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The New Classroom Instruction That Works: The Best Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement
The book that inspired millions of educators to refine their approach to teaching returns for an all-new third edition. Built on a more rigorous research base and updated to emphasize student diversity, equity, and inclusion, The New Classroom Instruction That Works offers a streamlined focus on the 14 instructional strategies proven to promote deep, meaningful, and lasting
* Cognitive interest cues
* Student goal setting and monitoring
* Vocabulary instruction
* Strategy instruction and modeling
* Visualizations and concrete examples
* High-level questions and student explanations
* Guided initial application with formative feedback
* Peer-assisted consolidation of learning
* Retrieval practice
* Spaced and mixed independent practice
* Targeted support
* Cognitive writing
* Guided investigations
* Structured problem solving
These strategies—all of which are effective and complementary—are presented within a framework geared toward instructional planning and aligned with how the brain learns. For each strategy, you'll get the key research findings, the important principles of classroom practice, and recommended approaches for using the strategy with today's learners.
Both new and veteran teachers will finish this book with a better understanding of how effective teaching boosts student achievement and a clearer idea of what to do, when to do it, and why.
* Cognitive interest cues
* Student goal setting and monitoring
* Vocabulary instruction
* Strategy instruction and modeling
* Visualizations and concrete examples
* High-level questions and student explanations
* Guided initial application with formative feedback
* Peer-assisted consolidation of learning
* Retrieval practice
* Spaced and mixed independent practice
* Targeted support
* Cognitive writing
* Guided investigations
* Structured problem solving
These strategies—all of which are effective and complementary—are presented within a framework geared toward instructional planning and aligned with how the brain learns. For each strategy, you'll get the key research findings, the important principles of classroom practice, and recommended approaches for using the strategy with today's learners.
Both new and veteran teachers will finish this book with a better understanding of how effective teaching boosts student achievement and a clearer idea of what to do, when to do it, and why.
- GenresEducation
177 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2022
36 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 26, 2023
The New Classroom Instruction That Works: The Best Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement https://a.co/d/5jw4CHV
“The New Classroom Instruction That Works” (2023) attempts to breathe new life into an established book (with two editions) by leading with a question: “Is teaching a profession?” (Goodwin 1) - something I encourage students not to do.
After calling the teaching profession into question - an already dangerous situation in 2023 - the authors inform the dwindling numbers of teachers that the only way they may attain “professional growth” is when these few remaining teachers “use [. . .] evidence-based strategies” (8). Any reader will readily assume the authors are referring to the 14 suggested strategies they have provided - I suppose this must directly imply the other 34 from the first two editions will deem a teacher unprofessional?
This may imply then that using any strategy that is researched-based not from the authors or using one’s personality traits, character, instinct and intelligence beyond theoretical texts (such as this) or isolated and occasional studies leads a teacher to practice teaching as an art. The authors take issue with the “art of teaching” immediately by establishing that the “science of teaching” is like “that of medicine or engineering” that is “robust” field (do the authors venture outside much?) (1-2). Surely the trade of engineering requires some artistic skill or any skill beyond just science?
To them, teaching is “not simply an art or tradescraft but a true profession” (2).
I have never read a more offesive statement that both directly damages the profession it is discussing while condescendingly lowers other professions of art and tradescraft. To say these authors are narrow-minded is an understatement. Cannot arts or tradescrafts be true professions?
To overshadow this extremely offensive oversight, the authors state their desires to “[move] beyond fads” while they simultaneously attempt to recreate 14 strategies (which were themselves fads and successes in the profession since at least the 1970s in the U.S.) as contemporary buzzwords with awkward phrasing and summaries.
The authors also clearly establish that any “true professional” must not know what strategy to utilize, but also how when and why to utilize it (8). However, the same authors immediately gloss over the “why” of each strategy: “If you wish to dive more deeply into the research supporting each strategy, we provide tabular summaries in the Appendix and offer more detailed summaries of each study in a free online resource available at www.ascd.org/TheNewCITW.” Apparently, the “why” wasn’t worth their time.
It was also not worth their time to explain why a teacher should even want to be a “true professional” by the authors’ standards alone.
Perhaps some of the most beneficial content related to student engagement - the beginning of learning for the authors - is actually former “fads” the authors reference such as intrinsic versus extrensic motivation. The crux of their organization of strategies rely on that which they have so loftily condemned.
These roots in student engagement later result in strategies to encourage learning growth if the proposed formulaic strategies are implemented - at least for the authors. For example, cold calling is considered by the authors more effective on students to intrinsically motivate them to retain and respond because students will “read more pages before class, spen[d] more time, preparing for class, and recall more information from readings” (67). Not only does cold-call go against the authors former “fad” aversion, it also conflicts with the authors’ condemnation of *extrinsic* (not intrinsic as implied) motivation - something that is “something done to please others” (13) and is not effective because it encourages student learning as “a trial to be endured rather than opportunity to be relished and enjoyed” (13). Maybe the authors might enjoy being cold-called upon to explain their incongruous ideas?
Clearly the authors have forgotten the recent 2022 research (maybe convenintly since it does not lie within their exclusive 2023 limited-strategy, true-professionals-only ideology):
“Cold calling, in these classrooms, was ‘successful only in terms of a superficial engagement’ - but teachers who used cold calling this way ultimately undermined classroom participation by making students feel ‘incompetent and anxious,’ the researchers concluded” in a 2022 study found here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/...
Surely the authors did not intend to undermine their own ideas of student engagement in earlier chapters by later suggesting unproductive use of unsupported and superficial strategies that - according to research - does not provide intrinsic motivation for students, long-lasting learning, or rich and meaningful engagement.
This is, of course, one example of the incongrous nature of the book that undermines their heavy-handed messages that began on page one.
While the book may remind veteran teachers of old strategies they may not have used in awhile, or create new possibilities in new teacher classrooms, the authors have failed to create an original take on an old text ( or “fad” as they may call it), so this book only can merely be used to resource or as an occasional “playbook” while an individual artfully leads classes in learning - the true performance of a professional, now further maimed by the limited scope of these authors and their judgmental and unrealistic conclusions on an already suffering profession.
“The New Classroom Instruction That Works” (2023) attempts to breathe new life into an established book (with two editions) by leading with a question: “Is teaching a profession?” (Goodwin 1) - something I encourage students not to do.
After calling the teaching profession into question - an already dangerous situation in 2023 - the authors inform the dwindling numbers of teachers that the only way they may attain “professional growth” is when these few remaining teachers “use [. . .] evidence-based strategies” (8). Any reader will readily assume the authors are referring to the 14 suggested strategies they have provided - I suppose this must directly imply the other 34 from the first two editions will deem a teacher unprofessional?
This may imply then that using any strategy that is researched-based not from the authors or using one’s personality traits, character, instinct and intelligence beyond theoretical texts (such as this) or isolated and occasional studies leads a teacher to practice teaching as an art. The authors take issue with the “art of teaching” immediately by establishing that the “science of teaching” is like “that of medicine or engineering” that is “robust” field (do the authors venture outside much?) (1-2). Surely the trade of engineering requires some artistic skill or any skill beyond just science?
To them, teaching is “not simply an art or tradescraft but a true profession” (2).
I have never read a more offesive statement that both directly damages the profession it is discussing while condescendingly lowers other professions of art and tradescraft. To say these authors are narrow-minded is an understatement. Cannot arts or tradescrafts be true professions?
To overshadow this extremely offensive oversight, the authors state their desires to “[move] beyond fads” while they simultaneously attempt to recreate 14 strategies (which were themselves fads and successes in the profession since at least the 1970s in the U.S.) as contemporary buzzwords with awkward phrasing and summaries.
The authors also clearly establish that any “true professional” must not know what strategy to utilize, but also how when and why to utilize it (8). However, the same authors immediately gloss over the “why” of each strategy: “If you wish to dive more deeply into the research supporting each strategy, we provide tabular summaries in the Appendix and offer more detailed summaries of each study in a free online resource available at www.ascd.org/TheNewCITW.” Apparently, the “why” wasn’t worth their time.
It was also not worth their time to explain why a teacher should even want to be a “true professional” by the authors’ standards alone.
Perhaps some of the most beneficial content related to student engagement - the beginning of learning for the authors - is actually former “fads” the authors reference such as intrinsic versus extrensic motivation. The crux of their organization of strategies rely on that which they have so loftily condemned.
These roots in student engagement later result in strategies to encourage learning growth if the proposed formulaic strategies are implemented - at least for the authors. For example, cold calling is considered by the authors more effective on students to intrinsically motivate them to retain and respond because students will “read more pages before class, spen[d] more time, preparing for class, and recall more information from readings” (67). Not only does cold-call go against the authors former “fad” aversion, it also conflicts with the authors’ condemnation of *extrinsic* (not intrinsic as implied) motivation - something that is “something done to please others” (13) and is not effective because it encourages student learning as “a trial to be endured rather than opportunity to be relished and enjoyed” (13). Maybe the authors might enjoy being cold-called upon to explain their incongruous ideas?
Clearly the authors have forgotten the recent 2022 research (maybe convenintly since it does not lie within their exclusive 2023 limited-strategy, true-professionals-only ideology):
“Cold calling, in these classrooms, was ‘successful only in terms of a superficial engagement’ - but teachers who used cold calling this way ultimately undermined classroom participation by making students feel ‘incompetent and anxious,’ the researchers concluded” in a 2022 study found here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/...
