Classroom Practices that Work-Identifying Similarities and Differences

As principal’s work toward finding strong research based practices to improve student learning, the work of Marzano, Pickering and Pollock is at the forefront. Robert Marzano conducted a meta-analysis of more than 100 research reports on instruction. His goal was to identify instructional strategies proven most effective in enhancing and improving student achievement within the classroom.

The culmination of this analysis is outlined in the book, Classroom Instruction that Works; Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. In this book, Marzano, Pickering and Pollock review the nine categories of instructional strategies that are most likely to influence student achievement.

As teachers are being asked to implement these research based instructional strategies within their classroom by instructional leaders, teachers are looking toward technology to help them in the implementation process.

How does technology support the nine identified areas outlined by Marzano? There are several ways that technology can be integrated with these strategies to both improve student learning, and to integrate technology as a tool for learning. In this article we will be focusing on the first of Marzano’s identified instructional strategies, and the one shown to have the highest percentile gain in student achievement.

The strategy of identifying similarities and differences is the first of Marzano’s identified strategies. When utilizing this strategy within the classroom, the teacher might ask students to compare, classify or use a metaphor or analogy. Technology can play a vital role in the implementation process and effective use of this strategy for teachers. Whether utilizing the built in features of Word to allow comparisons or employ the graphical capabilities of Inspiration as a software tool toward allowing students to make these connections, technology makes the connection much easier for students. In addition to graphical organizers, there are three tools available from Intel that addresses this instructional strategy.

Visual Ranking Tool:http://www.intel.com/education/visualranking/index.htm. This tool allows students to use reasoning and logic to rank and classify groups of objects in a collaborative environment.

Seeing Reason Tool:http://www.intel.com/education/seeingreason/index.htmThe Seeing Reason Tool promotes cause-and-effect thinking through visual mapping.

Showing Evidence Tool:http://www.intel.com/education/showingevidence/index.htm
Showing Evidence gives students a visual framework for constructing an argument or hypothesis that is supported by evidence.

Each of the nine instructional strategies outlined by Marzano is most effective when students learn to apply them consistently by themselves. As teachers create lesson plans, focus on the strategies should come first in planning. Following the strategy focus, looking at the available technology should be the next step. This doesn’t mean that the technology should come first; but should be used in the lesson planning process. Finally, the teacher should combine the strategy and the technology into the unit lesson planning.

When teachers build lesson plans on solid, research based methodology which incorporate effective instructional strategies, technology will become a clear tool toward achieving that goal. It’s not just having technology available to students, but also providing the guidance in how that technology can be used effectively that will promote the integration of technology into effective classroom practice, and consequently, increased student achievement.