"The right work at both the school level and the district level is to do something that impacts the classroom."—Robert Marzano
"The problem in low-performing schools," cautioned Robert Marzano at his 2006 Conference on Teaching and Learning general session, "is not getting people to work hard; it's getting people to do the right work." He said research shows that district leadership matters, and that getting district leaders aligned on the right work will translate into big student achievement gains.
Marzano and his research team found that the right work includes
- Collaborative goal setting.
- Nonnegotiable goals for achievement and instruction.
- Board alignment and support for the district goals.
- Monitoring goal achievement.
- Monitoring and tailoring instruction for goal achievement.
- Using resources to support achievement and instructional goals.
"For years," said Marzano, "teachers have developed expertise in the art and science of teaching, but they've done it on their own. That's the hard way to do it."
Marzano laid out steps toward institutionalizing the art and science of teaching at the school and district level and offered participants 10 critical planning questions for aligning work at the district and school levels.
- What will I do to establish and communicate learning goals, track student progress, and celebrate success?
- What will I do to help students actively interact with new knowledge?
- What will I do to help students review, revise, and practice new knowledge?
- What will I do to help students apply new knowledge?
- What will I do to engage students?
- What will I do to establish or maintain classroom rules and procedures?
- What will I do to establish or maintain consequences for following and not following rules and procedures?
- What will I do to establish or maintain effective relationships with students?
- What will I do to communicate high expectations for all students?
- What will I do to organize lessons into a coherent unit? (Copyright Marzano & Associates, 2005. All rights reserved.)
