Teaching with Constancy and Consistency

In many ways, I find these chapters on consistency, constancy and efficiency very useful. The art of creating and maintaining a routine within our writing and teaching practices is an ongoing challenge for graduate students and academics alike, both of whom must rearrange their daily schedules each semester. With this fact in mind combined with the seemingly insurmountable amount of work in graduate school, there really is never a moment to spare. Therefore, what becomes exceptionally important in these chapters is the tools in which Boice is trying to provide his reader. Using this idea of BRS, we can find a way to minimize the effect of semester-by-semester change and maximize what time is available to us.

Having said this, I am curious how I might better apply this theory to the classroom. I understand Boice’s point, in that he incorporates BRSs into the very structure of class. Rather than organizing the class around large, comprehensive topic, which can never be fully covered in class, he advocates for a model that breaks down this process and utilizes a recapping, or reflection, process.

Yet I am curious to know other ways that we can create constancy in the classroom, particularly in terms of class discussion and interest. Despite my meticulous planning, I find that I am still a very organic teacher. While my lesson plans help me to conceptualize where the class is going and what lessons I want to cover, I typically allow the students to have a larger role in the daily tone of the class. I undoubtedly have a precise idea of what I want to cover in the class, but I also want student to find these conclusions naturally. Therefore, I often let the topic at hand unfold and evolve naturally. This organic approach, I believe, benefits the students as it enables them to see connections from their own perspective, in that it follows their thought process rather than mine. And, generally speaking, it works. However, on occasion, it does give rise to the issue of consistence. A lesson that proves to be ‘hit’ with one class might fall short in another—or the lesson falls flat in both classes leading me to question the soundness of the lesson itself.

My question then becomes how do we parse out this issue. How do we know what the real issue is? I know Boice would suggest logging these experiences and looking to find patterns (which is a good idea that I will have to try out), but I was wondering what other advice people might have. Is there a way to assess and improve the constancy of our teaching?