Module 1.

The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 14

2
The Teacher as a
Knower of Curriculum
We had explored the levels of education in the Philippines, the types of curricula

and the different role of teacher as a curricularist in Module 1. In this section, we will try

to explore the definition, nature and scope of curriculum and, approaches to school

curriculum.

SELF-CHECK!!!

After finishing this module, you are expected to achieve the following
intended learning outcomes
1. Accurately define curriculum from different perspectives.
2. Correctly describe the different approaches to school curriculum

LEARNING RESOURCES
For further readings, you may refer to the following books;
Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 15

Curriculum Development for Teachers by: Purita P. Bilbao, Ed.D. [Link] page 14-
25

MET Reviewer LET Specialist 2019 Edition page 318 – 340

EXPLORE!!!!
We will now try to continue enhancing our understanding

about curriculum. Let us explore the definition, nature and scope of

curriculum as well as the different approaches to school curriculum.

THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM: DEFINITION, NATURE AND SCOPE

Like many concepts in education, there seem to be no harmony about the

definition of “curriculum”. As a result, the concept of curriculum was fragmentary,

elusive and confusing. However, there is an agreement as to the origin of the

word “curriculum”. The word originates from the Latin word curere referring to the

oval track upon which Roman chariots raced. The New International Dictionary

define curriculum as the whole body of a course in an educational institution or

by a department while the English Oxford Dictionary defines curriculum as

courses taught in school or university.

SOME DEFINITIONS OF CURRCICULUM

1. Curriculum is a planned and guided set of learning experiences and

intended outcomes, formulated through systematic reconstruction of

Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 16

knowledge and experiences under the auspices of the school, for the

learners’ continuous and willful growth in personal social competence.

(Daniel Tannner, 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 program 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)
Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 17

7. It provides answers to 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 POINTS OF VIEW OF OTHER CURRCICULARISTS

Points of view about the curriculum can either be traditional or progressive

according to the persons’ philosophical, psychological, and even psychological

orientations. These views can also define what a curriculum is all about.

Curriculum from Traditional Point Of View

Collectively, from the traditional view of theorists, curriculum can be

defined as a field of study. Curriculum is highly academic and is concerned with

broad historical, philosophical, psychological and social issues. From a traditional

view, curriculum is mostly written documents such as syllabus, course of study,

books and references where knowledge is found but is used as means to

accomplish intended goals.

a. Robert M. Hutchins – permanent studies where rules of grammar,

reading, rhetoric, logic and mathematics for basic education are

emphasized (3 R’s, Reading, Riting and Rithmetic)

b. Arthur Bestor –mission of school should be intellectual training,

curriculum should focus on fundamental intellectual disciplines.

c. Joseph Schwab –sole source of curriculum is a discipline

d. Phillip Phenix – curriculum should consists entirely of knowledge which

comes from various disciplines.

Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 18

Curriculum from Progressive Point of View

On the other hand, from the progressive view of theorists, curriculum is

the total learning experiences of the individual.

a. John Dewey – education is experiencing

b. Holis Caswell and Kenn Campbell – viewed curriculum as all

experiences children have under the guidance of teachers.

c. Othaniel Smith, William Stanley and Harlan Shore – 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

d. Colin Marsh and George Willis – curriculum as all the experiences in the

classroom which are planned and enacted by the teacher and also

learned by the students.

Truly, the nature of curriculum has given rise to many interpretations,

depending on a person’s philosophical beliefs. To sum it up, we will summarize

the definition of the curriculum.

CURRICULUM is what is taught in school, a set of subjects, content, a

program of studies, a set of materials, 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 the 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.

Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 19

Based from the various definition of curriculum, we end up realizing that

curriculum can be viewed in different ways. These definitions will serve as a

stepping stone for us to examine how curriculum is viewed. In this section, we

will look at curriculum as either Content, a Process or a Product to fully

understand the different perspectives of curriculum is all about and we refer to

this as approaching curriculum.

THREE WAYS OF APPROACHING A CURRICULUM

Curriculum is viewed or seen in three ways. It can be defined as content, a

process or a product. In this portion, we will analyse the three different ways of

approaching the curriculum as described by Bilbao et. al (2008).

