Getting Better Results (and Evaluations) With Marzano

By now, everyone in education has probably heard of Dr. Marzano, and his books including, The Art and Science of Teaching.  About 10 or 12 years ago, my old district provided a professional development about Marzano's ideas, and techniques, and I was hooked!

After the PD, I sat down and took a long and hard look at what I'd been doing, and how I'd been teaching.  I realized that I needed to make some changes.  For me, that process of self-evaluation and reflection is the essence of Marzano.  It wasn't a specific strategy or technique in the book that transformed me from a teacher to a highly effective teacher, it was a shift in mindset and intentionality.

Thinking carefully about which strategy or technique would get the best results and resisting a tendency to just do the next chapter because its next, or activity X because we have done that activity forever had amazing and immediate results!  Not only was I more prepared and my students learned better, but whenever evaluation time came around, I could very specifically explain to my administrator not only what I was doing, but why I was doing it.  This resulted in much better teacher evaluations which also eventually led to more teacher leadership roles.

The Art and Science of Teaching is an incredible book, and I very highly recommend getting, reading and applying it.  But, if you are looking for a "Cliff notes version of it" I will be sharing some Marzano aligned products, tips and ideas about how to embed some highly effective activities and strategies into your classroom instruction with you in the coming months.