As the pandemic continues to disrupt traditional K–12 education worldwide, Dr. Robert J. Marzano sees this moment as an incredible opportunity.
Dr. Marzano, with more than 50 years of education research, thinks this “new normal” of teaching will spawn innovative ideas and attitudes for delivering quality instruction now and in the future.
“Obviously, the massive change here is the fact that we can’t now assume that teachers will be physically in front of a class of students,” Marzano says. “Virtually all of the research about good teaching, how to present curriculum, is kind of based on that assumption—that there will be a human being in contact with other human beings, and it’ll be live in real time.
“Although the live and real-time part has started to shift—it started to shift 10 to 20 years ago—does [teaching] always have to be a live interaction? Do they have to be physically together, or can it be asynchronous?”
Dr. Marzano points to how teachers, administrators, and families alike have responded since the pandemic first started changing educational practices in March 2020.
Schools, for instance, might no longer be bound to a physical, brick-and-mortar site, and might deliver instruction entirely virtually. And if a school is virtual, it might not need to belong to a larger district of 20 or more schools.
Dr. Marzano also points to the concept of “micro-schools,” where a certified teacher is supported by a group of parents in an independent learning system.
“There’re all sorts of questions about that—how is it monitored, how do we know students are learning—but there are some really exciting parts there,” Marzano says. “This is a ‘sea change,’ as people call it.”
Instead of standing in front of a classroom and delivering live instruction for six to six-and-a-half hours each day, Dr. Marzano also anticipates that future learning models may expedite the teaching process by recording introductory subject material.
“If we, as a system, know what topics we want taught,” Marzano says, “why don’t we have experienced teachers who obviously know the content for those topics record the initial presentation?”
While the future and its specifics are still largely to be determined, Dr. Marzano says that it’s most critical right now that educators focus on curriculum. Once teachers and administrators have agreed on essential learning topics, they can create virtual tools to deliver quality digital instruction.
“If you, as a leader, can say ‘in this school, at this subject area, in this grade level, here are the 10 to 30 topics that the students will know at the end of the year,’ and you can do that for every subject area and every grade level, then you’re standing on solid footing for this new world we’re in,” Marzano says.
Ensuring that students are engaged is a large part of the discussion as well. Gaining learners’ attention—what used to be called “winning the battle,” Marzano says—is now even harder to do without the movement or visual cues typically found in a physical classroom.
“Now you have no idea whether you’re in the game, let alone winning it,” he said.
Cognitive engagement, which requires students to apply their thinking skills to reach a conclusion, should now be a vital part of the learning process. For instance, if a person put on their swimsuit and went to the _______, a reasonable answer based on cognitive engagement would suggest they are going to the pool or a lake.
“That’s good teaching anyway. It really is,” Marzano says. “But now, without those other advantages of energy, humor, and charisma that you don’t get virtually, it becomes even more important.”
Dr. Marzano also points to the parents and families who have embraced the remote learning experience, and may even find that they want to keep it as part of their personal educational choices. They might like delivering the instruction firsthand and might potentially seek a school schedule that’s more flexible to make it happen.
“There are so many resources right now, if you look at any topic in eighth-grade science, and our expectations on what students should know, that a good chunk of that can be done by a parent who has resources that are available,” Marzano says, pointing to free resources like the Khan Academy.
“I think we will create things relevant to K–12 education because of COVID that we haven’t even thought of yet,” Marzano says, “that we wouldn’t have even come up without the opportunity side of what’s going on right now.”