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Introduction

The New Art and Science of Teaching (Marzano, 2017) is a comprehensive model of instruction with a rather long developmental lineage. Specifically, four books spanning two decades precede and inform The New Art and Science of Teaching and its use in the field.

1. Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001)

2. Classroom Management That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Every Teacher (Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003)

3. Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work (Marzano, 2006)

4. The Art and Science of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction (Marzano, 2007)

The first three books address specific components of the teaching process, namely instruction, management, and assessment. The final book puts all three components together into a comprehensive model of teaching. It also makes a strong case for the fact that research (in other words, science) must certainly guide good teaching, but teachers must also develop good teaching as art. Even if they use precisely the same instructional strategies, two highly effective teachers will have shaped and adapted those strategies to adhere to their specific personalities, the subject matter they teach, and their students’ unique needs. Stated differently, we can never accurately articulate effective teaching as a set of strategies that all teachers must execute in precisely the same way.

The comprehensive model in the 2017 book The New Art and Science of Teaching (Marzano, 2017) reflects a greatly expanded and updated version of The Art and Science of Teaching (Marzano, 2007). One of the unique aspects of The New Art and Science of Teaching is that it focuses on what happens in the minds of students by taking a student-outcome perspective as the primary influence. Specifically, when teachers employ instructional strategies, it generates certain mental states and processes in the learner’s mind that facilitate student learning. This dynamic that represents the major feature of this new model is depicted in figure I.1 (page 2):

Source: Marzano, 2017, p. 5.

Figure I.1: The teaching and learning progression.

According to figure I.1, the intervening variable between the effective application of an instructional strategy and enhanced student learning is specific mental states and processes in the minds of learners. If teachers do not produce these mental states and processes as a result of employing a given strategy, then that strategy will have little or no effect on students. This implies that teachers should heighten their level of awareness as they use instructional strategies for maximum efficacy.

The Overall Model

The model in The New Art and Science of Teaching (Marzano, 2017) is a framework that educators can use to organize the majority (if not all) of the instructional strategies that research and theory identify. It has several parts: three overarching categories, ten design areas, and forty-three specific elements that each serve as an umbrella for a host of instructional strategies.

Three Categories

At the highest level of organization, the model has three overarching categories: feedback, content, and context.

1. Feedback refers to the all-important information loop teachers must establish with students so that students know what they should be learning about specific topics and their current level of performance on these topics.

2. Content refers to the sequencing and pacing of lessons such that students move smoothly from initial understanding to applying knowledge in new and creative ways.

3. Context refers to those strategies that ensure all students meet these psychological needs: engagement, order, a sense of belonging, and high expectations.

Embedded in these three overarching categories are more specific categories (teacher actions).

Ten Design Areas

In The New Art and Science of Teaching model, each of the ten design areas is associated with a specific teacher action, as follows:

1. Providing and communicating clear learning goals

2. Using assessments

3. Conducting direct instruction lessons

4. Conducting practicing and deepening lessons

5. Conducting knowledge application lessons

6. Using strategies that appear in all types of lessons

7. Using engagement strategies

8. Implementing rules and procedures

9. Building relationships

10. Communicating high expectations

Table I.1 shows the ten teacher actions within the three categories along with a description of the desirable student mental states and processes for each. For example, the teacher action of conducting direct instruction lessons within the content category has the desired effect that when the teacher presents new content to students, they understand which parts are important and how the parts all fit together.

Table I.1: Teacher Actions and Student Mental States and Processes

	Teacher Actions	Student Mental States and Processes
Feedback	Providing and Communicating Clear Learning Goals	1. Students understand the progression of knowledge they are expected to master and where they are along that progression.
Using Assessments	2. Students understand how test scores and grades relate to their status on the progression of knowledge they are expected to master.
Content	Conducting Direct Instruction Lessons	3. When content is new, students understand which parts are important and how the parts fit together.
Conducting Practicing and Deepening Lessons	4. After teachers present new content, students deepen their understanding and develop fluency in skills and processes.
Conducting Knowledge Application Lessons	5. After teachers present new content, students generate and defend claims through knowledge application tasks.
Using Strategies That Appear in All Types of Lessons	6. Students continually integrate new knowledge with old knowledge and revise their understanding accordingly.
Context	Using Engagement Strategies	7. Students are paying attention, energized, intrigued, and inspired.
Implementing Rules and Procedures	8. Students understand and follow rules and procedures.
Building Relationships	9. Students feel welcome, accepted, and valued.
Communicating High Expectations	10. Typically reluctant students feel valued and do not hesitate to interact with the teacher or their peers.

Each of the ten design areas corresponds with a design question. These are a set of questions that help teachers plan units and lessons within those units. Table I.2 shows the design questions that correspond with each design area.

