How can you balance academic and moral objectives in your teaching?

1 Define your goals

Before you start planning your lessons, you need to define your goals for both academic and moral education. What are the learning outcomes you want your students to achieve in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes? What are the moral values and ethical principles you want your students to develop and apply in their lives? How do these goals align with your school's mission, vision, and policies, as well as the national and state standards and frameworks? By clarifying your goals, you can ensure that your teaching is coherent, consistent, and relevant.

3 Model moral behavior and attitudes

Another way to balance academic and moral objectives is to model moral behavior and attitudes in your teaching. As a teacher, you have a powerful influence on your students' moral development, as they observe and imitate your actions, words, and emotions. Therefore, you need to demonstrate the moral values and ethical principles you want your students to learn and practice, such as honesty, fairness, respect, responsibility, compassion, and justice. You also need to create a positive and supportive classroom environment, where you treat your students with dignity, care, and trust, and encourage them to do the same with each other.

4 Use dialogue and discussion

A third way to balance academic and moral objectives is to use dialogue and discussion as a pedagogical tool. Dialogue and discussion can help your students express their opinions, perspectives, and feelings on moral issues, as well as listen to and learn from others' views and experiences. Dialogue and discussion can also help your students develop their moral reasoning, communication, and collaboration skills, as well as their tolerance, diversity, and democracy values. However, to use dialogue and discussion effectively, you need to establish some ground rules, such as being respectful, open-minded, attentive, and constructive, and facilitate the process with appropriate questions, prompts, and feedback.

5 Assess moral learning

A fourth way to balance academic and moral objectives is to assess moral learning as part of your evaluation and feedback system. Assessing moral learning can help you monitor your students' progress and achievements in terms of moral knowledge, skills, and attitudes, as well as provide them with guidance and support to improve their moral development. Assessing moral learning can also help you reflect on your own teaching practice and identify your strengths and weaknesses in terms of moral education. However, to assess moral learning effectively, you need to use multiple and varied methods, such as portfolios, journals, rubrics, self-assessments, peer-assessments, or performance tasks, and align them with your goals and criteria.

6 Engage in professional development

A fifth way to balance academic and moral objectives is to engage in professional development as a teacher. Professional development can help you update your knowledge and skills in terms of academic and moral education, as well as learn from and share with other teachers who face similar challenges and opportunities. Professional development can also help you cope with the ethical dilemmas and conflicts that may arise in your teaching practice, as well as enhance your motivation and commitment to moral education. However, to engage in professional development effectively, you need to seek and access relevant and quality resources, such as courses, workshops, seminars, books, articles, or networks, and apply them to your teaching context and needs.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?