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Learning Strategies Reflection
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School of Education, Liberty University
EDUC 200: Principles of Education
Mrs. April Grave
September 11, 2022
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Learning Strategies Reflection
A balanced literacy approach is a learning approach in which students are able to practice
the key components of language: reading, writing, poetry, and phonics (Ryan, Cooper, and
Bolick, 2016, Elementary Reading Instruction: A Balanced Literacy Approach). A teacher using a
balanced literacy approach must implement routine and practice from the first day that students
enter the classroom. The teacher will initially present the lesson to the entire class, then students
may work in smaller groups, and individually.
During the class lesson, students may interact with the teacher as he asks questions. In
group learning time, students may read to each other, practice forming words with magnetic
letters, word study, and work in the writing center (Ryan, Cooper, and Bolick, 2016, Elementary
Reading Instruction: A Balanced Literacy Approach). After some time, students may begin
working on their own, allowing the teacher to guide small reading groups. In these groups, the
teacher gives students a paper to read. First, the students will read the paper silently. Second,
they will whisper the words to themselves. Through the various activities that students may
participate in, they are always meeting the objective of reading.
A balanced literacy approach has many pros and cons. First, a pro of a balanced literacy
approach is that each student may learn through his unique learning style. With the variety of
activities taking place in a classroom, surely at least one area of activity will match the students’
learning style. Another pro of a balanced literacy approach is the amount of individualized time
that the teacher may have with students. Through individual study and small group study, the
teacher may be able to address struggles more than he could during a lesson. Most students
would be more willing to open up to the teacher individually than they would be to open up to
the teacher in front of other students. Second, there are several cons of a balanced literacy
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approach. One con is that students might quickly get distracted with the variety of activities that
could be going on during individual learning time. The teacher may face more discipline
problems than he would during a class lesson. A second con would be unmotivated students. A
student who is not motivated may require extra attention and guidance before they become
interested in learning activities.
Another subject in which a balanced approach would be effective is in a math class. Like
the language class, the teacher would begin with a group lesson. Then students may break up into
smaller groups. The teacher could try to organize groups based on similar learning style. For
example, visual learners could have pictures of objects to count, audio learners could listen to
someone read an example, and kinesthetic learners could count blocks or pencils. The teacher
could individualize instruction by helping struggling students. A balanced approach would still
have cons but could certainly be beneficial in a math class.
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References
Ryan, K., Cooper, J. M., Bolick, C. M. (2016). Those Who Can, Teach. Cengage Learning.
