evaluation
Meta-Analytic Synthesis of Studies Conducted at Marzano Research Laboratory on Instructional Strategies
By
Mark W. Haystead
& Dr. Robert J. Marzano
Marzano Research Laboratory Englewood, CO
August, 2009
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. i
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ ii
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Action Research Projects ................................................................................................................ 1
The Use of Meta-Analysis .............................................................................................................. 2
The Sample ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Data Analysis and Findings ............................................................................................................ 3
Question 1: What effect does the utilization of instructional strategies have on students’ achievement regarding the subject matter content taught by their teachers? .............................. 4
Question 2: Does the effect of instructional strategies differ between school levels? ................ 7
Question 3: Does the effect of instructional strategies differ from strategy to strategy? ........... 8
Interpretation ................................................................................................................................. 12
Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 14
Technical Notes ............................................................................................................................ 15
Appendix A: Instructions for Action Research ............................................................................. 19
Appendix B: Independent studies ................................................................................................. 25
References ..................................................................................................................................... 38
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Executive Summary
This report synthesizes a series of quasi-experimental studies conducted as action research projects regarding the extent to which the utilization of selected instructional strategies enhances the learning of students. Over 300 volunteer teachers conducted independent studies at 38 schools in 14 school districts between fall 2004 and spring 2009. The data used for analysis can be found in Marzano Research Laboratory’s Meta-Analysis Database (see marzanoresearch.com).
The independent studies involved 7,872 students in the experimental groups and 6,415 students in the control groups. Participating teachers selected two groups of students both of which were being taught the same unit or set of related lessons. However, in one group (the “experimental” group) a specific instructional strategy was used (e.g., graphic organizers), whereas in the other group (the “control” group) the instructional strategy was not used. Because students could not be randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, all studies employed a quasi- experimental design, referred to as a pretest-posttest non-equivalent groups design. The pretest scores were used as a covariate to partially control for differing levels of background knowledge and skill.
The following questions were considered through a meta-analysis of the 329 independent studies:
1. What effect does the utilization of instructional strategies have on students’ achievement regarding the subject matter content taught by their teachers?
2. Does the effect of instructional strategies differ between school levels? 3. Does the effect of instructional strategies differ from strategy to strategy?
The average effect size for all 329 independent studies was statistically significant (p < .0001). When corrected for attenuation, the percentile gain associated with the use of the instructional strategies is 16 ( ). This means that on the average, the strategies used in the independent studies represent a gain of 16 percentile points over what would be expected if teachers did not use the instructional strategies.
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Introduction This report synthesizes a series of quasi-experimental studies conducted as action research projects regarding the extent to which the utilization of selected instructional strategies enhances the learning of students. Over 300 volunteer teachers conducted independent studies at 38 schools in 14 school districts between fall 2004 and spring 2009. The data used for analysis can be found in Marzano Research Laboratory’s Meta-Analysis Database (see marzanoresearch.com).
Action Research Projects
Participating teachers selected two groups of students both of which were being taught the same unit or set of related lessons. However, in one group (the “experimental” group) a specific instructional strategy was used (e.g., advance organizers), whereas in the other group (the “control” group) the instructional strategy was not used. Because students could not be randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, all studies employed a quasi-experimental design, referred to as a pretest-posttest non-equivalent groups design. These groups are considered to be non-equivalent, because it is unlikely that two intact groups would be as similar as would be the case if randomly assigned.
A pretest and posttest was administered to students in both groups. The pretest scores were used to statistically “adjust” the posttest scores using a technique referred to as analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). In basic terms, the adjustment translates the posttest scores into those that would be expected if students in both groups started with the same scores on the pretest. In effect, it is a way of controlling for students’ differences in what they know about a topic prior to the beginning of instruction on the topic. ANCOVA is commonly used when random assignment is not possible (see Technical Note 1). Although ANCOVA was used to statistically equate students in terms of prior academic knowledge, arguments about causal relationships are not as strong as they would be when group members are assigned through a random lottery.
Again, teachers were instructed to teach a short unit on a topic of their choice to two groups of students—one experimental and one control. Instructional activities in both groups were to be as similar as possible except for the fact that the instructional strategy was used in one group only (i.e., the experimental group). Directions provided to teachers are reported in Appendix A.
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The Use of Meta-Analysis
Meta-analytic techniques (see Hedges & Olkin, 1985; Lipsey & Wilson, 2001; Cooper, 2009) were used to aggregate the findings from the independent studies using the statistical software package Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA, Version 2). In general, meta-analytic techniques are used when the results of independent studies on a common topic are combined. For example, assume 25 studies were conducted in various sites on the effects of a specific instructional technique on student achievement. The studies were different in terms of the subject areas that were addressed. Consequently, different assessments of student achievement were used to reflect the different subject areas. This is the classic scenario requiring the use of meta-analytic techniques—independent studies on a common topic (i.e., a common instructional technique) but with different dependent measures.
To combine studies that used different dependent measures, the results of each study are translated into an effect size. While there are many types of effect sizes, the one used in this meta-analysis is the standardized mean difference. In very general terms, a standardized mean difference is the difference in the average score of the control group and the experimental group stated in standard deviation units. Thus, an effect size of 1.00 would indicate that the average score in the experimental group is one standard deviation higher than the average score in the control group. Conversely, an effect size of -1.00 would indicate that the average score in the experimental group is one standard deviation lower than the average score in the control group.
The present meta-analysis is analogous to this situation. A common class of interventions was used in all experimental classes (i.e., use of selected instructional strategies), but the independent studies employed teacher designed assessments of student academic achievement across various grade levels and subject areas requiring different dependent measures.
Meta-analytic findings are typically reported in two ways, 1) findings based on the observed effect sizes from each independent study (see Appendix B), and 2) findings based on a correction for attenuation due to lack of reliability in the dependent measure (i.e., teacher designed assessments of student academic achievement). Technical Note 2 explains the method used to correct for attenuation and an interpretation of such corrections. Briefly though, when a dependent measure is not perfectly reliable it will tend to affect the strength of observed relationships between independent and dependent variables.
An independent variable is a factor which is assumed or hypothesized to have an effect on some outcome often referred to as the dependent variable. A dependent variable is an outcome believed to be influenced by one or more independent variables. For this meta-analysis of the independent studies, the dependent variable was students’ knowledge of academic content addressed during a unit of instruction and the independent variable of interest was the use of the selected instructional strategy (e.g., feedback). It is always advisable to correct an effect size for
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attenuation (i.e., decrease in effect size) due to unreliability of the dependent measure (for a detailed discussion of attenuation see Hunter & Schmidt, 2004). In basic terms, every assessment is imprecise to some extent and this imprecision lowers the effect size. Throughout this report, observed and corrected effect sizes are displayed for comparison. When this is the case, the discussion of findings is limited to the corrected results only.
The Sample
Figure 1 displays the number of participating sites and independent studies by school level along with the number of students in experimental and control groups.
Figure 1. Number of Participating Sites and Independent Studies by School Level
School Level # of Sites N Cn En Tn
Elementary School (Grades K-5) 19 55 1,040 1,041 2,081
Middle School (Grades 6-8) 8 64 1,527 2,710 4,237
High School (Grades 9-12) 11 210 3,848 4,121 7,969
Total 38 329 6,415 7,872 14,287 In all, this meta-analysis of the 329 independent studies involved 14,287 students. Of those students, 2,081 were at 19 sites that teach students at the elementary school level, 4,237 were at 8 sites that teach students at the middle school level, and 7,969 were at 11 sites that teach students at the high school level.
