Jorge M.

Morana

BSED-3/BLK1

Prof. Ed 9 The Teacher and the School Curriculum

1.Explain the meaning of curriculum.

-A curriculum is a collection of lessons, assessments, and other academic content that’s taught in a
school, program, or class by a teacher.A curriculum refers to a defined and prescribed course of studies,
which students must fulfill in order to pass a certain level of education In addition, curriculum
development describes all the ways in which teaching or training organization plans and guides learning.
This learning can take place in groups or with individual learners. It can take place inside or outside the
classroom. It can take place in an institutional setting like school, college, training center, or in a village
or a field. It is central to the teaching-learning process.

2. Identify the different types of curricula

A. Overt, explicit, or written curriculum

Is simply that which is written as part of formal instruction of schooling experiences. It may refer to a
curriculum document, texts, films, and supportive teaching materials that are overtly chosen to support
the intentional instructional agenda of a school. Thus, the overt curriculum is usually confined to those
written understandings and directions formally designated and reviewed by administrators, curriculum
directors and teachers, often collectively.

B. Societal curriculum (or social curricula)

As defined by Cortes (1981). Cortes defines this curriculum as:…[the] massive, ongoing, informal
curriculum of family, peer groups, neighborhoods, churches, organizations, occupations, mass media,
and other socializing forces that “educate” all of us throughout our lives. 24

This type of curricula can now be expanded to include the powerful effects of social media (YouTube;
Facebook; Twitter; Pinterest, etc) and how it actively helps create new perspectives, and can help shape
both individual and public opinion.

C. The hidden or covert curriculum

That which is implied by the very structure and nature of schools, much of what revolves around daily or
established routines.

Longstreet and Shane (1993) offer a commonly accepted definition for this term – the “hidden
curriculum,” which refers to the kinds of learnings children derive from the very nature and
organizational design of the public school, as well as from the behaviors and attitudes of teachers and
administrators…. ” 46
Examples of the hidden curriculum might include the messages and lessons derived from the mere
organization of schools — the emphasis on: sequential room arrangements; the cellular, timed segments
of formal instruction; an annual schedule that is still arranged to accommodate an agrarian age;
disciplined messages where concentration equates to student behaviors were they are sitting up straight
and are continually quiet; students getting in and standing in line silently; students quietly raising their
hands to be called on; the endless competition for grades, and so on. The hidden curriculum may include
both positive or negative messages, depending on the models provided and the perspectives of the
learner or the observer.

In what I term floating quotes, popularized quotes that have no direct, cited sources, David P. Gardner is
reported to have said: We learn simply by the exposure of living. Much that passes for education is not
education at all but ritual. The fact is that we are being educated when we know it least.

D. The null curriculum

That which we do not teach, thus giving students the message that these elements are not important in
their educational experiences or in our society. Eisner offers some major points as he concludes his
discussion of the null curriculum. The major point I have been trying to make thus far is that schools
have consequences not only by virtue of what they do teach, but also by virtue of what they neglect to
teach. What students cannot consider, what they don’t processes they are unable to use, have
consequences for the kinds of lives they lead. 103

Eisner (1985, 1994) first described and defined aspects of this curriculum. He states: There is something
of a paradox involved in writing about a curriculum that does not exist. Yet, if we are concerned with the
consequences of school programs and the role of curriculum in shaping those consequences, then it
seems to me that we are well advised to consider not only the explicit and implicit curricula of schools
but also what schools do not teach. It is my thesis that what schools do not teach may be as important
as what they do teach. I argue this position because ignorance is not simply a neutral void; it has
important effects on the kinds of options one is able to consider, the alternatives that one can examine,
and the perspectives from which one can view a situation or problems. …97

From Eisner’s perspective the null curriculum is simply that which is not taught in schools. Somehow,
somewhere, some people are empowered to make conscious decisions as to what is to be included and
what is to be excluded from the overt (written) curriculum. Since it is physically impossible to teach
everything in schools, many topics and subject areas must be intentionally excluded from the written
curriculum. But Eisner’s position on the “null curriculum” is that when certain subjects or topics are left
out of the overt curriculum, school personnel are sending messages to students that certain content and
processes are not important enough to study. Unfortunately, without some level of awareness that
there is also a well-defined implicit agenda in schools, school personnel send this same type of message
via the hidden curriculum. These are important to consider when making choices. We teach about wars
but not peace, we teach about certain select cultures and histories but not about others. Both our
choices and our omissions send messages to students.

