THE TEACHER AS A KNOWER OF CURRICULUM

The School Curriculum: Definition, Nature and Scope

• Curriculum originates from the Latin word Currere referring to the oval track upon which roman chariots raced.

• The new international dictionary defines curriculum as the whole body of a course in an educational institution
or by a department while the Oxford English dictionary defines curriculum as courses taught in schools or
universities.

• Numerous definitions indicate dynamism which connotes diverse interpretations as influenced by modes of
thoughts, pedagogies, philosophies, political as well as cultural perspectives.

Some Definitions of Curriculum

1. Curriculum is 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.” (Daniel Tanner, 1980)

2. It is a written document that systematically describes goals planned, objectives, content, learning activities,
evaluation, procedures and so forth. (Pratt, 1980)

3. The contents of a subject, concepts and tasks to be acquired, planned activities, the desired learning outcomes
and experiences, product of culture and an agenda to reform society make up a curriculum (Schubert, 1987)

4. A curriculum includes “all of the experiences that individual learners have in a program of education whose
purpose is to achieve broad goals and related specific objectives, which is planned in terms of a framework of
theory and research or past and present professional practice.” (Hass, 1987)

5. It is a programme of activities (by teachers and pupils) designed so that pupils will attain so far as possible
certain educational and other schooling ends or objectives. (Grundy, 1987)

6. It is a plan that consists of learning opportunities for a specific time frame and place, a tool that aims to bring
about behavior changes in students as a result of planned activities and includes all learning experiences
received by students with the guidance of the school (Goodland and Su, 1992)

7. It provides answers to the three questions : 1. what knowledge, skills and values are most worthwhile? 2. why
are they most worthwhile? 3. how should the young acquire them? (Cronbeth, 1992)

SOME POINT OF VIEW OF OTHER CURRICULARISTS

Points of view about the curriculum can either be traditional or progressive according to the person’s philosophical,
psychological and even psychological orientations. These views can also define what a curriculum is all about.

CURRICULUM FROM THE TRADITIONAL POINTS OF VIEW

The traditional points of view of curriculum were advanced by Robert Huchins, Arthur Bestor, and Joseph Schwab.

• Robert M. Huchins views curriculum as “permanent studies” where rules of grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic
and mathematics for basic education are emphasized. The 3Rs (reading, writing, ‘rithmetic) should be
emphasized in basic education while liberal education should be the emphasis in college.

• Arthur Bestor as an essentialist believes that the mission of the school should be intellectual training, hence
curriculum should focus on the fundamental intellectual disciplines of grammar, literature and writing. It should
include mathematics, science, history and foreign language.
 • Joseph Schwab thinks that the sole sources of curriculum is a discipline, thus the subject areas such as science,
mathematics, social studies, English and many more. In college, academic disciplines are labelled as humanities,
sciences, languages, mathematics among others. He coined the word discipline as a ruling doctrine for
curriculum development.

• Phillip Phenix asserts that curriculum should consist entirely of knowledge which comes from various disciplines.

CURRICULUM FROM PROGRESSIVE POINT OF VIEW

On the other hand, a listing of school subjects, syllabi, course of study, and specific discipline does not make a
curriculum. In its broadest terms, a progressive view of curriculum is the total learning experiences of the individual. Let
us look into how curriculum is defined from a progressive point 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.

• Othaniel Smith, William Stanley and Harlan Shore likewise 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.

• Colin Marsh and George Willis also viewed curriculum as all the experiences in the classroom which are planned
and enacted by the teacher and also learned by the students.

CURRICULUM is what is taught in school, a set of objects, a content, a program of studies, a set of materials, a
sequence of courses, a set of performance objectives, everything that goes within the school. It is what is taught
inside and outside of school directed by the teacher, everything planned by school, a series of experiences
undergone by learners in school or what individual learner experiences as a result of school. In short, curriculum
is the total learning experiences of the learner under the guidance of the teacher.

The Teacher as Curricularist

Curricularist

• Curricularist in the in the past are referred only to those who developed curriculum theories.

