TUMU COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, BOX19

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGES
EBS 239: CURRICULUM STUDIES IN ENGLISH: Course Level: 200 Credit Value:
2 Semester 2

UNIT 1
Definitions of curriculum
To define a curriculum in terms of „what an individual learner experiences as a result of
schooling‟ is an attempt to widen the focus. The emphasis here is upon the student as a self-
motivated learner. The definition which refers to a curriculum as „everything that is planned by
school personnel‟ is yet another orientation which emphasizes the planning aspect of curriculum.
Few would deny that classroom learning experiences for students need to be planned although
some unplanned activities will always occur (and these can have positive or negative effects).
Educators and Scholars define curriculum in different ways, in part because they bring to that
task different perceptions of what curriculum should be. As seen in the previous paragraphs
some educators see the curriculum as a list of subjects to be studied, while others see it as entire
course content. Still others perceive curriculum as a set of planned learning experiences offered
by teachers. Another group state that curriculum is a written plan of action. The following are
some of the well-known definitions that we can consider. The term curriculum is derived from
the Latin word currere, which means to run or to run the course. Based on this origin, some
authorities have defined curriculum as a course of study subject matter. This definition has been
found limiting and many authorities have modified it. The following are some of the definitions
of curriculum that you will find very useful by renowned scholars in curriculum studies and
education.
The word “curriculum” as it is defined from its early Latin origins means literally “to run a
course.” If one thinks of a marathon with mile and direction markers, signposts, water stations,
and officials and coaches along the route, this beginning definition is a metaphor for what the
curriculum has become in the education of our children.
Here are multiple definitions of curriculum, from Oliva (1997)
Curriculum is:

That which is taught in schools

A set of subjects.
Content
 A program of studies.
A set of materials
A sequence of courses.

A set of performance objectives

A course of study
Is everything that goes on within the school, including extra-class activities, guidance, and
interpersonal relationships.
Everything that is planned by school personnel.

A series of experiences undergone by learners in a school.

That which an individual learner experiences as a result of schooling.
Ralph Tyler (1949): -„All the learning of students which is planned by and directed by the school
to attain its educational goals.
Taba (1962): -„a plan for learning.”

D. K. Wheeler (1978): -„the planned experiences offered to the learner under the guidance of the
school.‟
Kerr (1968): -„all the learning, which is planned and guided by school whether it is carried on in
groups or individually.‟
E. Eisner (1985): -„a course, or a classroom can be conceived of as a series of planned events
that are intended to have educational consequences for one or more students.‟
G. Saylor (1981): -„a plan for providing sets of learning opportunities for persons to be
educated.‟
Oluoch (1982): -„all that is planned to enable the students acquire and develop the desired
knowledge, skills and attitudes.
M. Skilbeck (1984): -„the learning experiences of students, in so far as they are expressed or
anticipated in goals and objectives, plans and designs for learning and the implementation of
these plans and designs in school environments.‟
A. Glatthorn (1987): -„plans made for guiding learning in schools usually represented in
retrievable documents of several levels of generality and the actualization of those plans in the
classroom as experienced by the learners and as recorded by an observer; those experiences take
place in a learning environment which also influence what is learned.‟ J. Wiles & J. Bondi
(1989): -„a goal or set of values, which are activated through a development process culminating
in classroom experiences for student.
M. Print (1993): -„all the planned learning opportunities offered to learners by the educational
institution and the experiences learners encounter when the curriculum in implemented.
Classification of curriculum

Obviously the answer to this question is subject to interpretation. Since curriculum reflects the
models of instructional delivery chosen and used, some might indicate that curriculum could be
categorized according to
The common psychological classifications of the four families of learning theories
Social, Information Processing, Personalist, and Behavioral.

Longstreet and Shane have dubbed divisions in curricular orientations as: process culminating
in classroom experiences for student.
M. Print (1993): -„all the planned learning opportunities offered to learners by the educational
institution and the experiences learners encounter when the curriculum in implemented.
Classification of curriculum

Obviously the answer to this question is subject to interpretation. Since curriculum reflects the
models of instructional delivery chosen and used, some might indicate that curriculum could be
categorized according to
The common psychological classifications of the four families of learning theories
Social, Information Processing, Personalist, and Behavioral.

Longstreet and Shane have dubbed divisions in curricular orientations as:

Child-centred, Society-centred, knowledge-centred, or eclectic.
Common philosophical orientations of curriculum parallel those beliefs espoused by different
philosophical orientations –
Idealism, Realism, Perennialism, Essentialism, Experimentalism, Existentialism, Constructivism,
Re constructivism and the like.

1. The curriculum refers to the lessons and academic content taught in the a school or in a
specific course or programm.
2. Bestor(1956) The curriculum must consist of essentilally of disciplined study in five
great a) mother tongue and the system study of grammar, literature and writing b)
mathematics c) sciences d) history e) foreign language
3. Alberta Oliver(1977) curriculum is he educational program of the school divded into four
basic element 1. Program of studies 2. Program of experience 3. Program of servive
4.hidden curriculum
4. Caswell and Campbell 1935) Curriculum is composed of the experiences children hve
under the guidance of the teacher
 5. John Dewey defines curriculum ass a continuous recnstruction, moving from the
leaener’s present experience out into that represented by the organized bodies of trurth
that we call studies …. The various studies are themselves experience- they are that of the
race.

TYPES OF CURRICULUM
There are many types of curriculum design, but here we will discuss only the few. Types or
patterns are being followed in educational institutions.

1. Subject Centred curriculum

2. Teacher centred curriculum
3. Learner centred curriculum
4. Activity/Experience curriculum
5. Integrated curriculum

6. Core curriculum
7. Broad field curriculum
8. Hidden curriculum

Subject Centred Curriculum

Subject matter is the most used and accepted curriculum Design, it is also the oldest curriculum
Design. We see the earliest example in the medieval era in the Middle Ages the monastery and
Cathedrals and the organizations of the seven liberal arts in the schools of ancient Greece and
Rome. The seven liberal arts were consisted of two divisions:
1. Trivium
2. Quadrivium

These subjects were broad. In the modern period the Trivium was further divided to include
literature and history and the quadrivium to include algebra, trigonometry, geography, botany,
zoology, physics and chemistry. In this manner subjects added one after the other so much so
that in 1930 there were over 300 different subjects.
After centuries the curriculum design of the seven liberal arts are still the nucleus of the subject
curriculum. In a subject base curriculum every subject is separate unit. In this kind of curriculum
four or five subject are placed in curriculum and each subject has a separate teacher. Every
teacher try to teach his own subject, no one intervene in the subject of other
Characteristics of Subject Curriculum
1. Information for future use
Importance is given to acquire knowledge and information for future use, only those subjects are
considered important which have a value and the individual have benefit from it in future
(vocational importance). Adult problems are given importance and the problems of children in
youth are ignored
2. Progress is measured to the extent the students learned the subject
In this type of curriculum subject matter is the most important thing to learn therefore the
learning is measured by how much and well the subject matter has been mastered by the pupil.
Frequent tests are given to students to check the degree of the achievement in the subject.
3. Pre- determined uniform standard of knowledge:
There is a uniform standard for all the students to pass the subject else they well have to repeat
the subject therefore the experts of the subject centred approach strongly support the minimum
standards for examination so all achieved the set standard and qualify the examination. The
teacher tries to help the weak students and to bring him to the set standard and pass the exam or
repeat a grade.
4. Each subject is a separate entity (unit) with a logical organization of its own:
Importance is given to the acquisition of skills, facts and information for vocational purpose in
different logically organized subjects. The teaching staffs teaches different subjects and they do
not discuss or plan subject together.
5. Practice in skills is emphasized:
The main aspect of subject base curriculum is the continuous practice or drill in a specific skill, it
is one of the typical characteristics of the subject base curriculum. For this purpose multiple
methods are used; evaluations, Exercise session, tutoring classes are often dedicated to such type
of practices and all the students are given equal opportunities to participate.

6. Subject matter is selected by adults/experts for teaching learning situation:

The content of the subject is selected in advance before the teaching learning process; the subject
matter is logically organized from simple to complex with the help of the experts, specialists,
teacher‟s supervisors, planners, writers and administrators.
7. Learning subject matter is an end in itself:

The main focus of the teachers, administrators and students are to complete the subject matter, to
cover all the topics which are provided in the course out line by Listening to lectures, studying
the recommended textbook. It is all preparation for examination on the part of students and
teachers and it shows the influence of the subject centred approach. For the teacher to finish the
textbook on time is a great accomplishment.

3.1.2 Requirements for the Operation of Subject centred Curriculum

1. Trained Teachers with mastery in a subjects and expert in methodology are required to teach.
2. A separate classroom for each subject and each level.
3. A fixed time table is required for different subjects according to importance of the subjects
and age in curriculum.

4. Special arrangements for guidance physical education, Indoor and outdoor activities, tours and
examinations etc.
5. Need of Text books and guide books for subject centred curriculum.

3.1.3 Criticism on Subject Centred Curriculum

Teacher has the control over pupil experiences, Learning activities and conduct. The teacher
follows the decision of others in the planning and evaluation process. The teacher and
headmaster formulate the rules for the classrooms management. They demand a very stern
discipline and they want a quite classroom atmosphere, teacher thinks it is the best situation for
teaching learning process Learner-centred Curriculum

The supporters of learner-centred Curriculum give importance to individual development and

they wants to organize the curriculum according to the needs and interest of learners, there are
fundamental differences in this approach and the subject-centred design.
This movement from the traditional curriculum towards a programme that stresses the interests
and needs of students, This approach was used by Rousseau in the education of Emile, then
Dewy in his laboratory School in 1896-1904. it is believed that all of these twentieth-century
efforts reflect, the influence of Dewey.
It is a fundamental principle of education that the beginning of each instruction it shall be
connected with the previous experience of learners. The purpose is that the experience and the
capacities that have been developed in early lessons, it should provide a starting point for further
learning. The current importance given to student-centred programmes may not always
acknowledge the Dewey‟s philosophy and influence on the movement to incorporate more
student-serving learning opportunities into the curriculum.
The association for the Advancement of Progressive Education formed in 1919, had its aim “The
development of the individual, based upon the scientific study of his mental, physical, spiritual,
and social characteristics and needs”. The views of this association, later called the Progressive
Education Association (PEA), were compatible with the ideas of Dewey‟s as indicated by their
principles:
1. Freedom to develop naturally.
2. Interest is the motive of all work.
3. The teacher is a guide, not a task-master.

4. Scientific study of pupil development.

5. Greater attention to all that affects the child‟s physical development.
6. Co-operation between school and home to meet the needs of child-life.
7. The progressive school a leader in educational movement.
The aim of using the learner-centred curriculum on the part of curriculum planners to interpret
the needs and interests design as one based on common needs and interests of learners rather
than on those of the particular population to be served. Reflected in curriculum plans, this
interpretation could and sometimes did, become the rationale for teaching. Research on learner
centred curriculum in recent years made it possible for curriculum planners to develop a better
learner-centred curriculum. Modern learning theories and dissatisfaction of students and parents
from the old curriculum are moving curriculum and instruction toward a design that focus on real
student needs and interests.
Characteristics
The curriculum design on the needs and interests of student has these characteristic and features.
1. The curriculum plan is based on knowledge of learner‟s needs and interests in general and
diagnosis the specific needs and interests of the population served by the plan.
2. The curriculum plan is flexible, to accept new modification to conform to the needs and
interests of particular learner‟s In fact, in some curriculum designs the learner may develop his
or her own curriculum plan with the guidance of a teacher.
3. The learner is consulted and tutored individually at difficult points in the curriculum and
instructional process.
Learner centered approach is an example of the applications of needs and interests (activities)
approach. Subject obstacles were lowered or removed as teachers combined subjects to study
social problems identified by students.
Students in the experimental schools were more successful in college. This practice has ever
lasting effect on secondary education.

a. Applications of learner Centred Curriculum:

If the learning opportunities are not based on the needs and interests of the learners then there is
no assurance that the learners well equipped with the skills to participate effectively in social
activities; students as adults and good citizens. Therefore we see that the needs and interests
design as especially appropriate for the personal development, but not for the social competence
domain.
The most common approach to meet the needs and interests of learners is the grouping of
students for special programmes believed by the planners to match the needs and interests of the
students concerned.
The major use of the needs and interests design in curriculum planning is in the provision of
options for individual students. For example, the middle schools provide many special interests
activate exploratory courses and other experiences aimed at giving each student opportunities to
explore his own interest.
Currently the movement in higher education and expansion of it by “Open University”
arrangements illustrates the feature of the needs and interests design. Drunker (1969) argues for
continuing education which assumes “that the more experience in life and work people have, the
more eager they will be to learn and the more capable they will be of learning.

