Lesson 1.1 - Basic Concepts of the Curriculum PDF

Lesson 1.1: Basic Concepts of the Curriculum Lesson Summary The concept of curriculum is perhaps one of the most dynamic aspects of education, mainly because experts have interpreted it differently. The curriculum can even come in different types, depending on how they are used in schools a...

Lesson 1.1: Basic Concepts of the Curriculum Lesson Summary The concept of curriculum is perhaps one of the most dynamic aspects of education, mainly because experts have interpreted it differently. The curriculum can even come in different types, depending on how they are used in schools and how they represent learning. Nevertheless, teachers must have a good understanding of the curriculum, as it is a crucial component in every educational system. Learning Outcomes 1. Discuss the nature and importance of curriculum 2. Define curriculum from two perspectives (traditional vs. progressive) 3. Differentiate the types of curriculum Motivation Question Based on what you have heard about the curriculum, how would you define it? Discussion You may have read about news headlines such as “DepEd: Curriculum to undergo changes” (Philippine Star) and “Can PHL just adopt Singapore’s curriculum? No, says DepEd chief” (GMA News). What is your stand in those headlines? Does it say something about what our schools teach? Well, it is apparent that each person has his view or stand regarding the curriculum. As a result of the diverse perspectives we have, different demands arise, and sometimes, clash of opinions and misunderstanding occur. Due to the unclear understanding of the field of curriculum, some curriculum projects have failed (Pawilen, 2015). With that, teachers, students, parents, community, and other essential stakeholders must have sufficient knowledge of what is a curriculum. Nature, Importance, and Purpose of the Curriculum (Bilbao et al., 2015; Pawilen, 2019; Villena et al., 2015) The word ‘curriculum’ originated from the Latin word ‘currere,’ which means “to run” or “to run a course.” A curriculum usually refers to a comprehensive and content-rich course of study approved for teaching in schools, which is anchored on any country’s standards. According to the Glossary of Educational Reform, the curriculum means the knowledge and skills students must learn, which includes the learning standards or objectives they are expected to achieve; the lessons that teachers teach; the tasks given to students; the instructional materials used in a subject; and the methods used to assess student learning (Great Schools Partnership, 2015). However, unlike any other term we use in education, did you know that curriculum does not have a standard definition adopted by experts? As time passed, experts have defined curriculum differently, as influenced by various philosophical, psychological, political, and socio-cultural factors. This may mean that the concept of curriculum is fragmentary and confusing, but we can describe it as dynamic and ever-changing. To have a simplified approach to the curriculum, let us try to explore four basic definitions, according to Ornstein and Hunkins (2009). 1. The curriculum is a plan for achieving goals. Ralph Tyler and Hilda Taba popularized this linear view or definition of the curriculum. The curriculum is treated as a written document that includes strategies for achieving desired goals or outcomes. In this definition, any curriculum worker or specialist wants the plan’s objectives to be realized as much as possible. The following experts support this definition of the curriculum: The curriculum is “a plan for providing sets of learning opportunities for persons to be educated.” (J. Galen Saylor) The curriculum is a “document that systematically describes goals,...., content, learning activities, evaluation procedures...” (David Pratt) The curriculum is a “four-step plan involving purpose, design, implementation, and assessment.” (Jon Wiles and Joseph Bondi) 2. The curriculum is subject matter or content. Most likely, ordinary people tend to view the curriculum in this way. This definition equates curriculum with the subjects taken in each grade or year level, such as Math, Science, English, History, etc. People who adopt this definition also tend to emphasize what is learned in those subject areas. 3. The curriculum is a field of study. As a discipline or area of study, it has its own foundations, knowledge domains, researches, theories, principles, and specialists. This definition views the curriculum in more theoretical terms and is concerned with historical, philosophical, and social issues. 4. The curriculum is dealing with learners’ experiences. This definition considers a broad view of the curriculum. It includes almost everything that is planned inside or outside the school for the students. This notion is rooted in John Dewey’s idea of education as experience and in Hollis Caswell and Doak Campbell’s view of the curriculum as “all the experiences children have under the guidance of teachers.” The following curricularists support this definition of the curriculum: “The curriculum consists of ongoing experiences for children under the guidance of the school.” (Gene Shepherd and William Ragan) “Curriculum consists of pre-planned series of educational hurdles and an entire range of experiences a child has within the school.” (Elliot Eisner)  The curriculum represents “the totality of learning experiences provided to students so that they can attain general skills and knowledge at a variety of learning sites.” (Marsh and Willis, 2007) So how can we put all of these definitions into a summary? Let’s put it this way. CURRICULUM represents all the learning experiences that the students have under the guidance of the teacher or school. Such learning experiences are part of what is planned by the school to achieve certain goals. What is planned includes the learning outcomes to be met, subjects, or topics to be taught, materials to be utilized, and assessment methods to be employed. To better prepare and analyze what is provided for