• A professional who is a curriculum specialist ( Hayes, 1991; Ornstein and Hunkins, 2004; Hewitt, 2006).

• A teacher’s role is broader and inclusive of other functions and so a teacher is a curricularist.

The teacher as a curricularist….

1. knows the curriculum – as a teacher, one must master what are included to the curriculum. (KNOWER).

2. writes the curriculum – the teacher writes books, modules, laboratory manuals, instructional guides, and
reference materials in paper or electronic media as a curriculum writer or reviewer (WRITER).

3. plans the curriculum – the teacher takes into consideration several factors in planning curriculum. (PLANNER).

- Some factors
  Learners

 Support materials

 Time

 Content

 Desired outcomes

4. initiates the curriculum

- Implementation of a new curriculum requires the open mindedness of the teacher, and the full belief that the
curriculum will enhance learning.

- Transformative teacher will never hesitate to try something novel and relevant. (INITIATOR).

5. Innovates the curriculum

- A curriculum is always dynamic, hence it keeps on changing.

- A good teacher innovates the curriculum and thus becomes a curriculum innovator. (INNOVATOR)

6. Implements the curriculum

- An implementor gives life to the curriculum plan.

- The success of a recommended, well - written and planned curriculum depends on the implementation.
(IMPLEMENTOR)

7. evaluates the curriculum

- Is the curriculum working?

- Does it bring the desired outcomes?

- These are few examples of questions that a curriculum evaluator needs to ask to evaluate the curriculum.
(EVALUATOR)

Fundamental Principles for Curriculum Contents

Palma in 1952 proposed that the contents on the curriculum should be guided by Balance, Articulation, Sequence,
Integration and Continuity. However, in designing a curriculum contents Hunkins and Omstein (2018) added an
important element which is Scope, hence from basic to basics initials of Balance, Articulation, Sequence, Integration,
Continuity.

Balance- Content should be fairly distributed in depth and breadth. This will guarantee that significant contents should
be covered to avoid too much or too little of the contents needed.

Articulation- As the content complexity progresses with the educational levels, vertically or horizontally, across the same
discipline smooth connections or bridging should be provided. This will assure no gaps or overlaps in the content.

Sequence- The logical arrangement of the content refers to sequence or order, This can be done vertically for deepening
the content of horizontally for broadening the same content.
Integration- Content in the curriculum does not stand alone or in isolation. It has some ways of relatedness or
connectedness to other contents. Contents should be infused in other disciplines whenever possible. This will provide
wholistic or unified view of curriculum instead segmentation

Continuity- Content when viewed as a curriculum should continuously flow as it was before, to where it is now, and
where it will be in the future. It should be perennial. It endures time. Content may not be in the same form and
substance as seen in the past since changes and developments in curriculum occur

Scope- Scope consists of all contents, topics, learning experiences comprising the curriculum. In Layman’s term, scope
refers to coverage. The scope shall consider the cognitive level, affective domain and psychomotor skills in identifying
the contents.

Curriculum as a Process

Curriculum is not seen as a physical thing or a noun, but as a verb or an action. It is the interaction among the teachers,
students and content. As a process, curriculum happens in the classroom as the questions asked by the teacher and the
learning activities engaged in by the students. It is an active process with emphasis on the context in which the process
occur.

Curriculum as a process is seen as a scheme about the practice of teaching. It is not a package of materials or a syllabus
of content to be covered. The classroom is only part of the learning environment where the teacher places action using
the content to achieve an outcome

As, a process curriculum links to the content. While content provides materials on what to teach, the process provides
curriculum on how to teach the content. When accomplished, the process will result to various curriculum experiences
for the learners. The intersection of the content and process is called the Pedagogical Content Knowledge or PCK.

Teacher Instruction. Implementation, teaching

Guiding principles when the curriculum is a process

1. Curriculum process in the form of teaching method or strategies are means to achieve the end

2. There is no single best process or method. Its effectiveness will depend on the desired learning outcomes, the
learners, support materials and the teacher.