The Community-Centred Curriculum

Meaning

The Community-Centred Curriculum is meant to reach out beyond the classroom and into the
community where the world can be changed by students and teachers. The curriculum is based
on societal issues, and the goal of the curriculum is to explore and solve those issues. This is very
much an activist model, where students are encouraged to be leading activists in their community
where life problems, community affairs, and real-world problems exist. The foundation of the
community centred curriculum is built on real-world problems, and the content is various social
issues. In the community centred curriculum, students are agents of change seeking to make a
difference in their community.
Characteristics of the Community-Cantered Curriculum
The main Characteristics of the community centred curriculum is the group and group action.
The community centred curriculum is a problem-solving curriculum, and these problems are to
be solved through the participation and efforts of the whole group. Students work to find the
social relevance of their efforts and how they can improve their citizenship by the projects they
take on. The experiences that the students participate in in the real world are alive, organic, real,
and life changing. Students are consistently working to make the world a better place. “young
people are at a formative, idealistic stage of their life, and they need to learn that they can and
should make a difference in the world” (ellis, 74)
Teacher’s role in the community-centred curriculum
In the community centred curriculum teachers have a very important role. They serve as
facilitator: organizing group efforts, showing students that they are in this together, that they
need each other, and that they have to have a group to do this. Some often question why this role
is so important. We need to realize that children are not born with all the necessary social skills
to work together as a group. Therefore, the teacher helps children develop their social skills and
create a climate for collaboration and team building. These skills and this environment are
essential for success within the community centred curriculum. The teacher is responsible for
turning their class into a problem-solving unit. They help their unit solve their community based
problems by planning and coordinating trips into the community. They are also responsible for
making connections with community members who will further help the students with their
projects. Since teamwork is such a large part of this curriculum, teachers often work with
teachers throughout the school in order to help students achieve their goals.
Student’s role in the community-centred curriculum
The students‟ role in the community centred curriculum is perhaps the most important. They do
not sit at their desk with textbooks doing never ending class work. Students are responsible for
being aware of the world around them and the issues that impact their life. It is from these life
issues and problems that the community centred curriculum is developed. Students‟ goal is to
leave the world a better place than they found it through group efforts. The esprit de corps (the
common spirit) is a focal point of the curriculum and developed as the students work together in
group projects. Students are to engage in the culture and become involved in the community that
lies beyond their school and to make a difference in that community. Participation if the true key
of the community centred curriculum, and students must work together if they wish to succeed.
Students start their learning process with a driving question. They then take this question and
explore it through inquiry using applied knowledge. Students then engage with their peers,
teachers, and community members in collaborative activities. The students‟ project learning can
be scaffold by various supports including technology. Finally, students create tangible projects
that will address their driving question.
Learning environment of the community-centred curriculum
The community centred curriculum requires a classroom like any other school. Students come
together to discuss community issues and decide where their course of study should go.
Therefore, the classrooms and schools that participate in the community centred curriculum are
like a democracy. Students make many of the key decisions. While there are the traditional grade
levels based mostly on age, cross-grade level activities are very common place. Students must
work together to solve particular issues, and sometimes that requires other grade levels. Since the
community centred curriculum focuses on the real world, the real world is the community
centred curriculum‟s learning laboratory. Students spend much of their time outside of the
classroom and school, and in the community investigating. The community centred curriculum
has integrated studies where students and teachers work backwards from the problem, trying to
find out how they can be of help.
Assessments in the community-centred curriculum
Assessments in the community centred curriculum usually focus around the students‟ efforts and
outcomes. In the community centred curriculum students are working to solve problems within
their community, and part of their assessment focuses on the outcomes of their efforts to solve
the problem. Therefore, students are also assessed on their ability to apply their knowledge and
skills when trying to solve the particular problem at hand. The community centred curriculum
also allows for students to develop their citizenship and leadership abilities, as well as fostering
their social growth. A group reflection takes place after a project has been completed where
students can get together and share any and all thoughts about the project and what the next steps
should be.
Types of community centred curriculum assessment include: written work, observations,
presentations, informal discussions and questions, project designs, and final products. Teachers
are not the only ones involved in the assessment process, students and peers are also actively
involved. Students are given the chance to create their own rubric which the teacher can use to
assess their learning.
Advantages of a community-centred curriculum
(a) Increases students awareness of social issues and current events one of the benefits of the
community-centred curriculum is that social issues are the foundation of the curriculum. Instead
of spending their day at a desk reading textbooks and doing seatwork, students are called to
participate in real world activities. The focus of the curriculum is on real life problems that are
occurring in the classroom, the local community and around the world.
(b) Fosters positive social interactions
In the community centred curriculum, students are constantly interacting with one another, and
team building, collaborative effort, and cooperative learning are all a large part of the school
experience. Group projects dominate the curriculum, which requires frequent collaboration and
fosters the social skills that are necessary for participation in a group. The principles of
democracy, participation and citizenship are stressed.

Social Reconstructionist Curriculum

Social Reconstructionist are interested in the relationship between curriculum and the social,
political and economic development of society. Social Reconstructionist are convinced that
education can effect social change, citing, for example, literacy campaigns that have contributed
to successful political revolutions.
Aspects of re-constructionism appeared in American curriculum thought in the 1920s and 1930s.
Harold Rugg was concerned about the values for which the school should work.He tried to
awaken his peers to the “lag” between the curriculum, a “ lazy giant” and the culture, with its
fast-paced change and resultant staggering social dislocations. Rugg‟s textbooks, teaching and
professional leadership had one overriding quality- the spirit of social criticism. He wanted
learners to use newly emerging concepts from social sciences and aesthetics to identify and solve
current problems.

In early 1950s, the late Theodore Brameld outlined the distinctive features of social
reconstructionism :
First, he believed in a commitment to building a new culture. Brameld was infused with the
conviction that people are in the midst of a revolutionary period from which the common people
will emerge as controllers of the industrial system, public services, and of cultural and natural
resources.
Second, Brameld felt that the working people should control all principal institutions and
resources if the world is to become genuinely democratic. Teachers should ally themselves with
the organised working people. A way should be found to enlist the majority of people of all races
and religions into a great democratic body with power to enforce its policies.

Third Brameld believed that the school should help the individual, not only to develop socially,
but to learn how to participate in social planning as well.
There are many premises of social reconstruction and the different directions taken by different
social re-constructionist such as revolution, critical inquiry, and futurism. A distinction is also
made between a curriculum of reconstruction, which attempts to change the social order, and a
curriculum of social adaptation, which helps students fit into a world they never made.
Purpose of the social Reconstructionist curriculum

The primary purpose of the social Reconstructionist curriculum is to confront the learner with the
many severe problems that humankind faces. Social Reconstructionist believe that these
problems are not the exclusive concern of „Social studies, but of every discipline, including
economics, aesthetics, chemistry and mathematics. Now it is a critical period where the crisis is
universal, and the widespread nature of the crisis must be emphasized in the curriculum.

The social Reconstructionist curriculum has no universal objectives and content.For example, the
first year of such a curriculum might be devoted to formulating goals for political and economic
reconstruction. Activities related to this objective might include the following :
1. A critical survey of the community (for example , one might collect information on local
patterns of savings and expenditures)

2. A study relating the local economy to national and worldwide situations

3. A study treating the influence of historic causes and trends on the local economic situations
4. An examinations of political practices in relation to economic factors
5. A consideration of proposals for change in political practices
6. A determination of which proposals satisfies the needs of the most people

Objectives in later years of the curriculum might include the identification of problems, methods,
needs, and goals in science and art; the evaluation in the relationship between education and
human relations; and the identification of aggressive strategies for effective change

Different types of curriculum

1. Explicit ( stated curriculum)
2. Hidden (unofficial curriculum
3. Absent or null (excluded curriculum)

Subject-centered Curriculum Design

Used for courses like Maths, Biology, etc. The curriculum is designed as per the subject being
taught. Each topic in the subject is taught as per the examples. This design model doesn’t take
into the picture the capabilities of the students taking up the course and hence may not be
suitable for all.

Learner-centred Curriculum Design

This design aims to customize the curriculum as per the needs of the student. Its core philosophy
is that each student is unique and there is no standard curriculum which can fit all of them.
Differentiated instruction plans can be prepared to suit each student as per their requirement. But
since there is a constraint of time and also to figure out what each student needs uniquely this
method also has its disadvantages.

Problem-centred Curriculum Design

This method aims at exposing the students to practical situations and problems so that they
can apply their knowledge to solve them. This method helps the students to remember what
they learned and the knowledge sticks with them for a long time. The disadvantage is that
this method doesn’t suit all the student.
Implicit Curriculum

Implicit, or hidden, curriculum refers to lessons that students take from teachers' attitudes and the
school environment. This learning can be either conscious or unconscious. For instance, the
location of a teacher's desk at the front of a classroom underscores his authority and positions
him as the center of the class's attention. A school's rigid class schedule may make students
perceive learning as an inflexible and authoritative process. Implicit curriculum can also refer to
how educational institutions reflect larger social norms. A teacher who models a society's
dismissive attitude toward a subject, for example, will communicate that attitude to his students.

Explicit vs. Implicit Curricula

The difference between explicit and implicit curriculum is the difference between what is
formally intended to be taught by a class versus what happens to be taught by an environment.
The explicit curriculum refers to intentional instructive techniques. A teacher can purposefully
change the environment of her class as an intentional learning experience. For example, she may
have the class role-play a setting where normal classroom restrictions do not apply. This explicit
curriculum is still affected by the implicit curriculum, because the underlying structures of the
classroom and school continue to teach students.

Teachers and administrators may be aware of how implicit curriculum operates within their
school. However, that operation is not a result of intentional decisions made specifically to teach
students. For instance, students may learn about authority from a teacher's emphasis on tardiness.
However, unless this is a specific teaching strategy that has been set out ahead of time, it is an
example of implicit curriculum.

Null Curriculum

Null curriculum is closely related to explicit and implicit curricula. It refers specifically to any
subjects that are not covered within the context of a class. This may refer to subjects that are
passed over due to a teacher's bias or larger social prejudices. It may also refer to subjects that
are discouraged or explicitly banned from being taught by school authorities. A teacher should
consider her null curriculum carefully. By not teaching a subject area, she communicates its
irrelevance.
Explicit Curriculum

Explicit curriculum refers to the plan for learning set by a teacher or school board. A class's
explicit curriculum is what that class is designed to teach. This includes the topics covered by the
class and any documents included in the lesson plan, such as textbooks, films and web sources.
Explicit curriculum also refers to a teacher's plan for her class, regardless of whether this plan is
seen by her studen Type of Curriculum Definition

1. Overt, explicit, or written curriculum Is simply that which is written as part of formal
instruction of schooling experiences. It may refer to a curriculum document, texts, films, and
supportive teaching materials that are overtly chosen to support the intentional instructional
agenda of a school. Thus, the overt curriculum is usually confined to those written
understandings and directions formally designated and reviewed by administrators, curriculum
directors and teachers, often collectively.

2. Societal curriculum (or social curricula) As defined by Cortes (1981). Cortes defines this
curriculum as:…[the] massive, ongoing, informal curriculum of family, peer groups,
neighborhoods, churches, organizations, occupations, mass media, and other socializing forces
that “educate” all of us throughout our lives. 24

This type of curricula can now be expanded to include the powerful effects of social media
(YouTube; Facebook; Twitter; Pinterest, etc) and how it actively helps create new perspectives,
and can help shape both individual and public opinion.

3. The hidden or covert curriculum That which is implied by the very structure and nature of
schools, much of what revolves around daily or established routines.

Longstreet and Shane (1993) offer a commonly accepted definition for this term – the “hidden
curriculum,” which refers to the kinds of learnings children derive from the very nature and
organizational design of the public school, as well as from the behaviors and attitudes of teachers
and administrators…. ” 46

Examples of the hidden curriculum might include the messages and lessons derived from the
mere organization of schools — the emphasis on: sequential room arrangements; the cellular,
timed segments of formal instruction; an annual schedule that is still arranged to accommodate
an agrarian age; disciplined messages where concentration equates to student behaviors were
they are sitting up straight and are continually quiet; students getting in and standing in line
silently; students quietly raising their hands to be called on; the endless competition for grades,
and so on. The hidden curriculum may include both positive or negative messages, depending on
the models provided and the perspectives of the learner or the observer.

