Instructional Strategies that Work

"Thirty-five years of research provides remarkably clear guidance as to the steps schools can take to be highly effective in enhancing student achievement. Dr. Robert J. Marzano

Visit the web page of Marzano & Associates.

Marzano’s research has identified eight important factors that enhance student achievement. They are, in rank order,

1. Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
2. Challenging Goals and Effective Feedback
3. Parent and Community Involvement
4. Safe and Orderly Environment
5. Collegiality and Professionalism
6. Instructional Strategies
7. Classroom Management
8. Classroom Curriculum Design

The first five deal with the school and the last three are the purview of the teacher.

In item six, Marzano has identified nine “instructional strategies that work”. These are

1. Identifying similarities and differences
2. Summarizing and note taking
3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
4. Homework and practice
5. Nonlinguistic Representations
6. Cooperative Learning
7. Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback
8. Generating and Testing Hypotheses
9. Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers