Chapter 1.

Curriculum Essentials

Module 1: Curriculum and The Teacher

Module Overview:

Module 1 is all about school curricula and the teacher. This introductory module identifies the
different types of curricula that exist in the teacher's classroom and school. Further, Module 1 describes
the important roles of the teacher as a curricularist who engages in the different facets of curriculum
development in any educational level.

Lesson 1: Curriculum in Schools

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Discuss the different curricula that exist in the schools

 Enhance understanding of the role of the teacher as a curricularist
 Analyze the significance of curriculum and curriculum development in the teacher's classroom

Take Off

Have you read "The Sabre-Tooth Curriculum by Harold Benjamin (1939)?” Take some time to read it and
find out what curriculum is all about during those times.

Start here and enjoy reading.

A man by the name of New-Fist-Hammer-Maker knew how to do things his community

needed to have done, and he had the energy and the will to go ahead and do them. By virtue of these
characteristics, he was an educated man. New-Fist was also a thinker. Then as now, there were few
lengths to which men would not go to avoid the labour and pain of thought . . . . New-Fist got to the
point where he became strongly dissatisfied with the accustomed ways of his tribe. He began to catch
glimpses of ways in which life might be made better for himself, his family and his group. By virtue of
this development, he became a dangerous man.....
New-Fist thought about how he could harness the children's play to better the life of the
community. He considered what adults do for survival and introduced these activities to children in a
deliberate and formal way. These included catching fish with bare hands, clubbing little woolly horses,
and chasing away-sabre-toothed-tigers-with-fire. These then became the curriculum and the
community began to prosper-with plenty of food, hides for attire and protection from threat. “It is
supposed that all would have gone well forever with this good educational system, if conditions of life
in that community remained forever the same." But conditions changed.
The glacier began to melt and the community could no longer see the fish to catch with their
bare hands, and only. the most agile and clever fish remained which hid from the people. The woolly
horses were ambitious and decided to leave the region. The tigers got pneumonia and most died. The
few remaining tigers left. In their place, fierce bears arrived who would not be chased by fire. The
community was in trouble.
One day, in desperation, someone made a net from willow twigs and found a new way to
catch fish-and the supply was even more plentiful than before. The community also devised a system
of traps on the path to snare the bears. Attempts to change education system to include these new
techniques however encountered “stern opposition.”
These are also activities we need to know. Why can't the schools teach them? But most of the
 tribe particularly the wise old men who controlled the school, smiled indulgently at this suggestion.
“That wouldn't be education...it would be mere training". We don't teach fish grabbing to catch fish,
we teach it to develop a generalized agility which can never be duplicated by mere training . . . . and
so on.
“If you had any education yourself, you would know that the essence of true education is
timelessness. It is something that endures through changing conditions like a solid rock standing
squarely and firmly in the middle of a raging torent”

The story was written in 1939. Curriculum then, was seen as a tradition of organized knowledge
taught in schools of the 19th century. Two centuries later, the concept of a curriculum has broadened to
include several modes of thoughts or experiences.

No formal, non-formal or informal education exists without a curriculum. Classrooms will be

empty with no curriculum. Teachers will have nothing to do, if there is no curriculum. Curriculum is at
the heart of the teaching profession. Every teacher is guided by some sort of curriculum in the
classroom and in schools.

In our current Philippine educational system, different schools are established in different
educational levels which have corresponding recommended curricula. The educational levels are:

1. Basic Education. This level includes Kindergarten, Grade 1 to Grade 6 for elementary, and for
secondary, Grade 7 to Grade 10, for the Junior High School and Grade 11 and 12 and for the
Senior High School. Each of the levels has its specific recommended curriculum. The new basic
education levels are provided in the K to 12 Enhanced Curriculum of 2013 of the Department of
Education.
2. Technical Vocational Education. This is post-secondary technical vocational educational and
training taken care of by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). For the
TechVoc track in SHS of DepEd, DepEd and TESDA work in close coordination.
3. Higher Education. This includes the Baccalaureate or Bachelor Degrees and the Graduate
Degrees (Master's and Doctorate) which are under the regulation of the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED)

Content Focus

In whatever levels of schooling and in various types of learning environment, several curricula
exist. Let us find out how Allan Glatthorn (2000) as mentioned in Bilbao, et al (2008) classified these:

Types of Curricula in Schools

Have you realized that in every classroom there are several types of curricula operating? Let us
look into each one.