In what I term floating quotes, popularized quotes that have no direct, cited sources, David P.
Gardner is reported to have said: We learn simply by the exposure of living. Much that passes for
education is not education at all but ritual. The fact is that we are being educated when we know
it least.
4. The null curriculumThat which we do not teach, thus giving students the message that these
elements are not important in their educational experiences or in our society. Eisner offers some
major points as he concludes his discussion of the null curriculum. The major point I have been
trying to make thus far is that schools have consequences not only by virtue of what they do
teach, but also by virtue of what they neglect to teach. What students cannot consider, what they
don’t processes they are unable to use, have consequences for the kinds of lives they lead. 103

Eisner (1985, 1994) first described and defined aspects of this curriculum. He states: There is
something of a paradox involved in writing about a curriculum that does not exist. Yet, if we are
concerned with the consequences of school programs and the role of curriculum in shaping those
consequences, then it seems to me that we are well advised to consider not only the explicit and
implicit curricula of schools but also what schools do not teach. It is my thesis that what schools
do not teach may be as important as what they do teach. I argue this position because ignorance
is not simply a neutral void; it has important effects on the kinds of options one is able to
consider, the alternatives that one can examine, and the perspectives from which one can view a
situation or problems. …97

From Eisner’s perspective the null curriculum is simply that which is not taught in schools.
Somehow, somewhere, some people are empowered to make conscious decisions as to what is to
be included and what is to be excluded from the overt (written) curriculum. Since it is physically
impossible to teach everything in schools, many topics and subject areas must be intentionally
excluded from the written curriculum. But Eisner’s position on the “null curriculum” is that
when certain subjects or topics are left out of the overt curriculum, school personnel are sending
messages to students that certain content and processes are not important enough to study.
Unfortunately, without some level of awareness that there is also a well-defined implicit agenda
in schools, school personnel send this same type of message via the hidden curriculum. These are
important to consider when making choices. We teach about wars but not peace, we teach about
certain select cultures and histories but not about others. Both our choices and our omissions
send messages to students.

5. Phantom curriculum The messages prevalent in and through exposure to any type of
media. These components and messages play a major part in the enculturation of students into
the predominant meta-culture, or in acculturating students into narrower or generational
subcultures.

6. Concomitant curriculum What is taught, or emphasized at home, or those experiences that

are part of a family’s experiences, or related experiences sanctioned by the family. (This type of
curriculum may be received at church, in the context of religious expression, lessons on values,
ethics or morals, molded behaviors, or social experiences based on the family’s preferences.)

7. Rhetorical curriculum Elements from the rhetorical curriculum are comprised from ideas
offered by policymakers, school officials, administrators, or politicians. This curriculum may
also come from those professionals involved in concept formation and content changes; or from
those educational initiatives resulting from decisions based on national and state reports, public
speeches, or from texts critiquing outdated educational practices. The rhetorical curriculum may
also come from the publicized works offering updates in pedagogical knowledge.
8. Curriculum-in-use The formal curriculum (written or overt) comprises those things in
textbooks, and content and concepts in the district curriculum guides. However, those “formal”
elements are frequently not taught. The curriculum-in-use is the actual curriculum that is
delivered and presented by each teacher.

9. Received curriculum Those things that students actually take out of classrooms; those
concepts and content that are truly learned and remembered.

10. The internal curriculum Processes, content, knowledge combined with the experiences and
realities of the learner to create new knowledge. While educators should be aware of this
curriculum, they have little control over the internal curriculum since it is unique to each student.
Educators can explore this curricula by using instructional assessments like “exit slips,”
reflective exercises, or debriefing discussions to see what students really remember from a
lesson. It is often very enlightening and surprising to find out what has meaning for learners and
what does not.

11. The electronic curriculum Those lessons learned through searching the Internet for
information, or through using e-forms of communication. (Wilson, 2004) This type of
curriculum may be either formal or informal, and inherent lessons may be overt or covert, good
or bad, correct or incorrect depending on ones’ views. Students who use the Internet on a regular
basis, both for recreational purposes (as in blogs, wikis, chatrooms, listserves, through instant
messenger, on-line conversations, or through personal e-mails and sites like Twitter, Facebook,
or Youtube) and for personal online research and information gathering are bombarded with all
types of media and messages. Much of this information may be factually correct, informative, or
even entertaining or inspirational. But there is also a great deal of other e-information that may
be very incorrect, dated, passé, biased, perverse, or even manipulative.

The implications of the electronic curriculum for educational practices are that part of the overt
curriculum needs to include lessons on how to be wise consumers of information, how to
critically appraise the accuracy and correctness of e-information, as well as how to determine the
reliability of electronic sources. Also, students need to learn how to be artfully discerning about
the usefulness and appropriateness of certain types of information. Like other forms of social
interaction, students need to know that there are inherent lessons to be learned about appropriate
and acceptable “netiquette” and online behaviors, to include the differences between “fair and
legal usage,” vs. plagiarism and information piracy.
Model Questions

1. Give the different perspective for categorisation of curriculum.

2. Explain two main characteristics of subject centred curriculum.

3. Explain the criticisms about the subject centred curriculum.

4. What is the main focus of community centred curriculum? Discuss.

5. What are the teacher‟s roles in the Society-Centred Curriculum?

6. Explain Social Reconstructionist curriculum with reference to Characteristics, student‟s role

and purpose.

7. Differentiate the subject centred curriculum and learner centred curriculum.

8. Write down the principles of learner centred curriculum according to PEA (Progressive
Education Association).

9. What is the main focus of community centred curriculum? Discuss.

10. What are the teacher‟s roles in the Society-Centred Curriculum? Discuss

The general curriculum and the content-based curriculum

The general curriculum refers to what the general education student are being taught. The school
curriculum comprises set of interlocking components including essential learning experiences,
generic skills values and attitudes and key learnng areas. The frame work sets out what students
should know, value and be able to do at the various stages of schooling.

CONTENT –BASED CURRICULUM

Curriculum content simply means the totality of what is to be taught in a school system. The
content component of teaching and learning situation refers to the important ant facts, principles
and concepts to be taught. these content must be in line with the learning expeperinces and there
be clear cut objectives to be achieved by the end of each respective lesson.it deals with the
knowledge ,skills ,attitude, and values that learners are exposed to. Content involves subject
matter drawn on the basis of problems , themes or topics cutting across traditional subjects
UNIT TWO(2)

Definition of teaching

In education, teaching is the concerted sharing of knowledge and experience, which is usually
organized within a discipline and, more generally, the provision of stimulus to the psychological
and intellectual growth of a person by another person or artifact. Learn more in: From
Broadcasting to Transforming: The Social Construction of Knowledge for Understanding
Lawfulness2.Preplanned behaviours informed by learning principles and child development
theory which directs and guides instruction to ensure desired students outcomes

H C Morrison:- Teaching is an intimate contact between the more mature personality and a less
mature one.

(2) Jackson:- Teaching is a face to face encounters between two or more persons, one of whom (
teacher) intends to effect certain changes in the other participants ( students).

2. “Teaching is form of interpersonal influenceaimed at changing the behavior potential

ofanother person”. -N.L. Gage(1962)“Teaching is an arrangement and manipulation ofa situation
in which there are gaps andobstructions which an individual will seek toovercome and from
which he will learn in thecourse of doing so”. -John Brubacher

3. Concept of TeachingTraditional Concept: Teaching is the act of imparting instructions to the

learners in the classroom situation. The teacher gives information to the students , or one of the
students reads from the text-book, while the other students silently follow him in their text-
books.Modern Concept: Teaching is to cause the pupil to learn and acquire the desired
knowledge, skills and also desirable ways of living in the society. It is a process in which learner,
teacher, curriculum and other variables are organized is a systematic and psychological way to
attain some pre-determined goals.

4. Concept of Teaching(Expert Views/Definitions: According to Ryburn, “Teaching is a

relationship which keeps the child to develop all his powers.” According to B. O. Smith,
“Teaching is a system of actions intended to produce learning.” According to Thomas F. Green,
“Teaching is the task of teacher which is performed for the development of the child.”

5. According to Burton, “Teaching is thestimulation, guidance, direction andencouragement of

learning

1. features of teaching
• Begins class promptly and in a well-organized way.
• Treats students with respect and caring.
• Provides the significance/importance of information to be learned.
 • Provides clear explanations. Holds attention and respect of students….practices effective
classroom management.
• Uses active, hands-on student learning.
• Varies his/her instructional techniques.
• Provides clear, specific expectations for assignments.
• Provides frequent and immediate feedback to students on their performance.
• Praises student answers and uses probing questions to clarify/elaborate answers.
• Provides many concrete, real-life, practical examples.
• Draws inferences from examples/models….and uses analogies.
• Creates a class environment which is comfortable for students….allows students to speak
freely.
• Teaches at an appropriately fast pace, stopping to check student understanding and
engagement.
• Communicates at the level of all students in class.
• Has a sense of humor!
• Uses nonverbal behavior, such as gestures, walking around, and eye contact to reinforce
his/her comments.
• Presents him/herself in class as ‘real people.’
• Focuses on the class objective and does not let class get sidetracked.
• Uses feedback from students (and others) to assess and improve teaching.
• Reflects on own teaching to improve it.\

What Makes a Great Teacher

1. Excellent Communication Skills

You'd think that the most important quality for a teacher to possess would be knowledge, since
that's what the job is all about, after all: sharing knowledge. But no matter how knowledgable a
person is, if they can't convey what they know to others in a way that is not only understandable
but engaging, the knowledge itself is useless.

If a teacher's communication skills (verbal, nonverbal, and visual, which involve speaking,
writing, imagery, body language, and the organization of ideas into understandable structures)
are good, they can convey knowledge with better skill and results.

Since a large part of good communication is knowing when the audience has understood, these
teachers notice when they have communicated effectively and when they have not. They will
often paraphrase, illustrate, or take another tact entirely when it becomes apparent that their
communication has fallen flat or has not reached or connected to the entire class.

A good teacher notices when even one student among many does not understand, and makes an
effort to communicate individually when necessary.
Communication also involves explaining exactly what the assignments and expectations are.
When students fully understand what is expected of them, it's much easier for them to deliver.

Interestingly, not only are communication skills incredibly important in the classroom, but they
are among the most important skills in any setting. According to a recent survey by the Pew
Research Center, most Americans view communication as the most important skill for long term
success “to get ahead in the world today.” So by being good communicators, teachers are
modeling important lifetime skills by example.

2.Superior Listening Skills

In addition to being good communicators, good teachers also happen to be excellent listeners. As
the Turkish proverb says,"If speaking is silver, then listening is gold." Of course, effective
communication only happens when at least two parties are actively involved in the process
together, and the only way to know if communication is heard is by asking (and listening to the
answer).

So in an ideal learning environment, teachers ask important questions and then actively,
carefully, empathetically listen to what learners have to say. When good teachers develop this
patient quality in themselves, they start to become great. Great teachers listen hard and then use
what they hear to improve the communication. Deep Knowledge of and Passion for the Subject
Matter

There is a saying that a teacher is only as good as what they know. If a teacher lacks knowledge
in a subject, that dearth of understanding is passed along to the students. And keep in mind that
although formal education is one way a teacher might gain the knowledge they need in order to
teach well, there are other ways.

Passion is infectious. Love of a subject matter inspires a person to learn more, dig deeper, and
think harder about it, so passion inspires deeper knowledge. The best teachers are those that
clearly love their subjects and pass that passion and desire to learn more on to their students.
When the teacher not only has the right answer to a student's question but can expand the
discussion with vivid examples, amusing illustrative anecdotes, and relevant facts, and when the
teacher has a deep well of understanding and expertise to draw on, then every lesson is enriched,
and every student might be inspired.

4. The Ability to Develop Strong Relationships With Students

It's not enough just to know what you're talking about, though, and a great teacher doesn't only
teach from the head. In the best classrooms, hearts are involved, as well. In order to create
successful learning environments, great teachers need to be able to build caring relationships
with their students. It is the caring student-teacher relationship that facilitates the exchange of
information.

The best teachers are often the ones that care the most deeply, not only about their jobs, but
about every student they serve. It's not enough just to love the subject matter: Great teachers also
share a love of students. Caring about the students is what inspires teachers to reach out, do
better, communicate more, ask, learn, refine, and improve. This is something that can't be taught,
not even in the best school.

“ Those who know, do. Those who understand, teach.”— Aristotle

5. Friendliness and Approachability

Because it's the teacher's job to help students learn, they must be easy to approach. Students will
have questions that can't be answered if the teacher isn't friendly and easy to talk to. The crabby,
unapproachable, terse, mean, arrogant, rude, all-business teacher can't last long. If the students
think of their teacher as their enemy, they certainly won't learn much. The best teachers are the
most open, welcoming, and easy to approach.

6. Preparation and Organization Skills

No matter how charming you are, if you show up for a class without an excellent plan for how to
teach your material, you won't succeed. Great teachers spend endless hours outside of the
classroom preparing, designing lessons, learning more (both about their subject matter
specifically and how to teach, in general), participating in professional development, and
thinking of fresh and interesting ways to reach the students.

