Republic of the Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF RIZAL SYSTEM

Morong, Rizal

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Term Paper in Education 4:

Curriculum Development

Raphael G. Fernando

II-E

Dr. Marilou C. Pantaleon

Professor
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

The Essence of Writing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Body. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Purposes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Curriculum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Recommendation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Insights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
INTRODUCTION

Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge,

skills, values, beliefs and habits of a group of people are transferred from one

generation to the next through storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and or

research. Education may also include informal transmission of such information from

one human being to another. Education frequently takes place under the guidance

of others, but learners may also educate themselves (autodidactic learning). Any

experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be

considered educational.

Education is commonly and formally divided into stages such as preschool,

primary school, secondary school and then college, university or apprenticeship. The

science and art of how best to teach is called pedagogy.

A right to education has been recognized by some governments. At the global

level, Article 13 of the United Nations' 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social

and Cultural Rights recognizes the right of everyone to an education.[2] Although

education is compulsory in most places up to a certain age, attendance at school often

isn't, and a minority of parents choose home-schooling, sometimes with the assistance

of modern electronic educational technology (also called e-learning).

 Education in the Philippines is managed and regulated by the Department of

Education, commonly referred to as the DepEd in the country. The Department of

Education controls the Philippine education system, including the curriculum used in

schools and the allocation of funds. It also regulates the construction of schools and

other educational facilities and the recruitment of teachers and staff.

Before Philippine Independence in 1946, the country's education system was

patterned on the system of its colonial powers, Spain and the United States. However,

after Philippine independence, its educational system changed radically.

Until 2011, the basic education system was composed of six years of elementary

education starting at the age of 6, and four years of high school education starting at the

age of 12. Further education was provided by technical or vocational schools, or in

higher education institutions such as universities. Although the 1987 Constitution stated

that elementary education was compulsory, this was never enforced.

In 2011, the country started to transition from its old 10-year basic educational

system to a K-12 educational system, as mandated by the Department of

Education. The new 12-year system is now compulsory, along with the adoption of new

curriculum for all schools (see 2010s and the K-12 program). The transition period will

end with the 2017-2018 school year, which is the graduation date for the first group of

students who entered the new educational system.

All public schools in the Philippines must start classes on the date mandated by

the Department of Education (usually the first Monday of June), and must end after

each school completes the mandated 200-day school calendar organized by the

Department of Education (usually around the third week of March to the second week of
April). Private schools are not obliged to abide by a specific date, but must open classes

no later than the last week of August.

What is K to 12? Essentially, K to 12 Program deals with the aim in improving the

quality of basic education in the country. It stands for Kindergarten to Grade 12. Unlike

before, basic education in the Philippines will commence at the Kindergarten level and

follows by a 12- years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of

Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School) to provide sufficient time for

mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for

tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.

Recently, President Aquino signed a law adding three extra years to the

country’s 10-year basic education curriculum in a bid to make Filipino students at par

with their peers in other countries. He quoted that, “This lays the foundations for a better

future for every Filipino child.” With the signed law, it makes enrolment in kindergarten

compulsory before children can begin the traditional six years of primary school and

adds two more years to high school. The R.A. 10533, also known as Enhanced Basic

Education Act of 2013, or the K-to-12 Act, establishes a “universal kindergarten” and

introduces “Grades 11 and 12” to high school education in public and private schools.

Moreover, K to 12 was crafted to plug the shortcomings of the 10-year basic education

cycle in which students had less time to understand their lessons, and had to compete

with better-prepared graduates from other countries. Competing with the international

standards challenges the Philippine government to innovate the former curriculum.

 K to 12 seems not to be new in the educational sector. USA has it several

decades ago. Philippines patterned it with the set-up in US, while the latter took only the

concept in United Kingdom. Other countries have also changed their schooling to 12

years of basic education, where only 3 countries in the world have less than 12 year

basic education cycle Philippines, along with Angola and Djibouti, are identified among

the last three. Comprehensively discuss its component (curriculum content) and its

implementation process. Figure 1 The K to 12 Enhanced Basic Education Cycle

Distribution of Years Figure 1 shows the distribution of 12 years in the Enhanced Basic

Education Cycle of the country. Schooling will commence at Kindergarten (K), then the

primary education (Grades 1-6), then the junior high school (Grades 7-10), and senior

high school (Grades 11 & 12). K to 12 has also its salient feature which is strategically

developed to achieve the success of its implementation. The infographics on the next

page shows the Six Salient Features of K to 12.

