Marzano’s Classroom Instruction That Works
Let the Warrior book study begin…
As we begin our Marzano book study, I want to thank you for your participation! The expectation is that this will go smoothly and end in complete satisfaction and with a sense of accomplishment.
Marzano’s book guarantees that we will end with a thorough understanding of how to incorporate high yield strategies into our everyday teaching. We will get practical suggestions for using the following strategies:
Please make one post per chapter that thoroughly answers the question/questions. Once I have moderated (approved) your posting, it will appear for all to see…
June 12th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I want to thank you for enlarging our scope of technological understanding as faculty.
I expect this to be a learning process that does yield a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment as well as my very own blog as a product of this experiment.
Mrs. Houston, you rock!!!
June 24th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Gina, Rock? You must be reading about my Tae Bo experience… HA!
June 25th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Completely read the book on the plane and on the beach in Maui. A fast read…should have written it myself!!
July 18th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Chapter one addresses “Applying the Research on Instruction.” As I’m sure we all agree that conducting research in our own discipline is important, I think the chapter identifies a good point on the importance of “Attitudes About Educational Research.”
In my first year of teaching, I was in complete survival mode. As the year progressed, I found myself eager to try new approaches/techniques for each lesson. However, I did not know where to start. A teacher must be willing to leave their comfort zone and seek further knowledge/assistance and apply that knowledge on a continuous basis. I periodically visited classrooms of teachers who had various teaching styles/techniques. As I observed, I found myself building an “arsenal” of tools in which I could apply to my own teaching. It was a small step, but made a tremendous difference. I learned quickly that you cannot determine what a student learned by the grade on their report card.
In my opinion, the book does not list any new or “golden apple” techniques (although, they would have been new to me in my first year
), but outlines what a difference each one makes. How effective is that technique you are using in the classroom, really? Is there a “one-size fits all” lesson? How do you truly measure success in the classroom?
July 20th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Yes. What IS success?
Research, research, research. Tons of information. But if we don’t know what to do with it, what good is it besides something else to store away in our brains?
Bottom right column of page 2…”studies show that an individual teacher can have a powerful effect on her students even if the school doesn’t”. I would assume that works either positively or negatively. Whether the authors meant it that way or not, I don’t know, but I think it applies.
Are we only as strong as our weakest link??
August 18th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Applying the Research on Instruction, I agree with Mr. Webb. I listen to other teachers on what has worked and what has not. I do pay attention to research as well. I have found that most of it is the saying the same thing a different way. By doing this, maybe some can be reached by saying it a different way?
August 19th, 2008 at 8:50 am
I agree with Gina! Thanks, oh Warrior Leader, for expanding our technology horizons! This is a great experince and it lets us know what our fellow collegues are thinking . . . .without a long meeting!
August 19th, 2008 at 8:50 am
When reading this book, I realized that I, and many others, do these things in our classrooms “almost” every day. There are many technical points made in this book but as I read, I preferred to look at the more human elements.
In chapter 3, note taking is described in great detail. Kids hate taking notes…especially word for word. Some need the structure that a teacher may provide. However a strict, word for word approach and “getting everything down” takes up too much of the students working memory. They get nothing out of taking notes this way. I have always let the kids take notes their own way…as long as they are actually writing them down. “The more notes that are taken, the better”.
August 19th, 2008 at 8:59 am
As a coach, I think I am always giving reinforcement; positive or negative as long as it’s constructive. Reinforcement is a major steppingstone to building relationships with students whether it is in the class or on the field. To receive reinforcement, there has to be effort. The two go hand in hand. You don’t hear a teacher say “Thanks for sitting there and doing nothing”. I have to make the kids believe that what they are doing is important…that it has value. If I can do that, I can get maximum effort from them. In order to get maximum effort, I have to give maximum effort. I am going to work my tail off to get these kids to understand “The harder you try, the more successful you are”. I might even try that on for size myself.