BALANCED TEACHING: STRATEGICALLY MAXIMIZING EVERY MOMENT OF INSTRUCTION TO ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The study of “pedagogical balance “in the classroom was derived from observing teachers using the same approach to teaching and learning day after day; and year after year students making mediocre progress. As an education leader and teacher evaluator I found myself become increasingly bored when I visited classrooms for teacher evaluations. There are different types teachers. I’ve summed them up in five categories; The brand new, out of university, do exactly what you tell them to teacher; the type of teacher whose primary concern is with getting through the curriculum; the type of teacher that is dynamic and energetic (all the students love them); the type of teacher that likes to personalize the craft of teaching and learning; and the veteran teacher that feels competent in their craft and gets frustrated with all of the trends in education. With each type of teacher, you will get a different style of teaching. However, they all SHOULD have the same foundation in pedagogy. Research proves that three of the aforementioned type of teacher contribute to the lack of desired results in student attendance, behavior and performance. Balanced Teaching allows teachers the structure necessary in order to maximize their time and keep students interested and engaged. With a school-wide approach to balanced teaching, Principals, School Districts and other stakeholder will watch student performance data increase, watch student attendance rate increase and watch the overall ethos of the school or district transform in no time. Balanced teaching is directly related to effective classroom management, and student engagement. It can be used in teaching elementary school through post-secondary education. It eliminates poor behavior and encourages students to be actively engaged in their learning from the moment they walk into the classroom, until they leave, allowing no time for negative behavior. In Balanced Teaching there is a shared approach to learning where students and teachers are equally responsible in all aspects of students’ performance including behavior, attendance and most importantly academic growth. The criteria of balanced teaching include five never changing principles that must be addressed during each teaching period. The two most important principles are how teachers start their lesson, the Do Now, and how they end their lesson, the Student Self-Assessment. In the Do Now, Students will understand clearly what they are responsible for and they will anticipate the new concept that their teacher has to present. This activity must be done strategically in order to be effective. The Culminating Activity or end of the lesson is equally important. Because of the balanced approach to teaching and the reduced teacher-talk time, teachers will be able to move around the room and assess learning. This allows the last part of the lesson to be a time for student self-assessment against established success criteria (given in the Do Now). This formative assessment approach goes far beyond a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs to the middle for comprehension. This activity, if done properly, is equipping students with the necessary skills to assess their growth in learning any new skill now as students, and throughout their entire life. The remaining three criteria is focused around the teacher introduction of the new concept, student collaboration to build confidence and finally student independent practice to perfect the new skill.