Marzano PD

Understanding and Embedding Marzarno's Nine Instructional Elements into Classroom Practice.

Critical Agendas PD

Facilitator Pam Burton 

Geelong Football Club May 1st 

starting 9:00 am

Evidence based strategy based on Marzarno research

3 key areas and 9 strategies 

*School wide practices at Glen Park include Blooms Taxonomy which is used for curriculum planning across the school. Marzano Instructional strategies will enhance this practice.

Research

'Classroom Instruction that Works' Marzano 2001

Culture for learning ( 1. setting objectives and providing feedback -Hattie calls them: Success criteria and learning intentions, 2. reinforcing effort and providing recognition- creating engagement and 3. motivation and cooperative learning - Johnson and Johnson) 

high percentile gains ( in the 20s) if all three are incorporated.

1.Students learn more efficiently if they know the goals and expectations of their learning

Setting objectives: what do students know? How do I know they are learning? How do they know they've learnt? What does the teacher do next? ( Having a continuum of learning. Having a plan for all students and monitoring on it and acting on it.) 

*Learning intentions - add  learning intentions ( Mastery Objectives) to daily student ILPs. Maybe 2-3 per week that can be a major focus for the week. Scaffolded learning should include 'I Can' statements are just above their level of achievement. Not too easy - boring or too hard - insurmountable.

• Consider a back story about our learning for parents
• Consider developing student created goals. These goals need to be meaningful and part of their journey. Make sure they come back to their goals frequently. Weekly goals rather than grand goals across a term / year.

Feedback for improving student learning ( teacher, peers and self-reflection)

Should be corrective

Timely

Specific to criterion

Use peer and self-assessment tools

Using Rubrics

Rubrics have to be built on the curriculum not vague. Specific detail in the wording.avoid open ended term like 'good' without descriptors. Ideal for grade 4

*Start embedding Rubrics in grade 4 that are curriculum specific.

2.Important to emphasise EFFORT

Effort brings about results ( Growth mindset. Effort makes a difference) 

How do we reinforce effort?

In research people attributed success to effort, ability, luck, other people

Feedback and effort go hand in hand in our classrooms. Students can learn to change their self- belief following greater effort ( they need to acknowledge that they will fail and make mistakes but they need to try again) Children need to know that there is a direct link between effort and achievement.

Organising classrooms for effort: Having high expectations, ensure that assessments are fair and accurate, ensure the curriculum is matched to the standards ( curriculum plan and scope and sequence documents) and student responsibilities. ( We are partners in learning) Results should be fixed but the time it takes to get there varies. Acknowledge effort. ( not just the achievement but the effort used to get there) Rewards should be intrinsic and extrinsic and do encourage achievement.  Praise is about abundance. Regular feedback is essential. It needs to be specific and prompt.

*Share stories of achievement after effort. Persistence is a school goal and the use of the word in context along with relating struggle/effort to achievement in history or literature.Keep spelling out expectations to the children. Emphasis learning partnership. 

3. Cooperative learning yields a positive effect if the process is systemic and consistent. It is about building student confidence in learning new ideas. This work was pioneered by  Johnston and Johnston. It is important to get group size right ( no bigger than 4) students need to know about the elements of cooperative learning. Groups also need to vary. ( formal, informal) cooperative learning helps children to adopt responsibilities for learning creating an atmosphere of learning.

Effort increases because of peer input. Students working together increase their outcomes when working cooperatively. It is good for self-recognition. Increases retention, achievement, self-satisfaction and inclusion. It is multi-faceted when well done. You need a shared goal and team responsibilities that help the team to achieve. Face to face interaction in cooperative learning aids oral language and listening skills. Emphasises group accountability. Enables peer/self assessment.

Social skills need to be embedded first: leadership, decision making, listening and questioning and analysing.it takes time to do this.

*Cooperative learning is not practical with our small enrolment but informal peer-tutoring, think pair share ( a stepping stone for cooperative learning) and peer-support is already in place.

 

Helping students to understand

Helping students to better understand. Not surface knowledge but deep learning.

*Understanding is the second level in Blooms Taxonomy

Cues and questions and advanced organisers

Graphic organisers

Summarising and note taking ( Processing learning)

High percentile gains (summarising and note taking high at 34%)

Cues prepare children for their upcoming learning. Questions help children to analyse their thinking (5 second wait for answers. Questions establish prior knowledge and high level questions lead to deeper learning. Because 2/3 of the time in the classroom is verbal time then questioning needs to be structured. 

We need to think about the quality of questions asked and whether teachers should ask all the questions. Advanced organisers help children to retrieve their knowledge. They give kids the big picture. ( Taking something complex and reducing it to its core elements) 

Mazzano recommends graphic organisers, physical models and infographics as high level teaching tools that cover: thinking snapshots, note taking, presenting information etc. they make thinking visual.

Note taking starts with recalling information in their own words. Pam recommends the Triad Summarising model for older students.A summary only has valid meaning in the language of the learner.

*Infographics and story maps are advanced organisers.( Online software : Canva) Investigate infographic creators for iPads. Inquiry model which I use for Science is well set up to promote student questioning. Also refer notes on Depth of Knowledge notes provided by Pam along with the RigorMeter. We use graphic organisers extensively to synthesis and analyse information and student thinking especially in grade 2-3. Ideally children should be able to choose the right graphic organisers to use to complete a task.Start using note writing techniques where they can formulate ideas for themselves.

 

Extending  student learning

Identifying similarities and differences, generating and testing a hypothesis, homework and practice (These help to build transfer of knowledge) 

High percentile growth ( similarities and differences 45% gain

The ability to break a concept into its similar and dissimilar characteristics allow student to understand (and often solve) complex problems.  There are a variety of ways to identify similarities and differences such as - comparing, classifying ( grouping things that are like) , metaphors ( comparing two unlike things) and analogies ( identifying relationships between pairs and concepts) 

Most common similarities/ differences task to perform in school is the Venn diagram. Not the only comparison tool.

Marzano supports homework and practicing what they do at school. Helps us to know if they are applying and extending their learning. ( Practice makes permanent - embedding into the memory. Regular structured practice is important.)

Generating and testing hypotheses ( predicting) is not just something taught in science. How do we test an idea? Change comes about because people hypothesise and test what they have found. Being an investigator. Give students models, organisers and strategies and give children familiar content to teach a strategy.

Problem solving, inquiry learning, invention, experiments are all samples of predicting strategies.

• Continue to introduce similarities and differences tasks across the school. Especially metaphors and analogies which are creative skills in Blooms Taxonomy. We don't do homework as such at Glen Park other than learning high frequency words and reading nightly. Incorporate more predicting and experimenting in tasks.

Session ended at 3:30 PM