A. Curriculum as a Content or Body of Knowledge

For traditionalists, curriculum can be equated to a topic outline, subject

matter, or concepts to be included in the syllabus or books. If the curriculum is

equated to content, then the focus will be the body of knowledge to be

transmitted to the students using appropriate teaching method. Thus, teaching

might be limited to the acquisition of facts, concepts and principles of the subject

matter; however, the content or subject matter can be taken as a means to

achieve an end.

All curricula, regardless of design or model have content. The fund of knowledge

is the repository of accumulated discoveries and inventions of man from the

explorations of the earth as products of research. In educational setting,

curriculum is anchored on a body of knowledge or discipline.

Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 20

Four Ways of Presenting the Curriculum Content

1. Topical Approach

This is a way presenting the curriculum content based on knowledge and

experiences are also included. The table of content of your book with detailed

exposition of all topics and subtopics can be coined with this approach.

2. Concept Approach

In this way of presenting the curriculum content, fewer topics are included.

Topics clusters around major and sub-concepts and their interaction, with

relatedness emphasized. This is another way of saying that the table of content

was presented by chapter without including the details.

3. Thematic Approach

This is a way of presenting the curriculum content where related concepts

are combined in themes. These combinations of concepts develop the concept

structures. The presentation of K to 12 Curriculum can be described in some

fashion as thematic approach.

4. Modular Approach

In this way of presenting the curriculum content, a complete unit for

instruction was observed. In some terms, we simply call it a complete package

for learning that includes the objectives, discussions, activities and assessment

where students can work independently. Our present mode of instruction was a

good example of modular approach.

Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 21

Since we are done with the ways of presenting the curriculum content, we

will now try to examine how we select the curriculum content. In this section we

will explore the different criteria in content selection.

Criteria in the Selection of Content

There are some suggested criteria in the selection of knowledge or subject

matter. We will study the criteria presented by Bilbao et. al (2009).

1. Feasibility

This criteria requires you to analyse and answer several questions such

as, can the subject content be learned within the time allowed, resources

available, expertise of the teachers and nature of the learners? Are there

contents of learning which can be learned beyond the formal teaching-learning

engagement? Are there opportunities provide to learn these?

2. Utility

This criterion refers to the usefulness of the content relative to the learners

who are going to use them. Utility can be relative to time. It may have been

useful in the past but may not be useful now or in the future. Questions like: Will I

use this I my future job? Will it add meaning to my life as a lifelong learner? Or

will the subject matter be useful in solving current concerns?

3. Learnability

This criterion deals with the complexity of the content considering the

range of experiences of the learners. This is based on the psychological

principles of learning. Appropriate organization of content standards and

sequencing of contents are two basic principles that would influence learnability.
Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 22

4. Significance

This criterion requires that the content should contribute to ideas,

concepts, principles and generalization that should attain the overall purpose of

the curriculum. It is significant if content becomes the means of developing

cognitive, affective or psychomotor skills of the learner. As education is a way of

preserving culture, content will be significant when this will address the cultural

context of the learners.

5. Interest

This criterion refers to driving force for students to learn better. Several

questions should be considered and answered such as: Will the learners take

interest in the content? Why? Are the contents meaningful? What value will the

contents have in the present and future life of the learners?

6. Validity

This criterion refers to the authenticity of the subject matter. Knowledge

becomes obsolete with the fast changing times. Thus, there is a need for validity

check and verification at a regular interval, because content which may be valid

in its original form may not continue to be valid in the current times.

The selection of the subject matter or content was really a meticulous

task. Aside from the F.U.L.S.I.V. as six criteria in the selection of content, we

may also consider the following guide in the selection of content.

Guide in the Selection of the Content in the Curriculum

1. Commonly used.
Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 23

2. Appropriate to learners.

3. Valuable in meeting learners needs.

4. Related to other subjects.

5. Important in transfer of learning.

Considering the six criteria and the guide in the content selection, we are

confident that we can choose the best curriculum content. Still, there are

additional considerations in the selection of content as proposed by Palma in

1952, the BASIC principles of curriculum content. Each letter of the word BASIC

has corresponding meaning which we are going to deal with in the section.

BASIC Principles of Curriculum Content

1. 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 within the time allocation.

2. 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.