3. Curriculum process should stimulate the learners’ desire to develop the cognitive, affective, psychomotor domains in
each individual.

4. In the choice of methods, learning and teaching styles should be considered.

5. Every method or process should result to learning outcomes which can be described as cognitive, affective and
psychomotor.

6. Flexibility in the use of the process or methods should be considered: An effective process will always result to
learning outcomes

7. Both teaching and learning are two important processes in the implementation of the curriculum
Curriculum as a Product

Product is what the students desire to achieve as learning outcomes. Curriculum product is expressed in the form of
outcomes which are referred to as the achieved learning outcomes.

It is important that any statement of objectives or intended outcomes of the school should be a statement of changes to
take place in the students. Product of learning are operationalized as knowledge, skills and values,

Curriculum Development: Processes and Models

Foundations of Curriculum

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

• Curriculum development is a dynamic process involving many different people and procedures

• A change for the better means alteration, modification, or improvement of existing condition

• To produce positive changes, development should be purposeful, planned, and progressive.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

CURRICULUM PLANNING

• considers the school vision, mission and goals

• includes the philosophy or the strong education belief of the school.

• translated to classroom desired learning outcomes for the learners.

CURRICULUM DESIGNING

• way curriculum is conceptualized to include:

§ selection and organization of the content

§ selection and organization of learning experiences or activities

§ selection of the assessment procedure and tools to measure achieved learning outcomes.

§ resources to be utilized

§ statement of the intended learning outcomes.

CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTING

• putting into action the plan which is based on the curriculum design in the classroom setting or the learning
environment

• where the action takes place

• involves all the activities in the classroom where learning becomes an active process.

CURRICULUM EVALUATING

• determines the extent to which the desired outcomes have been achieved.

• on-going procedure as in finding out the progress of learning (formative) or the mastery of learning
(summative).

• determine the factors that have hindered or supported the implementation.

• pinpoint where improvement can be made and corrective measures, introduced.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS MODELS

1. RALPH TYLER MODEL: FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES

• emphasizes the planning phase

• is presented in his book Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction

• four fundamental principles which are illustrated as answers to the following questions:

1. What education purposes should schools seek to attain?

2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?

3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?

4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained or not?

• shows that in curriculum development, the following considerations should be made:

1. Purposes of the school

2. Educational experiences related to the purposes

3. Organization of the experiences

4. Evaluation of the experience

2. HILDA TABA MODEL: GRASSROOTS APPROACH

• improved on Tyler's model

• Taba believed the teachers should participate in developing a curriculum

• begins from the bottom, rather than from the top is what Tyler proposed

• Six major steps to her linear

1. Diagnosis of learners' needs and expectations of the larger society

2. Formulation of learning objectives

3. Selection of learning contents

4. Organization of learning contents

5. Selection of learning experiences

6. Determination of what to evaluate and the means of doing

3. GALEN SAYLOR AND WILLIAM ALEXANDER CURRICULUM MODEL

• Curriculum is "a plan for providing sets of learning opportunities to achieve broad educational goals and related
specific objectives for an identifiable population served by a single school center."

• viewed curriculum development as consisting of four steps:

1. Goals, Objectives, and Domains

2. Curriculum Designing

3. Curriculum Implementation

4. Evaluation

1. Goals, Objectives, and Domains.

§ specifying the major educational goals and specific objectives they wish to accomplish

§ each major goal represents a curriculum domain:

o personal development

o human relations

o continued learning skill

o specialization

§ identified and chosen based on research findings, accreditation standards, and views of the different
stakeholders.

2. Curriculum Designing.

§ follows after appropriate learning opportunities are determined and how each opportunity is provided

§ Will the curriculum be designed along the lines of academic disciplines, or according to student needs
and interests or along themes?

3. Curriculum Implementation.

§ Teachers prepare instructional plans where instructional objectives are specified and appropriate
teaching methods and strategies are utilized to achieve the desired learning outcomes among students

4. Evaluation.

§ comprehensive evaluation using a variety of evaluation techniques is recommended

§ should involve the total educational programme of the school and the curriculum plan, the effectiveness
of instruction and the achievement of students.

