Identifying Similarities & Differences Of all the strategies analyzed in Marzano's study (Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock, 2001), the strategy of having learners identify similarities and differences was shown to have the highest potential to enhance student achievement (with an effect size of 1.61 and a potential percentile gain of 45 points). Activities that require learners to compare, classify and re-classify, and use metaphors and analogies are powerful means to help them understand and use knowledge. Tasks that prompt learners to identify similarities and differences, as cited by Marzano, Pickering and Pollock (2001), include: Comparing Classifying Creating metaphors Creating analogies Comparing is the process of identifying and articulating similarities and differences among items and by necessity, it involves the identification of important characteristics. Comparison can be enhanced by providing examples and non- examples that illustrate the presence and absence of these characteristics. For example, when studying the poetic form of free verse, learners should read and hear plenty of examples of free verse and non-examples (bound and blank verse, prose, etc.) to distinguish the essential characteristics. Emphasize to the learner that the purpose of comparing is to extend and refine their understanding of the topic being studied. You should model the process of identifying items and characteristics that are meaningful and interesting. When learners classify, they group things into definable categories on the basis of their attributes. Re-classifying (providing a grouping of items and requiring learners to re-group based on different criteria) is another valuable strategy for helping them make conceptual connections. For example, providing a grouping of land and sea animals and then asking them to re-group based on whether they lay eggs or bear live young will help them make new distinctions (such as mammals versus fish and amphibians) and connections. Venn diagrams (discussed in more detail in the section on non-linguistic representations) are excellent tools for the task of classifying and re- classifying. Here are some classification ideas for different subject areas: English genre characteristics, poetry, types of fictionMath whole numbers, fractions, negative numbers, geometrical figures Science habitat, endangered animals, geographical location, adaptation Social Studies human, economic and capital resources A metaphor is a figure of speech or expression that is used to compare two seemingly unrelated subjects. Unlike a simile or analogy, a metaphor asserts that one thing is another thing, not just that one is like another. Creating metaphors involves identifying and articulating the underlying theme or general pattern in information and then finding another topic that appears to be quite different but has the same general pattern. Using metaphors helps learners connect fact fragments into meaningful wholes. Examples of metaphors include, He was drowning in money, Life is just a bowl of cherries, That new worker is pretty green," "One's life ripens with experience, Instructional strategies are onions, America is freedom and promise, The graph of the sine function is a roller coaster, Writing is a process, The cell is a factory. Bernice McCarthy says, thinking in metaphors engages the imagination in ways that go both to the inside of things (their essence) and to the outside of things (their impact in the world).... Metaphors make connections from the known to the unknown, from the familiar to the unfamiliar...they are image-directed, rather than recall-directed, and as such are powerful leads to essence (McCarthy, 2000, p. 102). She goes on to provide this exercise with images for thinking in metaphors (the first two are completed for the reader): Be a bridge lead people to a new sideBe a lantern help light the wayBe rainBe a tree Be a bud Be a beachBe a blanketBe the earthBe a gardenBe a mountainBe a circle(McCarthy, 2000, p. 102) Creating analogies involves the process of identifying relationships between pairs of concepts, identifying relationships between relationships. Analogies can help learners make the connections or see the relationships between things that are very different. In addition, successful completion of analogy problems is a requirement on standardized tests in several states. Design your analogies to help learners understand abstract concepts by presenting the concept in terms of something the learners can visualize. Whenever possible, discuss the limitations of the analogy you are using. The pattern is:A:B::C:D, readasAistoBasCistoD For example, chick: hen :: kid: goat, would be read a chick is to a hen, as a kid is to a goat.