Data Analysis and Findings
As mentioned previously, in this meta-analysis one dependent variable was considered: students’ knowledge of academic content addressed during a unit of instruction. The independent variable of interest was the experimental/control condition—whether students were exposed to an instructional strategy or not. Also of interest was the difference in potential effect of the utilization of instructional strategies at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
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Data from each independent study was first analyzed using the general linear model as employed by the statistical software package, SPSS (v17.0). One independent variable (experimental/ control condition) was entered into the equation using a fixed-effect model. (See Technical Note 3 for a discussion of fixed effects.) The dependent variable was the posttest scores with the pretest scores used as the covariate. Stated differently, a fixed-effects analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was executed for each independent study. The ANCOVA findings were used to compute an effect size (i.e., standardized mean difference effect size) for each independent study (see Technical Note 4 for a discussion regarding the formula used to compute the effect size). CMA was then used to aggregate the findings from the independent studies using the observed and corrected effect sizes for the experimental/control condition (i.e., use of a selected instructional strategy).
Again, three questions were considered in this meta-analysis:
1. What effect does the utilization of instructional strategies have on students’ achievement regarding the subject matter content taught by their teachers?
2. Does the effect of instructional strategies differ between school levels? 3. Does the effect of instructional strategies differ from strategy to strategy?
Findings for each question are discussed separately.
Question 1: What effect does the utilization of instructional strategies have on students’ achievement regarding the subject matter content taught by their teachers?
Considered in isolation, most of the independent studies (see Appendix B) did not exhibit statistical significance. For an individual study to be considered statistically significant, the reported p-value should be less than .05 (see Murphy & Myors, 2004). According to this criterion, 90 of the 329 studies (or 27%) can be considered statistically significant. When the results of a set of studies are combined using meta-analytic techniques, the findings considered as a group might be statistically significant even though a number of the individual studies are not significant. Such is the case with the present set of studies. In fact this is quite common in educational research where many individual studies might be deemed non-significant simply because they do not have enough subjects in the experimental and control groups. However, when these studies are combined using meta-analytic techniques the aggregate finding is often highly significant (for a detailed discussion see Hedges & Olkin, 1985).
Figure 2 shows the overall average effect size for a meta-analysis of the 329 independent studies using a random-effects model of error (see Technical Note 5 for discussion of fixed- vs. random- effects meta-analysis). The column labeled “N” identifies the number of studies included in the
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group, the column labeled “ ” reports the weighted average effect size for the studies, the column labeled “SE” contains the standard error for the reported weighted average effect size, the column labeled “95% CI” identifies the 95 percent confidence interval (lower limit and upper limit) for the reported weighted average effect size, the column labeled “Sig.” reports the p-value for the reported weighted average effect size, the column labeled “% Gain” contains the percentile gain (or loss) associated with the reported weighted average effect size, and the column labeled “Fail-Safe N” identifies the number of missing studies that would be required to reduce the weighted average effect size to .01 using Orwin’s formula (for a discussion of sampling bias and the fail-safe N, see Lipsey & Wilson, 2001, pp. 165-166).
Figure 2. Overall Random Effects for Instructional Strategies
N SE 95% CI Sig.
(2-tailed) % Gain Fail-Safe
N LL UL
Overall 329 .36 (.42) .03
(.04) .30
(.35) .43
(.50) .000
(.000) 14
(16) 11,515
(13,489) Note: Corrected findings are presented in parentheses.
When the results of the 329 independent studies are corrected for attenuation and combined, the overall effect size is .42 which is associated with a 16-percentile-point gain. This means that on the average, the instructional strategies used in the independent studies represent a gain of 16 percentile points over what would be expected if teachers did not use the instructional strategies (for a discussion of how effect sizes are combined and an overall significance level is computed see Lipsey & Wilson, 2001).
Consider the fail-safe N reported in parentheses, 13,489. This means that over 13,400 additional independent studies with an effect size of .00 would be needed to reduce the weighted average effect size to .01. The percentile gain associated with an effect size of .01 is 0 (i.e., no difference between groups).
The column labeled “95% CI” contains the 95 percent confidence interval for the reported weighted average effect size. Again, the effect size reported in Figure 2 is a weighted average of all the effect sizes from the 329 independent studies (see Appendix B). As such, it is considered an estimate of the true effect size of the experimental condition (i.e., use of instructional strategies). The 95 percent confidence interval includes the range of effect sizes in which one can be certain the true effect size falls. For example, consider the 95 percent confidence interval reported in parentheses, .35 to .50. This indicates a 95 percent certainty that the true effect size for the meta-analysis of the 329 independent studies is between the values of .35 and .50. When
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the confidence interval does not include .00, the weighted average effect size is considered to be statistically significant (p < .05). In other words, would not be considered a reasonable assumption. In fact, the p-value associated with the reported effect size is less than .0001 indicating it is highly significant in laymen’s terms. (For a detailed discussion of the meaning of statistical significance, see Harlow, Muliak, & Steiger, 1997.)
Another way to examine the general effect of the instructional strategies is to consider the distribution of effect sizes as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Distribution of Effect Sizes
Figure 3 reports the distribution of “groups” of effect sizes across the 329 independent studies (see Appendix B). 87 studies exhibited a negative effect (see first through fourth columns), 184 studies exhibited an effect size between .00 and 1.00 (see fifth through seventh columns), 42
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studies exhibited an effect size between 1.00 and 2.00 (see eighth through tenth columns), and so on. 242 out of 329 studies (or 74%) have a positive effect size.
Question 2: Does the effect of instructional strategies differ between school levels?
To address this question, a meta-analysis was employed using the school level for each independent action research study as a moderator variable. A moderator variable is a qualitative or quantitative factor that affects the direction and/or strength of the relation between the dependent and independent variables. The findings are reported in Figures 4 and 5.
Figure 4. Random Effects for School Level
School Level N SE 95% CI Sig.
(2-tailed) % Gain LL UL
Elementary School (Grades K-5) 55 .65(.74) .08(.09) .48(.56) .81(.93) .000(.000) 24(27)
Middle School (Grades 6-8) 64 .29(.34) .07(.08) .15(.17) .43(.50) .000(.000) 11(13)
High School (Grades 9-12) 210 .31(.36) .04(.05) .23(.27) .40(.46) .000(.000) 12(14)
Note: See discussion of Figure 2 for a description of column headings. Corrected findings are presented in parentheses.
Figure 5. Homogeneity Analysis for School Level
Q Sig. (2-tailed) df
13.945 (14.255)
.001 (.001) 2
Note: Corrected findings are presented in parentheses.
Figure 4 shows the random effects for the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The weighted average effect size was statistically significant at the .0001 level (p < .0001) for elementary and high school levels and at the .001 level (p < .001) for middle school.
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Figure 5 reports the results of the homogeneity analysis for the levels of the moderator variable—in this case school levels. A significant finding would indicate that the average effect sizes for the various levels of schooling most probably represent different populations. Stated differently, a significant Q-value would indicate that the means for the levels of schooling are significantly different. In this case, the Q-value was highly significant (p < .001).
Figure 6 graphically depicts the average percentile gains associated with each school level.
Figure 6. Percentile Gain for Random Effects for School Level (Corrected)
Question 3: Does the effect of instructional strategies differ from strategy to strategy?