1. Recommended Curriculum. Almost all currricula found, in our schools are recommended. For
Basic Education, these are recommended by the Department of Education (DepEd), for Higher
Education, by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and for vocational education by
TESDA. These three government agencies oversee and regulate Philippine education. The
recommendations come in the form of memoranda or policies, standards and guidelines. Other
 professional organizations or international bodies like UNESCO also recommend curricula in
schools.
2. Written Curriculum. This includes documents based on the recommended curriculum. They
come in the form of course of study, syllabi, modules, books or instructional guides among
others. A packet of this written curriculum is the teacher's lesson plan. The most recent written
curriculum is the K to 12 for Philippine Basic Education.
3. Taught Curriculum. From what has been written or planned, the curriculum has to be
implemented or taught. The teacher and the learners will put life to the written curriculum. The
skill of the teacher to facilitate learning based on the written curriculum with the aid of
instructional materials and facilities will be necessary. The taught curriculum will depend largely
on the teaching style of the teacher and the learning style of the learners.
4. Supported Curriculum. This is described as support materials that the teacher needs to make
learning and teaching meaningful. These include print materials like books, charts, posters,
worksheets, or non-print materials like Power Point presentation, movies, slides, models,
realias, mock-ups and other electronic illustrations. Supported curriculum also includes facilities
where learning occurs outside or inside the four-walled building. These include the playground,
science laboratory, audio-visual rooms, zoo, museum, market or the plaza. These are the places
where authentic learning through direct experiences occur.
5. Assessed Curriculum. Taught and supported curricula have to be evaluated to find out if the
teacher has succeeded or not in facilitating learning. In the process of teaching and at the end of
every lesson or teaching episode, an assessment is made. It can either be assessment for
learning, assessment as learning or assessment of learning. If the process is to find the progress
of learning, then the assessed curriculum is for learning, but if it is to find out how much has
been learned or mastered, then it is assessment of learning. Either way, such curriculum is the
assessed curriculum.
6. Learned Curriculum. How do we know if the student has learned? We always believe that if a
student changed behavior, he/she has learned. For example, from a non-reader to a reader or
from not knowing to knowing or from being disobedient to being obedient. The positive
outcome of teaching is an indicator of learning. These are measured by tools in assessment,
which can indicate the cognitive, affective and psychomotor outcomes. Learned curriculum will
also demonstrate higher order and critical thinking and lifelong skills.
7. Hidden/Implicit Curriculum. This curriculum is not deliberately planned, but has a great impact
on the behavior of the learner. Peer influence, school environment, media, parental pressures,
societal changes, cultural practices, natural calamities, are some factors that create the hidden
curriculum. Teachers should be sensitive and aware of this hidden curriculum. Teachers must
have good foresight to include these in the written curriculum, in order to bring to the surface
what are hidden.

In every teacher's classroom, not all these curricula may be present at one time. Many of them are
deliberately planned, like the recommended, written, taught, supported, assessed, and learned
curricula. However, a hidden curriculum is implied, and a teacher may or may not be able to predict its
influence on learning. All of these have significant role on the life of the teacher as a facilitator of
learning and have direct implication to the life of the learners.
 Now that you 'are fully aware that there are seven types of curricula operating in every teacher's
classroom, it is then very necessary to learn deeper and broader about the role of the teacher in relation
to the school curriculum.

Lesson 2: The Teacher As A Curricularist

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Enhance understanding of the role of the teacher as a curricularist in the classroom and school.

Take Off

What specific roles do teachers play as a curricularist? Should they do these roles?

This lesson will bring all of you to an enhanced understanding and realization of the
multifaceted roles of the teacher which relate to the curriculum. Let us find out!

Look at the words inside the box. Read each one of them. Which one describes the teacher as a
curricularist? Circle the word.