E. Phantom curriculum

The messages prevalent in and through exposure to any type of media. These components and
messages play a major part in the enculturation of students into the predominant meta-culture, or in
acculturating students into narrower or generational subcultures.
F. Concomitant curriculum

What is taught, or emphasized at home, or those experiences that are part of a family’s experiences, or
related experiences sanctioned by the family. (This type of curriculum may be received at church, in the
context of religious expression, lessons on values, ethics or morals, molded behaviors, or social
experiences based on the family’s preferences.)

G. Rhetorical curriculum

Elements from the rhetorical curriculum are comprised from ideas offered by policymakers, school
officials, administrators, or politicians. This curriculum may also come from those professionals involved
in concept formation and content changes; or from those educational initiatives resulting from decisions
based on national and state reports, public speeches, or from texts critiquing outdated educational
practices. The rhetorical curriculum may also come from the publicized works offering updates in
pedagogical knowledge.

H. Curriculum-in-use

The formal curriculum (written or overt) comprises those things in textbooks, and content and concepts
in the district curriculum guides. However, those “formal” elements are frequently not taught. The
curriculum-in-use is the actual curriculum that is delivered and presented by each teacher.

I. Received curriculum

Those things that students actually take out of classrooms; those concepts and content that are truly
learned and remembered.

J. The internal curriculum

Processes, content, knowledge combined with the experiences and realities of the learner to create new
knowledge. While educators should be aware of this curriculum, they have little control over the
internal curriculum since it is unique to each student. Educators can explore this curricula by using
instructional assessments like “exit slips,” reflective exercises, or debriefing discussions to see what
students really remember from a lesson. It is often very enlightening and surprising to find out what has
meaning for learners and what does not.

K. The electronic curriculum

Those lessons learned through searching the Internet for information, or through using e-forms of
communication. (Wilson, 2004) These types of curriculum may be either formal or informal, and
inherent lessons may be overt or covert, good or bad, correct or incorrect depending on ones’ views.
Students who use the Internet and electronic media on a regular basis, both for recreational and
informational purposes, are bombarded with all types of media and messages. What types of messages
are they being exposed to through varied social media and online interactions?
The implications of the electronic curriculum for educational practices are that part of the overt
curriculum needs to include lessons on how to be wise consumers of information, how to critically
appraise the accuracy and correctness of e-information, as well as how to determine the reliability of
electronic sources. Also, students need to learn how to be artfully discerning about the usefulness and
appropriateness of certain types of information.

3. Describe the characteristics of a good curriculum

-A good curriculum is not rigid- it allows room for flexibility, monitoring and evaluation by
administration.

It should provide sufficient scope for the cultivation of unique skills, interest, attitudes and
appreciations.

4. What is the importance of curriculum in education?

A curriculum is important in an educational system. It helps one plan the education process or
procedure for a given period of time (a term, session, lesson period etc). As the saying goes, if you fail to
plan then you plan to fail.

Curriculum consists of continuous chain of activities needed to translate educational goals into concrete
activities, materials and observable change in behavior. A lesson plan for example is a curriculum used
by the teacher in the classroom.

Now, imagine a teacher going into the classroom not knowing what to teach or how to teach it, that is
going to be a disaster for her or him because at the end the students wouldn't have learnt anything
apart from the fact that the teacher seems confused and the teacher would be mentally stressed out
unneccessarily a resultof lack of planning (curriculum).

Hence for a society to achieve its educational goals, it needs a curriculum that is functional and relevant
to its needs.

