Module 1.

Curriculum: Concepts, Nature and Purposes

Lesson 1
Concepts, Nature and Purposes of Curriculum

Curriculum – dynamic process

- Listing of subjects
- Total learning experiences
e.g. PCSPE, SOUTELE, PCER, NCBTS
- can be viewed as a field of study
- made up of foundations (philosophical, historical, psychological, and societal foundations)

Curriculum from Different Points of View

1. Traditional Points of View of Curriculum

- body of subjects or subject matter;
Course of study and syllabus
-Written documents or a plan of action in accomplishing goals

Robin M. Hutchins – permanent studies (basic education)

Arthur Bestor – an essentialist

- mission of the school should be intellectual training
- should focus on the fundamental intellectual disciplines

Joseph Schwab – academic discipline (ruling doctrine) is the sole source of curriculum
- divided into chunks of knowledge

Phenix – consist entirely of knowledge

2. Progressive Points of View of Curriculum

Progressivist point of view – listing of school subjects, etc…do not make a curriculum
-can only be called curriculum if the written materials are actualized by the learner

John Dewey’s definition of experience and education

- reflective thinking is a means that unifies curricular elements.
- Thought is not derived from action but tested by application
Caswell and Campbell – all experiences of children have under the guidance of teachers
- Shared by Smith, Stanley and Shores ( sequence of potential experiences set up in the schools for
the purpose of disciplining children and youth in group ways of thinking and acting).

Marsh and Willis – experiences in the classroom which are planned and enacted by the teacher, and also
learned by the students

Points of View on Curriculum Development

Development – connotes changes which are systematic

- Should be purposeful, planned and progressive
2 models:

1. Ralph Tyler – Four Basic Principles / Questions

a. What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
b. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?
c. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?
d. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained or not?

2. Hilda Taba – linear model

- advocacy was grassroots approach
- 7 major steps:
a. Diagnosis of learners needs and expectations of larger society
b. Formulation of learning objectives
c. Selection of learning content
d. Organization of learning content
e. Selection of learning experiences
f. Organization of learning activities
g. Determination of what to evaluate and the means of doing it
The three interacting processes in curriculum development are
a. planning
b. implementing
c. evaluating

Types of Curriculum Operating in Schools

- Described by Allan Glatthorn (2000)
WHAT SLR?
1. Written Curriculum – appears in school, district, division or country documents
- course of study or syllabi
- made by curriculum experts with participation of teachers
- pilot-tested or tried out
- e.g. BEC, written lesson plan (with objectives and planned activities)

2. Hidden Curriculum - unintended curriculum

- not deliberately planned but may modify behaviour or influence learning outcomes
- e.g. peer influence, school environment, physical condition, teacher-learner interaction, mood of the teachers

3. Assessed Curriculum – which is tested and evaluated

- series of evaluations (to determine the extent of teaching or to tell if the students are progressing)
- assessment tools (PPT, portfolio)

4. Taught Curriculum – what teachers implement or deliver in the classrooms and schools
- activities are put into action in order to arrive at the objectives or purposes of the written curriculum
- varies according to the learning styles of students and the teaching styles of teachers

5. Supported Curriculum
-resources – textbooks, computers, audio-visual materials, lab equipment, playground, zoos, and other facilities

6. Learned Curriculum – when the students actually learn and what is measured
- learning outcomes ( results of the tests and changes in behaviour – COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE, OR
PSYCHOMOTOR) achieved by the students

7. Recommended Curriculum
- proposed by scholars and professional organizations
-DepEd, CHED, DOST, PAFTE, BIOTA

Major Foundations of Curriculum (commonly accepted foundations)

A. Philosophical – aim/role/focus/curriculum trends ON Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and

Reconstructionism
- helps in answering what schools are for, what subjects are important, how students should learn and what
materials and methods should be used
- in decision making, philosophy provides the starting point
- life experiences, common beliefs, social and economic background and education
e.g. John Dewey (1916) looks at “education as a way of life”
- Ralph Tyler’s framework of Philosophy in Relation to School Purposes
i. use of philosophy
ii. use of psychology of learning
iii. studies of contemporary life
iv. suggestions from subject specialists
v. studies of learners