Strengthen Early Childhood Education (Universal Kindergarten) Making the

Curriculum Relevant to Learners (Contextualization and Enhancement) Ensuring

Integrated and Seamless Learning (Spiral Progression) Building Proficiency through

Language (Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education) Gearing Up for the Future

(Senior High School) Nurturing the Holistically Developed Filipino (College and

Livelihood Readiness, 21st Century Skills) SALIENT FEATURES.

Under Republic Act No. 10157, also known as the Kindergarten Act of 2012,

every Filipino child now has access to early childhood education through Universal

Kindergarten. At 5 years old, children start studying and are given the ways to gradually

adjust to the primary schooling. Study reveals that children who underwent Kindergarten
have better completion rates than those who did not. Children who complete a

standards-based Kindergarten program are better prepared, for primary education.

Education for children in the early years lays the foundation for lifelong learning and for

the total development of a child. As described in Piaget’s Cognitive Development

Theory, kindergarten years are the so- called “teachable moments”.

The early years of a human being, from 0 to 6 years, are the most critical period

when the brain grows to at least 60- 70% of adult size. Hence, this period must be filled

up with the essential knowledge required for learning. Maximizing concrete experiences

will pave way to a more learning experience. Examples, activities, songs, poems,

stories, and illustrations are based on local culture, history, Strengthen Early Childhood

Education (Universal Kindergarten) Making the Curriculum Relevant to Learners

(Contextualization and Enhancement) and reality.

This makes the lessons contextualized which are relevant to the learners and

easy to understand. Hence, meaningful learning will be experienced. Moreover,

students acquire in-depth knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes through continuity and

consistency across all levels and subjects. Discussions on issues such as Disaster Risk

Reduction (DRR), Climate Change Adaptation, and Information & Communication

Technology (ICT) are given importance in the said curriculum. Like the idea of Spiral

Curriculum by Jerome Brunner, subjects will be taught from the simplest concepts to

more complicated concepts through grade levels in a progression.

As early as elementary, pupils are expected to acquire knowledge in areas such

as Biology, Geometry, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Algebra through their elementary
subjects. Basic foundations will be ensured to be mastered before going to study the

complex ones. This also certifies mastery of knowledge and skills after each level. For

example, currently in High School, Biology is taught in 2nd Year, Chemistry in 3rd Year

and Physics in 4th Year. In the enhanced basic education program, these subjects are

connected and integrated from Grades 7 to 10. This same method will be applied also in

other subjects. Ensuring Integrated and Seamless Learning (Spiral Progression).

Different studies were made in relation with the use of the mother tongue as the

mode of instruction in the everyday learning endeavor. Results show significant

evidences that using student’s mother tongue promotes better learning. In K to 12,

students are able to learn best through their first language, their Mother Tongue (MT).

Twelve (12) MT languages have been introduced for SY 2012-2013: Bahasa

Sug, Bikol, Cebuano, Chabacano, Hiligaynon, Iloko, Kapampangan, Maguindanaoan,

Meranao, Pangasinense, Tagalog, and Waray. Other local languages will be added in

succeeding school years. Aside from the Mother Tongue, English and Filipino are

taught as subjects starting Grade 1, with a focus on oral fluency. From Grades 4 to 6,

English and Filipino are gradually introduced as languages of instruction. Both will

become primary mode of instruction in Junior and Senior High School. After Grade 1,

every student can read in his or her Mother Tongue. Furthermore, learning in Mother

Tongue also serves as an essential foundation for students to learn Filipino and English

easily. Building Proficiency through Language (Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual

Education).
 What’s new with K to 12? This one is the added feature in the basic education

curriculum – the introduction of Senior High School. Senior High School is two years of

specialized upper secondary education; students may choose a specialization based on

aptitude, interests, and school capacity. The choice of career track will define the

content of the subjects a student will take in Grades 11 and 12. Figure 2 below shows

the learning areas to be offered in Senior High and its target track. Figure 2 Subjects

Offered and the Track Direction of Senior High There are 7 Learning Areas under the

Core Curriculum. These are Languages, Literature, Communication, Mathematics,

Philosophy, Natural Science, and Social Sciences. Current content from some General

Education subjects are embedded in the SHS curriculum. Gearing Up for the Future

(Senior High School) Students who will pursue Academic Track will be taking the

following subjects: Business, Accountancy, Management (BAM); Humanities,

Education, Social Sciences (HESS); and Science, Technology, Engineering,

Mathematics (STEM).

