Marzano’s Nine Instructional Strategies That Work

Category of Instructional Strategies / Definition / What the teacher might be doing / What the students might be doing
Identifying Similarities and Differences
Average Effects Size: 1.61
Percentile Gain: 45 / The ability to break a concept into its similar and dissimilar characteristics allows students to understand complex problems by analyzing them in a simpler way or by comparing new knowledge to prior knowledge. / Modelingthe use of:
T-charts
Venn diagrams
graphic organizers that classify
Using:
Analogies
compare and contrast organizers
comparison matrices / Independently or cooperatively using any of the strategies mentioned in the teacher column. Students use this strategy in discussions, such as, "This is like the time we studied-.-"
Summarizing and Note-taking
Average Effects Size: 1.00
Percentile Gain: 34 / Summarizing and note-taking skills promote greater comprehension by asking students to analyze a subject to expose what is essential and then put it in their own words. This requires substituting, deleting, keeping ideas, and having an awareness of the basic structure of the information presented. Taking more notes is better than fewer notes, though verbatim note-taking is ineffective because it does not allow time to process the information. Teachers should encourage and give time to review. / Modeling summarization techniques, such as
substitute/delete/keep
identifying key concepts
utilizing reciprocal teaching
creating outlines, clusters, and webbing
utilizing narrative organizers, journal summaries, and combination note-taking / Independently or cooperatively using any of the strategies mentioned in the teacher column. Students are able to use these strategies effectively and with measurable results. (In other words, students are able to summarize and take notes that are useful after the lesson.)
Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition
Average Effects Size: 0.80
Percentile Gain: 29 / Effort and recognition speak to the attitudes and beliefs of students, and teachers must show the connection between effort and achievement. Research shows students can learn to change their beliefs to emphasize effort even though not all students realize the importance of effort. According to research, recognition is most effective if it is contingent on the achievement of a certain standard. Also, symbolic recognition works better than tangible rewards. / Rewarding students for the attainment of effort and achievement. Using a symbolic reward is best but tangible rewards are acceptable.
Using the pause, prompt, and praise strategy.
Providing praise for achievement.
Teaching students about the connection between effort and achievement. / Keeping track of effort and its relationship to achievement. Providing casual testimonials to peers, such as, "I practiced my 4 times tables for three nights in a row with my older brother and scored 100 percent on the quiz that Friday."
Category of Instructional Strategies / Definition / What the teacher might be doing / What the students might be doing
Homework and Practice
Average Effects Size: 0.77
Percentile Gain: 28 / Homework provides students with the opportunity to extend their learning outside the classroom. However, research shows that the amount of homework assigned should vary by grade level and that parental involvement should be minimal. Teachers explain the purpose of homework to both the student and the parent or guardian, and teachers need to give feedback on all homework assigned. Research shows that students should adapt skills while they are learning them. Speed and accuracy are key indicators of the effectiveness of practice. / Providing a homework policy and communicating it to students and parents.
Modeling the desired skills before allowing to practice.
Reviewing learning goals of homework.
Assigning practice/homework that takes into account that students need to practice a skill at least 24 times to achieve mastery
Providing opportunities for students to "shape" the practiced skills to make it their own
Commenting or providing feedback on homework.
Deciding which skills are essential to learn. These need to be practiced at least 24 times. Less essential skills, not as often. / Charting accuracy and speed of their practice. Students have an awareness of when more or less practice is needed and are expectant of results.
Nonlinguistic Representations
Average Effects Size: 0.75
Percentile Gain: 27 / Research shows knowledge is stored in two forms: linguistic and nonlinguistic (representing knowledge in a form other than words-visually, kinesthetically, smells, tastes, etc.). The more students use both forms in the classroom, the more opportunity they have to achieve. Recently, use of nonlinguistic representations has proven to not only stimulate but also increase brain activity. / Modeling:
The use of graphic organizers
The creation of physical models
The creation of metal pictures
Pictures and pictographs
Kinesthetic activities / Creating their own:
Graphic organizers
Physical models
Mental pictures
Pictures and pictographs
Kinesthetic activities that illustrate their understanding of concepts
Cooperative Learning
Average Effects Size: 0.73
Percentile Gain: 27 / Research shows that organizing students into cooperative groups yields a positive effect on overall learning. When applying cooperative learning strategies, keep groups small and do not overuse this strategy; be systematic and consistent in your approach. / Communicating the clear purpose for working in groups
Designing the groups (of four or less) in a variety of ways, keeping in mind that ability grouping is least effective and should be used sparingly. / Working in informal, formal, or base groups no larger than four. If asked, the group members should be able to articulate a clear purpose for working cooperatively. Students are able to independently resolve disputes, assign roles, and work together cooperatively.
Category of Instructional Strategies / Definition / What the teacher might be doing / What the students might be doing
Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback
Average Effects Size: 0.61
Percentile Gain: 23 / Setting objectives can provide students with a direction for their learning. Goals should not be too specific; they should be easily adaptable to students' own objectives. Research shows that feedback generally produces positive results. Teachers should manage the form that feedback takes. / Encouraging students to personalize lesson objectives
Providing rubrics with assignments to help students measure their own growth, as well as get feedback from the teacher and/or peers.
Providing learning contracts. / Personalizing learning goals with "I" statements.
Using rubrics/criteria to self-evaluate their own or other students' work.
Generating and Testing Hypotheses
Average Effects Size: 0.61
Percentile Gain: 23 / Research shows that a deductive approach (using a general rule to make a prediction) for this strategy works best. Whether a hypothesis is induced or deducted, students should clearly explain their hypotheses and conclusions. / Modeling the process of generating a hypothesis with either inductive or deductive thinking.
Using a variety of structured tasks (problem solving, historical investigation, experimental inquiry, and/or decision making) to help students test a hypothesis.
Using advance organizers to help students create hypotheses (e.g., anticipation guide). / Responding to information to determine a hypothesis (a tentative explanation for phenomenon, used as a basis for further investigation) and clearly explaining their hypotheses and conclusions.
Students need to use this strategy throughout the curriculum, not just in science.
Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers
Average Effects Size: 0.59
Percentile Gain: 22 / Cues, questions, and advance organizers help students use what they already know about a topic to enhance further learning. Research shows that these tools should be highly analytical, should focus on what is important, and are most effective when presented before a learning experience. / Capitalizing on prior knowledge to help students make connections in the forms of cues, higher-level questions, and organizers.
Allowing think time before accepting answers from students. Modeling the use of an advance organizer, skimming while reading, and any other strategies that help students retrieve prior knowledge. / Using advance organizers, answering questions, or responding to cues provided before new learning (possibly during bell work, and anticipatory set, etc.). Students begin to ask their own high-level questions as learning takes place.