for learning

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