Marzano 2

In our high school, we have been using Marzano's Classroom Instruction that Works for several years. I have used this historical seminar as an excuse to re-visit Marzano's book, even though I have developed - and use in my classroom - many strategies and activities based on his writings. As I was reading Chapter 1 again, which introduces the reasoning and the research that precipitated the development of the book, I reflected on my own experience in previously struggling to absorb and adapt my teaching practices to reflect the research found in its various chapters. To be candid, it was extremely difficult to first, identify personal weakness in my teaching practices, and second, to figure out what I was going to to to improve. Even when faced with the findings of the research, and even when everything was explained clearly for all to understand I still found it difficult to incorporate the research-based principles into my classroom. There were many days when I felt discouraged to the point of abandoning my efforts, and reverting to the "tried-and-true" traditional strategies I had employed for the first 15 years of my career. Fortunately, I persevered, and today, I no longer fear the change that comes when one begins to look more closely at oneself. My classroom has become a research lab in which I experiment with various ideas. There is only one thing these ideas share in common: each is based upon research that was first identified within the pages of Marzano's book. I would encourage all teachers to become more familiar with this effective tool for developing successful teaching practices. It has proved to be a wonderful, valuable asset to me!