To address this question, a meta-analysis of the 329 independent studies that utilized each of the 15 instructional strategies listed below was employed (for a discussion of the research and theory regarding some of these strategies, see Marzano, 2007). Only strategies that involved five or
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more studies were considered for this analysis. (For a complete listing of strategies found in the Meta-Analysis Database, see marzanoresearch.com.) Figures 7 and 8 present the findings for this analysis.
• Advance organizers – involves providing students with a preview of new content. • Building vocabulary – involves use of a complete six step process to teaching vocabulary
that includes: teacher explanation, student explanation, student graphic or pictographic representation, review using comparison activities, student discussion of vocabulary terms, and use of games. (For additional information on the six step process see Marzano, 2004, pp. 91-103.)
• Effort and recognition – involves reinforcing and tracking student effort and providing recognition for achievement.
• Feedback – involves providing students with information relative to how well they are doing regarding a specific assignment.
• Graphic organizers – involves providing a visual display of something being discussed or considered, e.g., using a Venn diagram to compare two items.
• Homework – involves providing students with opportunities to increase their understanding through assignments completed outside of class.
• Identifying similarities and differences – involves the identification of similarities and/or differences between two or more items being considered.
• Interactive games – involves use of academic content in game-like situations. • Nonlinguistic representations – involves providing a representation of knowledge without
words, e.g., a graphic representation or physical model. • Note taking – involves recording information that is considered to be important. • Practice – involves massed and distributed practice on a specific skill, strategy, or
process. • Setting goals/objectives – involves identifying a learning goal or objective regarding a
topic being considered in class. • Student discussion/chunking – involves breaking a lesson into chunks for student or
group discussion regarding the content being considered. • Summarizing – involves requiring students to provide a brief summary of content. • Tracking student progress and scoring scales – involves the use of scoring scales and
tracking student progress toward a learning goal.
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Figure 7. Random Effects for Specific Instructional Strategies
Instructional Strategy N SE 95% CI Sig.
(2-tailed) % Gain LL UL
Advance Organizers 7 .03(.04) .23(.26) -.43(-.48) .49(.56) .899(.886) 1(2)
Building Vocabulary 41 .44(.51) .10(.11) .25(.29) .64(.73) .000(.000) 17(20)
Effort and Recognition 11 .31(.37) .20(.23) -.09(-.08) .71(.82) .130(.107) 12(14)
Feedback 7 .10(.11) .24(.27) -.38(-.42) .57(.64) .687(.687) 4(4)
Graphic Organizers 65 .29(.34) .08(.09) .13(.16) .44(.51) .000(.000) 11(13)
Homework 8 .33(.38) .23(.26) -.12(-.12) .78(.88) .149(.138) 13(15)
Identifying Similarities and Differences 52 .46(.52) .09(.10) .28(.33) .63(.72) .000(.000) 18(20)
Interactive Games 62 .46(.53) .08(.09) .30(.35) .62(.71) .000(.000) 18(20)
Nonlinguistic Representations 129 .38(.44) .06(.06) .27(.32) .49(.56) .000(.000) 15(17)
Note Taking 46 .38(.44) .09(.10) .20(.24) .56(.64) .000(.000) 15(17)
Practice 5 .32(.37) .29(.32) -.25(-.26) .89(1.01) .266(.251) 13(14)
Setting Goals/Objectives 16 .57(.66) .16(.18) .26(.31) .89(1.02) .000(.000) 22(25)
Student Discussion/Chunking 53 .37(.43) .09(.10) .20(.23) .54(.62) .000(.000) 14(17)
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Instructional Strategy N SE 95% CI Sig.
(2-tailed) % Gain LL UL
Summarizing 17 .42(.49) .15(.17) .13(.15) .72(.82) .005(.004) 16(19)
Tracking Student Progress and Scoring
Scales 14 .87(1.00) .17(.20) .53(.62) 1.21(1.39) .000(.000) 31(34)
Note: See discussion of Figure 2 for a description of column headings. Corrected findings are presented in parentheses.
Figure 8. Homogeneity Analysis for Instructional Strategies
Q Sig. (2-tailed) df
16.324 (16.813)
.294 (.266) 14
Note: Corrected findings are presented in parentheses.
Figure 7 shows the random-effects estimate for the 15 instructional strategies. Some of the 329 independent studies were included in the meta-analysis for more than one strategy. This occurred when one instructional strategy was a subcomponent of another strategy. For example, the strategy of nonlinguistic representations is also a subcomponent of the strategy for building vocabulary.
The weighted average effect sizes reported in Figure 7 were statistically significant at the .0001 level (p < .0001) for seven instructional strategies (building vocabulary, identifying similarities and differences, interactive games, nonlinguistic representations, note taking, student discussion/ chunking, tracking student progress and scoring scales), at the .001 level (p < .001) for two instructional strategies (graphic organizers, setting goals/objectives), and at the .01 level (p < .01) for one instructional strategy (summarizing). The associated percentile gain was positive for all 15 instructional strategies. As indicated in Figure 8 the homogeneity analysis for instructional strategies was not statistically significant (p < .05). Taken at face value this would indicate that the effect sizes all come from the same population.
Figure 11 graphically depicts the percentile gains associated with each instructional strategy.
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Figure 11. Percentile Gain for Specific Instructional Strategies (Corrected)
Interpretation
There are a number of ways to interpret an effect size. One interpretation is the amount of overlap between the experimental and control groups. Consider again that an effect size of 1.00 can be interpreted as the average score in the experimental group being one standard deviation higher than the average score in the control group. Consulting a table of the normal curve (i.e., normal distribution) the associated percentile gain for an effect size of 1.00 is 34. This means that the score of the average student in the experimental group (50th percentile) exceeds the scores of 84 percent of the control group. Only 16 percent of the control group would be expected to have scores that exceed the score of the average student in the experimental group.
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Figure 10 depicts the percentage of control group students who scored lower than the average student in the experimental group (50th percentile). When corrected for attenuation, the average student in the experimental group (i.e., the group that used an instructional strategy) scored higher than 66% of the students in the control group (i.e., the group that did not use an instructional strategy).
Figure 10. Amount of Overlap between Experimental and Control Groups
Percentage of Control Group Scoring Lower than Experimental Average (50th Percentile)
Overall .36 (.42) 64% (66%) Note: Corrected findings are presented in parentheses.
Another interpretation is to consider the hypothetical change in rank for a class with 100 students. Figure 11 displays this interpretation.
Figure 11. Hypothetical Change in a Student’s Class Rank
Class Rank Without Instructional Strategies
Average Student’s Class Rank With Instructional Strategies
1 1 5 5 10 10 15 15 20 20 25 25 30 30 35 34 40 35 45 40 50 45 55 50 60 55 65 60 70 65 75 70 80 75 85 80 90 85 95 90
100 95
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Figure 11 shows the hypothetical change in class rank of the average student in the control group (50th percentile). If that student were the only student to receive instruction using these strategies, his or her class rank would be expected to increase from 50th to 34th.
Summary
This meta-analysis sought to answer the following questions:
1. What effect does the utilization of instructional strategies have on students’ achievement regarding the subject matter content taught by their teachers?
2. Does the effect of instructional strategies differ between school levels? 3. Does the effect of instructional strategies differ from strategy to strategy?