Table I.2: Design Questions

	Design Areas	Design Questions
Feedback	1. Providing and Communicating Clear Learning Goals	How will I communicate clear learning goals that help students understand the progression of knowledge they are expected to master and where they are along that progression?
2. Using Assessment	How will I design and administer assessments that help students understand how their test scores and grades are related to their status on the progression of knowledge they are expected to master?
Content	3. Constructing Direct Instruction Lessons	When content is new, how will I design and deliver direct instruction lessons that help students understand which parts of the content are important and how the parts fit together?
4. Conducting Practicing and Deepening Lessons	After presenting content, how will I design and deliver lessons that help students deepen their understanding and develop fluency in skills and processes?
5. Conducting Knowledge Application Lessons	After presenting content, how will I design and deliver lessons that help students generate and defend claims through knowledge application?
6. Using Strategies That Appear in All Types of Lessons	Throughout all types of lessons, what strategies will I use to help students continually integrate new knowledge with old knowledge and revise their understanding accordingly?
Context	7. Using Engagement	What engagement strategies will I use to help students pay attention, be energized, be intrigued, and be inspired?
8. Implementing Rules and Procedures	What strategies will I use to help students understand and follow rules and procedures?
9. Building Relationships	What strategies will I use to help students feel welcome, accepted, and valued?
10. Communicating High Expectations	What strategies will I use to help typically reluctant students feel valued and comfortable interacting with me or their peers?

Source: Marzano, 2017, pp. 6–7.

Within the ten categories of teacher actions, we have organized sets of strategies in even more fine-grained categories, called elements.

Forty-Three Elements

The forty-three elements provide detailed guidance about the nature and purpose of a category of strategies. Table I.3 depicts the full complement of elements. For example, we operationally define the category building relationships as:

• Using verbal and nonverbal behaviors that indicate affection for students (element 38)

• Understanding students’ backgrounds and interests (element 39)

• Displaying objectivity and control (element 40)

Finally, these forty-three elements encompass hundreds of specific instructional strategies. Selected strategies related to writing instruction are the focus of this book.

Over 330 Specific Strategies

At the finest level of detail are over 330 specific instructional strategies embedded in the forty-three elements. For example, element 24—increasing response rates—includes the following nine strategies.

1. Random names

2. Hand signals

3. Response cards

4. Response chaining

5. Paired response

6. Choral response

7. Wait time

8. Elaborative interrogation

9. Multiple types of questions

In effect, there are nine distinctive, specific instructional strategies teachers can use to increase students’ response rates, supporting the fact that two different teachers could both effectively improve their students’ learning by boosting response rates but with very different techniques. The reader will note that throughout the text we have addressed only those elements—and strategies within elements—that relate directly to writing instruction. Therefore, the breadth of this book will not extend to explanations and examples related to writing instruction for each of the more than three hundred strategies.

Table I.3: Elements Within the Ten Design Areas

Feedback	Content	Context
Providing and Communicating Clear Learning Goals 1. Providing scales and rubrics 2. Tracking student progress 3. Celebrating success Using Assessments 4. Using informal assessments of the whole class 5. Using formal assessments of individual students	Conducting Direct Instruction Lessons 6. Chunking content 7. Processing content 8. Recording and representing content Conducting Practicing and Deepening Lessons 9. Using structured practice sessions 10. Examining similarities and differences 11. Examining errors in reasoning Conducting Knowledge Application Lessons 12. Engaging students in cognitively complex tasks 13. Providing resources and guidance 14. Generating and defending claims Using Strategies That Appear in All Types of Lessons 15. Previewing strategies 16. Highlighting critical information 17. Reviewing content 18. Revising knowledge 19. Reflecting on learning 20. Assigning purposeful homework 21. Elaborating on information 22. Organizing students to interact	Using Engagement Strategies 23. Noticing and reacting when students are not engaged 24. Increasing response rates 25. Using physical movement 26. Maintaining a lively pace 27. Demonstrating intensity and enthusiasm 28. Presenting unusual information 29. Using friendly controversy 30. Using academic games 31. Providing opportunities for students to talk about themselves 32. Motivating and inspiring students Implementing Rules and Procedures 33. Establishing rules and procedures 34. Organizing the physical layout of the classroom 35. Demonstrating withitness 36. Acknowledging adherence to rules and procedures 37. Acknowledging lack of adherence to rules and procedures Building Relationships 38. Using verbal and nonverbal behaviors that indicate affection for students 39. Understanding students’ backgrounds and interests 40. Displaying objectivity and control Communicating High Expectations 41. Demonstrating value and respect for reluctant learners 42. Asking in-depth questions of reluctant learners 43. Probing incorrect answers with reluctant learners

Some strategies use the same or similar terms; for example, the strategy of summary appears in element 8 (strategy 40, summaries), element 10 (strategy 59, summaries), and element 17 (strategy 133, summary). This is because teachers will use strategies differently depending on their particular purpose as we show in the following example.

• Element 8: In chapter 3 (page 46), “Conducting Direct Instruction Lessons,” element 8—recording and representing content—asks that students summarize content briefly and quickly to identify critical information and describe how the pieces fit together.

