LECTURE 1 - CURRICULUM ESSENTIALS

Curriculum in School
• Traditional View: Curriculum was seen as a tradition of organized knowledge
taught in schools of the 19th century.
• Formal, Non-Formal, and Informal Education: All educational settings
require a curriculum.
• Philippine Educational System: Different schools are established in different
educational levels which have corresponding recommended curricula.
o Basic Education: Includes elementary and secondary levels.
o Technical Vocational Education: Post-secondary technical vocational
educational and training taken care of by Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority.
o Higher Education: Includes the Baccalaureate or Bachelor Degrees
and the Graduate Degrees (Master's and Doctorate) which are under
the regulation of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Types of Curricula
• Recommended Curriculum: Almost all curricula found in schools are
recommended.
• Written Curriculum: Includes documents based on the recommended
curriculum. They come in the form of course of study, syllabi, modules, books
or instructional guides among others.
• Taught Curriculum: The curriculum has to be implemented or taught. The
teacher and the learners will put life to the written curriculum.
• Supported Curriculum: Support materials that the teacher needs to make
learning and teaching meaningful.
• Assessed Curriculum: Taught and supported curricula have to be evaluated
to and out if the teacher has succeeded or not in facilitating learning.
• Learned Curriculum: How do we know if the student has learned? We
always believe that if a student changed behavior, he/she has learned.
• Hidden/Implicit Curriculum: This curriculum is not deliberately planned, but
has a great impact on the behavior of the learner.
The Teacher as a Curricularist
• Knows the Curriculum: The teacher as a learner starts with knowing about
the curriculum, the subject matter or the content.
• Writes the Curriculum: A classroom teacher takes record of knowledge
concepts, subject matter or content.
• Plans the Curriculum: A good curriculum has to be planned.
• Initiates the Curriculum: Implementation of a new curriculum requires the
open mindedness of the teacher.
• Innovates the Curriculum: Creativity and innovation are hallmarks of an
excellent teacher.
• Implements the Curriculum: The curriculum that remains recommended or
written will never serve its purpose.
• Evaluates the Curriculum: How can one determine if the desired learning
outcomes have been achieved?

LECTURE 2 - THE TEACHER AS A KNOWER OF CURRICULUM

Definition of Curriculum
• Daniel Tanner (1980): A planned and guided set of learning experiences and
intended outcomes, formulated through the systematic reconstruction of
knowledge and experiences under the auspices of the school, for the learners'
continuous and willful growth in personal social competence.
• Pratt (1980): A written document that systematically describes goals planned,
objectives, content, learning activities, evaluation procedures and so forth.

Curriculum from Traditional Points of View

• Robert M. Hutchins: Views curriculum as "permanent studies" where rules of
grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic and mathematics for basic education are
emphasized.
• Arthur Bestor: Believes that the curriculum should focus on the fundamental
intellectual disciplines of grammar, literature and writing.
• Joseph Schwab: Thinks that the sole source of curriculum is a discipline,
thus the subject areas such as Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, English
and many more.
• Phillip Phenix: Asserts that curriculum should consist entirely of knowledge
which comes from various disciplines.
Curriculum from Progressive Points of View
• John Dewey: Believes that education is experiencing. Reflective thinking is a
means that unifies curricular elements that are tested by application.
• Holin Caswell and Kenn Campbell: Viewed curriculum as all experiences
children have under the guidance of teachers.
• Othniel Smith and William Stanley: Defined curriculum as a sequence of
potential experiences, set up in schools for the purpose of disciplining children
and youth in group ways of thinking and acting.

Approaches to the School Curriculum

• Curriculum as a Content or Body of Knowledge: Traditionalists equate a
curriculum to a topic outline, subject matter, or concepts to be included in the
syllabus or books.
o Topical Approach: Based on knowledge and experiences.
o Concept Approach: With fewer topics in clusters around major and
sub-concepts and their interaction, with relatedness emphasized.
o Thematic Approach: A combination of concepts that develop
conceptual structures.
o Modular Approach: Leads to complete units of instruction.

Criteria in the Selection of Content

• Significant: Content becomes the means of developing cognitive, affective or
psychomotor skills of the learner.
• Validity: The authenticity of the subject matter forms its validity.
• Utility: Usefulness of the content in the curriculum is relative to the learners.
• Learnability: Appropriate organization of content standards and sequencing
of contents.
• Feasibility: Are there contents of learning which can be learned beyond the
formal teaching-learning engagement?
• Interest: Will the learners take interest in the content?
Guide in the Selection of the Content in the Curriculum
• Commonly used in the daily life
• Appropriate to the maturity levels and abilities of the learners
• Valuable in meeting the needs and competencies of the future career
• Related to other subject fields or discipline for complementation and
integration
• Important in the transfer of learning to other disciplines

B A S I C S: Fundamental Principles for Curriculum Contents

• Balance: Content should be fairly distributed in depth and breadth.
• Articulation: As the content complexity progresses, smooth connections or
bridging should be provided.
• Sequence: The logical arrangement of the content refers to sequence or
order.
• Integration: Content in the curriculum does not stand alone or in isolation.
• Scope: The breadth and depth of the curriculum content are vital in a
curriculum.