students, the field of the curriculum must be studied. Do you know how vital the curriculum is? It is the reason why schools or educational systems exist. It is at the heart of the teaching profession. Teachers and learners will have nothing to do in schools without the curriculum. School facilities would be useless as well. The curriculum in schools is what guides every teacher or person in the education sector. The curriculum is also the foremost factor that has the most significant effect on student achievement. The school curriculum is such a critical factor because it specifies the knowledge, values, and skills that students have to learn for their holistic development (Marzano, 2003 as cited in Corpuz & Salandanan, 2003). Figure 1. The curriculum is for the learner. Now, what is the objective or purpose of the curriculum? Is it necessarily for schools or classrooms to be filled in? The curriculum’s primary goal is to enable each child to develop the necessary knowledge, values, skills, and associated capabilities and competencies, to lead productive and meaningful lives (Stabback, 2016). In a nutshell, it focuses on the child becoming a successful and confident learner, a responsible individual, and an active contributor to our society. Therefore, the quality of any curriculum can be determined based on the students’ quality of learning and how they use it for their development (Stabback, 2016). While we have started looking broadly at the curriculum, it should be remembered that this subject’s focus is the school curriculum. We will be exploring at the different aspects of curriculum and curriculum development in general, but emphasis will also be provided in the context of the school curriculum, which is defined as the total learning experiences offered in a confined learning space called school (Lucas et al., 2020). Traditional Curriculum vs. Progressive Curriculum A curriculum can be described as traditional or progressive, depending on the person’s point of view who plans or implements it. The table on the next page differentiates a traditional curriculum from a progressive curriculum and the curricularists who advanced each. Table 1. Comparison of Traditional vs. Progressive Curriculum Traditional Curriculum Progressive Curriculum ✓ A curriculum from a traditional ✓ The progressive point of view point of view takes a more goes beyond the usual notion linear and highly academic about the curriculum as a listing approach to learning. of school subjects, syllabi, or ✓ Lectures, use of educational course of study. (Bilbao et al., materials, recitations, and 2015) assignments are part of the ✓ It provides the students with standard systems. more hands-on research and a ✓ It has been commonly chance to learn in the field, with employed due to its tried-and- the guidance of the teachers. tested framework, as evident ✓ The curriculum is broadly from humanity’s progress in defined as the total learning science, medicine, technology, experiences that a student literature, etc. undergoes. ✓ Typically, it involves a teacher ✓ This tenet is anchored on John conveying facts to the learners. Dewey’s definition of experience The curriculum centers on a and education. He posited that specific body of knowledge- reflective thinking is a means moral standards, social that unifies curricular elements. conduct, and skills, to be ✓ Progressivists believe that transmitted as these are education should focus on the considered as necessary for the whole child, rather than on the learners. content or teacher. ✓ It is treated as a written ✓ Learning is rooted in the document (e.g., syllabus, questions of students that arise books) where knowledge is through experiencing the world. found but is used as a means to accomplish intended goals. (Bilbao et al., 2015) Supporters: Robert M. Hutchins, Supporters: John Dewey, Hollis Arthur Bestor, Joseph Schwab, Caswell and Kenn Campbell, Phillip Phenix Othaniel Smith, William Stanley and Harlan Shore, Colin Marsh and George Willis Types of Curriculum Do you know that several types of curriculum exist, regardless of the level of schooling or learning environment? (Bilbao et al., 2015). These types of curriculum arise from how they are used in schools and how they relate to multiple representations of learning (Pawilen, 2015; Stabback, 2016). Let us consider ten of them in the next table as cited and described by different sources (Bilbao et al., 2015; Pawilen, 2015; Villena et al., 2015; Wilson, n.d.). Table 2. Types of Curriculum Types of Curriculum Description 1. Recommended or Most of the curricula found in schools are ideal curriculum recommended. This type of curriculum is proposed by scholars, national agencies (DepEd, CHED, TESDA), professional organizations, or international bodies (e.g., UNESCO). Recommendations come in the form of memoranda or policies, standards, and guidelines. This type of curriculum is formulated at a high level of generality. 2. Intended, official or Also referred to as curriculum of control, it written curriculum represents what is written as part of formal instruction or schooling experiences. It may apply to a course of study, lesson exemplars, syllabi, or any curriculum document that is prepared for implementation to support the intentional instructional plan of a school. 3. Taught or It includes the different planned activities that the implemented teachers and learners put into action in the curriculum classroom. The varied activities are enacted to arrive at the intended learning outcomes or purposes of the written curriculum. The taught curriculum relies on the learning styles of the students and the teaching styles of the teacher. This type of curriculum is the delivered curriculum. 4. Supported This includes the materials which should support or curriculum help in the implementation of a written curriculum. Examples of these materials are textbooks, computers, audio-visual materials, and laboratory equipment. This type of curriculum also includes the playground, zoo, museum, classroom, and other school facilities, enabling each learner to achieve real and lifelong learning. 