§ curriculum planners and developers can determine whether or not the goals of the school and the
objectives of instruction have been met.
FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM

• Philosophical foundation

• Historical foundations

• Psychological foundation

• Social foundations

Philosophical foundations

- Strong belief about education or schooling and the kind of environment should be established inside the
classroom.

Philosophy of education answers question like:

- What schools are for?

- What subjects are important?

- How should students learn?

- What methods should be used?

- What outcomes should be achieved?

PHILOSOPHIES IN EDUCATION PRESENTED BY ORNSTEIN AND HUNKINS

A. PERRENIALISM

Plato, Aristotle or Thomas Aquinas

Perennialism is the idea that school curricula should focus on what is everlasting. You can remember the word
‘perennialism’ by remembering that perennial means lasting for many years.

Aim: To educate the rational person; Cultivate intellect

Role: Teacher assist students to think with reason (Critical thinking)

Focus: literary analysis; Curriculum is enduring

Trends: Use of great books (Bible, Koran, Classics) and liberal arts

B. Essentialism

Essentialism tries to instill all students with the most essential or basic academic knowledge and skills and character
development. Essentialists believe that teachers should try to embed traditional moral values and virtues.

Aim: To promote intellectual growth of learner’s to become competent.

Role: Teachers are sole authorities in the subject area.

Focus: Essential skills of the 3Rs; essential subjects.

Trends: Back to basics, excellence in education and cultural literacy

C. Progressivism

Progressivism is the beliefs that education should focus on the whole child rather than on the content or the teacher.
Progressivists believe that individuality, progress, and change are fundamental to one's education.

Aim: To promote democratic social living.

Role: Teacher leads for growth and development of lifelong learners.

Focus: Interdisciplinary subjects, learner-centered, outcomes-based

Trends: Equal opportunities for all, contextualized curriculum and humanistic education.

D. Reconstructionism

Reconstructionism is an educational philosophy that views schools as tools to solve social problems.

Aim: To improve and reconstruct society. Education for change.

Role: Teacher acts as agent of change and reforms.

Focus: Present and future educational landscape.

Trends: Schools and curricular reform, global education, collaboration and convergence, standards and competencies.

HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS

What is Historical Foundation?

- Addresses different phases of human development.

- Will show the chronological development along a timeline.

- Curriculum developers always ensure the historical perspective is well reflected when designing curriculum in
order to capture not only the local flavor but also global historical views.

PERSONS WHO CONTRIBUTED TO CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956)

- Started the curriculum development movement.

- Curriculum as a science that emphasize on students’ needs.

- Curriculum prepares learners for adult life.

- Objectives and activities grouped together when task is clarified.

Werret Charters (1875-1952)

- Curriculum is science and emphasizes students’ needs.

- Objectives and activities should match. Subject matter or content relates to objectives.
William Kilpatrick (1875-1952)

- Curricula are purposeful activities which are child centered.

- The purpose of the curricula is child development and growth. The project method was introduced by Kilpatrick
where teacher and student plan the activities.

- The curriculum develops social relationships and small group instruction.

Harold Rugg (1886-1960)

- Curriculum should develop the whole child. It is child centered.

- With the statement of objectives and related learning activities, curriculum should produce outcomes.

- He emphasized social studies and the teacher plans curriculum in advance.

Hollis Caswell (1901-1989)

- Sees curriculum as organized around social functions of themes, organized knowledge, and learner’s interest.

- He believes that curriculum, instruction, and learning are interrelated.

- Curriculum is a set of experiences. Subject matter is developed around social functions and learners’ interests.

Ralph Tyler (1902-1947)

- As one of the hallmarks of curriculum, Tyler believes that curriculum is a Science and an extension of school’s
philosophy. It is based on students’ needs and interest.

