Marzano’s Essential 9
Instructional Strategies

 examine research-based instructional strategies
 identify methods for teaching these strategies
 consider which strategies you will incorporate in your classroom practice

 Classroom Instruction That Works by
Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering,
Jane Pollock
 Identified nine instructional strategies that are most likely to improve student achievement across all content areas and across all grade levels

Average Percentile Rank Gains on Student
Achievement Tests
Identifying Similarities & Differences
Nonlinguistic Representations
Summarizing & Notetaking
Setting Objectives & Providing Feedback
Reinforcing Effort & Providing Recognition
Generating & Testing Hypotheses
Homework & Practice
Cues, Questions, & Advance Organizers
Cooperative Learning
45
34
29
28
27
27
23
23
22

Similarities and Differences
Research
The ability to break a concept into its similar and dissimilar characteristics allows students to understand and solve complex problems by analyzing them in a more simple way.

Variety of Ways
-Comparing similarities and differences
-Classifying grouping things that are alike
-Metaphors comparing two unlike things
-Analogies identifying relationships between pairs of concepts

Recommendations:
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Give students a model for the process.
Use familiar content to teach steps.
Give students graphic organizers.
Guide students as needed.

Research
- encourages powerful learning
- leads to deeper understanding
- facilitates long-term recall
Verbatim note taking is the least effective way to take notes.

Recommendations
 Verbal summaries
 Written summaries
 Graphic organizers
 Have students paraphrase key points

Note Taking
Research
Note taking and summarizing are closely related. Both require students to identify what is most important about the knowledge they are learning and then state that knowledge in their own words.

Note Taking
Recommendations
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
Explicitly teach students a variety of note-taking formats
Provide teacher-prepared notes
Provide an organizer for taking notes
Remind students to review their notes
Provide an activity for students to use their notes

Reinforcing Effort &
Providing Recognition
 Think, Pair, Share – turn to your neighbor and discuss …
1. How do you reinforce students’ effort in your classroom?
2. What is the purpose for reinforcing effort in the classroom?
3. What makes reinforcing effort effective or ineffective?

Reinforcing Effort &
Providing Recognition
People generally attribute success at any given task to one of four causes :
 Effort
 Other people
 Ability
 Luck
 Three of these four beliefs ultimately inhibit achievement – (Covington 1983,1985)

Reinforcing Effort &
Providing Recognition
Research:
Rewards do not necessarily have a negative effect on intrinsic motivation.
Reward is most effective when it is contingent on the attainment of some standard of performance.
Symbolic recognition is more effective than tangible rewards. (charts)

Reinforcing Effort &
Providing Recognition
Recommendations:
• Recognize effort & progress throughout unit
• Specific praise (contingent and non-contingent)
• Intermittent celebrations
• Students chart effort and achievement
• Students record progress toward goals

Research
Both homework and practice give students opportunities to deepen their understanding and proficiency with content they are learning.

Homework & Practice
Recommendations:
Purpose
Not just “busy work”
Reinforce instruction
Assignment sheets
Clarify what they are doing and why
Track progress
Feedback
Be specific

Non Linguistic Representations
Research
-Engaging students in the creation of nonlinguistic representation actually stimulates and increases activity in the brain

Non Linguistic Representations
Recommendations:
Generating mental images
Drawing pictures or pictographs
Constructing graphic organizers
Acting out content
Making physical models
Making revisions to physical models, mental images, pictures, graphic organizers

Non Linguistic Representations
Use Graphic Organizers to:
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Make thinking visible
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Activate current knowledge
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Present information
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Take notes
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Summarize information
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Assess student learning

Cooperative Learning
Research
Organizing students into cooperative groups yields a positive effect on overall learning if approach is systematic and consistent.

Cooperative Learning
 reading assignments (with or without the book on CD)
 research - online and/or reference materials
 lab/activity - hands on or worksheet
 journal/reflection entry into a computer or a notebook
 assessment/survey - online or onto paper
 peer editing
 games/simulations
 puzzles - software or paper

Cooperative Learning
 discussion/reflection questions
 skill practice in pairs
 individual or group self-corrected tests
 create charts, graphs or diagrams
 flashcards - (create or use existing)
 direct instruction
 Prepare / edit presentations or skits – PPT, Word, photostory
 teacher centered work groups

Research:
Students learn more efficiently when they know the goals and objectives of a specific lesson or learning activity.

Setting Objectives
 Begin with a clear learning target
 Align objectives with standards
 Share expectations with students

Know

Understand

Be able to do

Recommendations:
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Use various methods of assessment
Feedback should be corrective in nature
Give timely feedback.
Feedback should be specific to criterion.
Use self-assessment tools to gauge progress.

Generating & Testing
Hypotheses
Research:
Generating and testing hypotheses involves the application of knowledge, which enhances learning.

Generating & Testing
Hypotheses
Examples of Strategies
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Problem Solving
Investigation
Invention
Experimental Inquiry
Decision Making

Generating & Testing
Hypotheses
Recommendations:
 Use familiar content to teach the strategy
 Give students a model for the strategy
 Use graphic organizers
 Provide guided practice
 Have students explain their hypotheses and conclusions

Questions, Cues &
Advance Organizers
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Questions
Help students analyze what they already know
Cues
Provide explicit reminders about what a student is about to experience
Advance Organizers
Help students retrieve what they know about a topic and focus on the new information

Questions, Cues &
Advance Organizers
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Recommendations:
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Introduce new vocabulary
Provide links to prior knowledge or experiences
Begin with student predictions
Tell students the topic of an article they are about to read
Provide ways for students to organize new content

 End with a processing activity that provides students with the opportunity to use the new content from the lesson.

One thing that you loved learning about today
Four things that are important concepts from today’s session – one in each corner.
Three most important facts from today’s session.
One all encompassing statement that summarizes today’s session.