Customer Reviews

Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I'll keep this short and sweet, and not summarize the contents of the book. Such can be found in other reviews, as well as the editorial synopsis. Instead, let me just suggest that "Classroom Instruction that Works??? is a long overdue work that can be used in a three-fold manner.

First, it should be required reading for every new teacher. It clearly details for them what is effective in the classroom, regardless of grade level. There is little philosophy here. This is ???meat and potatoes??? practicality.

Secondly, the research in this book should become an integral part of every teacher-evaluation process. It provides a model paradigm of excellence in teaching above and beyond the subjectivity extant in most evaluations today.

Finally, this book should be a personal read of every experienced teacher. I cannot express my feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when I realized--I already do many of these things! While I know I can improve in many areas because of reading this work, much of my teaching was validated by sound research, and that felt good!

It is my hope that this material will be presented at many of the national education conferences I attend each year--in fact, I plan on using much of this in my own presentations.

The book is nicely organized, backed by solid research, and utilizes illustrative scenarios which make complex methodology very understandable. And isn't this the goal of every classroom teacher?

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Dr. J.L. Parks
Georgetown Middle School
Georgetown, KY

***THE FOLLOWING REVIEW IS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EDUCATORS***

Research points out that 75% of those who go into teaching are systematic learners, and then teach systematically, while 75% of students (and the rest of us) are not systematic learners. Systematic teachers are those who will teach you how to ride a bike by first making you sit as they describe the parts and how they work together...that's fine for 25% of students but most of us just need to get on the bike and ride it...from the experience of riding the bike we then have a purposeful framework for...ta da...later systematic instruction...what am I trying to say? This book is "instructional heroin" for systematic teachers...perfect for the suburbs where children have the schema to automatically make connections between concepts...but, from what I've experienced, falls short in an at-risk school.

One perfect example is the section on discovery teaching. It states that there isn't research to back up its superiority as an approach...that's not true...and that it's "time consuming". Well...no...it actually saves time if done correctly...because it will not take the time direct teaching requires to "pound a concept into a child's head" as procedure...it fits brain research as applied to at-risk kids who desperately need to think, and move, and discover...it combines numerous curriculum indicators into meaningful systems...but, most importantly, places new information within a purposeful, motivating environment.

On the upside, Chapter 6 regarding "Non-linguistic" representations is superb...my only problem is that it doesn't address the value of graphic organizers for younger learners as opposed to the older learner...there's plenty of research pointing out the uselessness and/or overuse of graphic organizers in the younger grades...they're great tools...if introduced at the right time/age and with purpose! Unfortunately, I can see teachers in grades pre-k through 3 forcing children to create graphic organizers as a result of this book...yikes!

Ya have to be careful as we found out with NCLB and the research on reading...research can be spun to fit different purposes...especially educational research...if this info. fits your view and you're living in an area where kids have the advantages of a stable home and people talking with them from birth...go for it...for the rest of us...borrow it from the library (my copy was never checked out in three years! - telling)...and then return it.

There's an old saying that teachers very often "efficiently solve the wrong problem"...it's not about efficiency folks...it's about effectiveness. If you apply the ideas in this book blindly without regard to student background or age...you may be doing more harm than good.

Teachers, this book spells out in plain language what works. It explains each strategy in detail, gives examples, and summarizes the research on how effectively that strategy works. The strategies are in order of effectiveness. It doesn't matter what subject you teach; it does matter HOW your teach it.

The book is beautifully written, just 178 pages, and POWER PACKED! A crucial read for educators.

I went to the trouble of checking a number of key references. Here's what I discovered:
A. Every single reference I checked was itself dubious or misrepresented by the authors.
B. Some of the references were on topics unrelated to the instructional strategies cited.
B. Some of the numbers from published data were altered to better conform to the author's point of view.
C. Some of the references themselves presented provisional conclusions based on weak results, but were given complete credence by Marzano et al.
D. The authors took weak data from several studies, each based on averaging the results from studies assumed to use similar methods and subject cohorts, and averaged these, compounding the statistical weaknesses. This is especially shocking given that no credible researcher would combine results from studies by different groups that clearly use different methodologies and subject cohorts.

Noone should regard this book as a description of research-based strategies. In fact, the publisher should withdraw the book as it misrepresents fiction as fact.

This is not to say these strategies do not work. However, there is little or no valid research to support any statement that they offer any improvement over direct instruction.

As time has passed since I first posted a similar review, the so-called "Marzano Strategies" have continued to gain traction even among education professionals at the college level. Presumably this is because "Marzano Strategy" is easy to remember and has a certain auditory potency. It illustrates, however, the dangers of uncritical and indiscriminate acceptance of ideas and strategies we want to believe in. There is a huge difference between "teacher-tested" and "research-based". The authors have clearly committed intellectual fraud in their wildly successful bid to sell books and make a name for themselves by passing off teacher-tested ideas as research-based.

I've yet to read such a well-written, succinct overview of the most popular current teaching methods. Marzano and company are the great synthesizers of educational methods these days. While it's true that no chapter is completely detailed, the authors provide ample notations to enable those interested in pursuing a method to further enhance their teaching.

Very well put together, highly accessible, and very plain-spoken, this is a fantastic overview for the novice and a great refresher for the veteran educator.

PS. A reply to "Chock full of the Obvious," the reviewer from Maine who didn't bother to leave a name. What Marzano does is provide a jumping-off point. He and his co-authors don't expect their text to be biblical. If they do, well, then I'll apologize. However, for thumbnail sketches of the big methods that work, it's a damn fine book. And that's how I reviewed it. Not only that, but keeping this book on your desk gives you a pretty high CYA quotient if you're ever questioned on your methods by an overzealous administrator.

I can't add much to what is already written here. But I must say, these teaching approaches work. The authors back up every method with careful research. Best of all, the methods are described specifically.

There are too many high points to list them all. Here are just three things I especially liked:

1. The explanation of the effects of massed v. distributed practice.

2. Chapter 12 on how to USE the approaches in planning.

3. The Types of Word Problems diagram in Chapter 11. If you teach math above the second grade level, this matrix is in itself almost worth the price of the book.

If you are serious about results from your students, this book is a great tool.

I've studied education for over 20 years and I still learned new approaches in my field. The book should be scanned in some places and read and re-read in others.

Yes, some of the best practices are familiar because they are, well, best practices. This is what teachers have begged for, a book of techniques back by data.

If someone gave you a book that had the keys to learning in it, would you read it? You are a good teacher, so of course you would, and it is this book. Many books out there are some research, some theory--this book is all research-based strategies that are proven to work in a classroom, so there is no guessing if these are effective methods or not.

The accompanying handbook helps you to apply these strategies to your content, giving you step-by-step instructions. I would highly recommend this book for any teacher at any level and any subject area.

This book struck me as simplistic and dry when I read it. However, when I had the opportunity to spend a day in a seminar with Debra Pickering, one of the authors, I changed my mind. It was one of the most life-changing seminars I have ever attended in my 34 years in public education. So....if you have the opportunity to go to a Pickering seminar, read the book first, take it with you, and be ready to learn some great ways to implement what seem to be some old strategies.

Some people say this book is stating the obvious. These are the sort of people who tend to avoid professional journals, conferences, and in-services because, by golly, they already know how to teach. They learned all they needed to know getting their bachelor's degree and from their vast experience. That's baloney. While this book is full of things that good teachers do, it is laid out in a convenient format that places those practices in one handbook that is research based (as opposed to "I do because it works" even if it worked 10 years ago, but doesn't today). This text is a handy reference to have especially if you teach at-risk students.