You cannot see your own back. Marzano insists that video recording or trusted peer observations are essential. The PDF typically includes observation forms designed to look for specific behaviors, not general personality traits.
She redesigned discussions with small-group rotations that gave each student a turn to speak to just three peers before sharing with the whole class. She taught and practiced sentence stems—“I disagree because…”; “Can you explain that more?”—so that vocabulary would no longer be a barrier. The shifts were small, and not every attempt landed. But student participation broadened, and Mara watched new leaders emerge—some quiet, some steady, some brilliant in ways that had escaped her eye before. Becoming a Reflective Teacher Dr. Robert J. Marzano.pdf
Mara had taught for eight years. She could lead students through quadratic equations with her eyes closed and coax an argument about civic duty from the shyest voice in the back. Yet lately she felt a small, persistent disquiet—an itch that couldn’t be soothed by more worksheets or a rearranged seating chart. Students met her standards, test scores rose, but something important eluded both of them. You cannot see your own back