What works in classroom instruction

The synthesized research findings presented in this document are based in part on an earlier technical document presented by McREL entitled A Theory-Based Meta-Analysis of Research on Instruction (Marzano, 1998), which summarizes findings from more than 100 studies involving 4000+ control groups. 

Since that document was published, McREL researchers have analyzed additional research findings from selected research on instructional strategies that could be used by teachers in K–12 classrooms. The combined results of these syntheses are presented in What Works in Classroom Instruction.

This study identifies nine instructional categories that strongly affect student achievement:
Identifying similarities and differences
Summarizing and note taking
Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
Homework and practice
Nonlinguistic representations
Cooperative learning
Setting goals and providing feedback
Generating and testing hypotheses
Activating prior knowledge