1

FS4

Exploring the Curriculum

FIELD STUDY
Episode 1
LOOK DEEPER INTO THE CONCEPTS, NATURE AND PURPOSES OF THE
CURRICULUM
Name of FS Student
Rivera, Roxane E.
Course
Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English
Resource Teacher Maam Acunin
Signature ___________
Cooperating School Upper Bicutan National High School

Year & Section III-I___

Date ________

My Target
At the end of this activity, I should be able to explain the concepts, nature and purposes of the
curriculum and how these are translated into the school community.

My Performance (How I Will Be Rated)

Field Study 4, Episode 1 Look deeper into the concepts, nature and purposes of
the curriculum
Focused on: The concepts, nature and purposes of the curriculum and how these
are translated into the school community
SATISFACTOR UNSATISFACT
EXEMPLARY
SUPERIOR
TASKS
Y
ORY
4
3
2
1
Observation/
All tasks were
All or nearly all Nearly all
Fewer than half
Documentatio
done with
tasks were
tasks were
of tasks were
n:
outstanding
done with high done with
done; or most
quality; work
quality
acceptable
objectives met
exceeds
quality
but with poor
expectations
quality
4
3
1
2
My Analysis
Analysis
Analysis
Analysis
Analysis
questions were questions were questions were questions were
answered
answered
not answered
not answered
completely; in
completely
completely
depth answers
Grammar and
thoroughly
Clear
Vaguely
spelling
grounded on
connection
related to the
unsatisfactory
theories
with theories
theories
Exemplary
Grammar and
grammar and
Grammar and
spelling

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spelling
4
My Reflection

Reflection
statements are
profound and
clear,
supported by
experiences
from the
episode

spelling are
superior
3
Reflection
statements are
clear, but not
clearly
supported by
experiences
from the
episode

acceptable
2

Reflection
statements are
shallow;
supported by
experiences
from the
episode
2

My Portfolio

4
Portfolio is
complete,
clear, wellorganized and
all supporting
documentation
are located in
sections
clearly
designated
4

Submission

Before
deadline

3
Portfolio is
complete,
clear, wellorganized and
most
supporting
documentation
are available
and/or in
logical and
clearly marked
locations.
3
On deadline
3

Portfolio is
incomplete;
supporting
documentation
is organized
but is lacking

Portfolio has
many lacking
components; is
unorganized
and unclear

A day after the

deadline
2

Two days or
more after the
deadline
1

Rating:
(Based on
transmutation)

Over-all Score

____________________________________
Signature of FS Teacher
Date
above Printed Name
Transmutation of score to
Score
Grade
20
1.0
81
18-19
1.25
78
17
1.5
75
16
1.75
72
15
2.00
below
14
2.25
-

Reflection
statements are
unclear and
shallow and are
not supported
by experiences
from the
episode
1

___________________________

grade/rating
99

Score
12-13

Grade
2.50

96

11

2.75

93

10

3.00

90

8-9

3.5

87

7-below -

84

5.00

My Tools
Accomplish the H Chart. Interview an administrator or a faculty member. Get their ides/views
of the curriculum. Write the differences on both sides and the similarities at the center and then write
your personal insights.

Traditional
Curriculum
Teacher-centered
Education for next school
level
High student-teacher ratio
External discipline
Isolated curriculum
Product orientated
Learning by drill
Concepts presented as
facts to memorize
Basic learning
Quantative assessment

Teaching to the test

Progressive
Curriculum
>

Similarities
They are both after
a certain goal
They are made to
maximize the
learning and the
learning experiences
of the learners
They both serve as
guiding principle of
teaching and
learning

Student centered
Education for the
moment
Low student-teacher
ratio
Positive discipline
Integrated curriculum
Process orientated
Makes use of many
varied ways of learning
Concepts presented for
investigation by
student
In-depth learning
Authentic (real life not
test) assessment

