Robert J. Marzano

Robert J. Marzano is a speaker, trainer, and educational researcher in the United States. He has done educational research and theory on the topics of standards-based assessment, cognition, high-yield teaching strategies, and school leadership, including the development of practical programs and tools for teachers and administrators in K-12 schools.

Marzano is co-founder and CEO of Marzano Research in Centennial, Colorado.^[1][2] In 2012, the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences created the Regional Educational Laboratory (Central) at the Marzano Research, one of ten similar laboratories across the United States. Marzano was named executive director.^[3] He is also Executive Director of Learning Sciences Marzano Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.^[4]

Research

Marzano has identified three areas central to school improvement reforms: fostering and sustaining system-wide teaching strategies; providing effective feedback to students; and building a strong student academic vocabulary.^[5]

In Classroom Instruction That Works (2001), Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock outlined nine instructional strategies likely to improve student achievement across all grade levels and subject areas. These included:

1. Identifying similarities and differences.
2. Summarizing and note taking.
3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition.
4. Homework and practice.
5. Non-linguistic representations.
6. Cooperative learning.
7. Setting objectives and providing feedback.
8. Generating and testing hypotheses.
9. Cues, questions, and advance organizers.^[6]

In 2003, Marzano co-authored Classroom Management That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Every Teacher, which examined effective disciplinary interventions for teachers. They outlined practical steps teachers could implement in classrooms, including establishing rules and procedures; using effective disciplinary interventions; fostering positive student-teacher relationships; developing an effective mental set; and instilling student responsibility.^[7] Marzano is co-creator, with Learning Sciences Marzano Center, of the Marzano Hierarchical Evaluation System, which includes evaluation models for teacher, school leader, non-classroom instructor, and district leader evaluation.^[8]

Marzano is a leader in research on evidence-based education.

Education

Marzano received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Iona College, and a master's degree in reading and language arts from Seattle University. His doctorate was in curriculum and instruction from the University of Washington.^[5]

Awards

Marzano was the recipient of the 2008 Brock International Prize in Education.^[5]

Publications

Marzano has authored or co-authored more than 40 books and 150 articles,^[9] including:

Books:

• Assessing Student Outcomes: Performance Assessment Using the Dimensions of Learning Model (1993).
• Models of Standards Implementation: Implications for the Classroom (1998).
• Transforming Classroom Grading (2000).
• Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement (2001).
• What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action (2003).
• Classroom Assessment & Grading That Work (2006).
• The Art and Science of Teaching (2007).
• Teacher Evaluation that Makes a Difference (2013).
• Leaders of Learning (2011).
• A Handbook for High Reliability Schools (2014).
• Awaken the Learner (2014).
• Managing the Inner World of Teaching (2015).
• Collaborative Teams that Transform Schools (2016).

Articles and chapters in books:

• "Commentary on Literacy Portfolios" (1994). In Valencia, Hiebert & Afflerbach (Eds.), Authentic Reading Assessment: Practices and Possibilities (pp. 41–45).
• "Lessons from the Field About Outcome-Based Performance Assessments" (1994). Educational Leadership, 51 (6), pp. 44–50.
• "Four Approaches to Implementing Standards" (1997). The High School Magazine, 4 (2), pp. 18–31.
• "An Array of Strategies for Classroom Teachers" (1997). Momentum, 28 (2), pp. 6–10.
• "Rethinking Tests and Performance Tasks" (1998). School Administrator, 11 (55), pp. 10–12.
• "Cognitive, Metacognitive, and Conative Considerations in Classroom Assessment" (1998). In Lambert & McCombs (Eds.), How Students Learn: Reforming Schools Through Learner-Centered Education (pp. 241–266).
• "Eight Questions About Implementing Standards-Based Education" (1999). Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 5 (6), pp. 1–12.
• "Building Curriculum and Assessment Around Standards" (1999). High School Magazine, 6 (5), pp. 14–19.
• "Realizing the Promise of Standards-Based Education" (1999). Educational Leadership, 56 (6), pp. 12–16.
• "Implementing Standards-Based Education" (2000). Teacher Librarian, 28 (2), pp. 30–32.
• "A Comparison of Two Methods of Scoring Classroom Assessments" (2002). Applied Measurement in Education, 15 (3), pp. 249–268.
• "Using Data: Two Wrongs and a Right" (2003). Educational Leadership, 60 (5), pp. 56–61.

References