The average effect size for all 329 independent studies was statistically significant (p < .0001). When corrected for attenuation, the percentile gain associated with the use of the instructional strategies is 16 ( ). This means that on the average, the strategies used in the independent studies represent a gain of 16 percentile points over what would be expected if teachers did not use the instructional strategies. A reasonable inference is that the overall effect of a 16 percentile point gain is probably not a function of random factors that are specific to the independent studies; rather, the 16 percentile point increase represents a real change in student learning.
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Technical Notes
Technical Note 1: Conceptually, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) can be loosely thought of as using the covariate (i.e., pretest score) to predict students’ performance on the posttest and then using the residual score (i.e., predicted score minus observed score) for each student as the dependent measure. To illustrate, consider an independent action research study for a topic within mathematics. Using ANCOVA, students’ posttest scores were predicted from the scores received on the pretest. The difference between the predicted posttest scores and the observed posttest scores was then computed for each student that took both pretest and posttest. This difference is referred to as the residual score for each student. It represents the part of each student’s posttest score that cannot be predicted from the pretest score for that student. Theoretically, use of residual scores based on pretest predictions is an attempt to equate all students on the dependent measure prior to execution of the intervention—in this case the use of the target instructional strategy (e.g., vocabulary).
Technical Note 2: The meta-analytic findings in this report are typically reported in two ways, 1) findings based on the observed effect sizes from each independent study (see Appendix B), and 2) findings based on a correction for attenuation due to lack of reliability in the dependent measure (i.e., teacher designed assessments of student academic achievement). Hunter and Schmidt detail the rationale and importance of correcting for 11 attenuation artifacts—one of which is random error associated with measurement of the dependent variable (2004, pp. 301- 313). They explain:
. . . error of measurement in the dependent variable reduces the effect size estimate. If the reliability of measurement is low, the reduction can be quite sizable. Failure to correct for the attenuation due to error of measurement yields an erroneous effect size estimate. Furthermore, because the error is systematic, a bare-bones meta-analysis on uncorrected effect sizes will produce an incorrect estimate of the true effect size. The extent of the reduction in the mean effect size is determined by the mean level of reliability across the studies. Variation in reliability across studies causes variation in the observed effect size above and beyond that produced by sampling error. . . . A bare-bones meta-analysis will not correct for either the systematic reduction in the mean effect size or the systematic increase in the variance of effect sizes. Thus, even meta-analysis will produce correct values for the distribution of effect sizes only if there is a correction for the attenuation due to error of measurement. (p. 302)
For ease of discussion consider correcting for attenuation due to unreliability in the dependent measure using the population correlation instead of the population standardized mean difference
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effect size. The reader should note that the example provided regarding correcting correlations is analogous to correcting a standardized mean difference. To illustrate correcting for attenuation due to unreliability in the dependent measure, assume that the population correlation between the target instructional strategy (e.g., nonlinguistic representations) and student academic achievement is .50. A given study attempts to estimate that correlation but employs a measure of the dependent variable (i.e., a teacher designed assessment of student academic achievement) that has a reliability of .81—considered a typical reliability for a test of general cognitive ability. According to attenuation theory, the correlation would be reduced by the square root of the reliability (i.e., the attenuation factor). In other words, the population correlation is multiplied by the attenuation factor ( = .90), thus reducing the correlation by 10 percent. Therefore, the observed correlation will be .45 (.50 x .90) even if there is no attenuation due to the other ten artifacts listed by Hunter and Schmidt (2004, p. 35). When the measure of the dependent variable has a lower reliability, .36 for example, the correlation is reduced by 40 percent ( = .60) to .30 (.50 x .60). In order to make a correction for attenuation, the correlation is divided by the attenuation factor (i.e., the square root of the reliability).
For the purposes of this report, an estimate of reliability was used. Osborne (2003) found that the average reliability reported in psychology journals is .83. Lou and colleagues (1996) report a typical reliability of .85 for standardized achievement tests and a reliability of .75 for unstandardized achievement tests. Because the dependent measure in the independent studies involved teacher-designed assessments of student academic achievement, .75 was used as the reliability to correct for attenuation using the following formula:
In the formula, is the corrected effect size, is the observed effect size, and is the attenuation factor (the square root of the reliability). Using this formula, each effect size reported in Appendix B was corrected for attenuation to produce the corrected meta-analytic findings considered in this report.
Technical Note 3: Independent variables can be analyzed as fixed effects or as random effects. In the context of ANOVA/ANCOVA, fixed effects are factors that are deliberately arranged by the researcher. In the case of the original analysis of the 329 independent studies, the experimental/ control condition (i.e., the use of a selected instructional strategy) was analyzed as a fixed effect. In contrast, random effects are factors that are not deliberately arranged. Instead, random effects are factors which are randomly sampled from a population of possible samples. Generally speaking, when independent variables are analyzed as random effects, the intent is to generalize results beyond the boundaries of the independent variables employed in the study. For example, if a researcher were interested in the effect that the quality of school leadership has on academic
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proficiency, the researcher could select a random sample of schools in order to estimate the amount of variance in student academic achievement attributable to differences between types of school leaders. Thus, using the sample, the researcher can make generalizations regarding the influence of school leadership on academic achievement as a whole. Additional research could attempt to replicate the findings by selecting a different random sample of schools for comparison. When fixed effects are employed one typically does not generalize beyond the boundaries of the independent variables in the study. Because the experimental versus control condition in the independent studies was considered a fixed effect, generalizations should be considered with caution as they can be made only with respect to the use of instructional strategies by teachers involved in the independent studies.
Technical Note 4: In Appendix B, the column labeled “ES” contains the computed effect size for each study calculated as Cohen’s δ using the following formula:
where r is the effect size correlation and p is the proportion of the total population in one of the two groups (i.e., the experimental group). Partial eta squared ( ) as calculated by SPSS was used to determine partial eta ( as an estimate for r by taking its square root. This formula is used to compute the effect size from an effect size correlation (e.g., the point-biserial correlation coefficient) when the experimental and control group populations are not equal (see Lipsey & Wilson, 2001, pp. 62-63). Again, partial eta ( was used as an estimate for r in the formula.
The generic term effect size applies to a variety of indices (e.g., r, R, PV) that can be used to demonstrate the effect of an independent variable (e.g., use of a selected instructional strategy) on a dependent variable (e.g., student academic achievement). In this report, the effect size statistic utilized is the standardized mean difference effect size. This index, first popularized by Glass (1976) and Cohen (1977), is the difference between experimental and control means divided by an estimate of the population standard deviation.
standardized mean difference effect size = mean of experimental group – mean of control group
estimate of population standard deviation
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Consider the following illustration of the use of effect size. Assume that the achievement mean of a group of students in a class that used a target instructional strategy (e.g., graphic organizers) is 90 on a standardized test and the mean of a group of students in a class that did not use the instructional strategy is 80. Assuming the population standard deviation is 10, the effect size would be as follows:
This effect size leads to the following interpretation: The mean of the experimental group is 1.0 standard deviation larger than the mean of the control group. One could infer from this that the use of graphic organizers raises achievement test scores by one standard deviation. Therefore, the effect size expresses the differences between means in standardized or “Z score” form, which gives rise to another index frequently used in research regarding education—percentile gain.