Exciting Facilitating Knowing Planning Frustrating

Growing Initiating Growing Evaluating Innovating

Broadening Building Rewarding Believing

Reccomending Showing Copying

Are you aware that the teacher’s role in school is very complex? Teachers do a series of
interrelated actions about curriculum, instruction, assessment, evaluation, teaching and learning. A
classroom teacher is involved with curriculum continuously all day. But very seldom has a teacher been
described as curricularist.

Curricularists in the past, are referred only to those who developed curriculum theories.
According to the study conducted by Sandra Hayes (1991), the most influential curricularist in America
include John Dewey, Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba and Franklin Bobbit. You will learn more of them in the later
part of the module.

Content Focus

In this lesson, we will start using the word curricularist to describe a professional who is a
curriculum specialist (Hayes, 1991; Ornstein & Hunkins, 2004; Hewitt, 2006). A person who is involved in
curriculum knowing, writing, planning, implementing, evaluating, innovating, and initiating may be
designated as curricularist. A TEACHER'S role is broader and inclusive of other functions and so a teacher
is a curricularist.
 So what does a TEACHER do to deserve the label curricularist? Let us look at the different roles
of the teacher in the classroom and in the school. The classroom is the first place of curricular
engagement. The first school experience sets the tone to understand the meaning of schooling through
the interactions of learners and teachers that will lead to learning. Hence, curriculum is the heart of
schooling.

Let us describe the teacher as a curricularist.

The teacher as a curricularist . . . .

1. knows the curriculum. Learning begins with knowing. The teacher as a learner starts
with knowing about the. curriculum, the subject matter or the content. As a teacher,
one has to master what are included in the curriculum. It is acquiring academic
knowledge both formal (disciplines, logic) or informal (derived from experiences,
vicarious, and unintended). It is the mastery of the subject matter. (Knower)
2. writes the curriculum. A classroom teacher takes record of knowledge concepts, subject
matter or content. These need to be written or preserved. 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. A good curriculum has to be planned. It is the role of the teacher
to make a yearly, monthly or daily plan of the curriculum. This will serve as a guide in
the implementation of the curriculum. The teacher takes into consideration several
factors in planning 'a curriculum. These factors include the learners, the support
material, time, subject matter or content, the desired outcomes, the context of the
learners among others. By doing this, the teacher becomes a curriculum planner.
(Planner)
4. initiates the curriculum. In cases where the curriculum is recommended to the schools
from DepEd, CHED, TESDA, UNESCO, UNICEF or other educational agencies for
improvement of quality education, the teacher is obliged to implement. Implementation
of a new curriculum requires the open mindedness of the teacher, and the full belief
that the curriculum will enhance learning. There will be many constraints and difficulties
in doing things first or leading, however, a transformative teacher will never hesitate to
try something novel and relevant. (Initiator)
5. innovates the curriculum. Creativity and innovation are hallmarks of an excellent
teacher. A curriculum is always dynamic, hence it keeps on changing. From the content,
strategies, ways of doing, blocks of time, ways of evaluating, kinds of students and skills
of teachers, one cannot find a single eternal curriculum that would perpetually fit. A
good teacher, therefore, innovates the curriculum and thus becomes a curriculum
innovator. (Innovator)
6. implements the curriculum. The curriculum that remains recommended or written will
never serve its purpose. Somebody has to implement it. As mentioned previously, at the
heart of schooling is the curriculum. It is this role where the teacher becomes the
curriculum implementor. An implementor gives life to the curriculum plan. The teacher
is at the height of an engagement with the learners, with support materials in order to
achieve the desired outcome. It is where teaching, guiding, facilitating skills of the
teacher is expected to the highest level. It is here where teaching as a science and as an
 art will be observed. It is here, where all the elements of the curriculum will come into
play. The success of a recommended, well written and planned curriculum depends on
the implementation. (Implementor)
7. evaluates the curriculum. How can one determine if the desired learning outcomes
have been achieved? Is the curriculum working? Does it bring the desired results? What
do outcomes reveal? Are the learners achieving? Are there some practices that should
be modified? Should the curriculum be modified, terminated or continued? These are
some few questions that need the help of a curriculum evaluator. That person is the
teacher. (Evaluator)

The seven different roles are those which a responsible teacher does in the classroom everyday!
Doing these multi-faceted work qualifies a teacher to be a curricularist.

