Research-Based Best Practices

8/14/2019 Research-Based Best Practices

1/25

LiteracyRecommendation How to Implement

Provide explicit vocabularyinstruction (What WorksClearinghouse)

Dedicate a portion of regularclassroom lessons to explicitvocabulary instruction

Provide repeated exposure to newwords in multiple contexts (Xin andReith, 2001)

o Example : exposing themto vocabulary/conceptsusing films, music, visuals,varied texts, writing, etc.

Provide students with strategies tomake them independent vocabularylearners

o Example 1 : Mnemonic

Keyword Method, whichinvolves student firstlearning a concrete wordthat sounds like the targetword, and then creating animage linking the targetwork to its definition. Forexample, for angler, akeyword could be angeland the interactive imagecould be an angelcatching a fish.

o Example 2 : Teaching

students how to usecontext cues to infermeaning of challengingvocabulary (Gee, 1995, p.5)

Research-BasedBest Practices


2/25

o Example 3 : Giving

students an opportunity topick up on and usevocabulary as bothlisteners and learners

during discussion-basedactivities

Provide direct and explicitcomprehension strategyinstruction

Show students howto apply thestrategies they are learning todifferent texts

o Examples : summarizing,

asking and answeringquestions, paraphrasing,finding the main idea,combining textualinformation and

background knowledge todraw inferences, andthinking about the types ofquestions they are beingasked to answer

Make sure that the text isappropriate for the reading level ofstudents

Do think-a-louds while teaching

students new strategies

Increase or decrease the amount oftime allotted for guided practicedepending on the difficulty of thestrategies that students are learning

Provide opportunities for extendeddiscussion of text meaning andinterpretation (What WorksClearinghouse)

Select engaging materials anddevelop stimulating questions(avoided closed questions)

Ask follow-up questions that helpprovide continuity and extend thediscussion

Provide a task or discussion formatthat students can follow when theydiscuss text in small groups

Example :

Recommendation continued... How to Implement continued...


3/25

Assign students to read selectionstogether and practice using thecomprehension strategies that havebeen taught and demonstrated. ingroups, students can take turns

playing various roles, such asleading the discussion, predictingwhat the section might be about,identifying words that are confusing,and summarizing. Meanwhile, otherstudents can then respond withother predictions, other things thatare confusing, or different ways ofsummarizing the main idea.

During activity, the teacher shouldactively circulate among the groupsto redirect discussions that havegone astray, model thinkingstrategies, or ask studentsadditional questions to probe themeaning of the text at deeperlevels.

Develop and practice the use of aspecific discussion protocol

o Example : Set ground rules

for discussion

Phonemic awareness Teach students how to manipulatephonemes using letters

Teach students to convert lettersinto sounds and then blend the

sounds to form recognizable words,and then analyze and blend largersubparts of words and phonemes.

Most effective phonemic awarenessprograms involve teaching wordrecognition skills for 1.5 hours aweek for more than 8 weeks.


4/25

Differentiating reading materials(Swanborn & de Glopper, 2002)

Match reading level of assignedtexts to students reading levels toincrease comprehension

Provide intensive, systematicinstruction on up to threefoundational reading skills in smallgroups (or to students who scorebelow the benchmark on universalscreening)What WorksClearinghouse site

Have students meet between 3-5times a week, for 20-40 min

Recommended one-on-oneintervention: Reading RecoveryProgram

Provide Feedback on Writing Pairing students or holding student-teacher conferences to facilitateexchange of constructive feedbackregarding writing process

Using rubrics that are wellunderstood by all students so thatconstructive feedback is even moremeaningful/focused

Teach skills through reciprocalteaching method

Support student mastery of skillsthrough modeling strategies beforeallowing them time to practice andthen engaging in a dialogue with

students as you work collaborativelyto gain meaning from text.

