A Handbook for the Art and Science of Teaching (Professional Development)

How can I make certain that all my students achieve success in mastering learning goals—and play an active role in monitoring and adjusting their own learning process? How can I manage my classroom so that all students are engaged, challenged, and active members of my classroom's learning community? How can I design units and lessons so that they promote maximum success for every learner?

Learning how to become an effective teacher involves finding answers to these and countless other questions. In A Handbook for the Art and Science of Teaching, Robert J. Marzano and John L. Brown help you explore and refine your instructional strategies, always with the goal of enhancing student achievement.

As a companion volume to Marzano's The Art and Science of Teaching, the handbook is intended to be a guide for individual teachers, study groups, and professional developers working together to improve their teaching. It is organized into 25 modules, each related to one of the 10 design questions introduced in the earlier book. Each module begins with a series of reflection questions and concludes with a set of self-assessment questions that allow the reader to determine areas that might need further work. At the heart of each module are specific strategies for addressing the key components of effective teaching. Dozens of examples illustrate the strategies in action in elementary and secondary classrooms, in all subject areas.

The strategies provide a thorough grounding in the “science” of teaching. How a teacher chooses to implement them constitutes the “art” of teaching. Both elements are necessary for improving student achievement and creating successful schools. For anyone committed to developing a wide range of teaching skills, this handbook is a welcome road map to best practices.