- To Tyler, curriculum is always related to instruction. Subject matter is organized in terms of knowledge, skills,
and values

- The process emphasizes problem solving. The curriculum aims to educate generalists and not specialists.

Hilda Taba (1902-1967)

- Contributed to the theoretical and pedagogical foundations of concepts development and critical thinking in
social studies curriculum.

- Helped lay the foundation for diverse student population.

Peter Oliva (1992-2012)

- Described how curriculum change is a cooperative endeavor

- Teachers and curriculum specialist constitute the professional core of planners.

- Significant improvement through group activity.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM

Psychology provides a basis to understand the teaching and learning process. It unifies elements of the learning process.
Questions which can be addressed by psychological foundations of education are:

• How should curriculum be organized to enhance learning?

• What is the optimal level of students’ participation in learning the various contents of the curriculum?

Three (3) Groups of Learning Theories (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2004)

• Behaviorism or Association Theories

• Cognitive-Information Processing Theories

• Humanistic Theories

What is the theory of behaviorism?

One assumption of the learning approach is that all behaviors are learnt from the environment. They can be learnt
through classical conditioning, learning by association or through operant conditioning, learning by consequences.

1. Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

- in full Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, was a Russian physiologist born on September 26, 1849 and died on
February 27, 1936.

- he is known to be the “Father of Classical Conditional Theory” or S-R theory.

• Contributions/ Theories and Principles

- The Stimulus Response (S-R) Theories are central to the principles of conditioning. They are based on
the assumption that human behavior is learned.

- “The key to learning in early years of life is to train them what you want them to become.”

- S-R Theory is a foundation of learning practice called indoctrination.

2. Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)

- in full Edward Lee Thorndike, was an American psychologist born on August 31, 1874 and died on
August 9, 1949.

- he championed the “Connectionism Theory”.

• Contributions/ Theories and Principles

- The Connectionism Theory suggests that it consists of associations (or connections) between stimuli
and responses. By trial and error, animals identify connections between a stimulus and a satisfying consequence.
These connections are stamped in because of the pleasure they bring.

- Thorndike proposed the three laws of learning: Law of readiness, Law of exercise, and Law of effect

- “Specific stimulus has specific response.”

3. Robert Gagne (1916-2002)

 - in full Robert Mills Gagne, was an American educational psychologist born on August 21, 1916 and
died on April 28, 2002.

- he proposed the “Hierarchical Learning Theory”.

• Contributions/ Theories and Principles

- The Hierarchical Learning Theory states that “learning follows a hierarchy”.

- “Behavior is based on prerequisite conditions”.

3.2 COGNITIVE INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY

Cognitive information processing (CIP) theory is often referred to as simply "information processing."
Information processing is not really the name of a single theory; it is a generic name applied to various theoretical
perspectives dealing with the sequence and execution of cognitive events.

1. Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

- he was a Swiss psychologist born on August 9, 1896 and died on September 16, 1980.

- he was the first one to make a systematic study of the acquisition of understanding in children.

• Contributions/ Theories and Principles

Ø Theories of Piaget

- Cognitive development has stages from birth to maturity.

- Sensorimotor stage (0-2), preoperational stage (2-7), concrete operations stage (7-11), and
formal operations stage (11-onwards).

Ø Keys to learning

- Assimilation (incorporation of new experience)

- Accommodation (learning modification and adaptation)

- Equilibration (balance between previous and later learning)

2. Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)

- in full Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky, was a Soviet psychologist born on November 5, 1896 and died on June 11,
1934.

- he believed that cognitive development was founded on social interaction.

• Contributions/ Theories and Principles

Ø Theories of Lev Vygotsky

- Cultural transmission and development stage. Children could, as a result of their interaction
with society, actually perform certain cognitive actions prior to arriving at developmental stage.

- Learning precedes development.

 - Socio-cultural development theory.

Ø Keys to learning

- Pedagogy creates learning processes that lead to development.

- The child is an active agent in his or her educational process.

3. Howard Gardner

- he is an American psychologist and author born on July 11, 1943.