Percentile gain is the expected gain (or loss) associated with the effect size expressed in percentile points of the average student in the experimental group compared to the average student in the control group. By way of illustration, consider the same example. An effect size of 1.0 can be interpreted as the average score in the experimental group being about 34 percentile points greater than the average score in the control group. Again, the effect size translates the difference between group means into Z score form. Distribution theory dictates that a Z score of 1.0 is at the 84.13 percentile point of the standard normal distribution. To determine the percentile gain, the effect size is transformed into percentile points above or below the 50th percentile point on the unit normal distribution (e.g., 84% - 50% = 34%).
Technical Note 5: Within the context of meta-analysis, independent studies can be analyzed using a fixed-effect or random-effect model of error to calculate the variability in effect size estimates averaged across the studies. Fixed-effect models calculate error that reflects variation in studies’ outcomes due to the sampling of participants (i.e., sampling error) alone. In contrast, random-effect models allow for the possibility that, in addition to sampling error, the effect size varies from study to study due to variations in study methods. Stated differently, random-effect models make an assumption that study-level variance is present as an additional source of random influence. (For a more thorough discussion regarding models used in meta-analysis, see Hunter & Schmidt, 2004; Lipsey & Wilson, 2001; Cooper, 2009.)
19
Appendix A: Instructions for Action Research Thank you for agreeing to participate in an action research study regarding the effectiveness and utility of instructional strategies in your classroom. To be involved in a study you must be willing to do a few things. First, you should select a specific unit of instruction, or set of related lessons on a single topic (hereinafter referred to as unit) and design a pretest and posttest for that unit. It is best if the unit is relatively short in nature. For example, if you teach mathematics, you might select a one week unit on linear equations. Second, you must deliver the same unit to two different groups of students (a experimental group and a control group). At the beginning of the unit, you would administer a pretest on linear equations. Then at the end of the unit you would administer a posttest. This test could be identical to the pretest, or it could be different. The important point is that you have a pretest and a posttest score for each student on the topic of linear equations. The pretest and posttest should be comprehensive in nature. Also, you would administer the same pretest and posttest to both experimental and control groups. Again, you are teaching the same unit to two different groups of students (experimental and control). Ideally, you would teach the unit to both groups during the same period of time. When teaching the unit of instruction to the experimental group, you would make sure you use your target instructional strategy whenever and in ways you believe it to be applicable. When teaching the unit of instruction to the control group, you would NOT use your target instructional strategy. If you are an elementary school teacher and do not have two different classes of students then you would teach two different units within the same subject area to the same students. For example, you might select the subject area of writing. First, you might teach a one week unit of instruction on writing essays that focus on logical progression of ideas with good transition sentences. You would begin the unit with a pretest composition that is scored using a rubric specifically designed to measure students’ logical progression of ideas and use of good transition sentences. At the end of the unit you would assign another composition, this one used as a posttest. Again, you would score the composition using the same rubric. During this unit of instruction, you would make sure you use your target instructional strategy whenever and in ways you believe it to be applicable. Then, you might teach a one week unit of instruction on writing essays with a clear purpose for a specific audience. As before, you would begin the unit with a pretest composition that is scored using a rubric specifically designed to measure students’ presentation of a clear purpose for a specific audience. At the end of the unit you would assign another composition, this one used as a posttest. Again, you would score the composition using the same rubric. During this unit of instruction you would NOT use your target instructional strategy. Pretest and posttest scores for each student would be recorded on the appropriate form (see below for sample forms), along with general demographic information for each student. If a student does NOT take a test, leave a blank space on the form to indicate a missing test. Please note there is no space for including student names or other means of identifying each student. This has been done intentionally to comply with student privacy requirements. This is an
20
anonymous action research study; do NOT include any student names, id numbers, or other student identifiers on the data sheets you submit to Marzano Research Laboratory. Both pretest and posttest scores should be translated to a percentage format without the percentage sign (i.e. 90% = 90). For example, if your pretest involves 20 points and a particular student receives a score of 15, then translate the 15 into a percentage of 75 (i.e. 15/20 = .75 x 100 = 75) and record that as the pretest score for the student. If your posttest involves 80 points and that same student receives a score of 75, then translate the 75 into a percentage of 94 (75/80 = .94 x 100 = 94) and record that as the student’s posttest score. The same procedure would be employed if you used a rubric. For example, if a student received a 2 on a 4 point rubric on the pretest, this score would be translated to a percentage of 50 (2/4 = .50 x 100 = 50) and this would be recorded as the student’s pretest score. The same translation would be done on the student’s rubric score for the posttest. Again, leaving the percentage sign off the score recorded on the forms. It is imperative that you keep track of each student’s pretest scores and posttest scores and make sure they match when your data sheet is filled out. If posttest scores are not aligned with the pretest scores for particular students then the data cannot be used. When you have completed the study please fill out the required forms and return them to your team leader for submission to Marzano Research Laboratory. Three separate forms are required. The first is a brief survey form which asks you to provide general information about your action research study, your target instructional strategy, and your experience as a teacher. The remaining forms ask you to provide anonymous demographic information about your students along with their pretest and posttest scores. One form is for students in the experimental group, i.e. the students in the group that used the target instructional strategy. The other form is for students in the control group, i.e. the students that did NOT use the target instructional strategy. Please use the ethnicity codes listed at the bottom of each form when filling out the demographic information for your students. Thank you again for considering involvement in an action research project.
21
Name ____________________________________ School (optional) ___________________________ District (optional) ___________________________ Grade level(s) taught__________________________ Target Instructional Strategy________________________ Topic (and general subject area) addressed during the unit where the target instructional strategy was used (experimental group) ________________________________ Unit length (# of days) ___________ Topic (and general subject area) addressed during the unit where the target instructional strategy was NOT used (control group) ________________________________ Unit length (# of days) ___________ Were both classes comprised of different students? (Y/N) _______ General description of what you did - Target Instructional Strategy Class (Experimental Group): General description of what you did - Non-Target Instructional Strategy Class (Control Group):
22
Experimental Group Scores – Target Instructional Strategy Used
Student Grade Gender Ethnicity Free/Reduced Lunch (Y/N)
English Language Learner (Y/N)
Special Education
(Y/N)
Pretest Score
Posttest Score
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Ethnicity Code: A – Asian, AA – African American, C – White/Caucasian, H – Hispanic, N – Native American, O – Other
23
Control Group Scores – Target Instructional Strategy NOT Used
Student Grade Gender Ethnicity Free/Reduced Lunch (Y/N)
English Language Learner (Y/N)
Special Education
(Y/N)
Pretest Score
Posttest Score
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Ethnicity Code: A – Asian, AA – African American, C – White/Caucasian, H – Hispanic, N – Native American, O - Other
24
Teacher Survey
How long have you been teaching? __________
How long have you used your target instructional strategy in your classroom? ____________
How confident are you in your ability to use your target instructional strategy in your classroom?
