Classroom Instruction That Works, Second Edition: Research Report

Background: The current study updates and extends the original research synthesis of effective instructional strategies presented in "Classroom Instruction that Works" ("CITW"; Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001). That work identified nine instructional strategies for improving academic achievement and synthesized findings from previous meta-analyses around each. The present study extends and updates this original work. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to update the research base for the nine teaching strategies addressed by "Classroom Instruction that Works": (1) Identifying similarities and differences; (2) Summarizing and note taking; (3) Reinforcing effort and providing recognition; (4) Homework and practice; (5) Nonlinguistic representations; (6) Cooperative learning; (7) Setting objectives and providing feedback; (8) Generating and testing hypotheses; and (9) Cues, questions, and advance organizers. One rationale for an update is to take into account the work that has been done by educational researchers since 1998 on each of the nine strategies. As educational research methods have become more rigorous, partly in response to initiatives from the U.S. Department of Education, a larger body of experimental and quasi-experimental studies has been published. This has resulted in a change in how empirical research is conceptualized, conducted, and interpreted. Arguably, these advances in methodology provide a body of research with improved precision and more accurate impact estimates. The current study leverages these advancements to generate an updated effect estimate for each strategy. In addition, synthesizing more recent literature permits a close look at how the nine strategies are currently being operationalized and studied. Study Sample: Literature search protocols were designed to identify relevant empirical literature and descriptive/theoretical literature around each of the nine strategies published between 1998 and 2008. The search focused on articles published in peer-reviewed journals in order to ensure quality standards were met. To identify study reports with direct relevance to student achievement, only those studies that included measures of academic content knowledge and skills were selected. Research Design: Statistical Synthesis; Data Collection and Analysis: Determination of the appropriate analytic method of synthesis was conducted on a case-by-case basis for each of the nine instructional strategies. Two methods were used--m