To be a teacher is to be a curricularist even if a teacher may not equal the likes of John Dewey,
Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba, or Franklin Bobbit. As a curricularist a teacher will be knowing, writing,
implementing, innovating, initiating and evaluating the curriculum in the school and classrooms just like
the role models and advocates in curriculum and curriculum development who have shown the way.
Module 2: The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum

Module Overview:

Module 2 describes the school curriculum in terms of its definition, its nature and scope, which
are needed by the teacher as a knower. This module provides a wider perspective for the teachers about
the curriculum, in terms of curriculum approach, curriculum development process, some curriculum
models and the foundations upon which curriculum is anchored.

Lesson 1: The School Curriculum: Definition, Nature and Scope

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Define curriculum from different perspectives

 Describe the nature and scope of curriculum

Take Off

Read today's headlines

1. “Philippines Shifts to K to 12 Curriculum”

2. “Nature Deficit Syndrome On the Rise Among School Children”
3. “Teachers are Reluctant to Teach Beyond the Written Curriculum"
4. “Co-curricular Activities: Learning Opportunities or Distraction?”
5. “Parents Get Involved in School Learning”

What can you say of these headlines? Do these reflect what are going on in our schools? Should the
public know and be involved in the schooling of their citizens? What are the implications of each
headline to the classroom curriculum?

Each member of society seems to view school curriculum differently, hence there are varied
demands on what schools should do and what curriculum should be taught. Some would demand
reducing content and shifting emphasis to development of lifelong skills. Others feel that development
of character has been placed at the back seat of some schools. More debates are emerging on the use of
languages in the classroom. Should it be mother tongue, the national language or the global language?

There seems to be confusion about what curriculum should really be. To have a common
understanding of what curriculum really is, this lesson will present some definitions as given by authors.
Likewise, you will find in this lesson the description of the nature and scope of curriculum from several
points of view. This lesson will also explain how curriculum is being approaches. It further shows a
development process as a concept and as a process as applied to school curriculum.

Content Focus

Whether curriculum is taken in its narrow view as a listing of subjects to be taught in schools or
broadly as all learning experiences that individuals undergo while in school, we cannot deny the fact
that curriculum should be understood by teachers and other stakeholders for curriculum affects all
teachers, students, parents, politicians, businessmen, professionals, government officials or even the
common people.
 Like many concepts in education, there seems to be no common definition of 'curriculum'. Because
of this, the concept of curriculum is sometimes characterized as fragmentary, elusive and confusing.
However, the word 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. Curriculum means different things to different people.
Sometimes educators equate curriculum with the syllabus while a few regard it as all the teaching-
learning experiences which the student encounters while in school. Numerous definitions indicate
dynamism which connotes diverse interpretations as influenced by modes of thoughts, pedagogies,
philosophies, political as well as cultural perspectives. Here are some of them.

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 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 Curricularists

Since the concept and meaning of curriculum are shaped by a person's point of view, this has
added to fragmentation, and some confusion. However when put together, the different definitions
from diverse points of view, would describe curriculum as dynamic and perhaps ever changing.

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 Traditional Points of View

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

 Robert M. Hutchins 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 source 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.

Collectively from the traditional view of theorists like Hutchins, Schwab, Bestor and Phenix,
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 syllabus, course of study, books and references where knowledge is found but
is used as a means to accomplish intended goals.

Curriculum from Progressive Points 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.

The nature of curriculum has given rise to many interpretations, depending on a person's
philosophical beliefs. Let us put all of these interpretations in a summary.

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

Lesson 2: Approaches to School Curriculum

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Describe the different approaches to school curriculum

 Explain by examples how the approaches clarify the definition of curriculum
 Reflect on how the three approaches interrelate with each other

Take Off

From the various definitions, we realize that curriculum is viewed in many ways. Let us look back
and use the definitions as a way of classifying how curriculum is viewed. In this lesson, let us look at the
curriculum as either a Content, a Process or a Product to fully understand the different perspectives of
what curriculum is all about. This can be one way of approaching a curriculum.

