ASSIGNMENT -

MODERN TRENDS IN

CURRICULUM

Aswathy M.S

New B.E.D College Nellimoodu

Social science

Candidate code: 169/13376008

MODERN TRENDS INCURRICULUM

CURRICULUM

A curriculum is more than putting together a set of academically required

subjects. It must consider all aspects of the student life, the learning needs of

students, the time available for the sessions and the teachers’ idea, capability and

workload.

Whenever we embark on any new plan or procedure, we need to make sure

that we have all the plans drawn up. What is on offer, what are the resources that we

have, what are the steps, which we need to take and what are the goals that we need

to achieve are some elements that need to be looked upon. A similar set of constraints

when applied to education in schools and colleges gives birth to curriculum. A

curriculum is a set of courses, including their content, offered at a school or

university. The curriculum often contains a detailed list of subjects and the elements

of teaching them.

SOCIAL SCIENCE & CURRICULUM

Curriculum is the crux of the whole educational process. Without curriculum,

we cannot conceive any educational endeavor. School curriculum of a country, like

its constitution reflects the ethos of that country.

Social sciences are the sources and storehouses of scientific social knowledge.

One of the major curricular goals it aims at is equipping children with learning

experience in the context of social relationships. As such familiarity with cultural

norms, geographical settings civic and political institutions with special reference to

developmental changes in the cognitive domain has to be a major objective. Same is

the case of developmental changes in the cognitive domain in terms of personal

qualities, interests, attitudes and values. The fostering social competence is the sole

responsibility of social science. The social science curriculum is the most

appropriate medium required for the purpose. As such, every social science teacher

has to get a clear and through knowledge of the importance, meaning, scope and

nature of good social science curriculum together with the principles for its

development and transaction

Education is a developmental process, geared towards a coveted goal,

curriculum is the input as well as the medium that provides goal oriented direction

to that process.

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Significance of Curriculum

In Elementary Schools

In elementary schools, the curriculum is primarily drawn by the educational

boards or some central society. They study the needs of the kids and all other

feasibilities before selecting courses and drafting a curriculum. Here, the students

have least choice in their subjects and study based on a universal curriculum, which

works on all sections of the students’ psyche and aid in the total development of the

student. No area is left untouched. Hence, the curriculum aids in the proper

development, while the child comes to terms with his or her own inclination.

Therefore, at primary school levels, the curriculum aims at providing a structured

platform, which gives every child an equal opportunity to excel.

In High Schools

At high school levels, teenagers can take their own liberty in choosing their

path. Though complete autonomy does not rest with a student, a level of choice is

very evident. This helps in the development of the teenager, with added importance

of being given the field of his own choice. At this stage, the development is more

focused and rampant, enhanced through a proper curriculum. Without an effective

curriculum, a student would not be able to understand or meet the challenges of the

society.

At College & Higher Education

At a higher stage of education, an unprecedented autonomy is provided to the

students. The students can opt for a more focused curriculum, based on their choice

of subjects. A student will graduate, post-graduate or attain a doctorate based on the

choice of his subjects and the mode of his study, both or either one determined by

him. The curriculum here is reduced to just a framework that is very flexible yet very

important. The curriculum chosen by the student will go on to determine the shape

of his career. A curriculum prepares an individual with the knowledge to be

successful, confident and responsible citizens.

New trends

1. Electronic Education

The advent of video technology has made available another valuable tool for

instruction. Videotapes, cassettes, and disks can be used for instruction in

classrooms, libraries, resource centers, and the student's home. Since the video can

be played at any convenient time, the students never have to miss a lesson.

2. Technical Literacy

Because of the revolution in technology, the schools must now educate

citizens to become familiar with computers, electronics, lasers, and robots.

Computer literacy stands very high in the development of fundamental skill.

In a high-tech economy, workers will need to be better educated and have

better cognitive, communication, and cooperative team skills. People at home and

on the job will have calculators, computers, fax machines, and other technical tools

to do their symbol crunching for them; however, they will have to decide what

buttons to push and what the symbols mean education will help them to do all such

things. In cooperation with industry and government, schools must identify the

emerging technologies and services and provide a curriculum that prepares students

for viable careers.