My Personal Insights
Traditional and progressive curriculum may differ in the way
they define and view what curriculum is all about but it is clear that
both points of views has only one goal and its to provide the learner
the education, knowledge, skill and values they need to become a
fully developed individuals.
Curriculum as defined by the traditionalist is a body of
subjects or subject matter prepared by the teacher for the students
to learn, definitely if well be talking about the literal meaning of
curriculum then tradionalist are absolutely tight. Curriculum is the
plan of action prepared by the educational bodies to accomplish a
specific goal or to achieve the vision of the school. But what is the
sense of a plan if it is not implemented and put into action?
Progressivist has also a point when they say that curriculum can only
be called curriculum if the written materials are actualized.
Curriculum is not only made to present a plan of action but
also to show ways on how these actions should be done. How can
we know if the curriculum is well constructed if there is no change in
behavior manifested by the learners? We must remember that like in
the teaching and learning process the learner is also the first
principle to consider in making the curriculum.
With our present educational system we may say that we are
currently in the process of exercising the Progressivist point of view.
We are promoting students centered classroom where students are
not just acceptor of knowledge but also the source and finder of
information but based on my observation, traditional point of view
wasw still dominantly used by public school teachers. I can see that
not everything written in the curriculum is actualized inside the
classroom and this may be due to some unavoidable circumstances
like limited time span, lack of educational resources and lastly
because most of the teachers focus more on the cognitive
development than the application and evaluation of what was
learned.
Bottom line is that the Tradionalist and Progressivist has their
own brilliant points about the curriculum. The decision is now on the
hands of the educators in which side of the coin are they going to
believe and exercise but the most important things is that by the end
of the school year a students life is altered with the help of a well
constructed and actualized curriculum.

Subject
Area

Types of Curriculum
Recommend
ed

Writte Taugh
n
t

Support
ed

Assess
ed

Learne
d

Hidde
n

English
Math
Science
T.L.E.
MAPEH
Filipino
2. Find out what curriculum is being used in the school near your place. Check the corresponding
classroom.

My Enriching Activities
If you are to design a curriculum for your own school, what are the things you need to
consider? Accomplish the graphic organizer below.
Things I Need to Do to Consider
in Preparing M y Schools
Curriculum

Teaching
strategies and
m ethods

My Personal Insights
In my own opinion I can say that the seven types of curriculum is rooted or related
to one another. For example the taught and learned curriculum is based on the
recommended or the written curriculum and the supported curriculum is used in the
context of the other curriculum.
The curriculum given by the national educational agency is handed down to the
schools to be divided into chunks of lesson that is to be taught and actualized inside the
classroom and this is now the what we called taught curriculum. The materials used to
support the actualization of the lesson is called the supported curriculum. The
progression that will happen to the students will be measured through series of
evaluation or test and this is now the assessed curriculum. The learning outcome of
the learner is now the learned curriculum and whatever it is that the students learned
Learning content
School's
that
is not intended by the curriculum is what we called the hidden curriculum. mission and
and
experiences
vision

Though some of the teachers are not aware with some types of curriculum I can
clearly see that somewhere, somehow they are already exposed and used to these seven
different types of curriculum. In my observation I saw that these 7 type of curriculum is
manifested in the class that I am observing because it is more than what was
recommended by the school that is taught by the teacher but as well as other things that
can influence the individuality of the learners.
Bottom line is that the way the written curriculum is actualized is far more
important than what was written because learners have diversity of intelligences and it is
important to carry out
the lesson in such a way that all
students can learn and
Teacher's
Learner's
competenc
needs,interests and
understand.
e

abilities

My Analysis
1. Why do we need to consider the traditional and

progressive points of view of curriculum?

We need to consider these two because these will be the basis
our curriculum development. These two will serve as our guiding star
in constructing a well planned curriculum. These two may sound
contradicting to one another but still both have a role to play with the
development of our curriculum. If we are going to sum up what
curriculum is all about then it will all boils down with the Tradionalist
and Progressivist point of view. In its narrow sense traditional
curriculum is viewed as a listing of subject to be taught in school. In
a broader sense, curriculum refers to the total learning experience of
individual not only in school but in society as well.