Technical-Vocational-Livelihood Track will be taking up courses on TVET

(Technical Vocational Education & Training) which could obtain National Certificates,

Level I or II, in Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA),

provided that the student will pass the competency-based examination. NC I and NC II

improves employability of graduates in fields like Agriculture, Electronics, and Trade.

The Filipino student after going to the K to 12 education (Kindergarten, the enhanced

Elementary and Junior High curriculum, and a specialized Senior High program), are

expected to be a holistically developed citizen pursuing their different paths – may it be

further education, employment, or entrepreneurship. In general, they will acquire the

necessary knowledge for living. The inforgraph below will explain what a K to 12

graduates is. Figure 3 21st Century Skills in a K to 12 Graduate Nurturing the

Holistically Developed Filipino (College and Livelihood Readiness, 21st Century Skills).

The Curriculum (List of Subjects) Elementary Education Subjects 1. Languages

a. Filipino (1-6) b. Mother Tongue (1-3) c. English (4-6) 2. Mathematics 3. Edukasyon sa

Pagpapakatao (EsP) 4. Araling Panlipunan (AP) 5. Music, Arts, Physical Education &

Health (MAPEH) Junior High School Subjects 1. English 2. Filipino 3. Science 4.

Mathematics 5. Araling Panlipunan (AP) 6. Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (EsP) 7.

Music, Arts, Physical Education & Health (MAPEH) 8. Technology and Livelihood

Education (TLE) Senior High School Track.

In learning, there are five macro skills that we must deal with in order to

communicate effectively. Macro skills refer to the primary, key, main, and largest

skillset relative to a particular context. It is commonly referred to in English

language. The five macro skills are reading, listening, writing, speaking and

viewing. Each skill has its reasons of why we should be knowledgeable on how to

communicate using the five macro skills. These skills are essential for

communicating. It is tough to study a balance of the five macro skills which are

writing, reading, writing, and listening. Being good at only one of these

communicative skills will not help us smooth away the difficulties in communicating.

With these four macro skills, it can make a big difference in your workplace in

social situations and personal achievements.

 Learning and consistently seeking to improve these macro skills are

important for effective communication and to be successful in many different

perspectives. Ideas, emotions, opinions and feelings need to be conveyed in

different manners and in a variety of ways. To know when to use which macro skill

to acquire, access, encounter, and evaluate information and ideas is a higher order

of thinking skill that can be learned over time with much practice and strategies. In

each skill, it is equally vital as each is related. These can be divided into receptive;

reading and listening, and productive skills which are speaking and writing. Within

each skill, there are sub skills, for example, in writing there are specific information,

there is reading for the main or essential part of a matter. In listening, one must be

attentive and active to follow instructions. People with good communication skills

are better to use them creatively and responsibly and to evaluate its worth. Without

having communication, we would never be done as far as what we have today.

Every day is a learning opportunity. The five macro skills is in our everyday life.

THE ESSENCE OF WRITING

Writing is vital for success in most careers and disciplines today, so students

must begin to acquire good writing skills early to prepare for adult life. Sometimes a

writing tutor is just what students need to help them develop these skills. This is true for

both mainstreamed and home schooled children. In the classroom, the teacher doesn’t

always have the time to work one-on-one with students. At home, parents who may well

excel at teaching (and grading) math and other more straightforward subjects, are often
uncomfortable critiquing their children’s writing. Not to mention that writing is a

process, requiring much “re-doing” which can lead to tensions at home.

