How kids learn best
Scientific research sheds
new light on effective teaching strategies 
June 4 , 2003 Robert
Slavin, professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore
The teaching strategies used in high school classrooms typically receive "far
less scientific scrutiny than the acne creams the kids are using," a noted education
researcher says, urging teachers to establish linkages between research and practice. Robert
Slavin, nationally recognized for his work on cooperative learning and students
at risk, calls on educators to resist haphazard approaches to teaching strategies,
and to be savvy consumers in assessing the claims of textbook and program developers. He
summarized key research in education during an address at an inservice conference
held in Albany and sponsored by New York State United Teachers. Slavin,
a professor at Johns Hopkins University and founder of the Success for All blueprint
for school reform, pointed out that the federal No Child Left Behind act employs
the term "scientifically based research" no fewer than 110 times - showing the
intention, is to encourage best practice in the classroom. However, NCLB funding
can go to programs "based on good practice," not necessarily only to programs
that have themselves been rigorously evaluated - an important distinction, Slavin
said. While he believes education trails many fields in relying on research,
he noted that a growing body of work offers educators a roadmap to improved student
performance. He backed that up by delivering an overview of research-based
practice from pre-K through grade 12, explaining that quality research "means
that someone has compared that strategy to control groups" to assess its effectiveness. What
works in early grades: - The whole concept of pre-K education: "There's
a lot of evidence that it improves student achievement in the short term," Slavin
said.
- Teaching phonemic awareness in pre-K (the ability to discriminate
and hear sounds within words). "No one advocates phonics for 2- to 4-year-olds,"
Slavin said, but research supports emphasizing phonemic awareness as part of a
>pre-K emphasis on oral language.
- Full-day kindergarten. "There's
a lot of research to support full day. Moving to full-day kindergarten and an
expectation of pre-K for all children are important policy moves that have been
very slow to come," Slavin said.
- Systematic phonics in elementary
grades. Research supports "teaching kids to unlock the code, as well as using
decodeable text with a high proportion of words that kids can decode." However,
he said, this "needs to be done in a meaningful context, striking a balance between
decoding and rich content.
"Getting that balance right characterizes
effective programs for early literacy," Slavin said. What works in elementary
and beyond: - Teaching vocabulary. "All kids need to be learning vocabulary,"
he said, which is most effectively taught not through words of the day ("although
that's OK"), but by exposing them to art, music, science and other disciplines
with their own rich vocabularies.
- Teaching reading comprehension.
Research-supported strategies include having students stop and assess their own
reading at the end of each page, and using summarization and graphic organizers
to represent text. There's "a revolution coming," Slavin predicted, "in upper
elementary, middle and high school grades as we learn more about teaching kids
how to monitor their own reading and improve comprehension."
- Grouping
students in reading and math across grade lines. This approach, known as the Joplin
plan, has been "extensively researched" since its inception in 1954 and is "very
effective," Slavin said. Avoiding the pitfalls of tracking, the Joplin plan reshuffles
groups every six to eight weeks to allow students to keep making progress.
Research
also has identified the components of effective cooperative learning, including
using small groups with the goal that all members of the group will master the
material. Cooperative learning can get derailed, Slavin said, when it's based
on a project "where one kid can get the answer and tell all the other kids." - Cooperative
learning also works well in teaching writing process, he said, when students "review
each other's work in light of high standards."
- Teaching study skills
pays off. "A lot of kids would be great students if they knew how to study," Slavin
said, and research points the way. For example, copious highlighting is ineffective;
a better approach is for students to "transform the material to restate what you've
read" - a more effective strategy than passive studying.
What
works in middle school: - Personalizing the experience is crucial. Departmentalizing
to provide teachers with expertise in each discipline also can mean that, "for
kids at risk, that there is no one person looking out for them" in the same way
that their elementary teacher could. Research shows that personalizing middle
school through mentoring, or double periods, is very important for students at
risk.
"To create a connection with a caring adult" is key,
Slavin said. "Otherwise, kids who were pretty good kids in elementary school can
crash and burn in secondary." What works in high school: - Career
connections. A key trend in high school reform is to "connect kids to their future"
through career/academic programs, which leads not necessarily to better academic
achievement, but to improved behavior and attendance, Slavin said.
- "Nag
and nurture" programs can be quite effective in motivating students who do OK
in high school but might not otherwise go on to college.
- Having
high school kids at risk serve as tutors to younger students has been demonstrated
to reduce the incidence of high school dropouts. "They see themselves in a more
positive light," Slavin said, by gaining a high status role, rather than playing
the role of victim.
Research-based classroom management practices
include: - Pacing lessons to maintain momentum, which "doesn't mean
you just teach faster," Slavin said. Educators who master the art of pacing "move
along and have more kids on task," he said. This also keeps behavioral disruptions
to a minimum, and "should be a part of good practice."
- Frequent
student assessment. "Those who do more frequent assessment and provide more feedback
are getting better results across a variety of subjects and grades," he said.
Slavin
stressed that his "kaleidoscopic overview" touches just the surface of solid research-based
practice. It's critical, he said, for educators to use a research-based prism
to evaluate their own practice. "We know way more than we're using in the
classroom on a regular basis," he said. "We need to think differently about the
kind of programs we choose" so that scientifcally based practice becomes the norm. -Deborah
Hormell Ward For more information on Slavin's work, go to www.csos.jhu.edu/crespar. |
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