2. How do the different educational philosophies

relate to the curriculum in the schools you
visited? Cite examples/situations.
Education is application of educational philosophies. Educational
philosophies are one of the major foundations of the curriculum and
every teacher takes a philosophy or integrates philosophies and
applies them into their teaching. The educational philosophy that
relates to the school I visited is the philosophy of progressivism. In
progressivism knowledge leads to growth and development of lifelong
learner who actively learn by doing.
My resource teacher is more on the students acquisition of their
own knowledge than spoon feeding them with bits of information.
For example instead of teaching or discussing a lesson she will let her
students do it through group reporting or individual reporting.
Instead of having a quiz for evaluation she will give group activities
like role playing, poster making and other collaborative learning
experiences. In this way students enhance not only their literal
knowledge but as well as their social skills and their intrapersonal
skills.

3.

Why is there a need to revise the curriculum

from time to time?

There is a need to revise the curriculum because the learners needs

ad interest changes over the period of time. The world is changing so
with the abilities of the learners and the teachers. We need to develop
the curriculum to meet the changing demands of the society and to be
able to compete with the global community. . If there is no revision
then there is no more room for improvement to match the ever
changing society
Before the curriculum is more on the emphasis of rote learning like
memorizing facts but now it is more on analyzing and application of
facts. , education also has social foundations. Society and education
are intertwined. Education aims for lifelong learners and when they
stop learning then their knowledge becomes limited and stagnant. This
is when curriculum development comes in. It is a gradual process of
improving, changing, developing or enhancing the curriculum until
there is no more room for upgrading in other words until it is perfect.
But until the world has reached perfection, the curriculum must be as
dynamic as the changes in culture.
One of the biggest development ion our curriculum is the
integration of modern technology. The role of technology finds its place
on the onset of curriculum. Before we dont have computer subjects
but with the vast amount of computers and modern technologies
around us it is already a necessity for a learner to learn on how to use
computer and to acquire basic computer skills.
As like what was said by UK educational minister Caitriona
Ruanoe, as we phase the revised curriculum over the next years we
will began to see the positive results of the hard work of many,
especially the teachers. Together, we can produce young people who
are able to confidently take and make a positive contribution to our
global society.

My Personal Insights
I used to think that curriculum is just a course of study or just
simply list of subject matter for the whole school year but I was wrong
for I have learned that curriculum is what we make out of this course
study, how we apply what was written and how we actualized it in the
classroom setting.
There is no point in arguing between the traditional and
progressive point of view because one will not exist without the
present of another. They go hand in hand and they complement each
other. It is not important which among them gave the most accurate
definition of curriculum, whats important is that they shared a
common goal and that is to provide learners with the highest quality
of learning experience.
In making curriculum there are lots of things to consider and first on
the list is educational goals for without these we are like travelers
with no specific destination. With a clear educational objective it will
be much easier for us to formulate plans on how we possibly achieved
our goals.
Another principle to consider is the educational
experiences that can be provided to achieve our goals. We have
variety of educational experiences but the choice depends on our
students interest and need. Learners have a diversity of intelligences
and teachers must be flexible enough to sustain these interest and
needs. After we have chosen what learning experience to be included
in our lesson the next thing to do is to organize these experiences.
Everything in our curriculum must be systematically organized
including the learning activities. And the last stage is the evaluation.
It is vital for us to know whether out goal is attained or not and if it is
not attained what wrong and what can we do to change it.
I am jus at little bit disappointed that nowadays curriculum is
not being followed and properly implemented by the school. One of
the main reasons why we have a cluttered educational system is
because we failed to actualize what was written with the written
curriculum. No matter how good we are in making a well constructed
curriculum it will make no sense at all if this will not be put into
actions. I also believe that teachers should be part of the curriculum
making body since they are the ones primary exposed to the learners
plus the fact that they will also be the one to carry out the curriculum.
As teachers they are more aware of what should be omitted and
added to the curriculum to meet the changing needs of the learners.

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