Content Focus

Three Ways of Approaching a Curriculum

Curriculum can be approached or seen in three ways. It can be defined as a content, a process or
an outcome. If you examine the definitions provided by the experts in the field, there are three ways of
approaching a curriculum. First, is to approach it as content or a body of knowledge to be transmitted.
Second, is to approach it as a product or the learning outcomes desired of learners. Third, is to approach
it as a process or what actually happens in the classroom when the curriculum is practiced.

1. Curriculum as a Content or Body of Knowledge

It is quite common for traditionalists to equate a curriculum as a topic outline, subject matter, or
concepts to be included in the syllabus or a books. For example, a primary school mathematics
curriculum consists of topics on addition, multiplication, subtraction, division, distance, weight and
many more. Another example is in secondary school science that involves the study of biological science,
physical science, environmental science and earth science. Textbooks tend to begin with biological
science such are plants and animals, physical science with the physical elements, force and motion,
earth science with the layers of the earth and environmental science with the interaction of the
biological and physical science and earth's phenomena, climate, vegetation followed by economic
activities such as agriculture, mining, industries, urbanization and so forth.

If curriculum is equated as content, then the focus will be the body of knowledge to be transmitted
to students using appropriate teaching method. There can be a likelihood that teaching will be limited to
the acquisition of facts, concepts and principles of the subject matter; however, the content or subject
matter can also be taken as a means to an end.

All curricula have content regardless of their design or models. The fund of knowledge is the
repository of accumulated discoveries and inventions of man from the explorations of the earth and as
products of research. In most educational setting, curriculum is anchored on a body of knowledge or
discipline.

There are four ways of presenting the content in the curriculum. These are:

1. topical approach, where much content is based on knowledge, and experiences are
included;
2. concept approach with fewer topics in clusters around major and sub-concepts and their
interaction, with relatedness emphasized;
3. thematic approach as a combination of concepts that develop conceptual structures, and
4. modular approach that leads to complete units of instruction.

Criteria in the Selection of Content

There are some suggested criteria in the selection of knowledge or subject matter. (Scheffer,
1970 in Bilbao, et al 2009)

1. Significance. 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.
2. Validity. The authenticity of the subject matter forms its validity. 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.
3. Utility. Usefulness of the content in the curriculum is relative to the learners who are going
to use these. 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 in 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?
4. Learnability. The complexity of the content should be within 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.
5. Feasibility. Can the subject content be learned within the time allowed, resources available,
expertise of the teachers and the nature of the learners? Are there contents of learning
which can be learned beyond the formal teaching-learning engagement? Arę there
opportunities provided to learn these?
6. Interest. 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? Interest is
one of the driving forces for students to learn better.

The selection of the subject matter or content, aside from the seven criteria mentioned earlier, may
include the following guide in the selection of the CONTENT.

Guide in the Selection of the Content in the Curriculum

 1. Commonly used in the daily life
2. Appropriate to the maturity levels and abilities of the learners
3. Valuable in meeting the needs and competencies of the future career
4. Related to other subject fields or discipline for complementation and integration
5. Important in the transfer of learning to other disciplines

BASIC Principles of Curriculum Content

In 1952, Palma proposed the principle of BASIC as a guide in addressing CONTENT in the
curriculum. B.A.S.I.C. refers to Balance, Articulation, Sequence, Integration and Continuity. In organizing
content or putting together subject matter, these principles are useful as a guide.

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.

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
curriculum.

Sequence. The logical arrangement of the content refers to sequence or order. This can be 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.

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 wholistic or unified view of curriculum instead of segmentation.
Contents which can be integrated to other disciplines acquire a higher premium than when isolated.

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. Constant repetition, reinforcement and. enhancement of content are all elements of
continuity.

2. Curriculum as a Process

We have seen that the curriculum can be approached as content. On the other hand, it can also be
approached as a process. Here, 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 processes occur. Used in
analogy of the 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 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. 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. It will address the question: If you have this content,
how will you teach it?