- he is known for his “Theory of Multiple Intelligences”.

• Contributions/ Theories and Principles

Ø Gardner’s multiple intelligences

- Humans have several different ways of processing information and these ways are relatively
independent of one another.

- There are eight intelligences: linguistic, logico-mathematical, musical, spatial,

bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.

4. Daniel Goleman

- he is an author, psychologist, and science journalist born on March 7, 1946.

- he is the author of the best-selling “Emotional Intelligence”, as well as many other works in emotional
and social intelligences.

• Contributions/ Theories and Principles

- Goleman called “Emotional Quotient” as the emotion that contains the power to affect action.

3.3. HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY

1. Gestalt

Contribution/Theories and Principles

Gestalt Theory

• Learning is explained in terms of "wholeness" of the problem.

• Human beings do not respond so isolated stimuli but to an organization or pattern of stimuli.

 Keys to learning

• Learning is complex and abstract.

• Learners analyze the problem, discriminate between essential and nonessential data, and perceive
relationship. Learners will perceive something in relation to the whole. What/how they perceive is related to their
previous experiences.

2. Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)

Contribution/Theories and Principles

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• He advanced the Self-Actualization Theory.

• Classic theory of human needs.

• A child whose basic needs are not met will not be interested in acquiring knowledge of the world.

• He put importance to human emotions based on love and trust.

 Key to learning

• Produce a healthy and happy learner who can accomplish, grow and actualize his or her human self.

3. Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

Contribution/Theories and Principles

Nondirective and therapeutic learning

• He established counselling procedures and methods for facilitating learning.

• Children' perceptions, which are highly individualistic, infuence their learning and behaviour in class.

 Key to learning

• Curriculum is concerned with process, not product; personal needs, not subject matter, psychological
meaning. not cognitive scores

4.0 SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM

Schools and Society

• Society is a source of change.

• School as agents of change.

• Knowledge as an agent of change.

4.0 SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM

1. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

Contribution/Theories and Principles

• Influence of society and social contest in education.

• Things that surrounds individuals can change, develop their behavior.

• Considered two fundamental elements which are schools and civil society.

2. Alvin Toffler
Contribution/Theories and Principles

• Wrote the book Future Shock

• Believe that knowledge should prepare students for the future

• Suggested that in the future, parents might have the resources to teach prescribed curriculum from home as a
result of technology, not in spite of it. (Home Schooling)

• Foresaw schools and students worked creatively, collaboratively, and independent of their age.

OTHER THEORISTS

1. 1. Paolo Fraire (1921-1997)

Contribution/Theories and Principles

• Education as a means of shaping the person and society through critical reflections and
"conscientization"

• Teachers use questioning and problem posing approach to raise students consciousness

• Emphasis on questioning problem posing and critical thinking

• Major book: Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 1968

2. John Goodlad (1920-2014)

Contribution/Theories and Principles

• Curriculum organized around needs of society and the students

• Reduce student conformity in classroom Constant need for school improvement

• Emphasis on active learning and critical thinking

• Involvement of students in planning curriculum content and instructional activities

• Need to align content with standards

• Major hook: Place Called Schools, 1984, What Are Schools? For 1989

3. William Pinar (1947)

Contribution/Theories and Principles

• He written the conception of curriculum to enrich the practice.

• Understand the nature of the educational experience.

• Curriculum involves multiple disciplines.

• Curriculum should be studied from a historical, racial, gendered, phenomenological, postmodern,

theological and international perspective.