LECTURE 3 - CRAFTING THE CURRICULUM

Axioms for Curriculum Development (Oliva, 2003)

• Curriculum change is inevitable, necessary, and desirable.
• Curriculum is a product of its time.
• Curriculum changes made earlier can exist concurrently with newer
curriculum changes.
• Curriculum change depends on people who will implemented the
change.
• Curriculum development is a cooperative group activity.
• Curriculum development is a decision-making process made from
choices of alternatives.
• Curriculum development is an ongoing process.
• Curriculum development is more effective if it is a comprehensive
process, rather than a “piecemeal”.
 • Curriculum development is more effective when it follows a systematic
process.
• Curriculum development starts from where the curriculum is.

Elements or Components of a Curriculum Design

• Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO) or the Desired Learning Outcome
(DLO): The reasons for undertaking the learning lesson from the student’s
point of view.
• Subject Matter or Content: The topic or subject matter that will be covered.
• Teaching and Learning Methods: The activities where the learners derive
experiences.
• Assessment/Evaluation: Learning occurs most effectively when students
receive feedback.
o Self-assessment: Students learn to monitor and evaluate their own
learning.
o Peer assessment: Students provide feedback on each other’s
learning.
o Teacher assessment: The teacher prepares and administers tests
and gives feedback on the student’s performance.

Types of Assessment
• Formative Assessment: Provides feedback to help the student learn more.
• Summative Assessment: Expresses a judgment on the student’s
achievement by reference to stated criteria.

LECTURE 4 - CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT - PROCESS AND MODELS

Curriculum Development Process

• Linear and Step-by-Step: The curriculum development process is linear and
follows a logical step-by-step fashion.
• Four Phases: Most models involve four phases: curriculum planning,
curriculum design, curriculum implementation, and curriculum evaluation.
Curriculum Planning
• Philosophy and Beliefs: Includes the philosophy or strong education belief
of the school.
• Desired Learning Outcomes: Translated to classroom desired learning
outcomes for the learners.

Curriculum Designing
• Conceptualization: The way curriculum is conceptualized to include the
selection and organization of content, the selection and organization of
learning experiences or activities, and the selection of assessment
procedures and tools.

Curriculum Implementing
• Putting the Plan into Action: Putting into action the plan based on the
curriculum design in the classroom setting or the learning environment.
• Teacher as Facilitator: The teacher is the facilitator.

Curriculum Evaluating
• Determining Achieved Outcomes: Determines the extent to which the
desired outcomes have been achieved.
• On-Going Progress: This procedure is on-going, finding out the progress of
learning (formative) or the mastery of learning (summative).

Curriculum Development Models

• Ralph Tyler Model: Emphasizes the planning phase.
o Four Basic Principles:
o What education purposes should schools seek to attain?
o What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to
attain these purposes?
o How can these educational experiences be effectively
organized?
o How can we determine whether these purposes are being
attained or not?
• Hilda Taba Model: Believed that teachers should participate in developing a
curriculum.
 o Six Major Steps:
o Diagnosis of learners' needs and expectations of the larger
society
o Formulation of learning objectives
o Selection of learning contents
o Organization of learning contents
o Selection of learning experiences
o Determination of what to evaluate and the means of doing it
• Galen Saylor and William Alexander Model: Viewed curriculum
development as consisting of four steps.
o Four Steps:
o Goals, Objectives, and Domains: Specify the major educational
goals and specific objectives.
o Curriculum Designing: Determine appropriate learning
opportunities and how they are provided.
o Curriculum Implementation: Prepare instructional plans and
utilize teaching methods and strategies.
o Evaluation: Conduct a comprehensive evaluation using a variety
of techniques.

LECTURE 5 - APPROACHES TO CURRICULUM DESIGNING

Types of Curriculum Design Models

• Subject-Centered Design: Focuses on the content of the curriculum.
o Subject Design: The oldest and most familiar design, centering on a
cluster of content.
o Discipline Design: Focuses on academic disciplines, specific
knowledge learned through a method.
o Correlation Design: Links separate subject designs to reduce
fragmentation.
o Broad Field Design/Interdisciplinary: Draws around themes and
interrelation, similar to thematic design.
• Learner-Centered Design: Emphasis is strong in the elementary level, but
more concern has been placed on the secondary and tertiary levels.
 o Child-Centered Design: Anchored on the needs and interests of the
child, the learner engages with their environment.
o Experience-Centered Design: Similar to child-centered, but believes
that interests and needs cannot be pre-planned.
o Humanistic Design: Similar to child-centered, but believes that
interests and needs cannot be pre-planned.
• Problem-Centered Design: Draws on social problems, needs, and abilities of
the learners.
o Life-Situation Design: Uses past and present experiences to analyze
basic areas of living.
o Core Problem Design: Centers on general education and problems
based on common human activities.

Principles of Child-Centered Curriculum Approach

• Fundamental Rights: Acknowledge and respect the fundamental rights of
the child.
• Overall Development: Make all activities revolve around the overall
development of the learner.
• Multicultural Classroom: Consider the uniqueness of every learner in a
multicultural classroom.
• Differentiated Instruction: Consider using differentiated instruction or
teaching.
• Supportive Learning Environment: Provide a motivating supportive learning
environment for all the learner.