Seamlessness in the content is desired and can be assured if there is articulation

in the curriculum. Thus, there is a need of team among writers and implementers

of the curriculum.
Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 24

3. Sequence

The logical arrangement of the content refers to sequence or order. This is

done vertically for deepening the content or horizontally for broadening the same

content. In both ways, the pattern usually is from easy to complex, what is known

to the unknown, what is current to something in the future.

4. 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 a holistic or

unified view of curriculum instead of segmentation. Contents which can be

integrated to other disciplines acquire a higher premium than when isolated.

5. 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 occurring.

Constant repetition, reinforcement and enhancement of content are all elements

of continuity.

B. Curriculum as a Process

We have seen that curriculum can be approached as content. Additionally,

it can also be approached as a process. When approached as a process,

curriculum is not seen as a physical thing or noun, but as a verb or an action. It is

Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 25

the interaction among the teachers, students and the content. It happens in the

classroom as the question 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 processes occur. Used in analogy of a recipe in a cookbook, a

recipe is the content while the ways of cooking is the process.

Curriculum as a process is seen as a scheme about the practice of

teaching. It is not a package of materials or syllabus of content to be covered.

The classroom is only part of the teaching environment where the teacher places

action using the content to achieve an outcome. Hence the process of teaching

and learning becomes the central concern of teachers to emphasize critical

thinking, thinking meaning-making and heads-on, hands-on doing and many

others.

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.

To you as future teachers, the process is very critical. This is the other

side of the coin: instruction, implementation, and teaching. These three words

connote the process in the curriculum. When educators ask teachers: What

curriculum are you using? Some of the answers will be: [Link] – Based. 2.

Hands-On, Minds On 3. Cooperative Learning 4. Blended Curriculum 5. On-Line

6. Case-Based and many more. These responses approaches curriculum as a

Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 26

process. These are ways of teaching. Ways of managing the content, guiding

learning, methods of teaching and learning and strategies of teaching or delivery

modes. In all of these, there are activities and actions that every teacher and

learner does together or learners are guided by the teacher. Some of the

strategies are time-tested traditional methods while others are emerging delivery

modes.

When curriculum is approached as a PROCESS, guiding principles are

presented below.

➢ Strategies or methods are means to achieve the end

➢ There is no single best process or method

➢ Curriculum as process should motivate learners’ desire for development

➢ Learning and teaching styles should be considered in selecting methods

➢ Every process or method should result to learning outcomes

➢ Flexibility in using methods should be considered

➢ Teaching and learning are both important in implementing the curriculum

C. Curriculum as a Product

Aside from viewing the curriculum as content to be transmitted, or as

process that gives action using the content, it has to be viewed as product. In

other words, product is what the students desire to achieve as a learning

outcomes.

The product from the curriculum is a student equipped with the

knowledge, skills and values to function effectively and efficiently. The real
Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 27

purpose of education is to bring about significant changes in students’ pattern of

behaviour. 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.

Central to the approach is the formulation of the behavioural objectives stated as

intended learning outcomes or desired products so that content and teaching

methods maybe organized and the results evaluated. Products of learning are

operationalized as knowledge, skills and values.

Curriculum product is expressed in form of outcomes which are referred to

as the achieved learning outcomes. There may be several desired outcomes, but

if the process is not successful, then no learning outcomes will be achieved.

These learned or achieved learning outcomes are demonstrated by the person

who has meaningful experiences in the curriculum. All of these are result of

planning, content and process in the curriculum.

DISCUSSION BOARD
We will now try to interact with each other in a two way

process at a least possible way! I will post a question/s and try to answer it on

your own.

1. How do you define curriculum in your own words?

2. Which point of view about curriculum do you prefer? Why?

3. What are the ways of approaching curriculum?

4. Which way of approaching the curriculum do you adhere to? Why?

Module 1. The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum 28

5. What can you say about the K to 12 Curriculum as far as the way of

approaching the curriculum is concerned?

POST COMPETENCY CHECKLISTS

Let us try to determine if you learned something from our topic. Answer the
following Self-Assessment Question.

SELF – ASSESSMENT QUESTION 2

1. Create a graphic organizer depicting the definition of curriculum according to

the curricularists.

2. Make an advance organizer showing the three ways of approaching the

curriculum together with some relevant details.