The best teachers have excellent lesson plans, lectures, and assignments that they continually
improve. They have studied extensively and read widely about how to teach and methods to
facilitate learning. They structure their days, lessons, and units in a way that fosters maximal
understanding and interest. They collaborate with other teachers and attend classes to learn more
about their subject matter and how to best convey it. They are available outside of class, and they
grade papers quickly, writing personal notes to help their students understand.

A good teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.— Henry Adams

7. A Strong Work Ethic

Anyone who's done it knows that teaching is one of the hardest jobs there is. The secret that
keeps them going is that great teachers really, really want to be great teachers, and they'll stop at
nothing do succeed. A great teacher will do almost anything to help their students. They always
make time and they're always willing to help. If something doesn't work, they'll work tirelessly
until they find a solution. A teacher's work is never done but the best ones never stop trying, they
never quit.

8. The Ability to Build Community

The best teachers understand the importance of building supportive and collaborative
environments. In addition to forming caring relationships with each student, the best teachers
foster healthy autually respectful relationships between the students. They know how to establish
guidelines and assign roles to enlist every student's help and participation. Every student feels
like they are not only accepted by the larger group, but that their presence is a necessary
ingredient in the classroom's magic. Their classrooms are like little communities where each
individual plays a part and feels at home.

9. High Expectations for All

Studies show that a teacher's expectations have a huge impact on student achievement. The best
teachers have high expectations for all of their students. They expect a lot from each student, but
those expectations are both challenging and realistic. This doesn't mean they hold all students to
the same high standard, but instead that they know what each student is capable of individually
and strive to help each one attain their personal best.

PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TEACHERS

PERSONAL: (It takes guts to be a teacher)

o God-fearing

o Selfless

o Generous

o Invulnerable

o Personal aspects are stable

o Kind

o Open to learn more and more things

o Joyful

3. principles of teaching English

 PRINCIPLE – from the Latin word “princeps” meaning the beginning and end of all things; a
comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption (Webster)

“Did I achieve my goal? Did I do the right thing? If not, what will I do next? “As a teacher, we
should make a difference” “Principles are so important” THREE TYPES OF PRINCIPLES

o STARTING PRINCIPLES – involves the nature of the learner and his psychological and
physiological endowments which make education possible.

o GUIDING PRINCIPLES – refers to the procedure, methods of instruction or agglomeration of

techniques by which the learner and teacher may work together towards to the accomplishments
of the goals or objectives of education.

o ENDING PRINCIPLES – refers to educational goals, objectives, outcomes, purposes or results

of the whole educational scheme to which teaching and learning are directed.

In applying principles, we used our common sense.

COMMON SENSE – ability to do and to say a right thing at the right time in the right way to the
right person.

Seven principles of second language learning have been identified as critical to successfully
teaching ESL students.

1) Know your student and motivation to learn the second language

One of the most important things to do is to get to know your student you are sharing your
classroom space and time with. Getting to know your student will go a long way in building a
strong relationship and bonding with them. This knowledge will greatly help educators respond
in an informed way as they work with their English language learners. It is one thing to read
about English language learners and discuss theoretical models in the setting of a university
classroom; it is another to work with the students directly and apply what teachers know.
However, when teachers take the time to study each student carefully, they gain a new
perspective on all their English learners. Knowing your student not only makes you a better
teacher but makes the student a better learner. By knowing one learner, teachers can gain insight
into commonalities among other learners that helps with effective teaching and learning.

2) Create a welcoming classroom environment

An important step in helping ESL students succeed is building their confidence and comfort
level by making them feel welcome in the classroom. This pays great dividends in terms of
academic success as they build positive relationships with their academic community,
teacher, peer, paraprofessionals, resource teacher, and other classroom volunteers. Making
the instructional classroom environment, welcoming and comfortable to students is critical
in learning as it helps to build a relationship with ESL students. Let there be a sense of
openness, students should perceive the teacher as caring and thoughtful that you care about
 them and want to be there for them. Some ways are to bring a students’ culture into the
classroom by using visuals and pictures of student’s cultural tradition or festivals or foods
with labels in both languages is a good start. Labeling items in the classroom in two or three
languages benefits them visually. They come to see that their language, heritage, and culture
is valued. It also allows for opportunities for them to share about their culture. Always be
consistent and fair with all students. Grouping students with a respectable and trustworthy
partner can help guide when the teacher is not available. This is beneficial not only for ESL
student but also for the partner, as both are learning about each other’s culture and
vocabulary, or when feasible, inviting a staff member from the school who speaks the
student’s language to work with the student. Grouping or pairing students with friends that
speak the same language greatly helps the ESL student in case they are not getting what the
teacher says. Other students chime in to translate the assignment in the native language to
assist them with directions. Technologies like Remind and ClassDojo all have the ability to
translate material for teachers, and teachers can print, email, or text the information they
need to send to their parents as necessary. Keeping instructions simple and clear is helpful.
Posting the visual colorful class schedule in a prominent place in the room is helpful. Also,
reviewing it daily as a set routine will reinforce it. Learn to say their name correctly. It
makes a monumental difference. Students see that you not only respect their ideas, thoughts
and knowledge but most of all their identity, who they are, represented by their name.
Teachers can relate to their students by playing the music from the student’s culture during
center time or transitional times or by displaying books from the country/culture of students
in the classroom. Remember, students follow the tone set by the teacher in the classroom.
Students observe not only the verbal directives and interactions but the non-verbal cues from
the teacher. Finally, during formal or informal oral presentations or conversations, teachers
may correct the content of what ESL students say, if necessary rather than how they say in
terms of pronunciation or grammar. Constant interruptions or corrections will deter students
from speaking up and sharing their ideas

3) Build Background Knowledge

There is a virtual consensus that background knowledge is essential for reading comprehension.
Effective teaching takes students from where they are and leads them to a higher level of
understanding (Krashen, 1985; Vygotsky, 1978). All learners have prior knowledge, gained from
schooling and life experiences and teachers can build on those experiences. Reading becomes
especially difficult when children are not able to comprehend because they are not familiar with
a topic or theme that is being taught. Activating prior knowledge and building new background
knowledge for ESL students is a crucial component of literacy development. The more readers
know about a topic, the easier it is to read a text, understand it, and retain the information

3) Provide Comprehensible Input by building vocabulary

An effective teacher considers the unique characteristics and cultural aspects of the ESL
students. The teacher is aware of the student’s needs and makes an effort to make her verbal
communication more understandable based on the student’s linguistic needs. Making the
message understandable for students is referred to as Comprehensible Input (Krashen 1985).
ESL students need to work on making meaning of what they are doing all the time. Increasing
participation and engagement rates of ESL students is done by increasing comprehensible input.
Clear enunciation and repetition, as well as, rephrasing concepts and words help tremendously if
the communication is at students’ proficiency level. If teachers find that the instructional text that
they are using in the classroom is difficult for ESL students to follow, then they can use
technologies like ‘Rewordify.com’, which provide free online service that improves reading,
learning, and teaching by simplifying the complexity of the text

4) Include frequent opportunities for Interaction and Discussion

The interaction maintains student attention and allow to apply what they have learned in a real
context. In small groups or in pairs , students who feel hesitant or are shy to speak up in a large
group , tend to open easily .These opportunities assist in overcoming students anxiety and fears
to speak orally I front of others .There are a number of strategies that provide a platform for
interaction. These strategies range from ‘ turn –pair and share’ to book circle, jigsaw reading,
story scripts. Teachers can easily tweak them to suit their subject, focus, or task. Turn-Pair-Share
can be conducted after a class has read a specific book or a specific content area topic. Each
student turns to his or her partner to discuss thoughts, ideas, and feelings. This format is less
threatening for reluctant learners or students with anxiety, compared to presenting to a large
classroom where all the eyes are on the student. The small group prepares the student to
eventually share in a large group or in front of the class. Book Circles are powerful formats
where students sit in a circle and face one another to share their thoughts or comments on the
book/chapter that has been read by everyone in the group. There is no right or wrong answer in
this setting, instead, students share their feelings, thoughts evoked as a result of reading the text
or any connections to their prior knowledge that they were able to make based on the text. Jigsaw
Reading is where students are each given a part of a text or story. Each student reads his or her
part then they meet in small groups to discuss what their part was about. Story Scripts strategy
allows students to take a story or poem and turn it into a dialogue where students take turns to
speak their part. These are some ways to involve students during instruction in class. Students
enjoy them as it keeps them on their toes as they take the responsibility to share their part. Each
student is accounted for. It is an effective way for a classroom teacher to assess student
understanding of the subject matter or their comprehension skills

5) Use Multiple Modalities during instruction

Multiple learning modalities (such as read it, write, do it, and talk it, see it, hear it, interact with
it) are used in the integrated approach. Teachers can use multimedia and other technologies in
lessons incorporating websites to enrich visual support for the learners. Teachers use interactive
teaching style and various learning modalities to meet the needs of their ESL students. New
modalities have changed multimodal digital platforms that present educators with the possibility
of providing meaningful opportunities for engagement and creativity employing different
cognitive, audio-visual senses and ability to interact. Teachers can now provide audio feedback
to students which is shown to provide more elaborate detailed responses where teachers provide
not only more information but the richer language and greater elboration of concepts (Swan-
Dagen, et al., 2008). One can enter difficult or complex sentences or text passages in the
highlighted box, and the program rewords the text into simpler text and voila! One can even
click on a phrase or a difficult word to hear it, thus addressing the pronunciation aspect as well.
Students can create scripts and manage illustrations to go with the scripts. Engagement level in
the students goes up as they work on media projects. Students can use Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, YouTube, blog posts as social media to share thoughts and ideas or create digital
stories. Online forums for discussion provide an opportunity for a wider range of responses than
a traditional discussion where the first respondents set the tone for an entire group. ESL students
may feel more comfortable as they post their views in online forums. It provides space for the
development of unique learner’s voices, ideas, thoughts, and opinions

6) Conduct ongoing review and assessment

Assessment is an essential component of any instructional practice to evaluate its
effectiveness. It has to be formative, ongoing rather than a summative, one-shot evaluation.
It is a two-pronged process by which teachers can do self-assessment, deliberately reflecting
on what they are teaching as well as do students’ assessment, to find out what they are
learning in turn. It provides an effective way to monitor students’ progress and what changes
need to be made. It could be a formal or informal evaluation to track a student’s progress
and understanding. Learning should be assessed on a regular basis. Teachers should keep
their own written record of student interactions and abilities. Students should be assessed on
what they have taught and what is relevant to the grade level content. Use multiple
modalities to assess students – using diagrams, visuals, oral and written components – aids
the overall accessibility of student work. Multiple assessments should be used. For instance,
teachers can use students’ scores from the previous years, current test scores from reading
and writing, as well as classwork, observations to determine where a student is
academically. At the same time, teachers can follow any legal accommodations and use
professional judgments based on the outcomes of assessment and their own developing
knowledge of students to provide quality instruction. Teachers can also teach students to
self-monitor by using teacher provided rubrics. Students can become better learners and
improve their knowledge and skills when they reflect on what they are learning. By taking a
step back from the learning process, both teachers and students can objectively view the
progress.

TAKE NOTE AND ANSWER THE FOLLOING QUESTIONS

4. evaluation of teaching

what is evaluation of teaching?

How do you evaluate an English lesson

5. techniques of teaching
what are the techniques of teaching an English lesson?

6. Concept of Teaching and Learning

Examine the concept of teaching and learning in the English classroom

2. General Teaching Methods

The term teaching method refers to the general

principles, pedagogy and management strategies
used for classroom instruction.

Your choice of teaching method depends on what fits

you — your educational philosophy, classroom
demographic, subject area(s) and school mission
statement.

Teaching theories can be organized into four

categories based on two major parameters: a teacher-
centered approach versus a student-centered
approach, and high-tech material use versus low-tech
material use.

Teacher-Centred Approach to Learning Taken to its most extreme interpretation, teachers are the
main authority figures in a teacher-centred instruction model. Students are viewed as “empty
vessels” External link who passively receive knowledge from their teachers through lectures and
direct instruction, with an end goal of positive results from testing and assessment. In this style,
teaching and assessment are viewed as two separate entities; student learning is measured
through objectively scored tests and assessments.

Student-Centred Approach to Learning

While teachers are still an authority figure in a student-centred teaching model, teachers and
students play an equally active role in the learning process.

The teacher’s primary role is to coach and facilitate student learning and overall comprehension
of material, and to measure student learning through both formal and informal forms of
assessment, like group projects, student portfolios, and class participation. In the student-centred
classroom, teaching and assessment are connected because student learning is continuously
measured during teacher instruction.