Not at all Completely
1 2 3 4 5
25
Appendix B: Independent studies
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
1 9-12 Collaborative Research 24 21 1.08 .001 36
2 9-12 Visual vs verbal instruction 18 15 2.22 .000 49
3 9-12 Graphic organizers 25 27 .68 .022 25
4 9-12 Systematic homework feedback 13 13 -.45 .290 -17
5 9-12 Recalling/activating prior knowledge 21 19 .16 .639 6
6 9-12 Note taking 28 30 2.39 .000 49
7 9-12 Using formatted note sheet 31 30 -.25 .337 -10
8 9-12 Unidentified 16 15 -.20 .594 -8
9 9-12 Nonlinguistic representations 20 16 .77 .034 28
10 9-12 Nonlinguistic representations 19 20 .62 .069 23
11 9-12 Nonlinguistic representations 13 13 -.65 .130 -24
12 9-12 Nonlinguistic representations 13 12 .06 .898 2
13 9-12 Homework 26 20 .03 .920 1
14 9-12 Nonlinguistic 23 28 .11 .696 4
15 9-12 Reinforcing effort 17 23 -.29 .383 -11
16 9-12 Summarizing 25 28 .31 .284 12
17 9-12 Nonlinguistic 17 24 1.97 .000 48
18 9-12 Summarizing 27 22 .46 .124 18
19 9-12 Reinforcing effort 25 27 -.51 .079 -20
20 9-12 Reinforcing effort 15 18 .13 .735 5
21 9-12 Nonlinguistic 17 20 1.06 .004 36
22 9-12 Nonlinguistic 20 20 .26 .423 10
23 9-12 Summarizing 23 25 .00 .887 0
24 9-12 Summarizing 24 29 .21 .452 8
25 9-12 Summarizing 26 29 .30 .286 12
26 9-12 Nonlinguistic 21 13 -.16 .668 -6
26
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
27 9-12 Summarizing 25 16 -.06 .841 -2
28 9-12 Summarizing 15 27 .95 .005 33
29 9-12 Summarizing 22 20 .30 .356 12
30 9-12 Cues, Questions and Advance Organizers 27 26 .06 .821 2
31 9-12 Homework 15 14 .34 .390 13
32 9-12 Basics for 2x2, 3x3 matrices 16 14 .62 .120 23
33 9-12 Nonlinguistic 22 20 .28 .390 11
34 9-12 Nonlinguistic 23 20 .24 .460 9
35 9-12 Nonlinguistic 22 19 .68 .040 25
36 9-12 Comparisons 12 30 -.40 .220 -16
37 9-12 Nonlinguistic 20 14 1.30 .000 40
38 9-12 Computer based Instruction 6 13 .01 .980 0
39 9-12 Homework 26 18 -.32 .320 -13
40 9-12 Comparisons 18 24 -.16 .630 -6
41 9-12 Reinforcing Effort 26 28 -.66 .020 -25
42 9-12 Nonlinguistic 19 19 -.20 .570 -8
43 9-12 Comparisons 19 19 -.61 .080 -23
44 9-12 Nonlinguistic 11 16 .89 .040 31
45 9-12 Nonlinguistic 4 4 1.77 .100 46
46 9-12 Nonlinguistic 14 9 .33 .480 13
47 9-12 Nonlinguistic 12 6 .30 .570 12
48 9-12 Homework 28 26 1.53 .000 44
49 9-12 Reinforcing Effort 8 8 3.11 .000 50
50 9-12 Nonlinguistic 11 13 .31 .480 12
51 9-12 Nonlinguistic 7 7 .88 .170 31
52 9-12 Cooperative Learning 6 6 4.27 .000 50
53 9-12 Nonlinguistic 4 7 1.29 .110 40
27
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
54 9-12 Reinforcing Effort 3 3 2.53 .120 49
55 9-12 Nonlinguistic 7 6 -.36 .580 -14
56 9-12 Reinforcing Effort 3 6 .97 .280 33
57 9-12 Unidentified 16 19 .17 .640 7
58 9-12 Building vocabulary 10 9 .00 .960 0
59 9 Vocabulary Notebook 14 13 .39 .350 15
60 9 Vocabulary Notebook 4 11 .00 .966 0
61 9-12 Vocabulary Notebook 15 15 1.54 .010 44
62 9-12 Vocabulary 18 17 .31 .380 12
63 10-12 Six Steps of Vocabulary 16 11 -.41 .180 -16
64 9 Vocabulary Notebook 4 12 1.68 .010 45
65 10-12 Vocabulary Notebook 11 11 .79 .070 29
66 9-12 Generating Hypotheses 27 27 -.45 .200 -17
67 9 Similarities and Differences 23 22 .36 .249 14
68 10 Vocabulary Notebook 20 22 .86 .010 31
69 11 Vocabulary Notebook 27 28 .00 .899 0
70 9 Vocabulary Notebook 25 17 .16 .634 6
71 9-12 Graphic Organizers 10 12 .13 .790 5
72 9-12 Graphic Organizer 7 7 -.26 .681 -10
73 Vocabulary Notebook 8 8 2.27 .001 49
74 11 Vocabulary Notebook 18 25 -.63 .054 -24
75 10-12 Graphic Organizers 22 27 .11 .711 4
76 9 Graphic Organizers 25 18 -.11 .752 -4
77 Graphic Organizers 23 24 .62 .045 23
78 9 Building Academic Vocabulary 15 19 .71 .056 26
79 9-12 Nonlinguistic Depictions 23 25 .20 .510 8
80 9-12 Summarizing/Note Taking 18 20 .90 .011 32
28
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
81 9 Graphic Organizers 17 20 .14 .680 6
82 9 Graphic Organizers 17 19 .16 .666 6
83 10 Note Taking 25 24 -.06 .860 -2
84 10 Note Taking 24 25 -.31 .292 -12
85 9 Building Vocabulary/Images Strategy 19 26 1.23 .000 39
86 9 Homework and Practice 16 22 .20 .564 8
87 9 Note Taking 19 21 .09 .810 4
88 10-12 Graphic Organizer/Use of pre test 27 27 .49 .090 19
89 9-11 Vocabulary Notebook 5 8 .25 .700 10
90 11-12 Vocab Notebook 21 25 -.13 .670 -5
91 11 Note Taking 22 18 .37 .270 14
92 Review and Practice 20 20 .32 .332 13
93 9 Interactive Games 9 10 1.54 .010 44
94 . Practice and Feedback 17 19 .31 .380 12
95 9 Note Taking 31 16 -.41 .180 -16
96 10 Quia Word Games 29 21 1.23 .000 39
97 10 Note Taking 10 16 .79 .070 29
98 11 Note Taking 20 17 -.45 .200 -17
99 12 Nonlinguistic Representations 15 14 -.57 .160 -22
100 11 Graphic Organizers 28 21 -.80 .010 -29
101 11 Building vocabulary 29 32 .42 .118 16
102 10 Blue Clickers 21 24 .24 .451 9
103 9 Graphic Organizers 22 19 -.06 .824 -2
104 12 Vocab G. Org. and Games 26 25 .47 .110 18
105 Vocab Review Games 11 15 -.26 .551 -10
106 9 Vocabulary Review Games 26 25 .64 .031 24
107 10-12 Graphic Organizers 17 19 .53 .141 20
29
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
108 9-12 Graphic Organizers 14 21 .76 .039 28
109 10-12 Table Talk 24 22 .73 .022 27
110 10 Pyramid Game 26 26 .44 .131 17
111 9-11 Graphical Organizer (roundhouse diagram) 10 17 .00 .997 0
112 9-11 CPS Instruction 11 8 .19 .703 8
113 11 Voc. Step 3 construct a graphic 5 11 1.06 .079 36
114 9-12 Review Games 9 22 .56 .151 21
115 10-12 Practice - Feedback 10 13 .00 .977 0
116 10 Note Taking 25 .66 .001 25
117 . Note Taking 12 8 .64 .200 24
118 . Vocab: Poster/G. Org. 13 5 1.02 .070 35
119 10 Vocab 7 12 -.94 .080 -33
120 10 Vocab. 6 Strategies 17 16 .31 .400 12