EDUC 205
Lesson Notes on Curriculum Design
A review of Curriculum and Instruction
 Curriculum is an amorphous term.
o Curriculum is that which is taught in school.
o Curriculum is a set of subjects or content areas.
o Curriculum is everything that goes on both academic, social, and otherwise, inside, and outside of
classes.
o Curriculum is a series of experiences undergone by learners in school.
 Curriculum according to some educational theorists.
o Hollis L. Caswell and Doak S. Campbell (1935)
“all the experiences children have under the guidance of teachers.”
o Ralph W. Tyler's (1949)
“educational objectives” that “represent the kinds of changes in behavior that an educational
institution seeks to bring about in its students.”
o Hilda Taba (1962)
“A curriculum is a plan for learning (with elements).”
o Robert M. Gagné (1967)
Curriculum is composed of subject matter (content), the statement of ends (terminal objectives),
sequencing of content, and preassessment of entry skills required of students when they begin the study
of the content.
o Mauritz Johnson Jr (1967)
Curriculum is a structured series of intended learning outcomes.
 Relationship between Curriculum and Instruction
o Simply we use curriculum to describe that which is taught (what).
 the intention, a program, a plan, content, and learning experiences.
o We use instruction to describe the means used to teach that which is taught (how).
 pedagogy, methods, delivery mode, strategies, and implementation.
 Models of Curriculum-Instruction Relationship
o Dualistic Model – curriculum and instruction are separate,
independent.
o Interlocking Model – intertwined, varying interdependence.
o Concentric Models – mutual dependence.
o Cyclical Model – separate but importance of feedback is
emphasized.

Curriculum as a Discipline
  Characteristics of a discipline
o PRINCIPLES. Any discipline worthy of study has an organized set of theoretical constructs or principles
that governs it.
o KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS. Any discipline encompasses body of knowledge and skills pertinent to that
discipline.
 Learner-centered curriculum as a
concept draws heavily on what is known
about learning, growth, and
development (psychology and biology),
on philosophy (particularly from one
school of philosophy, progressivism),
and on sociology.
 Essentialist curriculum borrows from the
areas of philosophy, psychology, and
sociology, as well as the academic
disciplines.
o THEORETICIANS AND PRACTITIONERS. A
discipline has its theoreticians and its
practitioners.

Ten Axioms of Curriculum Development according to Peter F. Oliva.

1. 1. Inevitability of Change. Change is both inevitable and necessary, for it is through change that lifeforms grow
and develop.
a. changing values, cultural diversity, g. global interdependence.
morality, and family h. regional wars and the threat of nuclear war,
b. Microelectronics Revolution, i. national and international economic conditions,
c. changing world of work, j. international natural disasters and conditions,
d. equal rights, k. national and international health needs, and
e. crime and violence, ecological/environmental disasters.
f. lack of purpose and meaning,
2. 2. Curriculum as a Product of Its Time. A school curriculum not only reflects but also is a product of its time or
historical context.
3. 8. Decision-Making Process. Curriculum development is basically a decision-making process.
a. Which disciplines should be present/absent given our constraint?
b. Competing Viewpoints. “This what I believe will equip best our diverse learners!”
c. Method and resources
d. Organization

4 Major Philosophies of Education

1. Reconstructionism
a. Use the school to achieve what they considered to be improvements in society.
b. Holds that the school should not simply transmit the cultural heritage or simply study social problems
but should become an agency for solving political and social problems.
c. subject matter with which all students should be engaged consists of unsolved, often controversial,
problems of the day such as unemployment, health, housing, and urbanization. Group consensus is the
methodology by which solutions to the problems are sought.
 d. however, when public school teachers propose their own specific solutions, raising the specter
indoctrination practice unacceptable to most schools of philosophy. and to the students’ families.
2. Perennialism
a. the contemporary perennialists see the aims of education as the disciplining of the mind, development of
the ability to reason, and the pursuit of truth.
b. Unlike progressivists, who hold that truth is relative and changing, the perennialists believe that truth is
eternal, everlasting, and unchanging.
c. secular perennialists advocated a highly academic curriculum with emphasis on grammar, rhetoric,
logic, classical and world languages, mathematics, and, at the heart of the perennialist curriculum, the
great books of the Western world.
d. The perennialist agrees with the essentialist that education is preparation for life but opposes the
progressivist who holds that education is life.
e. Only few would like to study in a perennialist curriculum.
f. It always looks back for solutions to present problems. Ethnocentric.
3. Essentialism
a. primarily cognitive and intellectual.
b. subject-matter curriculum is an essentialist plan for curriculum organization, and the techniques of
Assign-Study-Recite-Test are the principal methods.
c. reward and promote the students in respect to their mastery of subject matter.
d. Heavily based on behaviorism. Behaviorism casts the learner in a passive roleas the recipient of the
many stimuli to which he or she must respond.
e. Teachers of the behavioristic-essentialist school fragment content into logical, sequential pieces and
prescribe the pieces the learner will study.
4. Progressivism
a. education is not a product to be learned, for example, facts and motor skills, but a process that continues
as long as one lives.
b. faith in democracy, little place for authoritarian practices in the classroom and the school.
c. scientific method, known also as reflective thinking, problem solving, and practical intelligence, became
both a goal and a technique in the progressive school.
d. Focus on big picture, relationships. Plan holistically.