5. Describe the different philosophical foundations of curriculum;

The philosophical foundation of curriculum helps determine the driving purpose of education, as well as
the roles of the various participants. While all foundations propose to set goals of curriculum,
philosophy presents the manner of thinking from which those goals are created. One’s driving
philosophy suggests if education should develop the individual or enforce group norms if it is to enforce
group norms, it further defines if that should be the norms of the current set or a move towards
changing those norms. Philosophies vary in perception of truth, ranging from absolute to relative, and
from moralistic to scientific. In all of this, one’s philosophy defines the role of the teacher, ranging from
all-knowing authoritarian to that of a mentor, and the role of the student, ranging from an obedient
vacant vessel to an individual worthy of actively engaging in one’s own educational process. As we look
through the lens of history, we see how philosophies have gained and waned in popularity in society,
and how even psychological research is embraced, ignored, or even rejected based on philosophical
standings of the time
6.Differentiate the different pyschological foundations of curriculum.

1. Behaviorist Psychology

connectionism - Edward Thorndike (which influenced Tyler and Taba, the well known
curricularists)

classical Conditioning - Ivan Pavlov

operant Conditioning - B.F Skinner

modeling and observation theory - (Albert Bandura)

hierarchical Learning - Robert Gagne 1987

Learning outcomes:

1) intellectual skills or “knowing how” to categorize and use symbols, forming concepts and
problem solving.

2) information or “knowing what” knowledge about facts, dates and names

3) cognitive strategies or learning skills

4) motor skills

5) attitudes, feelings and emotions learned through experiences

To the behaviorists, learning should be organized in order that students can experience success in the
process of mastering the subject matter. The method is introduced ins a step by step manner with
proper sequencing of task which is viewed by other educational psychologist as simplistic and
mechanical.

2. Cognitive Psychology

cognitive development stages - Jean Piaget

social constructivism - Lev Vgotsky

multiple intelligences - Howard Gardner

learning styles - Felder and Silverman

emotional intelligences - Daniel Goleman

To the cognitive theories; learning:

constitutes a logical method for organizing and interpreting learning.

it is rooted in the tradition of subject matter and is similar to the cognitive development theory.
Teachers problem and thinking skills in teaching and learning.

reflective thinking

creative thinking

intuitive thinking

discovery learning and etc.

3. Humanistic Psychology

Humanist psychologists are connected with how learners can develop their human potetial. Traditional
psychologists do not recognize humanistic psychology as a school of psychology.

observers view humanistic psychology as the third force learning theory after behaviorism and cognitive
development.

(Gestalt theory) learning can be explained in terms of the wholeness of the problem and where
the environment is changing and the learner is continuously reorganizing his or her perceptions.

Abrabam Maslow's theory of human needs for self-actualizing persons

Carl Roger's non-directive lives

Among the humanistic psychologist, curriculum is concerned with the process not the products;
personal needs not subject matter; psychological meaning and evironmental situations.

psychology has a great influence in the curriculum. Learners are not machines and the mind is not a
computer. Humans are biological foundations will help curriculum makers in nurturing a more advanced,
more comprehensive and complete human learning.

7. Role of the teachers in the curriculum

A. The Controller: The teacher is in complete charge of the class, what students do, what they say and
how they say it. The teacher assumes this role when a new language is being introduced and accurate
reproduction and drilling techniques are needed.

B. The Prompter: The teacher encourages students to participate and makes suggestions about how
students may proceed in an activity. The teacher should be helping students only when necessary.

C. The Resource: The teacher is a kind of walking resource center ready to offer help if needed, or
provide learners with whatever language they lack when performing communicative activities. The
teacher must make her/himself available so that learners can consult her/him when (and only when) it is
absolutely necessary.
D. The Organizer: Perhaps the most difficult and important role the teacher has to play. The success of
many activities depends on good organization and on the students knowing exactly what they are to do
next. Giving instructions is vital in this role as well as setting up activities.

E. The Participant: This role improves the atmosphere in the class when the teacher takes part in an
activity. However, the teacher takes a risk of dominating the activity when performing it.

F. The Tutor: The teacher acts as a coach when students are involved in project work or self-study. The
teacher provides advice and guidance and helps students clarify ideas and limit tasks.