B. Historical

i. Franklin Bobbit -“The Curriculum” 1918

-presented science as curriculum
-prepares students for adult life
-objectives with corresponding activities should be grouped and sequenced

ii. Werret Charters - presented science as curriculum

-listing of objectives match with corresponding activities
-teacher plans the content and activities

iii. William Kilpatrick – purposeful activities

-child-centered
-both teacher and student plan the activities
-develops social relationships and small group instruction

iv. Harold Rugg- develop the whole child (child-centered)

-should produce OUTCOMES
-emphasized social studies
-teacher plans curriculum in advance

v. Hollis Caswell – organized curriculum around social functions

-set of experiences and learner’s interest

vi. Ralph Tyler – science; extension of school’s philosophy

-based on students’ needs
-related to instruction
-organized subject matter and emphasized problem solving
-to educate generalists and not specialists

C. Psychological – Behaviorist, Cognitive, and Humanistic; unifies elements of the learning process
-how should curriculum be organized to enhance learning?
-what is the optimum level of students’ participation in learning various contents of the curriculum?

i. Behaviorist Psychology - association

-Edward Thorndike – connectionism; influenced Tyler and Taba
-Ivan Pavlov – classical conditioning
-B.F.Skinner – operant conditioning
-Albert Bandura- modelling and observation theory
-Robert Gagne – hierarchical learning or sets of behaviour and five learning outcomes
*intellectual skills or “knowing how”
*information or “knowing what”
*cognitive strategies or learning skills
*motor skills
*attitudes, feelings and emotions learned through experiences

ii. Cognitive Psychology

-how do learners store information?
-how do they retrieve data and generate conclusions?
-how they monitor and manage thinking
-logical method of organizing and interpreting learning that is rooted in the tradition of subject matter
-Jean Piaget – Cognitive development stages
-Lev Vygotsky – Social constructivism
-Howard Gardner – Multiple intelligences
- Felder and Silverman –learning styles
-Daniel and Goleman – Emotional intelligences

iii. Humanistic Psychology

-how learners can develop their human potential
-not recognized by traditional psychologists
-concerned with the PROCESS, PERSONAL NEEDS, PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SITUATIONS
-Gestalt psychology- wholeness of the problem
-Abraham Maslow – human needs
-Carl Rogers- non-directive lives

D. Social
schools
-address more complex and interrelated societies and the world
- address diversity, explosion of knowledge, school reforms and education for all

Relationship of curriculum and society:

-curricula should reflect and preserve the culture of society and its aspirations
-society should also imbibe the changes brought about by the formal institutions called schools
Lesson 2
Components of Curriculum and
Curricular Approaches

Elements/Components of the Curriculum

1. aims, goals, and objectives – what is to be done?

2. subject matter/content
3. learning experiences – what instructional strategies, resources and activities will be employed?
4. evaluation approaches – what methods and instruments will be used to assess the results of the curriculum?

Component 1
-Based on the Philippine Constitution of 1987, all schools shall aim to…
-aims of Elementary Education (Education Act of 1982) include KSV, learning experiences, love for the
nation, and promote work experiences
-aims of Secondary Education promote the objectives of Elementary Education and enhance different
attitudes and interest of students in order to equip them with skills…in preparation for tertiary schooling
-aims of Tertiary Education contain general education programs, manpower/skills, leadership, and
application of knowledge

-hence, each school is guided by VMGs

-VISION – what the institution would like to become in the future; guiding post/unifying elements
-e.g. A model performing high school where students are equipped with knowledge, skills and strength of
character to realize their potential to the fullest

-MISSION- how intends to carry out its VISION

-to produce the kind of persons the students will become after having been educated over a certain period of
time.
-e.g. To produce a globally competitive lifelong learners

-GOALS- broad statements to be accomplished

-e.g. Build a strong foundation of skills and concepts

-EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
- simple and specific! And as defined by Benjamin Bloom and Robert Mager in two ways:
1. explicit formulation of the ways in which students are expected to be changed by the educative process
2.intent communicated by statement describing a proposed change in learners

-direct the change in behaviour

-provide for the bases for the selection of learning content and learning experiences
-set the criteria against which learning outcomes will be evaluated