High Tech Approach to Learning

Advancements in technology have propelled the education sector in the last few decades. As the
name suggests, the high tech approach to learning utilizes different technology to aid students in
their classroom learning. Many educators use computers and tablets in the classroom, and others
may use the internet to assign homework. The internet is also beneficial in a classroom setting as
it provides unlimited resources. Teachers may also use the internet in order to connect their
students with people from around the world.
Below are some tech tools used in classrooms today:

• G Suite External link (Gmail, Docs, Drive, and Calendar)

• Tablets/laptops

• Gamification software (such as 3DGame Lab External link and Class craft External link )

• Education-focused social media platforms

• Technology for accessibility External link for students with disabilities

Low Tech Approach to Learning

While technology undoubtedly has changed education, many educators opt to use a more
traditional, low tech approach to learning. Some learning styles require a physical presence and
interaction between the educator and the student. Additionally, some research has shown that
low-tech classrooms may boost learning. For example, students who take handwritten notes have
better recall than students who take typed notes External link . Another downside of technology
in the classroom may be that students exposed to spell check and autocorrect features at an
earlier age may be weaker in spelling and writing skills External link . Ultimately, tailoring the
learning experience to different types of learners is incredibly important, and sometimes students
work better with a low-tech approach.

Here are some examples of low technology usage in different teaching methodologies:

• Kinesthetic learners have a need for movement when learning. Teachers should allow
students to move around, speak with hands and gestures.

• Expeditionary learning involves “learning by doing” and participating in a hands-on

experience. Students may participate in fieldwork, learning expeditions, projects or case studies
to be able to apply knowledge learned in the classroom to the real world, rather than learning
through the virtual world.

• Many types of vocational or practical training cannot be learned virtually, whether it be a

laboratory experiment or woodworking

TYPES OF TEACHING METHOD

1. TEACHER –CENTERED

- Teacher as master of the subjects

Example: Lecture Method

2. LEARNER-CENTERED

- The teacher is also a learner

- Participation of the students

- The teacher learns as he teaches

Example: Discussion Method

3. CONTENT-METHOD

- Focused on the content

- Same content passed in the generations

- Perrenialism

4. INTERACTIVE OR PARTICIPATIVE

- Depends on the situations the teacher and the students have

5. Direct Instruction

Direct instruction is a term often used to describe a variety of whole class expository teaching
techniques . It is sometimes referred to as ‘chalk and talk’. It is a teacher centred approach in
which the teacher delivers the academic content in a highly structured format, directing the
activities of students andmaintaining a focus on academic achievement.

Common forms of direct instruction include

lectures and demonstrations.

Some advantages of direct instruction

Even though student centred approaches to teaching have become more popular in recent

years, support for direct instruction still exists. Some of the advantages are listed below.

· Direct instruction gives you maximum control over the learning environment

· You are in control of the content and sequence of the information that students

receive, so you can keep the focus on the outcomes that students are to achieve

· It can be used equally effectively with large and small classes

· It can be an effective way of teaching factual information and knowledge that is
highlystructured

· It allows you to present a large amount of information in a relatively short time, and allstudents
are given equal access to this information

· Lectures can be a useful way to provide information for students who are poor readers or who
are not very skilled at locating, organising, and interpreting information

· Generally, direct instruction allows you to create a non-threatening (reasonably stress

free) environment for the students. Those who are shy, not confident, or not knowledgeable are
not forced to participate and become embarrassed.

6. An exposition strategy

An exposition strategy is one in which the teacher presents material to the students through

explanation, questioning and discussion.

The exposition strategy consists of four major steps:

1. Setting the scene

2. Presenting the material

3. Student activity

4. Checking understanding/transferring material to real life.

The major purpose of this strategy is to transmit information as quickly and meaningfully as
possible. It emphasises building on prior knowledge and having students assimilate information
by listening. The teacher transmits information and the students are passive receivers. It is suited
to all year levels and abilities, but is most commonly used with older students in information
oriented lessons.

The major limitation of an exposition strategy is that it can be boring, long, and poorly presented.
Students can have little opportunity for involvement, so social skills and learning outcomes can
be minimal. It is also difficult to cater for individual differences with an exposition strategy.

7. Using Discussion as a Teaching Strategy

What is a classroom discussion?

Discussion is an orderly process of face-to-face interaction in which people exchange ideas

about an issue for the purpose of solving a problem, answering a question, enhancing their
learning, or making a decision.

Bridges (in Killen 1998) suggests that in order for an exchange of ideas to be called a discussion,
it should meet five conditions:

· People must talk to one another

· People must listen to one another

· People must respond to one another

· They must be putting forward more than one point of view

· They must have the intention of developing their knowledge, understanding or

judgement of the issue under discussion

Discussion can be considered as co-operative thinking aloud. Because students are expected

to share their thoughts as they discuss academic issues, discussion is both active and student
centred learning.

Discussion can be used in many different ways, either as part of a lesson, as a whole lesson, or
integrated with one or more other teaching strategies.

When might you use discussion as a teaching strategy?

A discussion can either focus on solving a problem or focus on exploring an open-ended issue.

Some of the most appropriate times for whole class discussions may be:

· When you want students to develop a sense of ownership over their new knowledge and
responsibility for their own learning

When you want students to think critically about the subject and develop their skills of analysis,
synthesis and evaluation, rather than just memorise facts

· When you want students to develop their understanding by drawing on their prior knowledge
and experience
· When your aim is to develop students’ communication skills such as stating their ideas clearly,
listening to others, or responding appropriately to others.

· When there is a need to develop a sense of group identity so that the students can support each
other in their learning Some advantages of using discussion

· Discussions actively involve students in learning and because of this, students can feel that they
are making a real contribution to their own learning. A discussion is more

likely to maintain a student’s interest than a passive, teacher directed learning experience.

· Active involvement in learning motivates students, especially when they see that others value
their contributions and respect their point of view.

· When used with young children, discussion can be an effective way to help them

develop socially acceptable means of interaction, such as listening, speaking politely, and
respecting the views of others.

· Discussion can result in more student learning than some other strategies. This occurs because,
as students verbalise their thinking, they are able to construct or reconstruct knowledge in a way
that makes sense to them.

· Discussion can be an effective way of allowing students to share their knowledge and
experience.

UNIT THREE

Curriculum, co-curricular activities and the hidden curriculum

CO-CORRICULAR

Curriculum

To define a curriculum in terms of „what an individual learner experiences as a result of

schooling‟ is an attempt to widen the focus. The emphasis here is upon the student as a
self-motivated learner.
The definition which refers to a curriculum as „everything that is planned by school
personnel‟ is yet nother orientation which emphasizes the planning aspect of curriculum.
Few would deny that classroom learning experiences for students need to be planned
although some unplanned activities will always occur (and these can have positive or
negative effects).
Educators and Scholars define curriculum in different ways, in part because they bring to
that task different perceptions of what curriculum should be. As seen in the previous
paragraphs some educators see the curriculum as a list of subjects to be studied, while
others see it as entire course content. Still others perceive curriculum as a set of planned
learning experiences offered by teachers. Another group state that curriculum is a written
plan of action. The following are some of the well-known definitions that we can consider.
The term curriculum is derived from the Latin word currere, which means to run or to run
the course. Based on this origin, some authorities have defined curriculum as a course of
study subject matter. This definition has been found limiting and many authorities have
modified it. The following are some of the definitions of curriculum that you will find very
useful by renowned scholars in curriculum studies and education.
The word “curriculum” as it is defined from its early Latin origins means literally “to run
a course.” If one thinks of a marathon with mile and direction markers, signposts, water

The extracurricular activities

Activities sponsored or recognised by a school or college which are not part of the academic
curriculum but are acknowledged to be an essential part 0f the life of an educational
Institution. Co-curricular activities include sports, school brands, student’s newspaper. They may
also be termed as extracurricular
Cocarricular activities may be defined as the activities undertaken to strengthen the classroom
learning as well as other activities both inside and outside the classroom to develop the
personality of the child(Bhatia,1996)
There are many characteristics of co-curricular activities which affect students both directly and
indirectly. They complement and supplement the entire teaching –learning process and
effectively impact students learning out comes. Extra curricula activities give emphasis upon
aesthetic as well as spiritual development which are essential components of education. For
languages it helps in developing features such as speech, fluency and extempore. They enhance
skills such as acting, singing speaking, reciting

Curricular and Co Curricular Activities

Curricular Activities:
Basically speaking activities encompassing the prescribed courses of study are called curricular
or academic activities. In simple words it can be said that activities that are undertaken inside the
classroom, in the laboratory, workshop or in library are called “curricular activities.” These
activities are an integral part of the over-all instructional programme. Because in the organisation
of these activities or programmes there lies active involvement of the teaching staff of the
educational institution.
Curricular activities include:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(i) Classroom activities:
These are related to instruction work in different subjects such as classroom experiments,
discussions, question-answer sessions, scientific observations, use of audio-visual aids, guidance
programmes, examination and evaluation work, follow-up programmes etc.
(ii) Activities in the library:
It deals with reading books and magazines taking notes from prescribed and reference books for
preparing notes relating to talk lessons in the classroom. Reading journals and periodicals
pertaining to different subjects of study, making files of news-paper cuttings, etc.
(iii) Activities in the laboratory:
These refers to activities which are carried out in science laboratories, social science room
(history and geography), laboratories in humanities (psychology, education, home science etc.).
(iv) Activities in the Seminars, workshops and conferences:
These activities refer to the presentations, discussions, performed by delegates and participants
on emerging areas of various subjects of study in workshops, seminars and conferences.
(v) Panel discussion:
For enriching knowledge, understanding and experience of both the teachers and students panel
discussion is essential, which would have be organised in the classroom situation. Organisation
of this programme facilitates scope for interplay of expressions on the topic under discussion.
After stating the various types of curricular activities it is essential to highlight the fact that
academic or instructional work in any subject will be meaningless if it will not be accompanied
by one or all of the above mentioned activities.
Committees of Curricular Activities:
For smooth organisation of curricular activities in order to ensure sound management of these,
there is the need of formation of different committees in every educational institution. This will
pave the way for proper institutional management.
These are as follows:
(i) Syllabus Committee:
This committee plays a vital role for ensuring proper academic transaction of the educational
institutions. It comprises the senior academicians of different disciplines. Its major purpose is to
prepare the framework of the courses to be covered during an academic session and determine
the instructional programme for every class.
(ii) Library Committee:
A library committee may be formed for proper academic development of students. As it is true
that library is the heart of an institution. For actualizing this the need of formation of this
committee is felt. For this the committee has to prepare the list, of prescribed books, reference
books and magazines, journals, periodicals of national and international importance each year.
(iii) Time Table Committee:
This committee consists of the selected teachers who have ability, efficiency and aptitude for
preparing time table for the educational institutions. This committee has been entrusted upon the
responsibility of preparing new time table for the new academic session by the head of the
institution.
The time table preparation work would have been done before or after reopening of the
educational institution. While preparing time table for different classes they give importance on
the physical facilities available, the staff position for teaching and principles of time table
preparation. Besides, the committee gives weight-age to different subjects in terms of periods or
hours while preparing the time table and also revises or modifies it during the session as and
when necessary.
(iv) Institutional Planning Committee:
It is perennial that planning is a must when there arises the overall improvement of an
educational institution as it results in proper management of every educational institution. For
this every institution should have a ‘planning committee’ under the chairmanship of the head of
the institution.
It is essential to highlight here that planning for every institution should be done in accordance of
the resources available in it. The major concern of this committee is to co-ordinate both
curricular and co-curricular activities. In relation to curricular perspective this committee co-
ordinates the activities of the committees meant for proper academic or curricular programmes.
(v) Examination Committee:
This committee is formed for the purpose of conducting different examinations smoothly. This
committee carries out in overall charge of conducting examination and evaluation work. For this
the committee prepares programme schedules for different examinations, makes arrangement for
questions, answer scripts, invigilation work, evaluation work, tabulation and publication of
results.
(vi) Guidance Committee:
In recent years formation of guidance committee has become essential for every educational
institution. The prime cause behind it is now “organisation of guidance and counselling services
has become an integral part of curricular activities.” Because this committee organizes
orientation programmes for the students in selection of their subjects of study, selection of
elective subjects to be taken, choice of job, further education and training.
Besides this, for giving more knowledge and information to the students about these, they may
be taught on personal, educational and vocational guidance by this committee. This committee
consists of counsellor, career master, teacher having interest and area of specialisation in
guidance headed by the head of the institution.
Co-Curricular Activities:

Broadly speaking co-curricular activities are those activities which are organised outside the
classroom situation. These have indirect reference to actual instructional work that goes on in the
classroom. Although no provision has been made for these activities in the syllabus but provision
has been made for these in the curriculum.
As the modem educational theory and practice gives top most priority on all round development
of the child there is the vitality of the organisation of these activities, in the present educational
situation. So for bringing harmonious and balanced development of the child in addition to the
syllabus which can be supplemented through curricular activities, but the CO- curricular
activities play significant role. These activities are otherwise called as extra-curricular activities.
It is therefore said that the co-curricular or extra-curricular activities are to be given importance
like the curricular activities. So now organisation of co-curricular activities is accepted as an
integral part of the entire curriculum.
Types of Co-Curricular Activities:
Co-curricular activities are categorized in the following heads:
(i) Physical Development Activities:
These activities include games, sports, athletics, yoga, swimming, gardening, mass drill, asana,
judo, driving, etc.
(ii) Academic Development Activities:
These activities include formation of clubs in relation to different subjects. Such as science club,
history club, ecological club, economics club, geographical club, civic club etc. Besides this the
other activities like preparation of charts, models, projects, surveys, quiz competitions etc. come
under this category.
(iii) Literary Activities:
For developing literary ability of students the activities like publication of school magazine, wall
magazine, bulletin board, debates, news paper reading, essay and poem writing are undertaken.
(iv) Cultural Development Activities:
The activities like drawing, painting, music, dancing, dramatics, folk song, fancy dress, variety
show, community activities, exhibition, celebration of festivals, visit to cultural places having
importance in local, state, national and international perspective come under this category.
(v) Social Development Activities:
For bringing social development among students through developing social values resulting in
social service the following co-curricular activities are organised. Such as – NSS, girl guiding,
red cross, adult education, NCC, boys scout, mass programme, social service camps, mass
running, village surveys etc.
(vi) Moral Development Activities:
The co-curricular activities like organisation of extra mural lectures, social service, celebration of
birth days of great-men of national and international repute, morning assembly should be
organised. These activities bring moral development among individuals.
(vii) Citizenship Training Activities:
The activities like student council, student union, visits to civic institutions like the parliament,
state legislatures, municipalities, formation of student self government, co-operative stores are
essential for providing useful and valuable civic training.
(viii) Leisure Time Activities:
These activities are otherwise known as hobbies of different students. These include activities
like coin-collecting, album making, photography, stamp collecting, gardening, candle making,
binding, toy making, soap making, play modeling etc.
(ix) Emotional and National Integration Development Activities:
Under this category organisation of camps, educational tours, speech programmes, celebration of
national and international days are included.
Principles of Organisation and Management of Co-Curricular Activities
For making the co-curricular activities meaningful in order to bring all-round development of
students, there is in need of ensuring sound organisation and management of these activities. For
this certain principles should be followed while organizing and managing co-curricular activities.
These are also known as essentials of organisation and management of co-curricular activities.
So these principles as essentials of organisation and management of co-curricular activities are
given below:
(i) Appropriate selection:
It implies that co-curricular activities are to be selected in such a way that will suit the interest of
the students and facilities available and would be available, shortly in the educational institution.
(ii) Variety of Activities:
A wide variety of activities should be planned for the sake of meeting the different needs of all
the categories of students.
(iii) Adjustment in School Timing:
The major purpose of this principle is the co-curricular activities are to be organised during
school hours. For smooth organisation of these activities it should be placed in the time table in
such a manner that will be organised mostly one hour before and after the instructional work of
the educational institution. As a result of which the students will be facilitated to take part in
different activities without facing any problems.
(iv) Guidance of Teachers:
All the co-curricular activities should be organised strictly under the guidance of teachers.
(v) Casual Growth of the Activities:
This principle states that activities should be started in a slow and steady manner and developed
gradually.
(vi) Facilities to Teachers:
Some credit either in the form of less teaching periods or in the form of extra payment to
teachers should be given to encourage teachers.
(vii) Provision of Necessary Facilities:
It refers to the fact that before organizing any co-curricular programme materials needed and
facilities required are to be prepared in advance and then the programme will be organised.
(viii) Participation of a Large Number of Teachers:
All the teachers should be actively involved in the organisation of co-curricular activities in their
institution. For this head of the institution should make the distribution of charges in such a
manner that each member of teaching staff will remain in charge of a particular activity of his
interest.
(ix) Provision of Funds:
The financial status of the educational institution in general and financial allocation in relation to
a co-curricular programme should be taken into consideration while selecting activities. Because
the degree of success of any co-curricular programme depends upon maximum utilization of
human and material resources available in the educational institution. Otherwise no co-curricular
activity will be accepted if the financial status of the educational institution is not permitted.
(x) Fixation of Regular Time, Data and Venue:
Before organizing any co-curricular activity the time, date and venue are to be informed to the
pupils earlier, as a result of which there may not be any disturbance in relation to dislocation and
confusion.
(xi) Balancing the Work Load of Teachers:
For maintaining balance in the work load of the teachers in charge of co-curricular activities
should be rewarded either in allotting them less number of theoretical classes or in the form of
honorarium.
(xii) Involvement of Community:
Involvement of community members should be ensured at the time of organizing different co-
curricular activities. This will enable them to become aware about different co-curricular
programmes and their role in bringing harmonious development of their wards. Besides this
participation of community members act as safeguard to the authority of an educational
institution in a large scale.
(xiii) Evaluation:
Provision of evaluation should be made for monitoring the co-curricular programmes
encompassing upon the services and value of these activities.
(xiv) Maintenance of Records:
A detailed record should be maintained by the educational institution on the organisation of
various co-curricular activities. Institutional management comprises two major components
which are presented above and the success of institutional management depends upon these two
major components.
Saying and doing will never suffice if importance will not be given on student welfare services,
school plant, institutional planning, institutional climate and discipline, management of
educational finance etc.
Educational Value of Co-curricular Activities
Some of the most important educational value of co-curricular activities are as follows:
1. Useful In Physical Development:
Co-curricular activities specially the physical activities, help in the normal growth and
development of the body. The activities like sports, athletes, and games lead to the muscular
development of students. These develop helpful habits and keep the students physically fit.
2. Helpful In Social Development:
The co-curricular activities are carried out in social environment. The pupils work together, act
together and live together. This helps in socializing the child and develops social qualities, like
team spirit, fellow feeling, co-operation, toleration etc. Activities like scouting, first aid, red
cross, community living etc. provide complete social training to children.
3. Training for leadership:
In these activities the students are actively involved in the organisation of different programmes.
They discharge various responsibilities and therefore get opportunities to come forward and lead.
They get training for leadership. Their talents are recognized and developed.
4. Academic Value:
Co-curricular activities supplement class work. These enrich and widen the bookish knowledge
of students. They get opportunities of observation and experience.
5. Useful In Moral Development:
The co-curricular activities have a great moral value. These activities provide facilities for moral
experience and moral conduct. Through sports the students develop sportsmanship. It believes in
fair play. While distinguishing some responsibilities the moral development must be honest, just
and impartial.
6. Essential for Emotional Development:
These activities meet the psychological needs of pupils and lead to their emotional development.
Their instincts are sublimated. Instincts like gregariousness and self-asertation which are so
dominant in adolescence period find expression in one activity or the other. The activities also
lead to emotional training.
7. Disciplinary Value:
The pupils get a number of facilities to frame certain rules and regulations concerning activities.
They also act according to the rules. They themselves impose restrictions on their freedom.
Hence, they learn mode of discipline which is self imposed. They learn to behave with a sense of
responsibility.
8. Cultural Value:
There are co-curricular activities which have great cultural value. The activities like dramatics,
folk- dance, folk-music, variety shows etc. provide glimpses of our culture. These activities help
in the preservation, transmission and development of our cultural heritage.
9. Aesthetic and Recreational Value:
The co-curricular activities bring a healthy change in the dull classroom routine. The pupils feel
relaxed and free when they perform activities like sports, cultural programmes, dances, drama
etc. The activities like drawing, painting, fancy dress, music, preparation of models etc. develop
aesthetic sensibility.
10. Proper Use of Leisure Time:
Some co-curricular activities help in the proper use of leisure time. For example: crafts, hobbies
and other creative activities can be pursued by the pupils. In the absence of such constructive
activities, they may pick up some bad habits.
Co-Ordination of Co-Curricular Activities
Before launching programme of any activity (co- curricular) it should be approved
democratically by the staff both the teaching and non-teaching as a whole. Coaches or sponsors
of school activities should be the members of the staff and not outsiders.
The introduction of the programme of co-curricular activities should be gradual. Any activity
should be introduced only when the school has a need for it and when its students are interested
in it. The number and type of activities to be developed in any educational institution or school
should be determined by the size of enrolment and the needs of the school activities should not
be over organised even in a large school. Smaller schools shouldn’t waste time and energy and
squander away money in an attempt to copy the larger schools blindly.
Activities that are organised in the school should, aim for achieving civic, social, moral and other
worthwhile values as far as possible. Activities for enjoyment are useless though they may be
harmless. The number of activities which allows students to take part in different activities in an
academic year should be according to their needs and requirements.
A restriction on participation for students is required as it will check the overloading nature of
organizing any co-curricular activity. However, the students having same abilities, interests,
attitudes, aptitudes should participate in large number.
As it is desired and expected that the maximum possible number of students shall participate in
each co-curricular activity and each activity should be open for all. It doesn’t mean that there
should be non-consideration for reasonable standards of achievement or for eligibility to take
part in it. In order to ensure a great deal of all round development in children it is essential on
their part to participate both in curricular and co-curricular activities.
Hence before the commencement of an academic session it is essential on the part of the
educational institution to make a deliberate planning on the organisation of both curricular and
co-curricular activities. This results in proper management of every educational programme that
tends to make any educational programme grand success.
Need of Curricular and Co-Curricular Activities:
Both curricular and co-curricular activities or progrmmes are responsible for satisfying
management of an educational institution. So it is essential to know the need of these two types
of activities.
These are given below:
1. Organisation of curricular activities enables students to be active in the classroom and the
organisation of co-curricular activities brings sound health and proper physical fitness among the
students through organizing games and sports.
2. Proper organisation of curricular activities develops study habits among the students. And the
co-curricular activities develop literary talents of the students.
3. Organisation of curricular activities provide both theoretical and practical knowledge to
students in their taught subject matters and co-curricular activities provide scope to apply the
obtained knowledge in different situations.
4. Proper organisation of curricular activities enable the students to have their academic
brilliance by acquiring mastery over their subjects of study. And co-curricular activities provide
ample scope for the students for social adjustment through different social activities.
5. Organisation of curricular activities give a sound theoretical knowledge and understanding
about useful, responsible and democratic citizenship to the students in the classroom situation.
This becomes possible through academic treatment of civics and politics.
For practising the spirit of this type of citizenship among the students, co-curricular activities are
to be organised through formation of student unions, student councils etc. in the educational
institution. The cause behind it is to train the students practically how to develop responsible
democratic citizenship.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CURRICULAR AND CO CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

✓ Curricula is forma in nature while co curricular is informal
✓ curricula involves classroom teaching , instructional education examination evaluation
while curricula activities encompass singing dancing, gardening community work games
✓ in curricular education ,student spend their time in labs working n assignment but in co
curricula student perform task such as cleaning roads school painting creative art
✓ in curricula learners read formally read about festivals ,ceremonies culture but in
curricula learners take part in such activities to gain some experience

EXAMPLES OF CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES IN ENGLISH LANG

1. Reading clubs
2. Wall poster presentation
3. Group discussion
4. Debates
5. Quiz competition
6. Spelling bee
7. Drama production talents shows school sports writing competition
What is a hidden curriculum?
Hidden curriculum refers to the unwritten, unofficial, and often unintended lessons, values, and
perspectives that students learn in school. While the “formal” curriculum consists of the courses,
lessons, and learning activities students participate in, as well as the knowledge and skills
educators intentionally teach to students, the hidden curriculum consists of the unspoken or
implicit academic, social, and cultural messages that are communicated to students while they
are in school.
The hidden-curriculum concept is based on the recognition that students absorb lessons in school
that may or may not be part of the formal course of study—for example, how they should
interact with peers, teachers, and other adults; how they should perceive different races, groups,
or classes of people; or what ideas and behaviors are considered acceptable or unacceptable. The
hidden curriculum is described as “hidden” because it is usually unacknowledged or unexamined
by students, educators, and the wider community. And because the values and lessons reinforced
by the hidden curriculum are often the accepted status quo, it may be assumed that these
“hidden” practices and messages don’t need to change—even if they are contributing to
undesirable behaviors and results, whether it’s bullying, conflicts, or low graduation and college-
enrollment rates, for example.
It should be noted that a hidden curriculum can reinforce the lessons of the formal curriculum, or
it can contradict the formal curriculum, revealing hypocrisies or inconsistencies between a
school’s stated mission, values, and convictions and what students actually experience and learn
while they are in school. For example, a school may publicly claim in its mission or vision
statement that it’s committed to ensuring that all students succeed academically, but a review of
its performance data may reveal significant racial or socioeconomic discrepancies when it comes
to test scores, graduation rates, and other measures of success. And because what is not taught in
school can sometimes be as influential or formative as what is taught, the hidden curriculum also
extends to subject areas, values, and messages that are omitted from the formal curriculum and
ignored, overlooked, or disparaged by educators.
While the hidden curriculum in any given school encompasses an enormous variety of potential
intellectual, social, cultural, and environmental factors—far too many to extensively catalog
here—the following examples will help to illustrate the concept and how it might play out in
schools:

• Cultural expectations: The academic, social, and behavioral expectations established by

schools and educators communicate messages to students. For example, one teacher may give
tough assignments and expect all students to do well on those assignments, while another teacher
may give comparatively easy assignments and habitually award all students passing grades even
when their work quality is low. In the high-expectations class, students may learn much more
and experience a greater sense of accomplishment, whereas students in the low-expectations
class may do just enough work to get by and be comparatively uninterested in the lessons they
are being taught. Similarly, schools may unconsciously hold students from different cultural
backgrounds—for example, minorities, recently arrived immigrant students, or students with
disabilities—to lower academic expectations, which may have unintended or negative effects on
their academic achievement, educational aspirations, or feelings of self-worth.
• Cultural values: The values promoted by schools, educators, and peer groups, such as
cliques, may also convey hidden messages. For example, some schools may expect and reward
conformity while punishing nonconformity, whereas other schools might celebrate and even
encourage nonconformity. In one school, students may learn that behaviors such as following the
rules, acting in expected ways, and not questioning adults are rewarded, while in other schools
students learn that personal expression, taking initiative, or questioning authority are valued and
rewarded behaviors. Similarly, if biased or prejudicial behaviors and statements are tolerated in a
school, students may embrace the values that are accepted or modeled—either explicitly or
implicitly—by adults and other students.
• Cultural perspectives: How schools recognize, integrate, or honor diversity and
multicultural perspectives may convey both intentional and unintended messages. For example,
some schools may expect recently arrived immigrant students and their families to “assimilate”
into American culture—for example, by requiring the students to speak English in school at all
times or by not providing translated informational materials or other specialized assistance.
Other schools, however, may actively integrate or celebrate the multicultural diversity of the
student body by inviting students and parents to share stories about their home country, for
example, or by posting and publishing informational materials in multiple languages. In one
school, non-American cultures may be entirely ignored, while in another they may be actively
celebrated, with students and their families experiencing feelings of either isolation or inclusion
as a result.
• Curricular topics: The subjects that teachers choose for courses and lessons may convey
different ideological, cultural, or ethical messages. For example, the history of the United States
may be taught in a wide variety of ways using different historical examples, themes, and
perspectives. A teacher may choose to present the history of the world or the United States from
the perspective of the European settlers and explorers, or she may choose to present it from the
perspective of displaced Native Americans or colonized African and Asian peoples. In the first
case, teaching American history from a strictly Eurocentric perspective would likely minimize or
ignore the history and suffering of Native Americans (a common educational practice in past
decades). Curricular topics may also often intersect with, or be influenced by, political,
ideological, and moral differences that are broadly contentious in American society—e.g.,
teaching evolution in science courses, multiculturalism in social studies, or sex education in
health courses.
• Teaching strategies: The way that schools and teachers choose to educate students can
convey both intentional and unintended messages. For example, if students earn good grades or
extra credit for turning in homework on time, listening attentively, participating during class,
raising their hands, and generally doing things they are told to do, the students may learn that
compliance is important and that certain behaviors will be academically rewarded and allowed to
compensate for learning deficiencies. On the other hand, instructional strategies such as project-
based learning or community-based learning, to name just two of many possible options, may
communicate specific messages—for example, that skills such as critical thinking and problem
solving, and attributes such as persistence, resourcefulness, and self-motivation, are valued and
important (in the case of project-based learning) or that being informed about and involved in
local issues are valued and important (in the case of community-based learning).

• School structures: The way that a school or academic program is organized and operated
can convey messages to students. For example, if non-English-speaking students are largely
separated from their peers for most of the school day, or students with physical or learning
disabilities are enrolled in specialized programs that are relegated to windowless classrooms in
the basement, these organizational decisions may have unintended effects on the students’ sense
of cultural belonging, self-worth, or academic potential. In addition, the structure of a school
program can also mirror or reinforce cultural biases or prejudices. For example, students of color
and students from lower-income households are often disproportionately represented in lower-
level courses, and special-education programs may inadvertently reinforce some of the social
stigmas that children and adults with disabilities experience outside of school.
• Institutional rules: The formal rules in a school may communicate a wide variety of
intentional and unintentional messages to students. For example, some schools require students
to wear school uniforms, some ban certain types of attire (short skirts, clothing with images and
language considered to be inappropriate), and others have very liberal or permissive clothing
policies. While the intent of formal school rules and policies is to tell students how they are
expected to behave, the degree to which they are enforced or unenforced, or the ways in which
they are enforced, may communicate messages the undermine or contradict their stated intent. In
this case, stricter dress-code policies may communicate that students will be judged on
appearances both inside and outside of school, while looser policies might communicate that
they will be judged on other qualities.

There are two main ways in which authors discuss the hidden curriculum. One is in terms of the
unstated expectations and norms that pupils must learn in order to perform well in assessments,
and the other is the hidden goals of education. There is a close relationship between the two,
since it is through assessments that a curriculum gains its power and influence. The hidden
curriculum is not set by any one teacher, but is rather a general process by which children learn
to conform and adapt to the expectations of society. This definition of a hidden curriculum
relates closely to the first author who used the phrase, Jackson (1968). However, the concept has
been added to over the years to include other ways in which children come to accept the rules of
society. For example, something as innocent as the way a classroom is designed can be seen to
reinforce the authority of a teacher stood at the front. Similarly, rows of seats emphasise the
value of listening respectfully and being invited to speak, while groups of tables emphasise the
value of group discussion. More importantly, the government has control over the award of
examinations, giving it the power to define what is considered valid knowledge and the kind of
work that will be rewarded by society through improved employment options. A slightly
different meaning of hidden curriculum is given by Snyder (1971), who made the phrase popular.
Rather than being a hidden agenda, Snyder used the hidden curriculum to mean the curriculum
that pupils actually experience. For example, even if schools publicly state that pastoral care is
their top priority, their allocation of resources indicates a type of hidden curriculum in which
pupils actually experience pastoral care as less important than stated. Following Snyder's
definition, a hidden curriculum is therefore what actually happens in our classrooms rather than
what policy-makers say they want to happen

UNIT THREE
THE COCEPT OF INTEGRATION
1. THE CONCEPTOF INTEGRATION AND THE ENGLISH CURRICULUM
Defining Integrated Curriculum

Defining integrated curriculum has been a topic of discussion since the turn of the 20th
century. Over the last hundred years, theorists offered three basic categories for
interdisciplinary work; they defined the categories similarly, although the categories
often had different names. Integration seemed to be a matter of degree and method. For
example, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) offered the following
definitions in 1935:

Correlation may be as slight as casual attention to related materials in other subject areas .
. . a bit more intense when teachers plan it to make the materials of one subject interpret
the problems or topics of another.
Fusion designates the combination of two subjects, usually under the same instructor or
instructors.
Integration: the unification of all subjects and experiences.
TYPES OF INTEGRATION

The three categories offer a starting point for understanding different approaches to
integration.

Multidisciplinary Integration
Multidisciplinary approaches focus primarily on the disciplines. Teachers who use this
approach organize standards from the disciplines around a theme. Figure 1.1 shows the
relationship of different subjects to each other and to a common theme. There are many
different ways to create multidisciplinary curriculum, and they tend to differ in the level
of intensity of the integration effort. The following descriptions outline different
approaches to the multidisciplinary perspective.

Figure 1.1. The Multidisciplinary Approach

Intradisciplinary Approach. When teachers integrate the subdisciplines within a subject area,
they are using an intradisciplinary approach. Integrating reading, writing, and oral
communication in language arts is a common example. Teachers often integrate history,
geography, economics, and government in an intradisciplinary social studies program. Integrated
science integrates the perspectives of sub disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics, and
earth/space science. This type of intradisciplinary program is offered for middle school by the
University of Alabama's Center for Communication and Educational Technology. Through this
integration, teachers expect students to understand the connections between the different sub
disciplines and their relationship to the real world. The program reports a positive impact on
achievement for students who participate. (See http://www.ccet.ua.edu for more information.)
Fusion. In this multidisciplinary approach, teachers fuse skills, knowledge, or even attitudes into
the regular school curriculum. In some schools, for example, students learn respect for the
environment in every subject area. At Mount Rainier Elementary in Washington State, teachers
incorporate the theme of peace into every thread of the school's curriculum (Thomas-Lester,
2001). Students begin each week promising to be peaceful, respectful, and responsible. They
follow a list of responsibilities and learn about peace in their classes. In reading, for example,
students analyze positive characteristics of people in stories; in social studies, they learn the
importance of cultures working together. The school records the number of days without a fight
as “peace days”; teachers write the accumulated number of peace days on the blackboard in
every classroom. Teachers wear peace signs, and students greet each other with the peace sign.
Fusion can involve basic skills. Many schools emphasize positive work habits in each subject
area. Educators can fuse technology across the curriculum with computer skills integrated into
every subject area. Literacy across the curriculum is another example of fusion. The November
2002 issue of Educational Leadership featured the theme of “Reading and Writing in the Content
Areas” and focused on how to fuse literacy into the curriculum.

To prepare students for the compulsory 10th grade literacy test, 9th grade teachers at North Park
Secondary School in the Peel District School Board in Ontario developed subject-specific tasks
for literacy skills. For example, students practiced skills related to developing supported opinions
on disposal of hazardous waste in science, immigration policies in geography, correct approaches
to problem solving in math, the influence of peer pressure in family studies, and part-time
employment and its impact on teens in business studies. Teaching literacy skills across the
curriculum facilitated a low-risk environment for the eventual testing in the next year (Patten,
2001).

Service Learning. Service learning that involves community projects that occur during class time
falls under the category of multidisciplinary integration. At Spring Valley School in Columbia,
South Carolina, more than 1,200 Spanish-language students engaged in service learning projects.
In one project, they distributed 20 tons of food, clothing, medicine, and household products to
needy new arrivals in the area with the fastest-growing Hispanic population (Glenn, 2001). At
Topa Topa Elementary School at Ojai, California, 5th and 6th grade students created pamphlets
on the pros and cons of pesticides to explain how crop pickers can protect themselves against the
substances. Students passed out the brochure, written in Spanish and English, to workers and
consumers throughout the Ojai Valley. Through the project, students fulfilled state-required
standards for language arts, science, and social studies (Ragland, 2002).
Glenn (2001) found that more than 80 percent of the schools that integrate service learning into
the classroom report an improvement in grade point averages of participating students. For
example, when teachers integrated service learning into the curriculum in a Springfield,
Massachusetts, high school, the dropout rate dropped from 12 percent to 1 percent, the number of
students going to college increased by 22 percent, and those achieving a grade point average of
3.0 or higher increased from 12 percent to 40 percent. According to Glenn, such programs foster
a lifelong commitment to civic participation, sharpen “people skills,” and prepare students for
the work force.
Learning Centers/Parallel Disciplines. A popular way to integrate the curriculum is to address a
topic or theme through the lenses of several different subject areas. In an elementary classroom,
students often experience this approach at learning centers. For example, for a theme such as
“patterns,” each learning center has an activity that allows the students to explore patterns from
the perspective of one discipline—math, language, science, or social studies. As students move
through the learning centers to complete the activities, they learn about the concept of patterns
through the lenses of various disciplines.
In the higher grades, students usually study a topic or theme in different classrooms. This may
take the form of parallel disciplines; teachers sequence their content to match the content in other
classrooms. Students often experience American literature and American history as parallel
disciplines. They study a particular period of history and read literature from that period. For
example, students read The Red Badge of Courage in English while studying the Civil War in
history. Students usually must make the connections themselves.
Theme-Based Units. Some educators go beyond sequencing content and plan collaboratively for
a multidisciplinary unit. Educators define this more intensive way of working with a theme as
“theme-based.” Often three or more subject areas are involved in the study, and the unit ends
with an integrated culminating activity. Units of several weeks' duration may emerge from this
process, and the whole school may be involved.
A theme-based unit involving the whole school may be independent of the regular school
schedule. At Fitch Street School in the District School Board of Niagara in Ontario, Ellie Phillips
and four of her colleagues collaborated on a two-week, cross-grade curriculum unit on the
Olympic Games. Curriculum planning required eight half-hour sessions. Teachers grouped
students into five multiage classes representing grades 4, 5, 6, and 7. The multiage groups met
for one hour daily for nine days. In these groups, students devised a performance task that they
presented on the final day of the unit. The teachers observed numerous benefits, such as the
following:
Students exhibited excellent on-task behavior.
Students worked collaboratively.
Multiage teams formed within the multiage classes.