Activity:
Formulate your educational philosophies
e.g.:
 All students can and must learn.
 Schools must meet the unique learning needs of each of their students.
 The home, school, and community must serve and support one another.
 Teaching and learning require a healthy, safe, and orderly environment.
 Resources and services are essential for effective instruction.
 All staff must continue to learn, and all schools must continue to improve.

Special Topic 1. Axioms on Teaching Mathematics.

1. In a perfect world students pursue learning not because it is prescribed to them but rather out of a genuine
desire to figure things out. We must therefore teach as if our students were of this kind. Only by aspiring to this
 ideal can we bring it closer to being realized.

It follows that we must not introduce any topic for which we cannot first convince the students that they should
want to pursue it. This is a standard very rarely met in mathematics. Everyone likes to tell themselves that they
are giving motivations for what they teach, but very little of what passes for motivation stands up to critical
scrutiny as a motivation in the sense of the learning ideal outlined above. In all such cases, therefore, the
student has no reason to pursue the topic in question other than obedience to the dictatorial authority of the
teacher. In my view we cannot fault a student who hates mathematics in such circumstances; if anything, I
would sooner fault a student who did not.

2. We learn when we are challenged, when we push ourselves. If you’re not stuck, you’re not learning. If it’s not a
struggle you’re not doing it right.

It follows that we must always look for new points of view and pursue open-ended questions. The role of the
teacher is not to make life easy for the student by giving crystal clear lectures and predictable tests. Instead, the
role of the teacher is to guide and encourage the student’s own process of learning by setting suitable
challenges and by stimulating thought and reflection.

3. We want students to be able to think and reason and apply what they know in new situations. We do not want
to create robots or parrots or one-trick ponies.

It follows that when we learn something we must always inquire why it is so, and that we must answer this
question according to our own judgement, not by mimicking some external standards of rigor and proof. It also
follows that we must always seek out the broader meaning of what we are studying through its applications and
interconnections with other ideas.
Special Topic 2. Why “the role of technology in teaching” is a misconceived question

The question of “the role of technology in teaching” is a staple issue in educational research and reform. But it shouldn’t
be because it is a very backwards way of looking at things.

Consider an analogy: “the role of words that begin with the letter S in poetry.” Suppose there was an industry of scholars
devoted to “researching” whether words that begin with S are effective, and suppose that every aspiring poet was asked
for his stance on the role of words that begin with the letter S.

Of course, poets are not so stupid as to engage in such madness. They know that you chose the words that best fit what
you have to say, regardless of what their initial letter happens to be. Sometimes you end up with plenty of words that
begin with the letter S, sometimes not. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is content, the point is what you have to
say, not incidental matters of presentation.

It ought to be the same in teaching. You do not start by asking how you can use technology in your teaching, just as a
poet does not start by asking what he could say with words that begin with S. You start by considering what you want to
say. Then you choose the form of expression most suitable thereto. That is how poets do it, and it is how teachers
should do it too. But, as the nonsensical fixation on “the role of technology in teaching” shows, mathematics education
researchers and reformers are incapable of such level-headedness. Once again, they err because they are too focused
on surface form as opposed to substance, just as I argued in the Manifesto.