121 9-12 Quia Word Games 16 22 -.14 .677 -6
122 . Vocab - Games 23 14 .30 .390 12
123 10 Note Taking 4 4 -2.40 .040 -49
124 9-12 Graphic Organizer 15 44 .29 .280 11
125 9-12 Nonlinguistic 25 18 .93 .000 32
126 9-12 2 Column Notes with Picturing 24 24 -.19 .530 -8
127 9-12 Nonlinguistic 26 13 .84 .020 30
128 9-12 Nonlinguistic 19 21 -.39 .240 -15
129 9-12 Concept Pattern Organizer 22 20 .06 .950 2
130 9-12 Comparison Matrix and Recategorization 39 43 -.13 .560 -5
131 9-12 Compare and Contrast 26 22 .72 .020 26
132 9-12 Nonlinguistic 21 25 -.39 .210 -15
133 9-12 Student Notes: Combination Technique 23 27 .06 .950 2
134 9-12 Notes and Summarizing 24 17 1.59 .000 44
30
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
135 9-12 Nonlinguistic 57 57 -.09 .240 -4
136 10 Nonlinguistic 23 23 .25 .430 10
137 9-12 Engaging in Kinesthetic Activity 3 4 1.60 .190 45
138 11 Nonlinguistic 15 13 -.07 .920 -3
139 9-12 Historical Inquiry 23 14 -.93 .010 -32
140 9-12 Reinforcing Effort 19 19 -.93 .010 -32
141 10 Nonlinguistic 45 89 .24 .180 9
142 9-12 Nonlinguistic 20 15 .51 .160 20
143 9-12 Cornell Note-taking System 40 41 .53 .020 20
144 9-12 Nonlinguistic/$20,000 pyramid 36 32 .06 .920 2
145 9-12 Combination Notes 13 25 .33 .330 13
146 9-12 Nonlinguistic 15 18 .06 .910 2
147 9-12 Nonlinguistic 22 27 .25 .410 10
148 9-12 Nonlinguistic 36 61 -.06 .870 -2
149 8 Nonlinguistic Representations 9 18 1.46 .002 43
150 Nonlinguistic Representation 24 18 -.17 .598 -7
151 Note taking 22 66 -.51 .022 -20
152 6 "I" Chart Note Taking 15 63 -.06 .765 -2
153 8 Note Taking 24 103 .64 .001 24
154 Graphic Organizer 40 41 .37 .106 14
155 6 Graphic Organizer 20 65 -.29 .195 -11
156 7 Notes w/drawings 21 69 .36 .091 14
157 8 Note Taking 20 83 .16 .427 6
158 Nonlinguistic Representations 24 24 -.21 .484 -8
159 8 Notetaking/Linguistc/Nonlinguistic 22 23 1.11 .001 37
160 7 Nonlinguistic Representations 26 64 .24 .268 9
161 Graphic Organizer 22 60 -.27 .239 -11
31
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
162 8 Illustrated Terms 23 66 -.09 .693 -4
163 Identifying Similarities/Differences 24 20 1.75 .000 46
164 Effort and Recognition 16 15 .60 .125 23
165 Nonlinguistic Representations 20 29 -.32 .279 -13
166 7 Graphic Organizer 41 38 -.21 .350 -8
167 6 Nonlinguistic Representation 24 70 .16 .453 6
168 8 Graphic Organizer 20 44 -.16 .557 -6
169 Nonlinguistic 21 20 -.47 .156 -18
170 6 Graphic Organizer 23 59 .06 .788 2
171 Nonlinguistic note taking 16 71 .82 .000 29
172 Graphic Organizer 19 59 .00 .933 0
173 Effort 25 23 2.28 .000 49
174 Effort and Achievement 60 60 .00 .959 0
175 Note Taking 22 66 .50 .024 19
176 Note Taking 25 72 .33 .113 13
177 8 Notetaking Nonlinguistic/Linguistic 25 24 .35 .251 14
178 8 Note Taking Strategies 24 64 .27 .215 11
179 Kinesthetic Activities with notes (Foldable) 25 42 .32 .204 13
180 Graphic Organizer 24 60 .16 .473 6
181 Double column notes (in pictures/in words) 16 46 1.14 .000 37
182 Graphic Organizers 24 81 .00 .826 0
183 8 Note Taking 18 66 .97 .000 33
184 6 Nonlinguistic Representations 22 43 .09 .748 4
185 7 Setting objectives and providing feedback 21 45 -.17 .519 -7
186 Note Taking 86 22 .32 .103 13
187 Note Taking 22 63 .28 .212 11
188 highlighting with a yellow highlighter important information 23 70 .46 .030 18
32
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
189 6 Nonlinguistic Representations 20 71 .06 .719 2
190 Non-linguistic representation 22 63 .69 .002 25
191 Nonlinguistic Representations 21 40 .09 .713 4
192 Graphic Organizers 46 42 .00 .937 0
193 6 Nonlinguistic Representation 20 40 .59 .029 22
194 Nonlinguistic Representation 26 23 -.68 .025 -25
195 7 Double column notes with visual and summary statement 23 63 .35 .115 14
196 12 Note Taking 21 21 2.19 .000 49
197 11 Teacher directed PowerPoint Notes 16 29 .19 .537 8
198 11 Teacher directed PowerPoint Notes 25 31 -.26 .353 -10
199 11-12 Nonlinguistic Representations 8 10 .75 .165 27
200 9 Nonlinguistic Representations 13 12 .93 .039 32
201 10-12 Teacher prepared questions to accompany Power Point 19 19 -.24 .489 -9
202 10-12 Partial teacher prepared notes 14 12 .58 .180 22
203 10 Note Taking 21 14 .17 .631 7
204 10 Nonlinguistic Representations 34 48 .09 .677 4
205 9-11 Rule-based summarizing 12 14 -.54 .212 -21
206 11 Nonlinguistic Representations 17 11 1.03 .018 35
207 8 Learning Goal Tracking Folders 15 12 1.50 .001 43
208 7 Homework 6 8 1.32 .053 41
209 10 Chunking 20 20 -.28 .402 -11
210 10 Nonlinguistic representations 16 15 .41 .291 16
211 12 Nonlinguistic representations 13 13 .09 .833 4
212 5 Feedback and tracking 11 15 -.39 .361 -15
213 6 Think-pair-share 13 15 .65 .118 24
214 4 Teacher prepared notes 17 21 .24 .481 9
215 3 Practice 11 13 .81 .079 29
33
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
216 9-12 Discussion of stated learning goal 10 30 .56 .140 21
217 10 Visualizing & Summarizing 13 8 1.81 .002 46
218 7 Homework 20 21 .28 .399 11
219 6 Setting and discussing objectives 22 18 .02 .961 1
220 7 Setting objectives 16 12 -.26 .527 -10
221 7 Nonlinguistic representations 13 15 .17 .670 7
222 1 Tracking 17 17 .84 .025 30
223 4 Scoring Guide 20 24 2.44 .000 49
224 3 Scoring Guide and Feedback 20 20 3.66 .000 50
225 5 Tracking and Feedback 20 20 .63 .059 24
226 5 Nonlinguistic representations 16 16 -.22 .588 -9
227 2 Basal series matrix 15 20 .72 .051 26
228 1 Learning goal defined and repeated 20 20 1.98 .000 48
229 5 Nonlinguistic representations; Pictionary 18 18 .35 .328 14
230 K Nonlinguistic representations 17 17 -.51 .170 -20
231 2 Verbalizing learner goals 19 15 -.93 .024 -32
232 3 Verbalizing learning goal 17 17 .32 .400 13
