The Handbook for the New Art and Science of Teaching. Robert J. Marzano
movement, or a genre of music. Additionally, this strategy can help students visualize correct and incorrect behaviors or uses of a procedure in the classroom. Once students seem comfortable with the patterns presented, ask them to generate their own examples and nonexamples to add to a class list.
Source: Marzano Research, 2016.
Figure 3.4: Discussing in groups.
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Consider the following tips for using this strategy in your classroom.
• Organize examples and nonexamples into a simple chart to help students visualize patterns. If students are creating their own examples and nonexamples, ask them to record their choices in a graphic organizer.
• When asking students to define a mystery concept, begin first with examples and nonexamples that are simple and seem to parallel one another. These should give the students an idea of what is being contrasted. Instead of providing all of the examples at once, give two or three at a time and provide students with time to reflect on possible patterns.
• As you provide more examples, the students’ understanding of what is being defined should sharpen. Elements might become more abstract as students’ knowledge deepens.
• Avoid choosing examples and nonexamples with trivial differences that might confuse students.
• Instead of having students guess what the mystery concept is out loud, ask them to create their own examples and nonexamples that fit the pattern. Students can write their examples on the class chart to aid students who have not yet guessed the concept.
Think-Pair-Share
Frank Lyman (1981) originally developed this strategy. The teacher asks students to think critically about a question, pair up with another classmate to come to a consensus on their answer to the question, and then share their responses with other groups or the whole class. Limiting the amount of time for the thinking and pairing steps of the strategy can motivate students to make quick decisions and explain their thinking succinctly (for example, a teacher might give students thirty seconds to think of an answer and then three minutes to discuss with their partner). Since the procedure for this strategy is relatively simple, a teacher can implement it in a lesson either at planned points or informally as the need arises. The teacher can monitor the use of this strategy by observing students as they discuss topics, asking students to provide written summaries of their responses, or having pairs of students present their thinking to the whole class.
Figure 3.5 can help guide students’ use of this strategy.
Source: Marzano Research, 2016.
Figure 3.5: Think-pair-share guidelines.
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Scripted Cooperative Dyads
Donald Dansereau (1988) originally developed this strategy. The teacher presents a new chunk of information or asks students to read a short excerpt of a text. As they read or listen, students take notes about the main idea and key details of the content. Then, the teacher breaks students up into groups of two and assigns each student to act either as the recaller or the listener. In their groups, the recaller summarizes the content, without looking at his or her notes, while the listener adds missing information and corrects any errors in the recaller’s summary. Students should switch between the roles of recaller and listener after each chunk of information.
While this strategy may seem simple to implement, students’ attention can easily become centered on getting the procedure right rather than on the processing of new content. To prepare students for using this strategy, teachers can review the following skills in class.
• Taking notes and annotating: Comprehensive notes are essential to the implementation of scripted cooperative dyads. Model different strategies for note-taking that will help students efficiently record the key ideas from texts and presentations. One simple technique teachers can share with students at all grade levels is two-column notes. In this strategy, students draw a line to separate the right and left sides of their notepaper. In the right column, students write the main ideas or concepts discussed in the content, and in the left column students write important details that refine their understanding of those main ideas. In addition to asking students to take notes, teachers can also encourage the annotation of texts through the use of symbols, sticky notes, or different colored highlighters.
• Summarizing: Students’ summaries should build on and relate to the information they recorded in their notes. Ask students to try to describe the who, what, where, when, why, and how of information. Students looking for errors in their partners’ summaries should also focus on these details. Teachers can have students practice their verbal summarization skills by giving them only a limited amount of time to summarize new content. If students are new to providing verbal summaries, teachers can also allow them to freewrite their ideas and the points they would like to make before asking them to present their summaries. Students should not refer to notes during their freewrite but try to come up with points from memory.
• Acting as the listener: When students take on the listener role, they will need to critically engage with what their partner is saying and look through their notes for refining or additional information. While students might think the listener role is easier because they will have their notes in front of them, in fact, the listener role requires students to enact multiple processes at once and is equally as challenging as the recaller role. The listener must actively cross-check facts, procedures, and key ideas the recaller brings up and politely correct their partners when appropriate. Additionally, listeners should listen for information that they might have missed or didn’t quite understand when they were taking notes. In this way, scripted cooperative dyads are an exchange of information and ideas that should challenge students to examine what they know and understand about the topic.
Monitoring Element 7
Specific student responses and behaviors allow the teacher to determine whether this element is being implemented effectively and producing the desired effects.
• Students appear to be actively interacting with the content.
• Students volunteer predictions.
• Students can explain what they have just learned.
• Students voluntarily ask clarification questions.
Use this list to monitor student responses to element 7.
To monitor your own use of this element, use the scale in figure 3.6 (page 50) in combination with the reproducible “Tracking Teacher Actions: Processing Content” (page 63). As with other proficiency scales, level 3 or higher is the goal.
Figure 3.6: Self-rating scale for element 7—Processing content.
The following examples describe what each level of the scale might look like in the classroom.
• Not Using (0): A teacher does not provide opportunities for students to make predictions, summarize, or ask clarification questions about new content. After introducing new content, instead of providing time for the students to process what they have just experienced, the teacher uses direct instruction to introduce