During the schooling years, writing is important in that it is an integral component

of all academic subjects — even math (think “word problems”). Additionally, writing (in

the form of essays) is a graded section unto itself in many standardized tests, including

the all-important SAT. As adults, students will use writing in countless ways as they

apply for and obtain jobs as well as manage their own households. Still, learning good

paragraph and essay writing skills has a deeper value than that. It also helps students

develop skills of reasoning and logic.

Any time in the future that students need to argue their case on a particular

subject, they will be using skills they learned while training to write essays. So all the

grounding they can get, to help them perfect their writing and their reasoning, is an

investment in their future.

Schools and colleges offer many learning opportunities for young writers.

Most students learn about composition and literature in English courses. They may

also take creative writing and journalism courses to sharpen their writing abilities.

Many students work on literary magazines, newspapers and yearbooks published

by their school or college. These young people may write stories, edit articles and

gain other valuable experience.

BODY

Specifically, this term paper consists of the analysis of the curriculum for Grade

7. This study is interested on what is K to 12 curriculum all about.

This study would also like to know what are the strengths and weaknesses of the

curriculum.

Furthermore, it focuses on the writing skills of Grade 7 students. This study

would like to know if the following activities/tasks of Grade 7 students are relevant to

learning.

According to Curriculum Guide of Grade 7 they are expecting that the

students will:

Purposes
  Write a variety of clear, focussed personal writing for a range of purposes and

audiences that demonstrates connections to personal experiences, ideas and

opinions.

 Write a variety of effective informational writing for a range of purposes and

audiences that communicates ideas to inform or persuade

 Write a variety of imaginative writing for a range of purposes and audiences,

including short stories, passages and poems modelled from literature

Strategies

 Select and use various strategies before writing and representing, including

- Setting a purpose

- Identifying an audience, genre and form

- Analysing examples of successful writing and representing in different forms and

genres to identify key criteria

- Developing class-generated criteria

- Generating, selecting, developing and organizing ideas from personal interest,

prompts, texts and/or research

 Select and use various strategies during writing and representing to express and

refine thoughts, including

- Referring to class-generated criteria

- Analysing models of literature

- Accessing multiple sources of information

- Consulting reference materials

- Considering and applying feedback from conferences to revise ideas,

organization, voice, word choice and sentence fluency

- Ongoing revising and editing

 Select and use various strategies after writing and representing to improve their

work, including

- Checking their work against established criteria

- Reading aloud and listening for fluency

- Revising to enhance writing traits (e.g., ideas, sentence fluency, word choice,

voice and organization)

- Editing for conversations (e.g., grammar and usage, capitalization, punctuation

and spelling)

 Use writing and representing to critique, express personal responses and relevant

opinions and respond to experiences and texts

 Use writing and representing to extend thinking by

- Developing explanations

- Analysing the relationships in ideas and information

- Exploring new ideas (e.g., making generalizations, speculating about alternative

viewpoints)

 Reflect on and assess their writing and representing, by

 - Relating their work to criteria

- Setting goals and creating a plan for improvement

- Taking steps toward achieving goals

Features

 Use the features and conventions of language to express meaning in their writing

and representing, including

- Complete simple, compound, and complex sentences

- Subordinate and independent clauses

- Correct subject-verb and pronoun agreement in sentences with compound

subjects

- Correct and effective use of punctuation

- Spelling unfamiliar words by applying strategies (e.g., phonic knowledge, use of

common spelling patterns, dictionaries and thesaurus)

- Information taken from secondary sources with source citation

- Legible writing appropriate to context and purpose.

In this section, the researcher would like to look at what is expected to Grade 7

students. This will vary among individuals. Among the fast learners, the tendency is that

they will learn more than the slow learners so, the teacher should apply equal teaching

approach to these kinds of learner in order for them to learn equally and efficiently.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE CURRICULUM

The positive feature of the Curriculum Guide for Grade 7 is it aims to provide

quality education through the different learning activities given to the students. It also

aims to meet the standards for learning to be acquired by the students more effectively.

Most importantly, it focuses to the activities that will help students to develop their

macro skills adequately.

The Curriculum Guide also supports the teaching-learning process that usually

takes place inside the classroom, and it paves the way through excellence.