Use images to supportcomprehension (Levie and Lentz,1982, p. 206)

Incorporate visuals (especiallyanimations) to reinforce points

Have students examine directlyrelevant pictures while reading orinclude them in text


5/25

Special EducationRecommendation How to Implement

Combine direct instruction andcognitive strategyinstruction (Swanson

et al., 1999, p.218; Swanson, 2000;Forness and Kavale, 1985)

Recommended direction instructiontechniques:

o Drill-repetition-practiceo Segmenting information into

parts or units for latersynthesis, controlling taskdifficulty through prompts(scaffolding)

o Directing students to ask

questions/Socratic teachingo Using technology

o Making use of small

interactive groupso Providing students with

extended practice

Recommended cognitivestrategies toteach:

o Literacy: word recognition,

decoding, letter awarenesso Cross-content: planning, self-

questioning, drawinginferences, thematic

understanding, verbalrehearsal (repeatingsomething aloud tothemselves)


6/25

Mathematics

Recommendation How to ImplementUse data-driven mastery framework toinform instruction

Establish benchmarks based on thecritical foundations for algebra tosystematically gain mastery of keytopics.

Regularly use formative assessmentsto target and differentiate instruction.

Use a combination of instructional

methods for students experiencingmathematical difficulties, includingexplicit instruction, multiplerepresentations, and additionalmaterials.

Differentiate instruction formathematically gifted students (bylevel, complexity, breadth, and depth)and ensure that its developmentallyappropriate and taught at an

accelerated rate.

Interlacing modeling with work time Teaching problem, then allowingstudents to work on problem thatassesses mastery, and then repeatingprocess again.

Maintain high expectations forperformance

Monitoring and evaluation (Hattie, 2009) Get students to think about nature andquality of their work

Encourage students to testmathematical ideas and discoverymathematical principles

Explicitly teaching students problem-solving strategies/approaches

Example: Teaching ways to solveproblems using the following heuristic


7/25

(Mellinger, 1991) methodso Understand the problem

o Obtain a plan of the solution

o Carry out the plan

o Examine the solution

obtained to determine thesolution

Use comprehensive instructionalapproach that helps students developconceptual understanding,computational fluency, and problem-solving skills (Doing What Works website)

Simultaneously develop studentsconceptual understanding, proceduralfluency, and problem-solving skills

Provide adequate practiceopportunities to develop fluency witharithmetic facts and standardalgorithms

Encourage students to apply effort,and to persist in developingconceptual understanding,computational fluency, learning offacts, and solving problems.

Teach major topics in algebra that arerecommended by the NationalMathematics Advisory Panel (DoingWhat Works site)

Build understanding of major algebratopics and connections: symbols andexpressions, linear and quadraticequations, functions, algebra of

polynomials, combinatorics and finiteprobability.

Develop students' proficiency insolving problems, which includesproblem formulation, problemtranslation, transformation ofequations, and explanation of thesteps in problem solving.

Enhance teacher understanding of thetopics of algebra, the links amongthose topics, and how to teach thosetopics, including strategies foraddressing student misconceptions inlearning algebra


8/25

Encourage Girls to Pursue Mathematicsand Sciences (Doing What Works site)

Teach students that science andmathematical intelligence is malleable(can be increased with practice)

o Teach students that the brain

grows when new material is

learnedo Remind students that the

mind grows stronger withuse; over time and withcontinued effort,understanding may geteasier

o Encourage students to keep

seeking challenges to furtherdevelop their brainconnections

Provide prescriptive, informationalfeedback on strategies and effort

o Provide students with

feedback on learningstrategies

o Praise effort, not ability

o Avoid using general praise,

such as good jobo Offer multiple opportunities

for students to receive

feedback on theirperformance

Show students female role models tocounter gender stereotypes

o Assign biographical readings

o Highlight achievements of

women in the newso Talk about the number of

women who receive degreesin math and science relateddisciplines

o Introduce students to

mentoring programs

Spark curiosity and foster long-terminterest in math and science

o Embed mathematics and


9/25

sciences in contexts that areinteresting, especially to girls(e.g., for middle schoolchildren and older, usingreal-world problemssuch

as figuring out how to buildan effective skateboard rampgiven a limited budgetcanbe motivating and supportlearning)

o Capitalize on novelty:

