APPROACHES TO CURRICULUM

CURRICULUM DESIGN?

The arrangement of the elements of a curriculum into a substantive entity.

• Substantive:

Having a firm basis in reality and therefore important, meaningful, or considerable.

• Entity:

A thing with distinct and independent existence.

APPROACH?

An approach to curriculum reflects the person’s view of the world, including what the person perceives as reality, the values deemed important, and the amount of knowledge he or she possesses. A curriculum approach reflects holistic position of metaorientation, encompassing the foundations of curriculum (the person’s philosophy, or view of social issues), domains of curriculum (common and important knowledge within the field) and the theoritical and practical principles of curriculum.

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/40364981?uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102436664431

1. The Teacher

2. The Learners

3. Knowledge, Skills, Values

4. Strategies and Methods

5. Performance

6. Community Partners

The Six (6) Features of a Curriculum

quality education requires quality teachers

good teachers bring a shining light into

the learning environment ideal companions of the learners with advances in communication

technology, good teachers are needed to

sort out the knowledge from the

information from the data that surround

the learners and from the wisdom from

the knowledge

The Teacher

they are at the center stage in the

educative process the most important factor in the learning

environment there is no teaching without them their diverse background should be

accepted their needs should be addressed and met they should be provided with learning

opportunities and varied experiences

The Learners

a “curriculum oriented to tomorrow”

should be designed to help learners

cope with the rapid changes educational process should lie not

only in what they learn, but how they

learn and how good they will be in

continuing to learn after they leave

school

Knowledge, Skills, Values

teachers should prepare his/her syllabus

or a course of study as his vehicle for

instruction learning goals, instructional procedures

and content must be clearly explained to

students there must be balance of theory and

practice learner’s sustained interest in the subject

should be made meaningful and relevant

teachers should remember that there is no

best strategy that could work in a million

of different student background and

characteristics teachers must use appropriate

methodologies, approaches and strategies

“capped with compassionate and

winsome nature” to objectives of

the lesson

Strategies and Methods

teachers should select teaching methods,

learning activities and instructional

materials or resources appropriate to

learners and aligned to objectives of the

lesson situations should be created to encourage

learners to use higher order thinking

skills utilize information derived from assessment

to improve teaching and learning and adopt

a culture of excellence

knowledge, skills and values to be developed

by the learners serve as guiding post of the

teachers at the end of the teaching act, it is necessary

to find out if the objectives set were

accomplished (in curriculum these are called

learning outcomes) these learning outcomes indicate both the

performance of both the teacher and the

students

Performance

learning outcomes are the product of

performance of the learners as a result of

teaching performance is a feature of a curriculum

that should be given emphasis the curriculum is deemed to be successful

if the performance of the learners is higher

than the target set if the performance is low then it follows

that the curriculum has failed a good curriculum is one that results in

high or excellent performance

teaching is a collaborative undertaking to be effective, teachers must draw upon the resources of their environment even

if they

are the focal Point in the learning process

teachers must establish relationship with

parents, NGO’s, and their stakeholders

partnership is a means and not an end to be

pursued

Community Partners

an absence of partnership often means a

poor definition of education ends as society changes, teachers will have a

new beginning, an opportunity to recast

their roles in their communities, to change

their attitude to their communities, to

challenge the attitude of their communities

and societies about them

The three major curriculum design models

are implemented through the different approachesthat are accepted by the teachers and curriculum practitioners. How the design is utilized becomesthe approach to the curriculum.

Approaches to Curriculum Design

this approach to curriculum design is

based on the underlying philosophy that

the child is the center of the educational

process curriculum is constructed based on the

needs, interests, purposes and abilities

of the learners curriculum is also built upon the learner’s

knowledge, skills, learning and

potentials

Child or Learner-Centered Approach

This approach considers the following:

A new respect for the child is fundamental A new freedom of action is provided The whole activity is divided into units of

work The recognition of the need for using and

exploring many media for self-discovery

and self-direction is embraced

Anchored on the curriculum design which

prescribes different and separate subjects into

one broad field, this approach considers the

following:

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 continuing pursuit of learning outside

the school is not emphasized. Learning

should only take place inside the

classroom. The subject matter serves as a means of

identifying problems in living

This approach is based on a curriculum

design which assumes that in the process of

living, children experience problems. Thus,

problem solving enables the learners to

become increasingly able to achieve complete

or total development as individuals.

Problem-Centered Approach

This approach is characterized by the

following views and beliefs: The learners are capable of directing and

guiding themselves in resolving problems,

thus they become independent learners The learners are prepared to assume their

civic responsibilities through direct

participation in different activitiesThe curriculum leads the learners in the

recognition of concerns and problems and

in seeking solutions. The learners are

considered problem solvers

HUMAN RELATIONS-CENTERED APPROACH

• HUMAN RELATIONS : • Learned early in life through deliberate planning

by the teacher - MURIEL CROSBY• The social and interpersonal relations between

human beings : a course, study, or program designed to develop better interpersonal and intergroup adjustments http://www.merriam-webster.com HUMAN RELATIONS

• How does a teacher go about the task of planning and developing a curriculum? :

In planning a curriculum designed to foster effective human relations, the teacher starts with the problems her children experiences in daily living: Neighborhood Community Larger community like state, region, world How does a teacher go about the task of planning and developing a curriculum?

• Ways of identifying the problems :

Through the use of all the available resources available to her including:

• Records

• Test results

• Observations

• Conferences

IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN RELATIONS -CENTERED CURRICULUM:

• 1. It is founded upon a professional knowledge of human growth and development and the ways in which human beings learn.

• 2. It recognizes the practicalities of group life.

• 3. It provides opportunities to solve common problems of the group as they are manifested by the individuals in it.

• 4. It is concerned with the implications of the changes in the nature and complexity of modern life.

WHY DO WE SAY THAT PROBLEM-CENTERED CURRICULUM IS IMPORTANT IN HUMAN RELATIONS?

Because the problem –centered curriculum is centered in the needs of children living in social groups in school and is founded upon the belief that children learn best when they feel the need to learn and when their needs are being met Why do we say that problem-centered curriculum is important in human relations?

SELF-CHECK

1. Activities are chosen based on the developmental growth of learners.

2. The teacher’s focus is that all children gets perfect in the test.

3. The teacher excuses the learner from the test because a typhoon hit their area.

4. Only the best can succeed.

5. School mean “survival for the fittest.”