3 DOMAINS OF OBJECTIVES:

1. Cognitive (Bloom)
-domain of thought process (KCAASE)
a. Knowledge – recall/remembering; lowest cognitive level
b. Comprehension – ability to grasp; lowest form of understanding
c. Application – ability to use learned material
d. Analysis – ability to break down material
e. Synthesis- ability to put parts together
f. Evaluation- ability to pass judgment

2. Affective (Krathwohl)
-domain of valuing, attitude and appreciation (RRVOV)
a. Receiving-willingness to pay attention
b. Responding- active participation
c. Valuing- worth or value
d. Organization- building a value system
e. Value complex OR characterization by a value – developing a lifestyle from a value system

3. Psychomotor (Simpson)
-domain of the use of psychomotor attributes (PSGMCAO)
a. Perception – use of sense to guide motor activities
b. Set- readiness
c. Guided response – concerned with the early stages in learning complex skills. Imitation and trial and error
are some of the ways of doing
d. Mechanism – habitual responses; performance skills
e. Complex overt responses – complex movement patterns
f. Adaptation – ability to modify is very easy
g. Origination – creativity

Component 2
-all curricula have content regardless of their design or models
-compendium of facts, concepts generalization, principles and theories
-repository of accumulated knowledge discoveries and inventions of man
- Jerome Bruner – knowledge is a model we construct to give meaning and structure to regularities in
experience
-e.g. each subject area has its own content

Content selection – a very crucial stage in CurrDev

Criteria:
1. self sufficiency – the prime guiding principle (Scheffler); less teaching and learning efforts (economical) but
more results and effective
LEARNING OUTCOMES
2. significance – a contribution …to achieve the overall aim of the curriculum
- significant if it will develop learning abilities…develop 3 domains of objectives, culture is considered
3. validity- authentic, verified/checked
4. interest- learner-centered curriculum
5. utility – usefulness
6. learnability – 2 ways: optimal placement and appropriate organization and sequencing of contents
7. feasibility – can the content be learned within the time allowed, resources available, expertise of the teacher,
and the nature of the learners?

Other considerations in the selection of the learning content:

a. used in daily life
b. maturity and abilities of students
c. valuable in meeting the needs
d. related with other subject areas
e. transfer of learning

In organizing or putting together the different learning contents Palma (1992) suggested the following
principles:
Remember BASIC!!!
1.balance – curriculum content is fairly distributed in depth of the particular learning area or discipline; to
ensure that the level or area will not be overcrowded or less crowded
2. articulation – smoothly connected to the next; glaring gaps and wasteful overlaps will be avoided
-enhanced contents in the curriculum due to teamwork among teachers
3. sequence – logical arrangement of the subject matter; deepening and broadening of content as it is taken up
in the higher levels
4. integration – horizontal connections; related to one another; helps learner get a unified view of reality and
outlook in life
5. continuity – continuing application of KSAV;
constant repetition, review and reinforcement of learning

Component 3
-linkage between instructional strategies and methods to curriculum experiences, the core or the heart of the
curriculum
- action the goals and use the contents in to produce an outcome!
- teaching strategies convert the written curriculum to instruction
-the actions are based on planned objectives
-repertoire of teaching

Guide for the selection and use of these methods to implement such curriculum:
1.Teaching methods are used to translate the objectives into action
2. There is no single best teaching method. Its effectiveness will depend on the learning objectives, the learners
and skill of the teacher.
3. Stimulate learners desire to develop the 3 domains of objectives.
4. Learning styles of the students should be considered.
5. Development of the learning outcomes
6. Flexibility

Component 4
-Worthen and Sanders (1987) – all curricula to be effective must have the element of evaluation
-formal determination of the quality, effectiveness or value of the program, process, product of the curriculum
-Tuckman (1985) – meeting the goals and matching them with the intended outcomes

- Stufflebeam’s CIPP (Context, Input, Process, Product) Model

a. context – environment of the curriculum; situation analysis
b. input – ingredients of the curriculum which include the goals, instructional strategies, the learners, the
teachers, the contents and all the materials needed.
c. process – how the curriculum has been implemented; entire operation of the curriculum
d. product – if the curriculum accomplishes its goals; to what extent; to what extent the curriculum objectives
has been achieved

***within the evaluation process, smaller and more specific activities are needed to determine the
effectiveness of the curriculum
***These activities include
-assessment and measurement of learning outcomes (ultimate product of a curriculum)
-diagnostic, placement, formative or summative evaluation
-norm-referenced or criterion-referenced