Project-based learning,group work, innovating tasks,and technology to sparkinitial interest

o Encourage students to

examine their beliefs aboutwhich careers are typicallyfemale-oriented and whichare typically male-oriented

Teach students spatial skills such ashow to visualize and manipulate formsand shapes

o Encourage young girls to

play with building toyso Encourage older girls to use

spatial information whensolving math and scienceproblems

o Require answers that use

both words and spatialdisplays

o Provide specific training in

spatial skills (e.g., use step-by-step instruction thatdevelops skills in mentalrotation of images, spatial

perspectives, and embeddedfigures).


10/25

Cross-Content PracticesRecommendation How to Implement

Use Problem-Based Learning toincrease recall (Gijbels, 2005)

Student-centered learning

Learning occurs in small groups

A tutor is present as facilitator or guide

Authentic problems are presented atthe beginning of the learning sequence

The problems encountered are usedas tools to achieve the requiredknowledge and the problem solvingskills necessary to eventually solve theproblem

New information is acquired throughself-directed learning

Practice the Five Cs During One-on-One Instruction

Foster a sense ofcontrolin the student

Appropriately challenge the student

Instill confidence in studento Maximize success

(expressing confidence in thestudent, assuring student

that theyre solving difficultproblems)o Minimize failure (provide

excuses for mistakes andemphasize part of problemthat student got right)

Fostercuriosity


11/25

Use Socratic methods via leadingo Questions

o Link problem to real-world

problems or those seen in

another context

Contextualize the problem

Place problem in real-world context orfrom a movie/TV show

Alternate worked examples withproblem-solving practice

Develop homework sets that askstudents to alternate between readingalready worked solutions and solvingproblems on their own.

Have teachers conduct thinkalouds inwhich they explain their thinking

Process as they complete problems

Plan for professional development toidentify the characteristics of a goodexample

Consider incorporating online tutorialsthat assist students

Avoid dumbing down material forstruggling students (Lepper, )

Instead, present material in a differentway or context

Ask leading/higher-order questions andthen ask them to justify their responses(Doing What Works site)

Study your discipline to betterunderstand how scientists, historians,mathematicians, and those who studyliterature ask questions and provideexplanations.

Encourage students to dig deeper byasking them to explain their thinking inspeaking and writing.

Create a classroom culture thatencourages students to take academicrisks and share ideas with the class.


12/25

(e.g., allow sufficient wait time forresponses, provide sentence startersto scaffold explanations, create normsand structures for respectful dialogue)

Provide teachers with professionaldevelopment about how to makequestion-asking and explanation-generating a natural part of theclassroom environment.

Build positive relationships withstudents(Batten & Girling-Butcher,1981; Cornelius-White, 2007, p.123)

Respect child for what he/she brings tothe classroom

Show genuine interest in studentslives/hobbies outside of school

Demonstrate ability to see theirperspective and then give themrelevant feedback that allows them to

Encourage them self-assess as well asto understand others and the contentwith the same interest and concern

Teaching strategies via directinstruction

Teach students test strategies directly

Explain the how, when, where, andwhyof these strategies use.

Assess students more frequently withsmaller tests/quizzes

Make sure to accompany frequentquiz/test-giving with appropriatefeedback

Emphasize student progress over theirabilities when collaborating with othercolleagues as well as when engagingwith students (Hattie, 2009)

Avoid praising students for beingsmart or advanced, especially Infront of other students

Recognize that boredom is often a signthat tasks are too easy or difficult(Steinberg, Brown and Dornbusch,1997, p.63)

Differentiate so that youreappropriately challenging students

Connect abstract and concreterepresentations of concepts (DoingWhat Works site)

Identify the challenging concepts inyour discipline and how you might


13/25

demonstrate these concepts inconcrete contexts.