This section will not discuss in detail the different teaching strategies from where learning
experiences are derived. Rather, it will describe how the process as a descriptor of curriculum is
understood. The content is the substance of the curriculum, how the contents will be communicated
and learned will be addressed by the process.

To teachers, the process is very critical. This is the other side of the coin: instruction,
implementation, 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: 1. Problem- based. 2. Hands-
on, Minds On 3. Cooperative Learning 4. Blended Curriculum 5. On-line 6. Case-based and many more.
These responses approach curriculum as a Process. These are the 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 do 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.

1. Curriculum process in the form of teaching methods 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 the two important processes in the implementation of the
curriculum.
3. Curriculum as a Product

Besides viewing curriculum as content that is to be transmitted, or process that gives action
using the content, it has also been viewed as a 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 purpose of education is to bring about significant changes in
students' pattern of behavior. 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 behavioral objectives stated as intended learning outcomes or desired products so that
content and teaching methods may be 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 learning 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 processes in the curriculum.

Lesson 3: Curriculum Development: Processes and Models

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Explain and summarize the curriculum development process and models

Take Off

Curriculum is a dynamic process. In curriculum development, there are always changes that
occur that are intended for improvement. To do this, there are models presented to us from well-known
curricularists like Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba, Galen Saylor and William Alexander which would help clarify
the process of curriculum development. There are many other models, but let us use the three for this
lesson.

Content Focus

Curriculum Development Process

Curriculum development is a dynamic process involving many different people and procedures.
Development connotes changes which is systematic. A change for the better means alteration,
modification or improvement of existing condition. To produce positive changes, development should
be purposeful, planned and progressive. Usually it is linear and follows a logical step-by-step fashion
involving the following phases: curriculum planning, curriculum design, curriculum implementation and
curriculum evaluation. Generally, most models involve four phases.

1. Curriculum planning considers the school vision, mission and goals. It also includes the
philosophy or strong education belief of the school. All of these will eventually be translated to
classroom desired learning outcomes for the learners.
2. Curriculum designing is the way curriculum is conceptualized to include the selection and
organization of content, the selection and organization of learning experiences or activities and
the selection of the assessment procedure and tools to measure achieved learning outcomes. A
curriculum design will also include the resources to be utilized and the statement of the
intended learning outcomes.
 3. Curriculum implementing is putting into action the plan which is based on the curriculum design
in the classroom setting or the learning environment. The teacher is the facilitator of learning
and, together with the learners, uses the curriculum as design guides to what will transpire in
the classroom with the end in view of achieving the intended learning outcomes. Implementing
the curriculum is where action takes place. It involves the activities that transpire in every
teacher's classroom where learning becomes an active process.
4. Curriculum evaluating determines the extent to which the desired outcomes have been
achieved. This procedure is on- going 'as in finding out the progress of learning (formative) or
the mastery of learning (summative). Along the way, evaluation will determine the factors that
have hindered or supported the implementation. It will also pinpoint where improvement can
be made and corrective measures, introduced. The result of evaluation is very important for
decision making of curriculum planners, and implementors.

Curriculum Development Process Models

1. Ralph Tyler Model: Four Basic Principles

Also known as Tyler's Rationale, the curriculum development model emphasizes the planning phase.
This is presented in his book Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. He posited 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?

Tyler's model 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

Hilda Taba improved on Tyler's model. She believed that teachers should participate in developing a
curriculum. As a grassroots approach Taba begins from the bottom, rather than from the top as what
Tyler proposed. She presented seven major steps to her linear model which are the following:

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 it
 3. Galen Saylor and William Alexander Curriculum Model

Galen Saylor and William Alexander. (1974) viewed curriculum development as consisting of four
steps. 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.”

1. Goals, Objectives and Domains. Curriculum planners begin by specifying the major
educational goals and specific objectives they wish to accomplish. Each major goal
represents a curriculum domain: personal development, human relations, continued
learning skills and specialization. The goals, objectives and domains are identified and
chosen based on research findings, accreditation standards, and views of the different
stakeholders.
2. Curriculum Designing. Designing a curriculum 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? These are some of the questions that need to be answered at this stage of
the development process
3. Curriculum Implementation. A designed curriculum is now ready for implementation.
Teachers then 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. The last step of the curriculum model is evaluation. A comprehensive evaluation
using a variety of evaluation techniques is recommended. It should involve the total
educational programme of the school and the curriculum plan, the effectiveness of
instruction and the achievement of students. Through the evaluation process, curriculum
planner and developers can determine whether or not the goals of the school and the
objectives of instruction have been met.

