Standards of Practice

Marzano's nine instructional strategies provide a useful springboard for structuring student activities in a clear and unambiguous fashion. Students can be easily intimidated by a difficult concept or a difficult piece of writing. Identifying similarities and differences can be a useful way to break down the exercise: asking, for example, how one character in a novel is similar or different to the main character of a novel the students previously read. Creating a similarity/difference chart can also be a valuable asset for visual learners.

The nine instructional strategies are also useful because they make use of a variety of different learning styles. Some students learn best by taking notes and verbally summarizing the material. Others learn through the use of interpersonal approaches, such as team-based learning, or non-verbal visual strategies. Using a diversity of learning techniques better ensures that all students will be "on board" with the concepts being taught and encourages them to become truly engaged with the material.

The techniques provide guidance to the teacher so he or she will take an organized approach to lesson planning; stop to ask questions and "signpost" before and during the lecture; use an experimental process to get students involved in the experience of learning, and provide reinforcement and homework as a source of feedback. The most important performance objective I learned from reading the Marzano strategies is the need to have accountability within the lesson plan for both the teacher and the student.

Using multiple sources of formative assessment throughout a unit is the best way to diagnose the extent to which students have really mastered the content. Students should be able to apply the lessons they are learning in a variety of contexts, versus simply being able to regurgitate the material in a formulaic fashion. Q2. Standards of practice Standards of practice are essential because they ensure that all students are getting a high-quality education that builds upon the same basic principles.

They also define teacher "best practices" and ethics in a homogeneous fashion, ensuring better respect for the teaching profession as a whole. Teachers can benefit from standards given that they can act as important guides for structuring lesson-planning and help them clarify what the students need to know after completing various assignments. Although standards-based education is occasionally seen as the enemy of differentiated instruction, this should not be the case.

In fact, having a clear objective standard can help the teacher ensure that all of the multiple media and techniques she is using still reinforce the same objectives. A lesson in grammar might include diagramming sentences, creating illustrated stories, acting out various sentences, or singing songs.

So long as the objective standard is that students will be able to identify nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs after completing such activities, the use of differentiated learning will clearly enhance rather than confuse the concept because all of the teacher's activities have been structured around this basic objective. Standards.