Use graphic representations withverbal descriptions that illustrate key

processes and procedures.

Help students understand the benefitsand limitations of concreterepresentations.

Provide teachers with professionaldevelopment in creating lessons thatsituate challenging course material inreal-world problem scenarios.

Teach students that intelligence is

malleable (Nesbitt, 2009)

Tell them research shows that if they

try harder they will eventually improve

Avoid praising students for theirintelligence

Creating Learning-CenteredEnvironments (National EducationAssociation)

Create flexible room arrangements(e.g., desks are clustered to maximizeface-to-face interaction)

Vary social forums (e.g., set-upsranging from whole class to small-

group instruction) depending on thelearning goal

Encourage students to use multipleinformation resources and make theseresources readily available (e.g.,peers, teachers, outside experts, theInternet, primary source documents,and supplemental resources obtainedat the library)

Encourage students to not only takeresponsibility for their own learning butto support and monitor the learning oftheir peers

Share responsibility of assessmentwith students


14/25

o Student self-assessment

(e.g., through pre-testsurveys)

o Peer assessment (e.g., per

editing of essays or

assignments)

Establish clear implementation andevaluation intentions (Elliot and Dweck,1988)

Effectively communicate to studentshow you expect to help them learn thedays objective as well as how theyll

be responsible for showing you thattheyve mastered it

Set appropriately challenging goals(Latham and Locke, 2006)

Avoid do your best goals

Goals that are too challenging arecounterproductive.

Do not punish students for failing tomeet academic goals; doing sodiscourages risk taking

Provide appropriate feedback tostudents that promotes self-efficacy/agency

Focus feedback on theproduct:o Example : You need to

include more about theTreaty of Versailles in youranswer to receive full credit

Focus feedback onprocess that leadsto higher achievement:

o Example : You already know


15/25

the key features of theopening of an argument.Check to see whether youhave incorporated them inyour first paragraph

Provide students with spaced overmassed practice (Doing What Workssite)

Use quizzes and fun games forretrieval practice to reduce forgetting

Teach students how to test and assesstheir own knowledge and focus onstudy strategies accordingly

Use technology to provide quick-response to quizzes

Plan for important content to berevisited and reviewed over time

Provide common planning time forteachers to revise grading systemsthat capture review and studentsmastery of skills over time than astudents performance on a singleassessment

Encourage visualization of achievement

(Feltz and Landers, 1983)

Encourage students to visualize

themselves concentrating or beingengaged

Encourage peer tutoring Pair higher-performing with lower-performing students for maximumresults

Cooperation is superior to competitionin promoting achievement (Johnson,Maruyama, Johnson, Nelson, and Skon,1981)

Design structured activities with highlydetailed directions to promotecollaboration between students

Purposefully using computers Use diversity of strategies whenteaching with computers

Undergo pre-training in the use ofcomputers as a teaching and learningtool (minimum of 10 quality hours)


16/25

Design student-centeredcomputerlearning activities

Pair students up into heterogeneousgroups during computer activities;

make sure to encourage students towork together to use appropriatelearning strategies and provide highlydetailed instructions for group work(Lou, Abrami, and dApollonia, 2001)

Teaching through backwards design(van Gog, Ericcson, Rikers, & Paas,2005; Wiggins and McTighe, 2005)

Start by crafting test/desired resultsand then units/plan lessons to ensurethat students work toward masteringthe assessed standards/objectives

Teacher Characteristics MostAssociated with Student Achievement

Recommendation How to Implement

Open to feedback from students as towhat they know and understand, wherethey make errors, when they havemisconceptions, when they are not

engaged (Marsh, 2007; Irving, 2004)

Administer surveys that ask studentsto rate your clarity of instruction,degree of responsiveness to studentslearning needs, what they do/dont like

about the class, etc.

