Ceri B. Dean,
Elizabeth Ross Hubell, Howard Pitler, Bj Stone CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION that WORKS:--Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement
When the 2nd Edition of Classroom
Instruction that Works came off the press, I immediately purchased it. The
1st Edition sat prominently on my bookshelf at eye level and easily
within hands reach. I went to it often as I thought about how to support
effective instruction. Inside its well-worn pages was the go to list of
effective research-based, tried and true instructional strategies along with
their average effect size, percentile gains and standard deviations.
The newest edition sat on my shelf for more time that I
would like to admit. How could one improve on such sound practices? My wise colleague continued to encourage me and
eventually started correcting me, because what I had known and was frequently
sharing was no longer as current as I had believed. Now let me clarify here.
The instructional strategies listed in the current edition are still the same
as in the original addition, but in a flat world we have better tools and
resources for interpreting more current evidence-based studies.
In the books forward, literacy guru John Hattie reassure
others and myself with this powerful statement. “The world has not stood still.
We learned a lot in the intervening decade, and the order in which the authors
present the strategies has changed to better reflect the current educational
climate and a comprehensive framework that is geared toward instructional
planning. I encourage you to read on and see what classroom instruction the
evidence indicates works best.” I was
hooked and on I read.
In the first edition the strategies were listed in order of
their effective size, starting with the greatest impact. So myself, and I am
sure others, went to this go to list, thought about which strategy would give
us the most ‘bang for our buck’ and didn’t often consider the other strategies
and the end of the list. In the second edition, “the strategies are organized
and presented within a framework that is geared toward instructional planning”
(pg. xiv). There are four parts in the author’s newest edition laying the
foundation for The Framework for Instructional Planning.
Creating the Environment for
Learning
Helping Students Develop
Understanding
Helping Students Extend and Apply
Knowledge
Putting the Instructional
Strategies to Use
The nine research based strategies for increasing student
achievement are listed within those four components. The authors have also
updated their effect size with McREL researchers who used narrative reviews,
qualitative research, and theoretical literature. I am tempted to share with you what strategy
falls under what category and the updated effect sizes (some which will
surprise you), but then I imagine you wouldn’t be inclined to read the book in
its entirety to learn the what, how, when, and why each strategy works.
Happy Reading!