• Element 10: In chapter 4 (page 61), “Conducting Practicing and Deepening Lessons,” element 10 focuses on students examining similarities and differences. Students can succinctly summarize the attributes of two opposing topics through a graphic organizer or other method.

• Element 17: In chapter 6 (page 98), “Using Strategies That Appear in All Types of Lessons,” element 17 suggests that students use summaries to review content. Teachers can furnish a summary for students or ask students to prepare them as the basis for an ensuing discussion.

Figure A.1 in appendix A (page 156) presents an overview of the entire New Art and Science of Teaching framework featuring the three overarching categories (feedback, content, and context), ten teacher actions, forty-three elements, and over 330 accompanying strategies. This figure can serve as an advance organizer while reading this book.

The Need for Subject-Specific Models

General models like The New Art and Science of Teaching certainly have their place in a teacher’s understanding of effective instruction. However, teachers must adapt those models to specific subject areas to produce the most powerful results. That is what we have attempted to do in this book. Specifically, in the following chapters, we address the three overarching categories—(1) feedback, (2) content, and (3) context—with their corresponding ten teacher actions and the embedded forty-three elements. We do so by providing concrete examples for how to apply a generous representation of the hundreds of instructional strategies expressly for writing, with some reading as well, since these areas of literacy closely align and interconnect.

Although this text predominantly provides suggestions to support lesson planning around writing instruction, we encourage readers to explore the foundational book The New Art and Science of Teaching (Marzano, 2017). In doing so, they will likely infuse their content areas and grades with additional strategies. For example, element 16—highlighting critical information—encompasses the following eleven strategies.

1. Repeating the most important content

2. Asking questions that focus on critical information

3. Using visual activities

4. Using narrative activities

5. Using tone of voice, gestures, and body position

6. Using pause time

7. Identifying critical-input experiences

8. Using explicit instruction to convey critical content

9. Using dramatic instruction to convey critical content

10. Providing advance organizers to cue critical content

11. Using what students already know to cue critical content

Teachers could wisely incorporate all these strategies into various lessons throughout a unit, as they represent sound instructional practice. For example, when teachers continually repeat important information during a lesson and unit, it alerts students to critical content and helps them remember the information. As well, when teachers intentionally and strategically use their tone of voice, gestures, and body position to emphasize salient information, it again highlights what students should remember and focuses their attention on key content. Instead of focusing our attention on these more pervasive strategies—and other such strategies throughout the model—we provide ideas specific to writing. For example, for element 16, we choose the strategy of using visual activities as an opportunity to show how teachers can apply this strategy to teach a writing skill, which we detail in chapter 6 (page 89). As readers continue through this text, strategies linked to writing and reading take center stage.

This Book

This book is organized into three parts—(1) feedback, (2) content, and (3) context—mirroring the overarching categories of The New Art and Science of Teaching model as described earlier in this introduction. The chapters align with the ten teacher actions and then focus on selected elements (of the forty-three total) within each action and specific strategies for teaching writing.

In part I, chapters 1 and 2 focus on feedback. Chapter 1 pinpoints strategies for providing and communicating clear learning goals, and chapter 2 concentrates on using assessments.

In part II, chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 focus on content. Chapter 3 looks at conducting direct instruction lessons, chapter 4 on conducting practicing and deepening lessons, and chapter 5 on conducting knowledge application lessons. Chapter 6 focuses on using strategies that appear in all types of lessons.

In part III, chapters 7 and 8 focus on context. Chapter 7 emphasizes using engagement. In chapter 8, readers find a discussion of strategies for implementing rules and procedures and building relationships.

In chapter 9, readers will learn about a four-step process for developing teachers’ expertise in an effort to increase students’ learning.

Each chapter includes self-rating scales that teachers can use to assess their performance on each element addressed in this book. By doing this, they can determine their areas of strength and the areas in which they might want to improve relative to The New Art and Science of Teaching. All scales in this book have the same format for progression of development. To introduce these scales and help readers understand them, we present the general format of a self-rating scale in figure I.2.

Figure I.2: General format of the self-rating scale.

To understand this scale, it is best to start at the bottom with the Not Using row. Here the teacher is unaware of the strategies that relate to the element or knows them but doesn’t employ them. At the Beginning level, the teacher uses strategies that relate to the element, but leaves out important parts or makes significant mistakes. At the Developing level, the teacher executes strategies important to the element without significant errors or omissions but does not monitor their effect on students. At the Applying level, the teacher not only executes strategies without significant errors or omissions but also monitors students to ensure that they are experiencing the desired effects. We consider the Applying level the level at which one can legitimately expect tangible results in students. Finally, at the Innovating level, the teacher is aware of and makes any adaptations to the strategies for students who require such an arrangement.

Each chapter ends with a Guiding Questions for Curriculum Design section to help with planning. For easy reference, the strategies we have chosen to feature from the more than 330 appear in bold typeface in figure A.1 (page 156), The New Art and Science of Teaching framework overview.

Next, chapter 1 begins part I on feedback by examining how teachers can provide and communicate clear learning goals to students.