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BALANCE INTHE CURRICULUMDR. MARLOW EDIGERProfessorEmeritus

North Newton, KansasBalance in the curriculum needs to be studied, evaluated, andneeded modifications made. Balance may be assessed in variousareas in the curriculum.Balance among objectives for students to achieve has beenemphasized at selected intervals of time. For example, studentsshould achieve rational balance among knowledge, skills, andattitudinal ends. Knowledge objectives, by themselves, narrowsthe scope of the curriculum. Thus, individuals may have consid-erable knowledge, but lack the skills of making use of theinformation. Also, a person might possess knowledge and skills,but not have a good attitude toward learning. It behooves theteacher to assist students in developing well intellectually (inknowledge), ability wise (in skills), and in the affective dimen-sion (in attitudes).Where else must the concept of balance in the curriculum bestressed?

Balance in Learning OpportunitiesA teacher might emphasize reading ofsubject matter as the major approach oflearning in literature, in mathematics, inscience, and in social studies. To be sure,much can be learned by reading narrative,expository, and creative content. Howev-er, use needs to be made of these learningsor the inherent subject matter will becomehazy and forgotten. With use, skills in relat-ed writing and discussing activities will beemphasized. Additional example of skillsobjectives include:

"* experiments performed in science"* construction experiences in socialstudies such as making a model farmscene* models made in mathematics includ-ing triangles, rectangles, triangles,

squares, rhombuses, and circles.

Balance in objectives makes it so thatuse is made of knowledge gleaned. Usingknowledge increases the chances for bet-ter retention of acquired learnings. Therealso is a variety of learning opportunitieswhen there is a balance between knowl-edge and skills. Students tend to appreciatediverse kinds of experiences in ongoingunits of study. Good attitudes are a by-product of learning. If knowledge and skillsobjectives are carefully chosen and imple-mented, then quality attitudes should bean end result.

Balance in SequenceSequential learnings are salient for stu-

dents. Each new activity should be basedupon what was achieved previously. Pre-vious learnings provide readiness for theachievement of new objectives. The teacher

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may base his/her decisions on what to teachsequentially by being aware of studentreadiness factors. He/she then determinessequence or order in learning for studentsby:* assigning pages to read from the basaltextbook* asking questions in a discussion lead-ing to higher levels of cognition* modeling critical thinking strategies

for students to learn* providing readiness activities for anew unit to be studied.Toward the other end of the continu-um , students may be actively involved inascertaining sequence in learning. The fol-lowing are examples of students

determining sequence in the literature cur-riculum:* individualized reading programswhereby the student chooses sequen-tial library books to read"* sustained silent reading sessions"* peer discussion groups in which stu-dents provide ideas at random, basedon their own sequential knowledge base* learning centers whereby studentschoose sequential tasks to complete.A teacher-determined curriculum needsto be in the offing as well as where thereis student input into teaching/learning sit-

uations. Rational balance needs to beemphasized here.

Balance in Assessing Student AchievementA teacher could do all of the assessing,out side of state mandated testing, to ascer-tain student achievement.

multiple choice, true/false, matching, andcompletion test items may be used to mea-sure student achievement. All test itemsneed to be valid and reliable to measure ifthe objectives of instruction have beenachieved. In addition to testing, the teacheralso evaluates through daily observationof pupil achievement and progress* feedback received from class dis-cussions and committee work

* rubric results from written productsof students"* portfolios prepared by students"* student attitudes toward learning.A good teacher is a proficient evalua-tor. He/she notices how well students aredoing and uses this information to scaf-fold new objectives for student attainment.Assessment should be ongoing and is

an indispensable facet of learning. Theteacher needs to receive as much infor-mation of the student, as possible, to usein improving instruction. Learner needsmust be met. Toward the other end of thecontinuum, student self evaluation is alsosalient. Periodically, each student needs toanswer the following:* Do I complete all of my assignmentson time?* Do I put forth the best effort possi-ble?"* Do I treat others with respect?"* Do I work together well with others?"* Do I ask questions pertaining to whatis not understood?Self-evaluation by the student is impor-tant. Here, the student looks inward to

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378 / College Student Journal

Balance in Scope ofSubjectMatter TaughtThere needs to be careful attention paid

to the scope of any unit taught. If an exces-sive amount of time is spent one unit, thenanother unit of study may need to be shortchanged. In-depth teaching is recom-mended instead of survey approaches. Itdoes take time for students to grasp rele-vant facts, concepts, and generalizations.A variety of learning opportunities needto be used in teaching learners to achievemajor, structural ideas. Some leanings willneed to be stressed using survey methodsdue to a lack of time. Less time is thenspent in teaching these ideas. Rational deci-sion making will then need to be used indeciding what should receive depth ver-sus survey treatments. Thus, for examplein teaching a social studies unit on a spe-cific nation, how much in-depth should betaught on:* manufacturing, urban areas, tradewith other nations, as well as imports* farming, crops and livestock pro-

duced* education and schooling, as well asjobs in society"* geographical information"* the history of the involved nation"* the nature of government"* culture and institutions in society"* goods and services produced in theeconomic arena?To be sure, each of the above named

areas, taught in depth, are salient, but wouldtake a considerable amount of classroomtime. It might be necessary to use a surveyapproach in selected areas of lesser impor-tance.

ConclusionCertain decisions in the curriculum willneed to be made by using rational judg-

ment. When viewing the entire manuscript,it is quite apparent that balance in the cur-riculum is an important concept. Timeneeds to be used wisely and efficiently.

State mandated testing further takes outtime from the regular classroom. There areteachers who drill pupils on taking the NoChild Left Behind (NCLB) state mandat-ed test. Pupils are tested annually in gradesthree through eight and once on the highschool level. No teacher likes to see pupilsfail a grade level or fail to receive the highschool diploma. Further more, no schoollikes to fail in meeting the adequate year-ly progress (AYP) level, as determined bythe state. When not succeeding in meetingthe AYP, a school is labeled as "failing"after two years of being unsuccessful withlow test scores. Rational balance in deci-sion making in the curriculum is a must.

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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

TITLE: Balance in the Curriculum

SOURCE: College Student Journal 41 no2 Je 2007

PAGE(S): 376-8

The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it

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