Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Dr. Marzano, have you seen this?

Using the concept of simulating the element names from the Periodic Table of Elements, a fantastic mashup of visualizations can remind teachers of instructional strategies, modalities and other important considerations. The Periodic Table of Elements becomes the ultimate Graphic Organizer for teachers interested in improving their art and craft. The authors, Ralph Lengler and Martin Eppler, call it the Periodic Table of Visualization Methods. It is fabulous. I wonder if Dr. Robert Marzano has seen this?

Robert Marzano with his research associates, Debra J. Pickering and Jane E. Pollock, completed a meta-analysis a few years ago to determine what instructional methods were most effective according to the research already accomplished. This was seminal research by Marzano's team, because they were able to pull together various ideas on how to improve student learning in a cohesive unit that the education community could effectively put into practice. Their final product was the book, Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement

In their book, Marzano, Pickering and Pollock discuss various instructional strategies that teachers, students and schools can implement to increase learning, but they are very specific in their idea that instructional strategies are not the whole picture in effective teaching and learning. They talk of the
...three related areas [of effective pedagogy]: (1) the instructional strategies used by the teacher, (2) the management techniques used by the teacher, and (3) the curriculum designed by the teacher (see Figure 1.4).

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 25, 2008 at 4:04 PM

    This is an interesting resource. Thanks for sharing. I have used the work of Marzano with my teachers in the past but it is nice to also have the visual period table that you have posted.
    Helen

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  2. samccoyMay 25, 2008 at 9:24 PM

    Thanks Helen! I was bowled over when I saw this "Periodic Table of Visualizations". A Diigo colleague/friend shared the URL.

    Robert Marzano came to our school district (Wichita, KS) to give an inservice a few years ago, and I was able to attend. He is an inspirational speaker. I learned even more about the work his team accomplished at this inservice.

    Having taken this work to heart, our entire building, Hamilton Middle School, used the "Classroom Instruction That Works" for a professional development book study.

    Each month we read and discuss a new chapter of the book and bring a sample of how we had used the chapter we were studying. It was very cool and quite productive. Plus everyone was more willing to buy into the instructional strategies and put them into everyday practice.

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