8. DISCUSS THE ELEMENTS/COMPONENTS OF THE CURRICULUMS.

Component 1: • Curriculum Aims, Goals and Objectives

Aims of Elementary Education • Provide knowledge and develop skills, attitudes, values essential to
personal development and necessary for living in and contributing to a developing and changing society.
• Provide learning experiences which increase the child’s awareness of and responsiveness to the
changes in the society; • Promote and intensify knowledge, identification with and love for the nation
and the people to which he belongs; and • Promote work experiences which develop orientation to the
world of work and prepare the learner to honest and gainful work.

Aims of Secondary Education • Continue to promote the objectives of elementary education and •
Discover and enhance the different aptitudes and interests of students in order to equip them with skills
for productive endeavor and or to prepare them for tertiary schooling.

Aims of Tertiary Education • Provide general education programs which will promote national identity,
cultural consciousness, moral integrity and spiritual vigor; • Train the nation’s manpower in the skills
required for national development; • Develop the professions that will provide leadership for the
nation; and • Advance knowledge through research and apply new knowledge for improving the quality
of human life and respond effectively to changing society.

School Vision and Mission Example of school’s vision: • A model performing high school where students
are equipped with knowledge, skills and strength of character to realize their potential to the fullest.
Example of school’s mission: • To produce globally competitive lifelong learners.

Domains • Cognitive – knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation •

Affective – receiving, responding, valuing, organization, characterization • Psychomotor – perception,
set, guided response, mechanism, complex overt response, adaptation, origination.

Component 2 •Curriculum Content or Subject Matter

Subject-centered view of curriculum • The fund of human knowledge represents the repository of
accumulated discoveries and inventions of man down the centuries, due to man’s exploration of the
world.

Learner-centered view of curriculum • Relates knowledge to the individual’s personal and social world
and how he or she defines reality. • Gerome Bruner: “Knowledge is a model we construct to give
meaning and structure to regularities in experience.”
•Criteria used in selection of subject matter for the curriculum:

• Self-sufficiency – “less teaching effort and educational resources, less learner’s effort but more results
and effective learning outcomes – most economical manner (Scheffler, 1970) • Significance – contribute
to basic ideas to achieve overall aim of curriculum, develop learning skills.

• Validity – meaningful to the learner based on maturity, prior experience, educational and social value.
• Utility – usefulness of the content either for the present or the future.

• Learnability – within the range of the experience of the learners • Feasibility – can be learned within
the time allowed, resources available, expertise of the teacher, nature of learner

•Principles to follow in organizing the learning contents (Palma 1992):

• Balance – Content curriculum should be fairly distributed in depth and breadth of the particular
learning or discipline. This will ensure that the level or area will not be overcrowded or less crowded.

• Articulation – Each level of subject matter should be smoothly connected to the next, glaring gaps or
wasteful overlaps in the subject matter will be avoided. • Sequence – This is the logical arrangement of
the subject matter. It refers to the deepening and broadening of content as it is taken up in the higher
level.

• The horizontal connections are needed in subject areas that are similar so that learning will be related
to one another. This is INTEGRATION.

• Learning requires a continuing application of the new knowledge, skills, attitudes or values so that
theses will be used in daily living. The constant repetition, review and reinforcement of learning is what
is referred to as CONTINUITY.

Component 3 •Curriculum Experience

• Instructional strategies and methods will link to curriculum experiences, the core and heart of the
curriculum. The instructional strategies and methods will put into action the goals and use of the
content in order to produce an outcome.

• Teaching strategies convert the written curriculum to instruction. Among these are time tested
methods, inquiry approaches, constructivist and other emerging strategies that complement new
theories in teaching and learning. Educational activities like field trips, conducting experiments,
interacting with computer programs and other experiential learning will also form par of the repertoire
of teaching.

• Whatever methods the teacher utilizes to implement the curriculum, there will be some guide for the
selection and use. Here are some of them: Teaching methods are means to achieve the end There is
no single best teaching method

Teaching methods should stimulate the learner’s desire to develop the cognitive, affective,
psychomotor, social and spiritual domain of the individual. In the choice of teaching methods, learning
styles of the students should be considered.