Suggested steps for the process of curriculum evaluation:

1. focus on one particular component of the curriculum. e.g. subject area, grade level, course, degree program,
specific objectives
2. collect or gather the information
3. organize the information
4. analyze the information
5. report the information
6. recycle the information

Curriculum Approaches by curriculum practitioners and implementers:

1. Behavioral approach – based on a blueprint (goals, objectives, contents, activities are arranged to match with
the learning objectives)
-Frederick Taylor- aimed to achieve efficiency; begins with the educational plans… (PIE)

2. Managerial approach
*principal – curriculum leader / instructional leader who is supposed to be the general manager
*general manager – sets the policies and priorities –establishes the direction of change and innovation, and
planning and organizing curriculum and instruction.
*school administrators – less concerned about the content, methods and materials than about organization and
implementation

Some of the roles of the Curriculum Supervisors (Ornstein and Hunkins, 2004)
a. help develop the school’s education goals
b. plan curriculum with students, parents, teachers and other stakeholders
c. design program of study by grade levels
d. schedule classes or school calendar
e. prepare curriculum guides or teacher guides
f. evaluates or selects textbooks
g. observes teachers
h. assist teachers in the implementation of the curriculum
i. encourage curriculum innovation and change
j. develop standards for curriculum and instructional evaluation

3. Systems approach – influenced by systems theory

-the parts of the total school district or school are examined in terms of how they relate to each other
-e.g. organizational chart (line-staff relationship)
- George Beauchamp – systems theory of education
a. administration
b. counselling
c. curriculum
d. instruction
e. evaluation

4. Humanistic Approach – rooted in the progressive philosophy and child-centered movement

-considers the formal/planned curriculum and
informal and hidden curriculum
 Lesson 3
Teaching (cause)-Learning (effect) Processes and
Curriculum Development

-we always attribute the kind (quality) of learning to the kind of teaching
-directly proportional (learning in teaching and teaching for learning)

Teaching as a Process in Curriculum

-effective teaching brings about the intended learning outcome

-organization of meaningful learning
-creating a situation or selecting life-like situations to enhance learning

TRADITIONAL definitions:
-process of imparting knowledge and skills required to master a subject matter
-process of dispensing knowledge to an empty vessel which is the mind of the learner
-showing, telling, giving instruction, making someone understand in order to learn

PROGRESSIVIST/HUMANSIST:
-perceived as stimulating, directing, guiding the learner and evaluating the learning outcomes of teaching
-enables the learner to learn on his/her own

Teacher now becomes a decision maker in the teaching process (PIE) or phases of teaching
-a continuous process of feedback and reflection is made
*feedback – the reflection of the feedback
*reflection – a process embedded in teaching where the teacher inquires into his or her actions and provides
deep and critical thinking

I. Planning phase
- decision about
a. the needs of the learners
b. achievable goals and objectives to meet the needs
c. selection of the content to be taught
d. motivation to carry out the goals
e. strategies most fit to carry out the goals
f. evaluation process to measure learning outcomes

Teaching plans:
Short – daily plan
Long – unit plan or yearly plan

II. Implementation phase

-actual teaching and experiencing of a curriculum
-requires the teacher to implement what has been planned
-to put into action the different activities in order to achieve the objectives through the subject matter
-interaction between the teacher and the learner

III. Evaluation phase

-a match of the objectives with the learning outcomes will be made
-answer the question if the plans and implementation have been successfully achieved

BASIC assumptions of TEACHING!

a. goal-oriented with the change behavior as the ultimate end
b. rational and reflective process

BASIC assumptions of TEACHERS!

a. shape actively their own actions
b. influence learners to change their own thinking or desired behavior, thus teaching is way of changing
behavior through the intervention of the teacher

and so…GOOD TEACHING is…

a. well planned and where activities are interrelated to each other
b. provides learning experiences or situations that will ensure understanding, application and critical thinking
c. based on the theories of learning
d. learner is stimulated to think and reason
e. utilizes prior learning and its application to new situations
f. governed by democratic principles
g. embeds a sound evaluation process
Learning as a Process in Curriculum

-to teach is to make someone to learn (the end product of teaching is learning)

