Source: Marzano, 2017, p. 5.

       Figure I.1: The teaching and learning progression.

      According to figure I.1, the intervening variables between effectively applying an instructional strategy and enhanced student learning are specific mental states and processes in the minds of learners. If teachers do not produce these mental states and processes as a result of employing a given strategy, then that strategy will have little or no effect on students. This implies that teachers should heighten their level of awareness as they use instructional strategies for maximum efficacy.

The Overall Model

      At a basic level, the model in The New Art and Science of Teaching (Marzano, 2017) is a framework that educators can use to organize the majority (if not all) of the instructional strategies that research and theory identify. The model has several parts: three overarching categories, ten design areas, and forty-three specific elements.

       Three Categories

      At the highest level of organization, the model has three overarching categories: feedback, content, and context.

      1. Feedback refers to the all-important information loop teachers must establish with students so that students know what they should be learning about specific topics and their current level of performance on these topics.

      2. Content refers to the sequencing and pacing of lessons such that students move smoothly from initial understanding to applying knowledge in new and creative ways.

      3. Context refers to those strategies that ensure all students meet these psychological needs: engagement, order, a sense of belonging, and high expectations.

      Embedded in these three overarching categories are more specific categories of teacher actions (design areas).

       Ten Design Areas

      In The New Art and Science of Teaching framework, each of the ten design areas is associated with a specific teacher action, as follows.

      1. Providing and communicating clear learning goals

      2. Using assessments

      3. Conducting direct instruction lessons

      4. Conducting practicing and deepening lessons

      5. Conducting knowledge application lessons

      6. Using strategies that appear in all types of lessons

      7. Using engagement strategies

      8. Implementing rules and procedures

      9. Building relationships

      10. Communicating high expectations

      Table I.1 shows the ten teacher actions within the three categories and describes the desired student mental states and processes for each. For example, when the teacher conducts a direct instruction lesson (the third design area), the goal is that students will understand which parts of the content are important and how they fit together.

Table I.1: Teacher Actions and Student Mental States and Processes

      Source: Marzano, 2017, pp. 5–6.

      Each of the ten design areas corresponds with a design question. These are a set of questions that help teachers plan units and lessons within those units. Table I.2 shows the design questions that correspond with each design area.

Table I.2: Design Questions