Surely the authors did not intend to undermine their own ideas of student engagement in earlier chapters by later suggesting unproductive use of unsupported and superficial strategies that - according to research - does not provide intrinsic motivation for students, long-lasting learning, or rich and meaningful engagement.
This is, of course, one example of the incongrous nature of the book that undermines their heavy-handed messages that began on page one.
While the book may remind veteran teachers of old strategies they may not have used in awhile, or create new possibilities in new teacher classrooms, the authors have failed to create an original take on an old text ( or “fad” as they may call it), so this book only can merely be used to resource or as an occasional “playbook” while an individual artfully leads classes in learning - the true performance of a professional, now further maimed by the limited scope of these authors and their judgmental and unrealistic conclusions on an already suffering profession.
August 23, 2024
A great reminder of key teaching practices with robust data behind them and explained with needed nuance (eg the importance of embedding direct instruction and guidance into student centered inquiry based practices). The authors are generally good about acknowledging the limitations of the insights and need for real world collaboration with colleagues to make them work for your students/subject/etc. — however, I can’t help but wish there were more robust data available for secondary and specifically high school students (this is obviously not the authors’ fault).
June 6, 2023
Excellent book. Much more than a cursory update to the first two editions of Classroom Instruction That Works. The book could easily form the basis for a District's Mentoring and Induction program.
February 2, 2024
Third Edition, published 2023. Paperback. 138 Pages.
Rating: 3.5ish stars, but I'll round up for goodreads.
This isn't exactly NEW content, but it does contain a good breakdown for the 6 phases of learning and offers 14 distinct strategies for how to implement them. My biggest complaint is that most of the studies are 2010 or older, some dating back to the 80s and 90s. I think the findings are still relevant, but I would like to see some newer numbers if they publish a new edition in the next few years because Gen Z and Gen Alpha are going to adapt to things differently than Millennials.
Worth a read if you are thinking of mixing things up a bit, especially if you're still working off of Bloom's.
Rating: 3.5ish stars, but I'll round up for goodreads.
This isn't exactly NEW content, but it does contain a good breakdown for the 6 phases of learning and offers 14 distinct strategies for how to implement them. My biggest complaint is that most of the studies are 2010 or older, some dating back to the 80s and 90s. I think the findings are still relevant, but I would like to see some newer numbers if they publish a new edition in the next few years because Gen Z and Gen Alpha are going to adapt to things differently than Millennials.
Worth a read if you are thinking of mixing things up a bit, especially if you're still working off of Bloom's.
November 11, 2025
Unlike "new" editions that have only minor changes, this is really the "new" classroom instruction that works, significantly updated with current research. It references the prior version with which many educators are familiar, comparing and contrasting what the more recent research tells us. The authors have identified 14 research-based strategies, grouped in six categories (which fits with the principle of helping students make sense of learning by clustering and categorizing the information (p. 63). The authors also offer suggestions for application, suggesting identifying where you are already strong and continuing that, and then identifying one area to work on, rather than trying to do everything at once.
August 4, 2024
Bryan Goodwin y sus amigos ofrecen un método didáctico, con miras al desarrollo del pensamiento crítico, que se basa en 6 fases, cada una con diferentes estrategias de enseñanza-aprendizaje: desde cómo favorecer que los estudiantes se interesen en los nuevos aprendizajes hasta cómo llevarlos a la investigación, la puesta en práctica y la resolución de problemas complejos.
Los hallazgos de este equipo de trabajo se basan en la ciencia cognitiva. Si son profes, échenle un lente al libro, no se arrepentirán.
Los hallazgos de este equipo de trabajo se basan en la ciencia cognitiva. Si son profes, échenle un lente al libro, no se arrepentirán.
June 15, 2024
This book puts into perspective the information provided in Building a Curious School (copyright 2020). The Science of Learning and the Science of Teaching are combined into classroom instruction, the heart of what teachers do! The research discussed in this book is helpful for creating curiosity in students, which will lead to achievement.
March 13, 2023
Meta analysis on pushing student learning and teacher practice. Super easy read and most of the chapters are on concepts we know about but some added strategies to support compiled in one space is helpful. Did this as a book study with a colleague and it helped us to swap ideas.
December 14, 2022
Evidence based instructional strategies that prove effective for all teachers and students. These are also strategies that are used regularly in every arts classroom.
June 13, 2023
This book is extremely boring and useless.
March 21, 2024
Super solid evidence-based teaching guidance. Read for work, obviously. I get to run a book study for the admin team so that’s kind of cool.
July 17, 2025
My favorite principal recommended this book for me. I will use the content in my seminars either my student teachers.
October 1, 2023
I borrowed this from the NSWTF library. The book (published 2023) outlines 6 phases of learning and 14 evidence-based instructional practices that increase student learning. There's nothing new (student goal-setting, vocabualry instruction, peer learning etc.) but there are lots of great examples of how to implement the strategies. I found it useful to read the book and choose three things I could do more of.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews