On Curriculum Development
Curriculum is a broad topic and one may have his or her own opinion of what it is. But most importantly, we teachers, including us students, are the activators of curriculum and should be always flexible to adjust ourselves over time and make the changes that time brings with it. We need to bear in mind that the present curriculum are not here to stay forever but will change as we advance with new experiences into another dimension of lifestyle. Curriculum is the root to education but teacher is the tool and teaching, the profession. And a root will not be taken out if the tool cannot dig it up.
Curriculum consists of all experiences for learning that are planned and organized by the school. It is composed of actual and meaningful experiences and activities inside and outside the classroom under the guidance of the teacher and for which the school accepts responsibility.
Planned and organized. These experiences must be properly planned and organized or put in a sequence so that the child can easily understand it. This will consider the principle of growth and development of the child. This experiences could take place outside or inside the classroom under the guidance of the teacher and for which the school accepts responsibility. The teacher must facilitate these experiences. It is inherent for teacher to provide guidance to the students, thus all the experiences of the child must be under the tutelage of the teacher. The school is responsible for these experiences in the sense, that it is to be executed in the school and the school officials (like the curriculum experts and personnel) are the one who plans and organized these experiences.
Curriculum is like a blueprint of a house plan. It has its specifications. A house with good foundation will last long. Just like a curriculum, if it contains experiences suited to the child, then the child is assured of a good education. People say that education should make a man a good man and a woman a good woman. This can happen if education is based and founded on a sound curriculum.
Experts define curriculum in a variety of ways. From these definitions, we can say that indeed, curriculum is an indispensable thing in a school.
The heart of education is the curriculum. Curriculum contains all experiences designed for learners in the school (outside and inside the classroom) that must aim to change and improve the learner’s attitude and behavior, including their growth and development
Curriculum as process
Teachers enter particular schooling and situations with an ability to think critically, -in-action an understanding of their role and the expectations others have of them, and a proposal for action which sets out essential principles and features of the educational encounter. Guided by these, they encourage conversations between, and with, people in the situation out of which may come thinking and action. They continually evaluate the process and what they can see of outcomes.
Curriculum as praxis
Teachers enter particular schooling and situations with a personal, but shared idea of the good and a commitment to human emancipation, an ability to think critically, -in-action
an understanding of their role and the expectations others have of them, and a proposal for action which sets out essential principles and features of the educational encounter.
Guided by these, they encourage conversations between, and with, people in the situation
out of which may come informed and committed action. They continually evaluate the process and what they can see of outcomes.
As a minimum, a curriculum should provide a basis for planning a course, studying it empirically and considering the grounds of its justification. It should offer:
A. In planning:
1. Principle for the selection of content - what is to be learned and taught
2. Principles for the development of a teaching strategy - how it is to be learned and taught.
3. Principles for the making of decisions about sequence.
4. Principles on which to diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of individual students and differentiate the general principles 1, 2 and 3 above, to meet individual cases.
B. In empirical study:
1. Principles on which to study and evaluate the progress of students.
2. Principles on which to study and evaluate the progress of teachers.
3. Guidance as to the feasibility of implementing the curriculum in varying school contexts, pupil contexts, environments and peer-group situations.
4. Information about the variability of effects in differing contexts and on different pupils and an understanding of the causes of the variation.
C. In relation to justification:
A formulation of the intention or aim of the curriculum which is accessible to critical scrutiny.
Stenhouse 1975: 5
25 examples of school activities that you consider part of school
curriculum.
- Field Trip
- Boy /Girl Scout Program
- Linggo ng Wika
- United Nations Program
- Community Helpers
- Computer Lessons
- Choir
- Martial Arts
- Piano Lessons
- Japanese Culture and Language
- Chinese (Mandarin) Language Lessons
- Student Government Management Program (SGMP)
- Student Technologists and Entrepreneurs of the
- International Programs on Student Exchange and Representation and Referrals
- Promotion and Strengthening of Science Clubs
- Work Appreciation and Training Program
- Kabataan Program (Mandated under Executive Order No. 139, it is a year-round work program of the government, which encourages high school, college and vocational students as well as out-of-school youth to engage in constructive and productive activities through the assistance and cooperation of government and private offices.
- Junior Graft Watch Unit
- Student Leadership Training
- Culture and Arts in the Community
- Scouting Movement
- Drum and Bugle Corps
- Cheering Squad Formation
- On the Job Training
- Intramurals
The factors considered in planning a curriculum are:
- Nature of the society
- Interests, needs, previous experiences and problems of learners
- Educational and psychological principles based on the findings of
scientific studies and experimentations.
The Nature of Society
If the school proclaims its mission to be focused on preparing children to be effective, productive, responsible members of a global society, then it is evident that curriculum planning must include an overview of the major realities/characteristics of the very global society that students are being prepared to encounter. While the list of realities is potentially quite vast, some of the more obvious items of interest may include: communication, technology, political/world climate, economics, vocations, interpersonal relationships, family and community living, ecology, values and value systems, health (both physical and psychological) and uses of leisure time.
B. Human Development (Interests, needs, previous experiences and
problems of learners)
Curriculum and instruction are two aspects of schooling that must be regarded together at all times. A curriculum plan which identifies the scope and sequence of content (facts, concepts, skills, attitudes) must also address the pedagogy that is appropriate for inculcating or developing learning in students. Yet, the nature of the content (in terms of its complexity and degrees of abstraction) and the teaching approaches (teacher-directed or student-centered) must not be planned in a vacuum. The nature of the learner will inevitably have a profound influence on learning, by way of facilitating or by way of impeding learning. Hence, when designing a curriculum, one must carefully consider the nature of the learner in order to plan appropriate instructional approaches to be used.
Human development is a vast and rather complex terrain to traverse. It entails physical, intellectual, social, and psychological dimensions. A great deal of information has been provided through the years by researchers, yet so much more needs to be learned. Curriculum planning must not ignore what is known about human development. Our success with children will inevitably be intertwined with the degree to which we are able to use what we know about them as we attempt to prepare learning programs and environments that are suitable for students. Some of the major contributors to our understanding of human development include Abraham Maslow, Robert Havighurst, Erik Erikson, and Jean Piaget.In addition, much new information is emerging from brain research and from the work of Howard Gardner [Multiple Intelligences] and Daniel Goleman [Social Intelligence].
The significance of these developments and others is that educators would be wise to re-visit their notions about teaching and learning and incorporate the relevant concepts and understandings as a basis for accommodating the many human needs that children bring into the classroom. The simple logic that applies here is that we are much more likely to succeed in our efforts to effect learning if we are able to provide the learning experiences that are congruent with the developmental realities that we find in youngsters. Some implications that relate to human development include:
1. Selection of teaching strategies,
2. Development of a classroom environment that will be conducive to learning
3. Using means of communication that are appropriate to the learners
4. Providing the emotional and psychological supports that students need
5. Selection of learning materials that account for learning modalities, reading
levels, levels of understanding, and prior knowledge
6. Assessing student learning
The Nature of Learning (Educational and psychological principles based on the findings of scientific studies and experimentations)
We know a great deal about how learning happens. There are myriad theories about how learning occurs in human beings, and many teaching approaches have been developed in response to those theories. However, one significant reality confronts us, and that is: Despite the heroic, creative, and persistent efforts of dedicated and talented teachers to facilitate learning in students, the results fall short of the goal. Many students do not learn a great deal of what they are taught. Standardized test results across the country have a rather limited focus in what they measure and do not even begin to encompass the many goals that teachers are responsible to attain across the major domains of learning: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. However, they are widely used barometers of teaching efficacy; thus, they provide an objective substantiation of the claim being made here that children are not entirely successful learning what they are being taught.
Some of the learning theories, particularly those that find their origins in the work of Ivan Pavlov, believe that learning results from a stimulus-response continuum in which the individual learns through constant exposure to a particular stimulus. The theories that originate from this perspective suggest that effective teaching approaches would be teacher-centered and possibly lecture-oriented, using rote memorization and drill-and-practice. This approach is used widely around the world and has been largely successful. Unfortunately, there are some limitations in using such an approach:
a. Despite the fact that presentation of information can be done quickly, it takes a great deal of time to allow for the multiple repetitions required for learning
b. It tends to focus on memory and recall, rather than on the higher order thinking skills
c. Iit becomes tedious quite quickly for many students, and there is a tendency for some students to become increasingly less attentive as the process continues
Other learning theories explain that learning occurs when the individual perceives a pattern or develops an insight into the material that is being observed. Kurt Lewin'’ field-ground theory and the work of gestalt psychologists assert the view that the individual actively seeks out meaning and formulates understandings by seeing relationships and patterns, then interpreting them as to their significance. The teaching approaches that are suggested by this line of thinking are: problem-solving, laboratory experimentation, and inquiry learning; the classroom is essential student-centered, and the teacher is in the role of guide and facilitator. The advantages of such approaches are that the learning which results is powerful and rather indelible and the higher order thinking skills [synthesis, analysis, and evaluation] are more readily accommodated. The most obvious disadvantage is that such approaches are quite time-consuming; students need time to observe, formulate hypotheses, gather and analyze data, synthesize, evaluate, draw conclusions and determine applications of their insights.
Before curriculum planners design a program of studies, they need to arrive at a series of very fundamental and critical decisions. These decisions are actually derived from our views as educators on the nature of knowledge to be acquired by the pupils/students. This also becomes increasingly difficult as educators like us continue to experience the effects of the “Knowledge Explosion” in which vast amounts of new knowledge are appearing daily, and decisions regarding what to teach and what to ignore are more difficult than ever before. To avoid overwhelming the curriculum with too much information, we must be very selective in planning the curriculum. Thus, curriculum planners will consider our contributions both as educators and implementers, hence such manifestations can prove our importance as a catalyst of change particularly in education.
The most fundamental questions relate to our views on the nature of knowledge to be imposed. It might seem frivolous to ask such a question, but it is a necessary one with which to start. What is knowledge? What knowledge should students acquire?
What is knowledge?
Facts?
Concepts?
Skills?
Attitudes?
Problem-solving?
Scientific Method?
Thinking?
All of these?
Some of these?
None of these?
Our very answer to these questions suggest the emphasis that will be given in classrooms and even the overall design of the program of studies. To a large extent, the methods of instruction that are used in the classroom will be influenced by the focus of the studies program as determined by our views on the nature of knowledge.
Aside from our views being used and considered in designing the curriculum which can be said to be significant contributions, we can further state that as educators, we control curriculum as well as curriculum control us after the curriculum is fully planned for implementation. This is a two-way thing. In the past, teachers were controlled by the curriculum. Because of this practice, teachers were not very creative and depended heavily on curriculum. Teaching and learning were not very effective. But I strongly support that teacher’s control curriculum because they are the implementers of the curriculum.
The teacher is the one who decides whether a certain topic is relevant and best suits the learners, if not he/she may make some changes so that it best suits the ability level of the students.
An Example
If the curriculum says to teach a life-skills lesson on knitting with wool and the school is located in the remotest part, the teacher may do some changes. Instead of knitting with wool, he/she may teach a lesson on weaving baskets using materials around in the environment, etc.
In doing so, learning becomes more easy and flexible for the teacher and students. Therefore, curriculum should not always control a teachers but a teacher may control the curriculum on to an extent to meet the needs of students.
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