All the models utilized the processes of (1) curriculum planning, (2) curriculum
designing, (3) curriculum implementing, and (4) curriculum evaluating.

Lesson 4: Foundations of Curriculum Development

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Describe the foundations of curriculum development

 Explain how each foundation influences the curriculum development

Take Off

Curriculum development is anchored on a very solid foundation. Although considered to be a

new discipline, its significance in the light of global developments has now been acknowledged. What
philosophical, historical, psychological and sociological influences inform the current school curriculum?
How do these foundations reflect the development of curriculum in our 21st century classrooms and
learning environment? Who are the identified curricularists with these foundations? Let us find out!
Content Focus

Foundations of Curriculum

1. Philosophical Foundations

Educators, teachers, educational planners and policy makers must have a philosophy or strong belief
about education and schooling and the kind of curriculum in the teachers' classrooms or learning
environment. Philosophy of the curriculum answers questions like: What are schools for? What subjects
are important? How should students learn? What methods should be used? What outcomes should be
achieved? Why?

The various activities in school are influenced in one way or another by a philosophy. John Dewey
influenced the use of “learning by doing”, he being a pragmatist. Or. to an essentialist, the focus on the
fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic are essential subjects in the curriculum.

There are many philosophies in education but we will illustrate only those presented by Ornstein
and Hunkins in 2004.

A. Perennialism
 Aim: To educate the rational person; cultivate intellect
 Role: Teachers assist students to think with reason (critical thinking HOTS)
 Focus: Classical subjects, literary analysis. Curriculum is enduring
 Trends: Use of great books (Bible, Koran, Classics) and Liberal Arts
B. Essentialism
 Aim: To promote intellectual growth of learners 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, cultural literacy
C. Progressivism
 Aim: 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, Humanistic education
D. Reconstructionism
 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: School and curricular reform, Global education, Collaboration and Convergence,
Standards and Competencies
2. Historical Foundations

Where is curriculum development coming from? The historical foundations will show to us the
chronological development along a time line. Reading materials would tell us that curriculum
development started when Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956) wrote the book “The Curriculum.” Let us see
how each one contributed to curriculum development during his own time. Here are eight among the
many, we consider to have great contributions.
 Persons Contributions / Theories and Principles

 He started the curriculum development movement.

 Curriculum is a science that emphasizes students' needs.
 Curriculum prepares learners for adult life.
 Objectives and activities should group together when tasks
are clarified.

Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956)

 Like Bobbit, he posited that curriculum is science and

emphasizes students' needs.
 Objectives and activities should match. Subject matter or
content relates to objectives.

Werret Charters (1875-1952)

 Curricula are purposeful activities which are child-

centered.
 The purpose of the curriculum is child development and
growth. He introduced this project method where teacher
and student plan the activities.
 Curriculum develops social relationships and small group
instruction.
William Kilpartick (1875-1952)

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

centered.
 With the statement of objectives and related learning
activities, curriculum should produce outcomes.
 Emphasized social studies and suggested that the teacher
plans curriculum in advance.
Harold Rugg (1886-1960)
  Curriculum is organized around social functions of themes,
organized knowledge and learner's interest.
 Curriculum, instruction and learning are interrelated.
 Curriculum is a set of experiences. Subject matter is
developed around social functions and learners' interests.

Hollis Caswell (1901-1989)

 Curriculum is a science and an extension of school's

philosophy. It is based on students' needs and interest.
 Curriculum is always related to instruction. Subject matter
is organized in terms of knowledge, skills and values.
 The process emphasizes problem solving. Curriculum aims
to educate generalists and not specialists.
Ralph Tyler (1902-1994)

 She contributed to the theoretical and pedagogical

foundations of concepts development and critical thinking
in social studies curriculum.
 She helped lay the foundation for diverse student
population.