Critically Reflective (Popper, 1963) Excellent teachers are students of theirown effects

They seek evidence as to why theirteaching maynothave beensuccessful


17/25

Exhibit good knowledge, empathy, andverbal ability (Hattie, 2009)

Welcomed and were open to learningfrom classroom observations by otherteachers/administrators

Less likely to give positive feedback Instead, empower students to evaluatetheir own work


18/25

School-Wide Characteristics Associated with AchievementRecommendation How to Implement

High levels of trust between educatorsand administrators alike (Schneider,

2002)Schools in which educators andadministrators alike collaborate aroundstudent achievement data to drivedecisions about how to maximizeteacher efficacy and studentachievement (Hattie, et al., 2007)

Provide incentives for teachers whosestudents get results on standardizedtests (e.g., bonuses)

Offer students intellectually stimulating

after-school and summertime activities(Nesbitt, 2009)

Recommendations for Turning SchoolsAround from the US Dept of EdsDoing What Works Web site:

Principals must signal change by doingany of the following:

o Communicating a clear

purpose to school staffo Creating high expectations,

o Sharing leadership

o Demonstrating a willingness

too Make changes him or herself

o Identifying advocates on staff

o Building consensus

o Eliminating distractions

o Establishing a cohesive

culture.Example: To signal change andto develop targeted goals for theschool, one principal analyzeddifferent types of data, such asdata on student achievement,

discipline, class size, staffing,and use of instructional time,and involved the staff in aprocess to clearly identify whatwas or was not working. Theyidentified discipline as a problemand so they adjusted theschedule to reduce time


19/25

students spent in the hallwayswhere many of the disciplineproblems had occurred.

Improve the quality of instruction

(Doing What Works site)o Examine school-level data to

identify areas of schoolweakness

o Examine student-level data

to inform interventions, groupoutreach, differentiateinstruction

o Have staff work together to

review the curriculum foralignment with state and

local standards to ensure allstandards are beingadequately addressed ininstruction.

o Track progress and make

adjustments.o Focus professional

development on areas ofgreatest need

Make visible improvements early in the

school turnaround process (DoingWhat Works site)

o Pick a viable and important

goal that can lead to visibleimprovement: the use oftime, classroom resources,student discipline, andbuilding improvements

o Pick an efficient plan of

implementation thatminimizes the principals

reliance on others andfinancial dependence

o Consider goals that have

worked in other turnaroundschools: adjusting theschedule to improve thefunctioning of the school;provide time for academic


20/25

support; give teachersadditional time to collaborate;improve access toinstructional materials andbasic supplies for teachers;

improve appearance offacilities through painting,changing displays, andcleaning

Build a committed staff (Doing WhatWorks Site)

Recruit new staff

Evaluate the strengths and

weaknesses of the staff.o Redeploy staff

o If staff members have

valuable skills but are noteffective in their current role,consider other roles for them

Replace teachers who actively resistthe change

Implement Drop-Out Prevention

Programs (What Works Clearinghouse)

Assign adult advocates to students at

risk of dropping outo Adults should have an

appropriate background andlow caseloads and beappropriately matched withstudents

o Provide students at risk of

dropping out with academicsupport and enrichment toimprove academicperformance

Personalize the learning environmentand instructional process

Provide rigorous and relevantinstruction to better engage students inlearning and provide the skills needed


21/25

to graduate and to serve them afterthey leave school (e.g., introducingstudents to postsecondary options)

Provides professional development

sessions that meet the followingcriteria (Professional Community andProfessional Development brief on theNEAs Web site

Focuses on the instructional triangle:

pedagogical content knowledge;student thinking, learning, andassessment (and facilitatingstrengthening of this norm throughevidence-based discussions);understanding and responding tostudent diversity (giving teachers waysto promote identity-safe classroomenvironments)

Strategies have characteristics

associated with effectiveness:collective participation, active learning,coherence (linking PD sessions witheach other and regular activation ofprior teacher knowledge), sustainedduration.

