Compare and Contrast
Quite often , students failures to learn are failures to recognize when their learning process has been sidetracked by those aspects of the content that are invincible [ abstract ] , confusable [ easily mixed up with other concepts ] , and are neglectable [ easy to overlook ].
When this happens , vital connections ,underlying ideas , and key details escape students attention : Opportunities for insights and creative responses slip away .
How can we help our students deepen their understanding of our content and avoid falling prey to the invisible , confusable , and neglectable ? The answer, as is so often the case in education , lies in a perfectly natural human capacity : The ability to compare .
The benefits of comparison as a teaching and learning process are undeniable . In fact , Robert Marzano , Debra Pickering , and Jane Pollock found that teaching students how to identify similarities and differences is the single most effective way to raise achievement. The strategy takes the natural human capacity to make comparisons and maximizes it's effectiveness as an instructional technique by leading students through a process that involves .