The Balanced Curriculum 68

1
The Balanced Curriculum 6-8

• North Carolina
• Department of Public Instruction
• Division of
• Middle Grades Education

2
Workshop Objectives

• To provide an overview of the Balanced Curriculum
  Initiative and Resulting Document for the Middle
  Grades
• To explore the philosophy, resources and issues
  addressed in the Balanced Curriculum Document in
  more depth and in relationship to all content
  areas

3
Background

• Need identified through communications from the
  field
• Curriculum committees formed
• Elementary document completed in Jan. 2004
• Middle school document completed in Feb. 2006

4
Surveys (Jan-Feb 2005)

• Teachers/Instructional Support Staff
• 3140 completed
• Principals and Assistant Principals
• 271 completed

5
Where are NCs Schools Today?

• Data from the surveys, individual classroom
  schedules and whole school schedules indicated
• Heavy emphasis on tested areas
• 44 of administrators reported providing larger
  amounts of instructional time for tested subject
  areas
• 34 - double blocking ELA
• 30 - double blocking MA
• 34 teaching SS or SCI 1/2 of year.

6
Where are NCs Schools Today?

• Under-emphasis or not teaching those areas which
  are not tested (including dance, foreign
  language, music, physical education, theatre
  arts, visual arts, health education, science and
  social studies)
• Educators repeatedly voiced concerns over the
  practices of teaching social studies or science
  for less instructional time (1/2 year,
  every-other day, or shorter time periods than ELA
  or MA)
• Many elective areas were not available in
  participants schools (ex Dance 11)
• Many educators voiced concerns over the lack of
  delivery of the guidance curriculum.

7
Where are NCs Schools Today?

• Assigning remediation during elective or
  non-tested classes
• 68 of administrators reported placing students
  in remediation during elective periods
• 15 reported placing students in remediation
  during SS or SCI
• Teaching skills in isolation
• (e.g. EOG prep)

8
Where are NCs Schools Today?

• Inadequate collaborative planning time,
  (especially across and between grade levels,
  special services and special areas).
• 65 of educators and 78 of administrators
  reported that it is very important to integrate
  curricula in order to teach the SCS
• Collaborative planning was scheduled to occur
  occasionally (33) monthly (30) and weekly
  (24) in administrators schools.

9
Teaching to the Test

• NCs state-mandated tests are closely aligned
  with the SCS.
• Teaching a balanced curriculum, to include all
  areas of the SCS, prepares students for success
  on standardized tests.

10
What is a Balanced Curriculum?

• Includes entire Standard Course of Study (SCS)
• Educates the whole child (BEP)
• Includes a challenging and common curriculum
  (CCSSO)
• Is based on best knowledge of how children
  develop and learn (NASBE)

11
What is a Balanced Curriculum?

• Prepares students for success in school and in
  life (NCLB/NCDPI)
• Is inclusive of all subjects verses only those
  subjects tested (NCLRC)
• Promotes brain growth and development through an
  enriched environment (Diamond Hopson)

12
What is a Balanced Curriculum?

• Creates active participants rather than passive
  observers (Diamond Hopson)
• Allows students to use the whole brain (Zull)

13
What a Balanced Curriculum is NOT

• An individual effort
• Planning and teaching in isolation
• Teaching to the test
• Teaching only English Language Arts, Mathematics
  and Science
• One size fits all
• Teaching without assessing student needs

14
What a Balanced Curriculum is NOT

• Teaching the text
• Teaching favorite/most comfortable topics
• Fake integration
• A program
• Only for some children

15
Why Teach a Balanced Curriculum?

• Standard Course of Study
• (As Required by NCGA/SBE)
• Fundamentally complete program of education (BEP)
• Workforce readiness
• Superior and competitive education beyond
  sound and basic
• (Governors Education First Task Force)

16
Why Teach a Balanced Curriculum?

• Life skills (CCSSO)
• Connections (Jensen)
• Brain development (Diamond Hopson)
• Multiple intelligences (Gardner)
• Meets the needs of young adolescents
  (relates to dropout and suspension/expulsion
  rates)

17
Current Trends in Education Balanced Curriculum

• Read the article
• Discussion
• Identify the issue(s) addressed in the article.
• How are the issues relevant to the Balanced
  Curriculum philosophy and to your teaching or job
  responsibilities?
• Share with the whole group
• (note each group is reading a different
  article)

18
Balanced Curriculum in Action QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS (pp.27-116)

• Suggestions/guidance/
• recommendations for issues impacting scheduling
  at the middle school level
• (with links to resources)
• Addressed through Q and A format and supported by
  research

19
The Scheduling Process (pp 117-135)

• Includes recommended principles for developing a
  schedule (NCMSA)
• Includes Samples
• Departmentalized
• Rotating Block
• Flexible Block
• Includes Considerations for Electives

20
A Day in the Life (pp 137-207)

• Provides glimpses of how the school day is
  structured and what might be taking place in
  various classrooms
• Illustrates what might be occurring during
  various times on a given day
• Includes Content Area and Collaboration Scenarios

21
Looking Ahead (pp 209-232)

• Examines issues with time and learning
• Identifies education programs and practices that
  support a Balanced Curriculum

22
Conclusions (pp 233-241)

• Students who receive a balanced curriculum and
  possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to
  transfer and connect ideas and concepts across
  disciplines will be successful as measured by
  standardized tests and other indicators of
  student success.

23
Examining the Pieces

• Group Work Using the guiding questions that
  follow, examine your SCS area with your group.
• Discussion/Sharing Elect a spokesperson to
  report your findings to the whole group.

24
Examining the Pieces (continued)

• Why is this piece important?
• Discuss the content area and its importance as
  part of the BC. What are some ways that this
  particular content area contributes to the BC?
• Where can it be taught?
• HOW is the content area delivered as part of the
  BC (i.e. grade level content area classroom, AIG,
  EC, special areas/electives, CTE, media,
  technology, counseling, etc.)?
• How?
• What models might support implementation of the
  BC in regards to this area (team teaching,
  collaborative planning, etc.)?

25
Accessing the Document

• On the web and through NCDPI Publications
  http//www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum

26
Potential Applications

• System, Whole-school, grade level, subject area,
  or individual professional development
  (Philosophy, discussion groups, SIP, etc)
• As a resource linked to other PD
• Methods classes for pre-service teachers
• Tool for parents
• Scheduling committee/administrators

27
Putting the Pieces Together

• What is going well in your school in regards to a
  Balanced Curriculum?
• What are the roadblocks that inhibit delivery of
  the BC?
• What are the next steps in facilitating a BC in
  your school?

28
Balanced Curriculum

• Implementing a Balanced Curriculum helps
  students
• develop a love of learning and become lifelong
  learners
• find relevance in and connections with what they
  are learning
• understand themselves and those around them
• demonstrate talents they bring with them to
  school
• develop new and necessary skills and abilities to
  be successful in school and in life.