Every method should lead to the development of the learning outcome in three domains Flexibility
should be a consideration in the use of teaching methods
Component 4 •Curriculum Evaluation

• To be effective, all curricula must have an element of evaluation. Curriculum evaluation refer to the
formal determination of the quality, effectiveness or value of the program, process and product of the
curriculum. Several methods of evaluation came up. The most widely used is Stufflebeam’s CIPP Model.
The process in CIPP model is continuous and very important to curriculum managers.

CIPP Model Context • environment of curriculum Input • ingredients of curriculum Process • ways and
means of implementing Product • accomplishment of goals

. • Regardless of the methods and materials evaluation will utilize, a suggested plan of action for the
process of curriculum evaluation is introduced. Theses are the steps: Focus on one particular component
of the curriculum. Will it be subject are, the grade level, the course, or the degree program? Specify
objectives of evaluation.

. Collect or gather the information. Information is made up of data needed regarding the object of
evaluation. Organize the information. This step will require coding, organizing, storing and retrieving
data for interpretation.

. Analyze information. An appropriate way of analyzing will be utilized. Report the information. The
report of evaluation should be reported to specific audiences. It can be done formally in conferences
with stakeholders, or informally through round table discussion and conversations.

. Recycle the information for continuous feedback, modifications and adjustments to be made.

9. What is Model Curriculum Development?

Curriculum development can be defined as the step-by-step process used to create positive
improvements in the courses offered by a school, college or university. The world changes every day and
new discoveries have to be roped into the education curricula. Innovative teaching techniques and
strategies (such as active learning or blended learning) are constantly being devised in order to improve
the student learning experience. As a result, an institution has to have a plan in place for acknowledging
these shifts and then be able to implement them in the school curriculum.

10. Discuss the Approaches to Curriculum Design

-Child or Learner-Centered Approach This approach to curriculum design is based on the underlying
philosophy that the child is the center of the educational process.

-Subject-Centered Approach The primary focus is the subject matter. The emphasis is on bits and pieces
of information which are detached from life. The subject matter serves as means of identifying problems
in living.

- Problem-Centered Approach This approach is based on a curriculum design which assumes that in the
process of living, children experience problems.

11. Integrate useful instructional software in the teaching-learning process

Incorporating technology into the classroom can be a challenging experience. In doing so, teachers
regularly deal with unforeseen problems and technical difficulties. However, when successfully
integrated, technology can be used to achieve impressive and powerful educational results. In addition
to improving student motivation and engagement, technology can also aide in improving efficiency,
productivity, accuracy, interaction, and collaboration.

12. Identify the different models of curriculum development

A. Hilda Taba Model

Believes that there should be clear definite order to curriculum design that teachers must be involved in
process.

B. Tyler Model

There are four basic principles of Tyler Model of curriculum development: 1. What is the purpose of
education? - How the curriculum should be made to attain the purposes of that school. 2. What
educational experiences will attain the purposes? – The curriculum developer should be careful in
choosing of what students going to learn and how they are going to learn 3. How can these experiences
be effectively organized? – The curriculum developer should know how to organize those educational
experiences and how these learning experiences can be effectively organize 4. How can we determine
when the purposes are met? – The curriculum developer should evaluate all the experiences without
exception and this evaluation should be conducted continuously

C. Saylor, Alexander & Lewis Model Curriculum planner begin by setting educational goals and specific
objectives that they wish to accomplish.

D. Oliva Model of Curriculum Development Simple, comprehensive and systematic. Composed of 12

components: Component 1: Aims of education, psychological principles, philosophical formulation,
target, mission and vision of the institution Component 2: Analysis of the needs of the community where
the school is located Components 3 and 4: General purpose and special purpose curriculum Component
5: Organizing the design and implement curriculum Component 6 and 7: Describe the curriculum in the
form of the formulation of general objectives and specific learning Component 8: Define the learning
strategy Component 9: Preliminary studies on possible strategies or assessment techniques to be used
Component 10: Implement the learning strategy Components 11 and 12: Evaluation of learning and
curriculum evaluation.

13. Describe the different curriculum design models

A. Learner - Centered Design It is anchored on the needs and interests of the child. The learner is not
considered as a passive individual but as one who engages with his/her environment.

