Blogging about Bloom and Marzano

               Having had ample opportunity to explore Marzano’s Nine Instructional Strategies in my university classes, I was pleased to start my new teaching assignment this year with this tool in my toolbox. My school district has placed a fine focus on the Teaching-Learning Cycle (TLC) and even established a model specifically for schools in our district. Based heavily on Bloom’s taxonomy, the WSD3 TLC framework asks all teachers to create learning intentions to complement our lessons.

               Although establishing learning intentions for each lesson has been a learning opportunity, I have found that using Bloom’s taxonomy as my guide while I plan has made my learning intentions emerge that much faster. In our TLC, students are given multiple opportunities to master a concept before moving to the next milestone. This cycle gives me numerous chances to scaffold my lessons using Bloom’s taxonomy. I can begin my lesson with a Level I task or concept; solicit feedback on it before moving to a Level II or III; then follow that up with a Level IV or V concept or task. Likewise, if I need to return to the cycle because my students have not mastered those concepts or cannot complete the task, I have that latitude to do so, which is quite empowering.

                Our school district has also implemented an additional tool to work in tandem with the TLC. This tool is called the Instructional Assessment Framework or IAF. Because our students are experiencing varied success with state assessments (our scores last year showed a continued decline from the previous year), the IAF was developed to combine best teaching practices with research-based strategies. The focus for our school and student community is improving teacher and student feedback and increasing student engagement.

                Although I have always given written feedback on the writing my students complete, I am now in the habit of giving students more immediate feedback by way of public praise and showcasing student work. Since our students have more involvement in their own learning, I am able to see and assess their learning and advancement on concepts and tasks. More importantly, students now participate in more frequent self-assessments so they understand where they need to focus their study habits or homework.

                I am still a work in progress when it comes to crafting learning intentions for my lessons, but I am getting better at them. I have come to learn that knowing where I want my students to go and what I want them to take away from my lessons makes my lesson plans much easier to produce. Additionally, using the Backwards Design Plan helps me scaffold Bloom’s taxonomy so I can get the most participation and analysis from my students.  Reminding myself and my students what the goal is for any given lessons has it benefits; using the tools I have learned makes it all worthwhile.

I guess an old dog can learn new tricks.