Quotes from Robert J. Marzano

Characteristics of sound feedback include that it should be frequent, give students a clear picture of their progress and how they might improve, and provide encouragement.

Every great leader is clearly teaching and every great teacher is leading

No amount of further research will provide an airtight model of instruction. There are simply too many variations in the situations, types of content, and types of students encountered across the K–12 continuum.

Leadership is not a solo act; it's a team performance. 

If teachers systematically attend to classroom strategies and behaviors (Domain 1), planning and preparing (Domain 2), reflecting on teaching (Domain 3), and collegiality and professionalism (Domain 4), they will surely enhance their professional status.

the ability to review a lesson multiple times, pause the video, and engage in focused reflection greatly added to professional growth.

the use of rewards as a motivational strategy is clearly a risky proposition, so we continue to argue for thinking about educational practices that will engage students' interest and support the development of their self-regulation.

Comprehensive observations occur over an extended period of time—typically the majority of a class period and ideally an entire class period.

We believe that it is an injustice to the integrity of our teachers and students to simply advocate that educators focus on the use of rewards to control behavior rather than grapple with the deeper issues of (a) why many students are not interested in learning within our educational system and (b) how intrinsic motivation and self-regulation can be promoted among these students. (p. 50)

short, the preconference is intended to set the stage for what will be the focus of the comprehensive observation.

both are key components of what is commonly referred to as classroom management (Marzano et al., 2003). A case can be made that if strategies for these two elements are not in place, a teacher will have little control of the classroom.

first phase is referred to as the cognitive phase. During this phase, the teacher is attempting to understand the strategy, but not using it with any utility or effectiveness.

The third phase is referred to as the autonomous phase. During this phase, the teacher can perform the strategy with little conscious thought and can, therefore, attend to other issues while performing the strategy.

student achievement in classes with highly skilled teachers is better than student achievement in classes with less skilled teachers.

We view elite performance as the product of a decade or more of maximal efforts to improve performance in a domain through an optimal distribution of deliberate practice. (p. 400)

we suggest that observers rely primarily on anecdotal feedback during walkthroughs.

the observer might note that the teacher completes the strategy, but does not seem to monitor to see if the strategy is actually helping students activate their prior knowledge relative to the topic being studied.

The only feedback teachers receive is whether they use the strategy. Such a process provides no feedback as to the level of skill a teacher exhibits relative to a particular strategy. This absence violates a basic principle of effective feedback

simply providing teachers with feedback that they either used a strategy or did not use a strategy does little to enhance teacher expertise.

The first step for any teacher who seeks to increase his or her pedagogical skills regarding the strategies and behaviors of Domain 1 is to identify and focus on specific areas of pedagogical strength and weakness.

Teacher Self-Assessment: A Mechanism for Facilitating Professional Growth.

When a lesson was observed by a supervisor and followed with a postconference, teachers talked less and were less reflective during the postconference than when engaged in a video-based reflection

We educators stand at a special point in time