5. Assessed or The teachers are doing a series of evaluations at tested Curriculum the duration (formative assessment) and end of the teaching episodes (summative) to determine the extent of teaching or to tell if the students are progressing. Assessment tools and different types of assessments (paper and pen, performance- based) are utilized. Hence, this type of curriculum verifies whether the taught curriculum has succeeded. 6. Learned, received This denotes the learning outcomes attained by the or achieved students. The learning outcomes are indicated by curriculum the results of assessment tools and changes in the  student’s behavior, which can either be cognitive, psychomotor, or affective. This pertains to what students actually take out of the classrooms; those concepts and content that are truly learned and remembered. This type of curriculum is also referred to as the bottom line curriculum. 7. Entitlement This refers to what the people or the general society curriculum believes learners should expect to learn in the educational system to become useful or functional members of the community. 8. Concomitant This represents what is taught at home: part of Curriculum family experiences or related experiences allowed by the family. This curriculum may be received at church, for instance, through religious expression, lessons on ethics, morals, and values, shaped behaviors, or social experiences based on what the family prefers. 9. Hidden, implicit or This type of curriculum includes the behaviors, covert curriculum attitudes, and knowledge that the school’s s culture unintentionally teaches to the students. It is the type of curriculum that is implied by the school structure and environment, much of what happens in daily or established routines. Though not deliberately planned, it can influence behavior and the quality of achieved learning outcomes. Teacher-learner interaction, parental support, and physical health and other factors make up the hidden curriculum. 10. Null or censored That which we do not teach or according to Tanner curriculum & Tanner (2007) must not be taught to the students, thus giving students the message that these elements are not relevant in their educational experiences or prohibited in our society. Not teaching some particular ideas may be due to authorities’ mandate, to a teacher’s lack of knowledge, or to deeply held assumptions and biases. Many of these curriculum types are connected, most notably the first six ones mentioned. The recommended curriculum for the basic education level (kindergarten, elementary and secondary levels) is the K-12 curriculum. The curriculum guide made by experts and the lesson plans prepared by the teachers are the written curriculum that reflects the recommended curriculum. Based on the guide or plans made, the teacher implements them by applying his/her expertise (taught curriculum) using instructional resources and learning facilities (supported curriculum). It is desired that what was taught is understood well by the students (learned curriculum), which will be determined using specific assessment methods (assessed curriculum). Teachers must strive to have alignment among these types of curriculum.  Not all of these curriculum types may be present simultaneously in every classroom (Bilbao et al., 2015). Most of them are deliberately planned, but others are implied. As a future teacher, you must be aware of these types of curriculum because they can certainly influence the quality of learning of the learners. Curriculum and the Teacher (Bilbao et al., 2015) A curricularist is someone who specializes in the field of curriculum. A curricularist can also be defined as a person who takes part in knowing, planning, writing, initiating, implementing, evaluating, and innovating the curriculum. Since a teacher’s role includes the functions previously mentioned, can we consider the teacher as a curricularist? Definitely, yes. Teachers are even called to be curriculum leaders because of the many roles they play in ensuring that the curriculum is appropriately planned, designed, implemented, and evaluated (Pawilen, 2019). Now let’s describe the functions or roles of the teacher as a curricularist in the table below. Table 3. Roles of the Teacher as a Curricularist Role Description Knower The teacher must master the subject matter or the content she is about to teach. His/her knowledge of the content may come from formal or informal experiences. Writer The teacher must record and preserve knowledge, subject matter, or content. He/she must write textbooks, modules, laboratory manuals, references, and even electronic or digital resources. Planner The teacher must plan on a yearly, monthly, weekly, or daily basis. This will guide the teacher in implementing the curriculum, considering different factors. Initiator The teacher must be open-minded to implement the curriculum, most especially if it is recommended. He/she must not also hesitate to meet the challenges of doing things first. Innovator The teacher must be creative and innovative enough to keep up with the curriculum trends and changes. Implementor The teacher must give life to the curriculum. The teacher now engages, guides, and facilitates his/her students to achieve the learning outcomes. Evaluator The teacher must determine the extent to how the learning outcomes are achieved, if the curriculum is working, if there should be modifications in the curriculum, etc.  Which of these seven roles stood out the most for you? Can we remove one of the functions presented? Definitely not. From what you learned, to be a teacher is to be a curricularist though he/she may not be equal to prominent curriculum scholars. In addition to the other functions of the teacher as a professional, these seven roles truly make the teaching profession a multi- faceted and demanding work. Nevertheless, by doing these tasks entrusted to us, we make the curriculum more than just a list of topics but a blueprint for the learners’ successful academic journey.