233 K Verbalizing learning goal, charted progress 13 14 .75 .092 27
234 K Repeated learning goal, Nonlinguistic representations 30 14 2.18 .000 49
235 8 Tracking learning goal progress 25 29 1.00 .001 34
236 4 Tracking learning goal progress 23 24 .07 .811 3
237 5 Tracking learning goal progress 7 7 1.68 .018 45
238 5 Comparison matrix 18 20 2.07 .000 48
239 6 Tracking learning goal progress 28 28 .07 .800 3
240 4 Teacher notes (Cornell) 27 27 -.58 .044 -22
241 K Learning goals and feedback 18 18 .66 .067 25
242 5 Teacher notes (Cornell), summarizing 23 23 1.25 .000 39
34
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
243 3 Nonlinguistic representations 19 25 1.50 .000 43
244 2 Nonlinguistic representations 21 19 -.27 .421 -11
245 1 Tracking 20 22 1.20 .001 38
246 K Nonlinguistic representations 20 17 .44 .210 17
247 3 Chunking 24 24 .06 .847 2
248 1 Chunking 18 21 .19 .567 8
249 4 Nonlinguistic representations, clozentropy, student questioning 23 21 .56 .082 21
250 2 Graphic organizers 21 15 .66 .070 25
251 7 Tracking 17 17 -.32 .376 -13
252 5 Tracking 25 23 .43 .160 17
253 3 Building vocabulary 16 16 1.53 .000 44
254 1 Building vocabulary 19 20 1.71 .000 46
255 Building vocabulary 16 17 2.38 .000 49
256 3 Building vocabulary 20 22 -.14 .656 -6
257 3 Building vocabulary 16 17 -.47 .207 -18
258 2 Building vocabulary 18 19 -.17 .624 -7
259 K Building vocabulary 16 8 -.56 .238 -21
260 4 Building vocabulary 16 15 -.41 .286 -16
261 1 Building vocabulary 23 23 .98 .002 34
262 5 Building vocabulary 12 15 1.02 .021 35
263 4 Building vocabulary 20 22 2.19 .000 49
264 4 Building vocabulary 22 23 1.68 .000 45
265 3 Building vocabulary 25 22 -.25 .412 -10
266 K Building vocabulary 19 19 .48 .165 18
267 5 Building vocabulary 26 27 .63 .029 24
268 2 Building vocabulary 19 20 .47 .166 18
269 5 Building vocabulary (1st 4 steps) 19 19 -.12 .722 -5
35
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
270 3 Building vocabulary 20 18 -.15 .669 -6
271 3 Building vocabulary 20 19 .16 .642 6
272 2 Building vocabulary 10 10 .16 .749 6
273 1 Building vocabulary 16 20 1.81 .000 46
274 4 Building vocabulary 23 23 -.06 .847 -2
275 2 Building vocabulary 20 17 .40 .254 16
276 3 Building vocabulary 18 17 .81 .028 29
277 7 Building vocabulary (step 6 only) 25 22 .64 .039 24
278 6 Building vocabulary (omitted step 5) 30 30 1.52 .000 44
279 6-8 Building vocabulary (steps 2 & 6 only) 12 9 2.87 .000 50
280 8 Building vocabulary (omitted step 6) 29 17 -.24 .450 -9
281 7 Building vocabulary (omitted step 6) 38 43 -.53 .022 -20
282 7 Building vocabulary (steps 3 & 5 only) 31 22 -.30 .298 -12
283 Building vocabulary 16 18 .40 .273 16
284 Building vocabulary 15 14 .58 .150 22
285 Building vocabulary 24 30 .42 .139 16
286 Building vocabulary 18 25 .13 .695 5
287 Building vocabulary 35 52 .13 .566 5
288 9-12 Building vocabulary 1 5 2.02 .283 48
289 10-12 Building vocabulary 11 32 .03 .940 1
290 11-12 Building vocabulary 13 9 1.27 .014 40
291 9 Illustrations 19 25 -.04 .896 -2
292 9-12 Graphic Organizers 15 15 1.88 .000 47
293 9-10 Vocabulary Cards 20 16 .18 .612 7
294 9 Graphic Organizers 19 15 .49 .185 19
295 11 Graphic Organizers 21 22 .20 .541 8
296 10-12 Graphic Organizers 14 15 .08 .832 3
36
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
297 10-12 Graphic Organizers 7 10 -.42 .454 -16
298 12 Vocabulary Illustration 24 22 .26 .406 10
299 9-10 Graphic Organizers 8 12 1.15 .032 37
300 10-11 Graphic Organizers 22 18 .11 .744 4
301 9-12 Vocabulary 22 25 .33 .285 13
302 10 Graphic Organizers 11 12 -.24 .599 -9
303 10-12 Graphic Organizers 25 25 .31 .299 12
304 9E Vocabulary 16 17 .16 .662 6
305 9-12 Graphic Organizers 13 17 .01 .970 0
306 9 Building Background Knowledge 6 6 1.34 .075 41
307 9A Vocabulary 29 27 -.19 .490 -8
308 10 Graphic Organizers 23 23 .12 .700 5
309 10-11 Vocabulary Notebook 27 22 .87 .005 31
310 11 Graphic Organizer 33 29 .08 .768 3
311 9-11 Vocabulary Review Game 22 17 .46 .176 18
312 10-12 Vocabulary Review Game 12 18 -.19 .632 -8
313 10 Note Taking 20 24 .61 .059 23
314 11-12 Vocabulary Review Game 18 17 .03 .927 1
315 9-11 Graphic Organizer 7 7 -.25 .690 -10
316 10-12 Graphic Organizer 31 28 -.11 .679 -4
317 10 Vocabulary Illustrations 28 29 .40 .150 16
318 10 Graphic Organizer 13 12 1.18 .012 38
319 11-12 Graphic Organizer 13 11 .51 .259 20
320 9,12 Vocabulary Review Game 9 15 .26 .568 10
321 10 Vocabulary Notebook 30 20 .09 .755 4
322 11 Vocabulary Review Game 22 18 .21 .525 8
323 9-12 Note Taking 8 14 -.09 .850 -4
37
Teacher Grade Target Strategy Ctrl N Exp N ES Sig. (2-tailed) %
Gain
324 9-12 Note Taking 8 9 .97 .091 33
325 10-12 Graphic Organizer 8 16 1.19 .018 38
326 11 Restate/Peer Share 10 15 .32 .473 13
327 9-12 Graphic Organizer 22 25 .13 .665 5
328 10-11 Concept Mapping 16 21 -.12 .723 -5
329 5 Vocabulary Review Games 14 21 1.20 .002 38
Source: Meta-Analysis Database (Marzano Research Laboratory, 2009).
38
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- Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Action Research Projects
- The Use of Meta-Analysis
- The Sample
- Data Analysis and Findings
- Question 1: What effect does the utilization of instructional strategies have on students’ achievement regarding the subject matter content taught by their teachers?
- Question 2: Does the effect of instructional strategies differ between school levels?
- Question 3: Does the effect of instructional strategies differ from strategy to strategy?
- Interpretation
- Summary
- Technical Notes
- Appendix A: Instructions for Action Research
- Appendix B: Independent studies
- References