3. Environmental Education

Mounting concern over such problems as pollution, toxic waste, over-

population, and depletion of food and natural resources has created demands for

more knowledge and new programs in ecology and environmental education. Much

of the relevant content has long been included in traditional earth sciences, biology,

geography courses, and in conservation programs. The new demand calls for a more

meaningful and better coordinated program that raises the theme of crisis

Rather than terrifying students about ecological disaster, however, schools

should prepare students for tomorrow's world by helping them understand how

scientific, social, and political issues interact. Because mere possession of

knowledge does not ensure proper action, the curriculum must also deal with the

attitudes, values, and moral thinking that lead to responsible environmental

behavior. Ecological literacy re-quires a comprehensive view of the modern world,

how scientific, social, and political issues combine and lead to problems and/or

solutions. It requires that schools in the future take a more active role in requiring

students to study the environment-and not expect government agencies and activist

groups to manage or protect people from other people

4. Health Education and Physical Fitness

Many educators’ believe in health education and physical fitness. Certainly

AIDS education is going to be incorporated into the curriculum, as early as the

elementary grade levels. Dietary habits and exercise comprise another health

concern. Many young students appear to be eating their way toward heart disease

and other maladies later in life. In addition, school children have been increasingly

unable to pass basic physical fitness tests; they do poorly on measures of body

development, strength, and flexibility. Television and video viewing habits among

children and youth have contributed to this lack of fitness, what we might call the

"fat and flabby" generation. Educators frequently assert that we will need to rebuild

these programs in the curriculum of the future. Some schools are already recognizing

the need to provide better guidance for diet and exercise. Sports, too, should be

reoriented to increase the emphasis on aerobic and rhythmic activities (running,

jumping, jogging, and bicycling). The primary goal for physical and health programs

is to have fun and socialize in sporting activities, not to compete and win-to adopt

life-long exercise behavior.

5. Interest-driven

Curriculum must be interest driven the idea of learner-centered education

might not be new research from the 1990s shows that students’ interests is directly

correlated to their achievement. But a growing movement is being propelled by the

explosive growth in individualized learning technology that could feed it and we’re

starting to see the outlines of how it could seep into the world of formal education.

“The better way is to motivate each student to learn through his or her passion.

Passion drives people to learn (and perform) far beyond their, and our expectations.

And whatever is learned through the motivation of passion is rarely if ever forgotten”

6. Skills oriented

Things like collaboration, innovation, critical thinking, and communication

are thought to be just as important and because there practical skills that can be used

in the world outside the confines of school. Rethinking is another important factor.

Entire schools are dedicated to teaching skills like learning how to create

video games, whether it’s to boost brain power and multitasking skills, or to learn

applied physics as they do at the New York school Quest to Learn. The idea is that

the process of learning that skill can be put to use in the real world.

Opinions differ on the direction education will take, and library shelves are

filled with volumes describing current and anticipated changes in society and

education. Despite disagreements, however, it is likely that certain trends in

particular will increasingly affect curriculum planning. The emerging curriculum

responds to the urge to break away from traditional disciplines, to develop more

interdisciplinary approaches. In the curriculum of the future, subject matter most

likely will be less compartmentalized and more integrated and holistic. Although

traditional subject boundaries will remain, there will be increased cross-subject

material. Knowledge will no longer be considered fragmented or linear, but

multidisciplinary and multidimensional; it will also be integrated with more visual

and auditory resources and rely less on verbal and reading materials.

7. Digital delivery

No longer shackled to books as their only source of content, educators and

students are going online to find reliable, valuable, and up-to-the-minute information

Google’s Education apps and sources that teachers can use as teaching tools, such

as the Sketch Up design software and Google Earth are just a few of the free, easily

accessible sources available online The open-source movement has further pushed

online content to include learners and educators in the actual content-creating

process. Wikipedia was one of the first open-source sites, and though many still

question the accuracy of Wikipedia entries (note the 2005 study showed that the

popular website is as reliable as Encyclopedia Britannica), there’s a movement afoot

to make it a more trusted source.

REFERENCE

DR.Sivarajan k DR.Thulasidharan T.V, DR.Vijayan N.K (2008)”social

science education methodology of teaching and pedagogical analysis” Calicut

university central co-operative society, Calicut

www.ibe.unesco.org/curriculum/China/Pdf/IIindia.pdf