Working conditions are conducive toprofessional learning (sufficientplanning and collaborative time,materials, and access to colleagues)

Develops teacher professionalcommunity that is characterized by thefollowing elements

o Shared values and purposes

o Collective focus on and

responsibility for studentlearning

o Collaborative and

coordinated efforts toimprove student learning

o Practices that supportteacher learning: inquiry,problem solving, and advice-giving

o Collective control over

important decisions affectingcurriculum


22/25

Maintains workplace conditions that areconducive to learning

Appropriate teaching assignments; fairand manageable teaching load andclass size

Ongoing collaboration between

teachers

Ongoing observation of, interactionwith, and advice from experiencedcolleagues

Collective teacher responsibility forstudent achievement, comprehensivestudent support services, school-family-community partnerships

Complete aligned curriculum that canbe used flexibly

Sufficient resources and materials;teacher stipends for extras

Coherent, job-embedded assistancethat meets individual teachersinstructional needs

Increasing opportunities for career

growth (e.g., expanding roles inprofessional development, curriculumwriting, and mentoring)

Principal that actively brokersworkplace conditions; encouragesteacher interdependence andcollective work


23/25

o Perceptual motor programs

o Team teaching/co-teaching

o Using technology in math classes

o Character-building interventions

o Homework in which there is no active involvement by the teacher

(e.g., no effort made to review homework material in class)

o Social skill interventions

o Providing extrinsic incentives (especially those that foster inter-

student competition)verbal rewards better than tangible ones

o Praising the student (e.g., You are a great student! or Good job!)

o Giving students longer tests with long interludes in between

o Teacher education programs (Qu and Becker, 2003)

o Emphasizing learning styles

o Simply providing teachers with technology, and giving them no

preparation as to how to use these resources (Kulik, 1994)

o Subject matter knowledge (has diminishing returns beyond certain

base level of competency) Hattie, 2009

o Professional development sessions whose organizers evaluate the

success of the workshops/trainings on the extent to which teachersreport that they have changed (Wade, 1985)

Recommendation 1 : organizers of professional development shouldfocus on whether or not the diffusion of their practices andknowledge leads to student gains in achievement

Recommendation 2 : gear professional development aroundproviding feedback about classroom observations by otherteachers/administrators

Recommendation 3 : provide opportunities for teachers to processnew information, incorporate into instruction, reflect, and then shareout during follow-up collaborative sessions

o Professional development sessions whose organizers evaluate the

Practices with Minimal-to-Low Association with Achievement


24/25

success of the workshops/trainings on the extent to which teachersreport that they have changed (Wade, 1985)

Recommendation 1 : organizers of professional development shouldfocus on whether or not the diffusion of their practices andknowledge leads to student gains in achievement

Recommendation 2 : gear professional development aroundproviding feedback about classroom observations by otherteachers/administrators

Recommendation 3 : provide opportunities for teachers to processnew information, incorporate into instruction, reflect, and then shareout during follow-up collaborative sessions


25/25

Practices with Negative Effects on Achievement

Demotivation caused by public humiliation, devastating test results, orconflicts with teachers or peers

Teaching through computer-based activities without at least 10 hours ofquality pre-training

Schools that do not attend to student outcomes as much as the work andstructural conditions of teaching and learning (e.g., making sure everystudent has a computer but not ensuring that teachers are prepared to teachstudents how to learn through computer use)Hanushek, 1997, p.305

Schools that provide an incentive structure that does not reward educatorsfor promoting student achievement (Haunushek, 1997, p.305)

o Example : Schools that encourage teachers to measure success more in

terms of satisfaction they receive from doing a good job and the approvalor disapproval they receive from administrators as opposed to drawingsatisfaction from promoting student achievement

Documents

Research-Based Best Practices