Marzano the Second Time Around

I was first introduced to the Marzano book a few years ago in a methods class offered by the State Board of Ed. I thought I had done a pretty good job incorporating the methods into my classroom. However, after reading it again, I found that it supplied answers to some problems that had been nagging at me recently.

I teach AP U.S. History and have been struggling with the lack of recognition that effort equals achievement. They seem to think that all that is needed to achieve great grades and pass the national exam given in May is to put in the seat time. I read the book as I was traveling on an airplane and I nearly jumped up and down out of my seat when I ran across the Effort and Achievement Rubrics offered in Chapter 4. I plan to incorporate these rubrics into the unit work I use with these students as a way to impress upon them that they are accountable for their own effort and progress.

As I read further, I decided that I wanted to incorporate this idea combined with ideas presented in Chapter 8 about students setting their own objectives (like in the example). I don't know exactly how this will look yet, but I feel that the idea is sound and will work to my students' advantage.