Learning by definition:
-change in an individual’s behavior caused by experiences or self-activity
-most is/are intentional (purposefully arranged for the students to participate and experience
- unintentional (e.g. when a child touches a lighted candle and feels it is hot)

2 principal types of learning theories:

1. Behavioral learning theories –observable and measurable
2. Cognitive learning theories – concerned with human learning in which unobservable mental processes are
used to learn and remember new information or acquire skills

e.g.
*discovery learning
-Jerome Bruner
-curious, self-motivated until they find answers to the problems
-construct their own knowledge
- self-learning that is flexible, exploratory and independent

*reception learning
-David Ausubel
-differs with Bruner
- they may not be able to know what is important or relevant
-they need external motivation in order to learn

Similarities between Bruner and Ausubel:

-learners should be actively involved in their own learning
- prior learning is important in order to learn new things and because knowledge continuously changes once it
is the learner’s mind
EVENTS OF LEARNING (Robert Gagne)
1. motivation phase – learning will be rewarding
2. apprehending phase – attends or pays attention

3. acquisition phase – learning transforms information into meaningful form

-the mental images formed associates the new information with old information; advance organizers are useful

4. retention phase – the newly acquired information must be transferred from short-term to long-term memory
-may take place by means of practice, elaboration or rehearsal

5. recall phase- recall previous learned information

- to learn to gain access to that which has been learned is a critical phase in learning

6. generalization phase – transfer of information to new situation allows application of the learned information
in the context in which it was learned

7. feedback phase – students must receive feedback on their performance

- serve as reinforcer for successful performance

LEARNING…
a. does not take place in an empty vessel…each learner is assumed to have prior learning and maybe able to
connect these to present learning
b. social process
c. result of individual experiences and self-activity
d. observable and measurable
e. all the senses are utilized
f. learner is stimulated, directed, guided and feedback is immediately given
g. learner has his/her own learning styles

Teaching and Learning Go Together

-one process cannot succeed without the success or support of the other
-a teacher cannot claim she/he has taught if the learners have not learned substantially
-the teaching styles of the teachers should jibe with the learners’ learning styles
- knowledge of the learner and his learning styles be considered
-as learners become complex individuals capable of learning on their own, the repertoire of teaching should
also increase

Some Ways of Doing Teaching and Learning:

Large group- e.g. lecture, expository, panel discussion, seminar, forum, demonstration or a combination of
lecture demonstration

Small group – e.g. role playing, buzz session, workshop, process approach, discovery learning, cooperative
learning in various forms, laboratory methods

Individualized learning – e.g. modular instruction, e-teaching, programmed instruction

Traditional time-tested methods - e.g. inductive method, deductive method, type study method, project
method, laboratory method, Q and A method or Socratic method, and lecture method

Improved teaching practices- e.g. integrative technique, discovery approaches, process approach, conceptual
approach, mastery learning, programmed instruction, e-learning, simulation, case-based teaching, conceptual
teaching, cooperative learning, and others…

Ways of Learning:
1. Learning by TRIAL and ERROR
-related to stimulus-response theory of learning
-oftentimes risky and time consuming
-easiest way of doing things without necessarily anticipating a definite objective

2. Learning by CONDITIONING (Pavlov, Skinner)

-training, drill, and practice

3. Learning by INSIGHT
-a higher level of intelligence is utilized; requires higher thinking skills
-looking into oneself with deeper thinking
-a sudden flash of idea or solution to a problem sometimes called “aha” learning

4. Learning by OBSERVATION and IMITATION through MODELING (Bandura)

-one learns from someone; be able to do similar thing
-“no-trial learning”

4 PHASES: (ARRM)
a. attentional phase – observes a model
b. retention phase – copies, practice or rehearse what has been observed
c. reproduction phase –matches their behavior to the model
d. motivational phase – imitate the behavior for getting a chance to be reinforced by becoming like the one
from whom the behavior was copied

Teaching and Learning in the Curriculum

-how the student should learn how to learn
-a challenge to both teaching and learning
-life and meaning (each complement and supplement each other)

Suggested Activities:
Lesson 1 – Identifying the curricula operating in the schools
Lesson 2 – Know the details of the best written lesson plan
-make an interview with a school principal or curriculum head
Lesson 3 – Words to describe AND matching teaching (role of the teacher) and learning (responsibility of the
learner)