B.Learner - Centered Design Also known as Student - Centered Learning education, broadly
encompasses methods of teaching that shift the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student. It
aims to develop learner autonomy and independence by putting responsibility for the learning path in
the hands of students.
C. Problem- Centered Design Organizes subject matter around a problem, real or hypothetical, that
needs to be solved. Problem-centered curriculum is inherently engaging and authentic, because the
students have a real purpose to their inquiry solving the problem.

14. Identify the approaches to curriculum design

1. Child or Learner-Centered Approach

2. Subject-Centered Approach

3. Problem-Centered Approach

15. Discuss the dimensions and principles of curriculum

DIMENSIONS OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

SCOPE, SEQUENCE, CONTINUITY, INTEGRATION, ARTICULATION, BALANCE

Scope

All the content, topics, learning experiences and organizing threads comprising the educational plan.

The terms broad, limited, simple, general are few of the words that can describe the scope

It refers to the coverage of the curriculum

The scope of the curriculum can be divided into chunks called units, sub-units, chapters or sub-chapters
as the case may be.

Each chunk is guided by the general curriculum objectives or goals.

Sequence

Contents and experiences are arranged in hierarchical manner, where the basis can either be logic of the
subject matter or on the developmental patterns of growth of the cognitive, affective and psychomotor
domains.

Continuity

Vertical repetition and recurring appearances of the content provide continuity in the curriculum

“ Spiral Curriculum” where the content is organized according to the interrelationship between the
structure of the basic ideas of a major discipline

Integration

“ Everything is integrated and interconnected. Life is a series of emerging themes .”

Organization is drawn from the world themes from real life concerns.
Subject matter content or disciplined content lines are erased and isolation is eliminated.

Articulation

This can be done either vertically or horizontally.

Vertical Articulation

Horizontal Articulation

Balance

Equitable assignment of content, time, experiences and other elements to establish balance is needed in
curriculum design.

16. Internalize the role of the teacher in curriculum designing.

The role of the teacher in curriculum designing is that, they are building lessons that include
simulations, experiments, case studies and activities to deliver curriculum.

17. Differentiate the different qualities of curriculum

1. The Curriculum is continuously evolving.

• It evolved from one period to another, to the present.

• For a curriculum to be effective, it must have continuous monitoring and evaluation.

• Curriculum must adapt its educational activities and services to meet the needs of a modern and
dynamic community.

2. The Curriculum is based on the needs of the people.

• a good curriculum reflects the needs of the individual and the society as a whole.

• The curriculum is in proper shape in order to meet the challenges of times and make education more
responsive to the clientele it serves.

3. The Curriculum is democratically conceived.

• A good curriculum is developed through the efforts of a group of individuals from different sectors in
the society who are knowledgeable about the interests, needs and resources of the learner and the
society as a whole.

• The curriculum is the product of many minds and energies.

4. The Curriculum is the result of a long-term effort.

• a good curriculum is a product of long and tedious process.

• It takes a long period of time in the planning, management, evaluation and development of a good
curriculum.

5. The Curriculum is a complex of details.

• A good curriculum provides the proper instructional equipment and meeting places that are often
most conducive to learning.

• It includes the student-teacher relationship, guidance and counseling program, health services, school
and community projects, library and laboratories, and other school- related work experiences.

6. The Curriculum provides for the logical sequence of subject matter.

• Learning is developmental.

• Classes and activities should be planned.

• A good curriculum provides continuity of experiences.

7. The Curriculum complements and cooperates with other programs of the community.

• The curriculum is responsive to the needs of the community.

• The school offers its assistance in the improvement and realization of ongoing programs of the
community.

• There is cooperative effort between the school and the community towards greater productivity.

8. The Curriculum has educational quality.

• Quality education comes through the situation of the individuals intellectual and creative capacities for
social welfare and development.

• The curriculum helps the learner to become the best that he can possibly be.

• The curriculum support system is secured to augment existing sources for its efficient and effective
implementation.

9. The Curriculum has administrative flexibility.

• A good curriculum must be ready to incorporate changes whenever necessary.

• The curriculum is open to revision and development to meet the demands of globalization and the
digital age.