Report refines Classroom Instruction That Works strategies

Denver —Researchers at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) have re-examined and updated the research on effective instructional strategies that is the foundation of the seminal 2001 book, Classroom Instruction That Works. The second edition of the book, published in January by ASCD, draws from McREL’s recent study, which confirms the power of the original strategies and refines them for 21st century learning.

The new study takes into account the highest quality research that has been done in the last decade and uses only primary studies. The original report considered both primary studies and findings from prior meta-analyses.

While the study confirms that the nine original categories of strategies are still the most powerful in terms of improving student achievement, it also sheds light on nuances that will help educators use the strategies more effectively. For example:

• Note taking strategies are not intuitive; therefore, students will benefit from explicit instruction. Guided note taking appears more effective than unstructured note taking.
• Teachers may not see immediate academic improvements from the effective use of recognition and praise strategies; however, the link between positive socio-emotional indicators and learning suggests that fostering the former will have positive effects on the latter over time.
• The new research shows that parent involvement with homework, though it should be kept to a minimum, can help improve performance.
• The benefits of cooperative instruction extend beyond learning to include improved self-esteem, greater motivation and engagement with school, and greater resistance to feelings of social isolation.

Read the full report, edited by McREL researchers Andrea Beesley and Helen Apthorp.