Hilda Taba (1902-1967)

 He described how curriculum change is a cooperative

endeavor.
 Teachers and curriculum specialist constitute the
professional core of planners.
 Significant improvement is achieved through group
activity.
Peter Oliva (1992-2012)
 3. Psychological Foundation 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? In this module, we shall consider three
groups of learning theories: behaviorism or association theories; cognitive-information processing
theories and humanistic theories (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2004).

Let us review some theories in learning related to these clusters of learning theories.

3.1 Association and Behaviorism

3.2 Cognitive Information Processing Theory

Persons Contributions / Theories and Principles

 He is the father of the Classical Conditioning Theory, the S-

R Theory
 The key to learning is 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.

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

 He championed the Connectionism Theory.

 He proposed the three laws of learning:
o Law of readiness
o Law of exercise
o Law of effect
 Specific stimulus has specific response.
Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)
  He proposed the Hierarchical Learning Theory. Learning
follows a hierarchy
 Behavior is based on prerequisite conditions.
 He introduced tasking in the formulation of objectives.

Robert Gagne (1916-2002)

Persons Contributions / Theories and Principles

 Theories of Jean Piaget
o Cognitive development has stages from birth to
maturity:
Sensorimotor stage (0-2), preoperational stage (2-
7), concrete operations stage (7-11) and formal
operations (11 - onwards)
 Keys to learning
o Assimilation (incorporation of new experience)
o Accommodation (learning modification and
adaptation)
o Equilibration (balance between previous and later
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
learning)
 Theories of Lev Vygotsky
Lev o Cultural transmission and development:
Children could, as a result of their interaction with
society, actually perform certain cognitive actions
prior to arriving at developmental stage
o Learning precedes development
o Sociocultural development theory
 Keys to Learning
o Pedagogy creates learning processes that lead to
development
Vygotsky (1896-1934)
o The child is an active agent in his or her
educational process.
  Gardner's multiple intelligences
o Humans have several different ways of processing
information and these ways are relatively
independent of one another
o There are eight intelligences: linguistic, logico-
mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily/kinesthetic,
interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic
Howard Gardner

 Emotion contains the power to affect action.

o He called this Emotional Quotient.

Daniel Goleman

3.1 Humanistic Psychology

Persons/Symbols Contributions / Theories and Principles

 Gestalt Theory
o Learning is explained in terms of “wholeness” of
the problem.
o Human beings do not respond to isolated stimuli
but to an organization or pattern of stimuli.
 Keys to learning
o Learning is complex and abstract.
o Learners analyze the problem, discriminate
between essential and nonessential data, and
perceive relationships.
o Learners will perceive something in relation to the
whole. What/how they perceive is related to their
previous experiences.
Gestalt
 o He advanced the Self-Actualization Theory and
classic theory of human needs.
o A child whose basic needs are not met will not be
interested in acquiring knowledge of the world.
o He put importance to human emotions, based on
love and trust.
 Key to learning
o Produce a healthy and happy learner who can
accomplish, grow and actualize his or her human
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) self.

 Nondirective and Therapeutic Learning

Carl o He established counselling procedures and
methods for facilitating learning.
o Children's perceptions, which are highly
individualistic, influence their learning and
behaviour in class.
 Key to learning
o Curriculum is concerned with process, not product;
Rogers (1902-1987) personal needs, not subject matter, psychological
meaning, not cognitive scores.

Social Foundations of Curriculum

Persons/Symbols Contributions / Theories and Principles

 Society as a source of change

 Schools as agents of change
 Knowledge as an agent of change

Schools and Society

  Considered two fundamental elements-schools and civil
society-to be major topics needing attention and
reconstruction to encourage experimental intelligence and
plurality

John Dewey (1859-1952)

 Wrote the book Future Shock

 Believed 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.
Alvin Toffler

In summary, the foundation upon which curriculum is based are educational philosophies,
historical developments, psychological explanations, and societal influences. All of these foundations are
interrelated to each.

REFERENCE:

BILBAO, PP., DAYAGBIL, FT., CORPUZ, BB., CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS, 2015