The Handbook for the New Art and Science of Teaching. Robert J. Marzano
teacher celebrates knowledge gain, which is the difference between a student’s initial and final scores for a learning goal. This is one of the most powerful aspects of formative assessment—it allows students to see their progress over time. Recognizing and celebrating knowledge gain in addition to or in place of final status gives virtually every student something to celebrate because every student will increase his or her knowledge relative to specific learning goals. The teacher recognizes a student who started at a 1.5 and ended at 3.0 in the same way as a student who began with a score of 2.5 and ended with a score of 4.0; the teacher recognizes both students for a knowledge gain of 1.5. Following are examples of knowledge gain celebrations.
• Demonstrations: Ask the student to demonstrate to the class how he or she answered or solved a difficult question on a test or assignment. Have the student explain the reasoning behind the answer. If the student is uncomfortable presenting in front of the class, ask if you can present the student’s thinking and acknowledge his or her success in class.
• Charts: Have students create a graph that demonstrates their progress over the course of a semester. Ask students to set learning goals for themselves and chart their progress toward their goal. When students meet or exceed a goal, add their names to a poster in the classroom that lists all of the students who achieved their learning goals.
• Student work board: Use a corkboard to display examples of good student work. Announce which papers, assignments, or tests will go up on the corkboard weekly or bi-weekly and ask the whole class to give those students a round of applause.
• Student of the month award: Give a student of the month award to a student who has shown great improvement, shared knowledge with others, or worked exceptionally hard to master new content. Create a certificate for the student, and post his or her name and picture, if available, in the classroom or on a class website. Below the student’s name or picture, describe in a sentence or two why that student was chosen as the student of the month.
• Class progress goals: Set a class goal that every student will raise his or her score a certain amount by the end of a unit or semester. Encourage students who have already met their goals to work with students who may be struggling. Chart the progress of the class on a poster in the room or online on a class website. If the goal is met, organize a party for the class at the end of a class period, during lunch, or after school with drinks and snacks.
Verbal Feedback
The teacher emphasizes each student’s effort and growth by specifically explaining what he or she did well on a task. The teacher should avoid attributing accomplishments to innate intelligence, talent, or other fixed characteristics. Appropriate phrases to use when giving verbal feedback include the following.
• “You tried very hard on this—good job.”
• “You put a lot of effort into this—nice work.”
• “You were very focused while working on this—way to go.”
• “You were well prepared for this; keep up the good work.”
• “You really thought through this, and it paid off.”
• “You came very well informed about this—excellent work.”
• “You were ready for this—very good.”
Consider the following five tips for providing growth-minded feedback (Marzano Research, 2016).
1. Emphasize the student’s effort or preparation for the task.
2. Describe how the student’s approach helped the student succeed.
3. Try acknowledging a different student every day.
4. Speak enthusiastically about the student’s achievements or improvements.
5. Acknowledge students’ hard work in front of peers, parents, and other teachers when possible.
Teachers can provide verbal feedback during the following scenarios (Marzano Research, 2016).
• At the end of a successful class period, they stand by the door, compliment the class on their hard work and effort, and give them high fives as they leave the classroom.
• They can write an email to a parent after a student turns in an exemplary assignment or shows improvement, letting the parent know how well the student is doing.
• They can leave a personalized note at the bottom of an assignment or on the student’s desk that compliments the student’s efforts or work in class.
• They can read a passage from a student’s test answer, essay, or other written assignment in front of the class and explain what that student did well.
Monitoring Element 3
Specific student responses and behaviors allow the teacher to determine whether this element is being implemented effectively and producing the desired effects.
• Students demonstrate pride regarding their accomplishments.
• Students appear to strive for higher scores on a proficiency scale.
• Students say they enjoy celebrations.
Use this list to monitor student responses to element 3.
To monitor your own use of this element, use the scale in figure 1.10 in combination with the reproducible “Tracking Teacher Actions: Celebrating Success” (page 25). As with other proficiency scales, level 3 or higher is the goal.
Figure 1.10: Self-rating scale for element 3—Celebrating success.
The following examples describe what each level of the scale might look like in the classroom.
• Not Using (0): A teacher does not provide verbal feedback to students to indicate that she has noticed their efforts or achievements. Additionally, she does not celebrate students’ successes in front of their peers or parents.
• Beginning (1): A teacher celebrates the academic achievements of students who consistently score high on class assignments, but he does not acknowledge other students’ knowledge gains or provide verbal feedback to encourage their continued growth.
• Developing (2): A teacher purposefully provides written and verbal feedback to all students and publicly acknowledges their successes or growth over the term. However, she does not collect data to monitor whether her feedback encourages continued progress or motivates her students.
• Applying (3): A teacher uses feedback and classwide celebrations to encourage students’ improvement and to celebrate their success at the end of the term. He notes which of his behaviors incite changes in students’ motivation and efforts and if students appear proud of their accomplishments at the end of the term.
• Innovating (4): A teacher uses knowledge gain celebrations to celebrate student achievements. When one student struggles to improve or seems unmotivated in class, the teacher works with the student individually to set knowledge gain goals that they can track and celebrate together. The teacher also creates opportunities for students to share their knowledge with the class.
Action Steps
Use the “Tracking Teacher Actions” reproducibles that follow (pages 23–25) to monitor your implementation of each element in this chapter.
Additionally, visit the appendix (page 329) for the reproducible “Tracking