However, its flaws are very noticeable. We all know that a Curriculum Guide is

made only for the teachers to organize the sequence of the lessons/topics to be

discussed. The consideration of the learners’ needs were set a side. What the author

points out is that the Curriculum Guide is very objective. It looks far to the end. There’s

nothing wrong with beginning in the ending but there are so many things to consider,

especially upon creating or revising a curriculum.

There is a story entitled, “A Boy and His Dog” by Martha Brooks is about a 14-

year-old boy and his old, sick dog. It is a first-person narrative: the boy himself jumps

from memory to memory of his childhood growing up together with his precious dog. At

the beginning of the narrative we learn that the dog, called Alphonse, has many

problems. He is going blind and cannot walk properly. Buddy is sad that he can do

nothing to help Alphonse, and he knows that Alphonse does not understand why. But

the vet gives Alphonse some pills which make both boy and dog feel better for a while.
 The story will help the Grade 7 students to think critically and it will also enhance

their reading comprehension because it teaches values like loyalty or faithfulness. Using

that story, the students may also come up with mapping out of ideas by asking them to

write the different characteristics of Buddy and Alphonse and their similarities. Through

this, they are able to distinguish the two using adjectives and it also develops their

writing and thinking skills.

CONCLUSION

According to the study, the following conclusions are proven:

1. The most important contribution of the program to the students is to improve their

abilities and revolutionized the Philippines in terms of educational attainment.

2. The implementation of the K12 program is a must, because the primary objective of the

program is to improve the quality of education so that, when the students finished the

basic education they will be more productive.

3. In Grade 7, units focus more on Literature and Narrative Writing or on Informational

Text and Expository Writing.

4. The significance of acquiring writing skills is that it will help the students to develop their

selves as an individual and it will prepare them for global challenges.

 RECOMMENDATIONS

After drawing the conclusion, the researcher suggests:

1.      There should be a researcher having the comparison between the curriculum with

K+12 rule and the other traditional 6 years in Elementary 4 years in High School.

2.      After some time, 2018 to be exact, a researcher conducts a study the effectiveness of

the program.

3. The curriculum should also consider grammar as an essential aspect of English

Language the reason is that some Grade 7 students are having difficulties

understanding literary pieces because of poor comprehension.

4. To be more effective in acquiring writing skills, there should be alternative activities if

ever students were not able to achieve the expected outcome at the end of the school

year.

INSIGHTS

During the research, I felt quite exhausted about the K to 12 curriculum because

if I will be in a classroom situation for example in a public school that lacks resources

and facilities, teaching the students will be very difficult and challenging on my part the

reason is that the curriculum itself, needs materials, resources and facilities. So, it is not

favourable to those public schools that is located on remote areas. Many of us know
that most public schools don’t have these materials/facilities that will support the

curriculum.

I also noticed that if I will be teaching literature, it is very hard also on the part of

the students if they don’t have books. What I’m trying to say is there should be enough

budget before implementing such curriculum to prevent problems which are results of

insufficiency.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Braid, F. (2011, February 8). Enhanced k-12 basic education. Retrieved

from http://www.mb.com.ph/node/303270/enhanced-k12-ba

de Jesus, E. (2010, Jan 08). New year hopes for education . Retrieved

fromhttp://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20100108-246284/New-

Year-hopes-for-education
Discussion paper on the enhanced K+12 basic education program. (2010). Retrieved

from website: http://www.deped.gov.ph/cpanel/uploads/issuanceImg/K12 new.pdf

Maramag, S. K. (2010). Proposed k 12 basic education system in the philippines.

Retrieved fromhttp://blogwatch.tv/2011/05/proposed-k-12-basic-education-system-in-

the-philippines/

On 12-year basic education: Additional years, more problems [Web log message].

(2010, Aug 17). Retrieved from http://kabataanpartylist.com/blog/on-12-year-basic-

education-additional-years-more-problems/   

Our education system. (2011, May 16). Retrieved from

http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/

Quismundo, T. (2012, Feb 05). ‘deped’s k 12 good for foreign firms’. Retrieved

fromhttp://newsinfo.inquirer.net/139761/depeds-k12-good-for-foreign-firms

Uymatiao, J. (2012, January 22). Why we need deped’s k-12 program . Retrieved

fromhttp://www.thepoc.net/commentaries/14612-why-we-need-depeds-k-12-

program.html