Students were engrossed both as presenters and as the audience for the half-day performance task
presentations.
Students used a wide range of presentation products, such as video, debate, sculpture, and so on.
Students demonstrated depth of understanding of topics as a result of their sustained interest
aroundvarious questions (e.g., Are the Olympics relevant today? Does the Olympic creed stand
the test of time?).

Fewer recess problems occurred during this two-week period.

Teachers enjoyed the process and the results.
Other thematic programs may involve teachers across the same grade. Charles Jervis, Jerry
Sauter, andSteve Bull of Auburn High School in Riner, Virginia, have collaborated for many
years to teach thematic units in grade 11. They have done this without the luxury of common
planning time. One topic they have developed is Exploring a Local Ecosystem from Multiple
Perspectives. Students explore the Pandapas Pond from the different disciplinary lenses of
science (earth sciences, biology, chemistry, and physics), English (genre readings, analyses, and
communication skills), and math (data analysis tools and techniques). The teachers carefully
connect the activities to the standards in each discipline. Over time, they have developed a long
list of possible culminating activities. They update their Web site continually and use it as a
teaching tool with students. The site offers many interesting options for those interested in this
type of multidisciplinary approach (see http://www.mcps.org/pandapas/).
Interdisciplinary Integration
In this approach to integration, teachers organize the curriculum around common learnings
across disciplines. They chunk together the common learnings embedded in the disciplines to
emphasize interdisciplinary skills and concepts. The disciplines are identifiable, but they assume
less importance than in the multidisciplinary approach. Figure 1.2 illustrates the interdisciplinary
approach.

Figure 1.2. The Interdisciplinary Approach

The children in Florida making wind and rain machines while learning language skills are
experiencing interdisciplinary curriculum. They are learning the interdisciplinary skill of
communication (thinking and writing in a structured and coherent way). The teacher also
focuses on “big ideas” in the concepts of evaporation, condensation, and thermal energy.
These concepts transfer to other lessons beyond wind and rain machines; thus, the lesson
develops a higher level of thinking than if students simply focused on the wind and rain
machines.
Is the example of students learning math and core curriculum through clogging and the
arts an interdisciplinary one? Yes, if students are learning skills and concepts beyond the
immediate lesson. In Learning Through the Arts™, for example, students learn math and
science concepts and skills while singing, sculpting, painting, and dancing. Artists from
the community collaborate with teachers to create integrated lessons that focus on
standards. A three-year study of more than 6,000 elementary students participating in this
program showed an 11-point increase in math scores among students in 170 schools
across Canada. Literacy scores remained the same; however, students reported being
happier going to school, and researchers found that students were more engaged in their
lessons (Upitis & Smithirin, 2002

Teachers integrate computer use into the curriculum, rather than adapting curriculum to
the use of computers. In Sandra Skea's 5th grade class, for example, students constructed
handmade kites from material such as paper, straws, aluminum foil, skewers, and string.
To engage students' imagination, Skea began by reading a story about kites. Students
studied such diverse topics as electromagnetism and the use of kite flying in celebrations.
They developed a deep understanding of principles of ratio and proportion as they
designed and refined their kites—first on the computer and then by hand. Students also
wrote poetry and prose about kites. Skea used the projects as evidence that students not
only met, but also exceeded, the standards. She used rubrics to show students how the
projects related to grade-level standards and provided the criteria for evaluation. Beyond
the academic content, these students learned generic skills related to working together,
research, writing, and design and construction (Furger, 2001).

Transdisciplinary Integration
In the transdisciplinary approach to integration, teachers organize curriculum around
student questions and concerns (see Figure 1.3). Students develop life skills as they apply
interdisciplinary and disciplinary skills in a real-life context. Two routes lead to
transdisciplinary integration: project-based learning and negotiating the curriculum.
Project-Based Learning. In project-based learning, students tackle a local problem. Some
schools call this problem-based learning or place-based learning. According to Chard
(1998), planning project-based curriculum involves three steps:

Teachers and students select a topic of study based on student interests, curriculum
standards, and local resources.
The teacher finds out what the students already know and helps them generate questions
to explore. The teacher also provides resources for students and opportunities to work in
the field.
Students share their work with others in a culminating activity. Students display the
results of their exploration and review and evaluate the project.
Studies of project-based programs show that students go far beyond the minimum effort,
make connections among different subject areas to answer open-ended questions, retain
what they have learned, apply learning to real-life problems, have fewer discipline
problems, and have lower absenteeism (Curtis, 2002). Newsome Park Elementary School
in Virginia, described in Chapter 9, successfully embraces the project method.
At Grand River Collegiate Institute in the Waterloo Region District School Board in
Ontario, 11th grade students took on the problem of improving the city image (Drake,
2000). This project did not originate in any subject area; students completed project work
in a separate time slot scheduled into the school day. After extensive research, students
wrote proposals to renew or enhance the city's image and presented the proposals to a
group of external evaluators. Student assessment considered teamwork, critical thinking
skills, problem solving, and time management. Interestingly, more than one proposal
received serious consideration by the city council.

Negotiating the Curriculum. In this version of the transdisciplinary approach, student

questions form the basis for curriculum. Mark Springer of Radnor, Pennsylvania,
negotiated an integrated curriculum with students (Brown, 2002). Springer led the
nationally known Watershed program for 11 years. His current curricular program is
Soundings. In Soundings, 8th grade students develop their own curriculum, teaching
methods, and assessments around areas of interest to them. Themes that students have
developed include Violence in Our Culture, Medical Issues Affecting Our Lives, and
Surviving Alien Environments.

The Soundings program is based on the work of James Beane (1990/1993, 1997), who
advocates theme studies revolving around personal growth and social issues. On
standardized tests, Soundings students perform about the same as students who have not
participated in the program. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the program, and
high school teachers report that Soundings graduates appear to discuss topics at a more
sophisticated level than students who have not been in the program. (See Chapter 10 for a
discussion of the Alpha program, which is also based on James Beane's work.)

How the Three Approaches Connect with Each Other

When Susan led a provincial team in developing an integrated curriculum, she noticed
how her team suddenly shifted into deeper and deeper levels of connection (Drake,
1991). The boundaries of the disciplines seemed to dissolve abruptly. During the early
'90s, Ontario mandated integrated curriculum for kindergarten through grade 9. Susan
interviewed others who were developing integrated curriculum and reported similar
experiences of dissolving the boundaries (Drake, 1993). As soon as they made one set of
connections, another set appeared. In Rebecca's context, she found the same dissolving of
the boundaries (Burns, 1995).

Describing her experiences to a colleague, Susan discovered there were academic terms
for this phenomenon: multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary. The
essential difference between the three approaches was the perceived degree of separation
that existed between subject areas. Given our experiences at the time, both of us believed
that the three approaches fit on an evolutionary continuum. Other theorists have also
offered continuums (Fogarty, 1991; Jacobs, 1989).

Standards-based approaches further blur the boundaries of these categories.

Multidisciplinary integration might remain somewhat distinct because the procedures of
the disciplines are dominant. Current thinking, however, suggests that even
 intradisciplinary projects should include math and literature/media to be rich and vibrant
(Erickson, 1998). Interdisciplinary approaches offer an excellent fit for standards when
educators approach them through a backward design process. Although teachers might
organize transdisciplinary curriculum around a real-world context, the reality of covering
the standards and grading in distinct subject areas quickly brings them back to the
disciplines.

Is there an evolutionary continuum? We suspect that obvious differences will continue to

exist in the extent to which educators choose to integrate and for how long. We believe
that educators will continue to experience deepening connections as they become more
experienced in this area. In an era of standards and accountability, no one approach seems
preferable. Indeed, they seem more and more alike as teachers integrate standards-based
planning with effective teaching and learning practices. The multidisciplinary,
interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary perspectives offer different maps to begin the
design process. Teachers can use any of the approaches at any level of education, in a
single classroom or in a team approach.

Figure 1.4 shows the relationships among the three different approaches. Some
differences in intent are apparent. We found, however, that the educators who actually
implement integrated approaches are the same educators who are interested in the most
effective ways to teach. They are the ones who constantly ask, “How can I engage all of
my students in this learning?” They also are the ones who use the most effective planning
strategies, such as a backward design process, and are concerned with authentic
assessment practices. Therefore, despite some differences in the degree and the intent of
integration, the three approaches share many similarities. The centrality of standards and
the need for accountability bring the three approaches closer together in practice.
How to incorporate integrated skills into the classroom
Teachers spend a lot of time in class working on reading, writing, listening and speaking with
their students. These skills are essential for effective communication and are the areas tested in
many well known English language examinations.
We may work on a number of these skills within a single lesson, however, we often teach
students to do them in isolation. If we want our learners to become successful communicators,
we need to make the situations as authentic as possible inside the classroom.
To do this we need to use an integrated approach to language learning.

An integrated approach to language learning

This is when we ask the students to use a combination (or all four) of these skills within a single
activity (or series of activities) to create a situation which is much more similar to one they might
come across in the real world.
If you take, for example, a simple telephone conversation. We listen to what the other person is
saying and then reply. We may also need to make a note of something they’ve said, read it back
to make sure it makes sense and then explain it to someone else.

Integrating skills can help students transfer skills, e.g. if students have to read a blog post before
writing their own they’ll become familiar with the structure and content which will help them
write it.
It also allows you to vary your activities in class, creating a more engaging and motivating
experience for students.

How to Integrate the four skills

The four skills can be referred to as Receptive Skills (listening and reading) or Productive Skills
(speaking and writing). Perhaps the easiest way to start integrating skills in your class is by
combining the receptive and productive skills which are used across the same medium.
Oral medium – Listening and Speaking

Try a simple yet fun activity like Telephone.

Telephone
Level: Any
Grammar: Any
Vocabulary: Any

Skills: Listening and Speaking

Put students into groups (or, if you have a small class, do it as a whole class activity) and tell
them to sit in a circle.Nominate a student to think of a sentence (ideally related to what you’ve
been doing in class). Have them whisper their sentence to the next person in the circle, who must
listen and repeat what they heard to the person next to them. This continues until they reach the
final person in the group. The last person then has to say out loud what they thought they heard.
Finally ask the first person what their original sentence was and write both on the board and
compare them. Deal with any issues which come up.

Written medium – Reading and Writing

Group story writing

This game works well with all levels and can be used to write funny stories using the target
language of your choice
First, put students into groups (or if you have a small class do it all together). Hand out a piece of
paper to each student. Next, read a cue (see an example below) to the students and have them
write a sentence at the top of the paper. They then fold the paper so their sentence is hidden and
pass the paper to the person on their right. Each student should receive a new piece of paper each
time they pass it on.
Continue until you’ve read all the cues. At the end of the game each student unfolds their piece
of paper and reads it to the rest of their group. Make the activity more challenging by getting
students to read the story and then retell it to the class without looking. They should then discuss
the stories and decide which one they thought was best.
My last holiday
Level: 1

Grammar: Past simple

Vocabulary: Holidays
Skills: Writing and reading
In this story your students will tell an exciting story about trip they went on. Tell your students to
write in full sentences. If this is too difficult you can give them the start of the sentence, the verb
they need to conjugate or the key vocabulary etc.
Example cues:
Where did you go?
The more creative the better. (E.g. I went to the moon).
Fold the paper and pass it to your right.

Who did you go with? (E.g. I went with the Queen of England).
Fold the paper and pass it to your right.
How did you get there? (E.g. We travelled by hot air balloon).
Fold the paper and pass it to your right.
How long did it take? (E.g. It took 5 hours).
Fold the paper and pass it to your right.

Where did you stay? (E.g. We stayed in a tent).

Fold the paper and pass it to your right.
What did you do during the day? (E.g. During the day we played volleyball).
Fold the paper and pass it to your right.
What did you do at night? (E.g. At night we went dancing).

Fold the paper and pass it to your right.

How was your trip? (E.g. We had a great time).
Fold the paper and pass it to your right.
Unfold the paper and read the story to the rest of the group.

When you start to feel more adventurous try to combine all four skills. A good way to do this is
by doing content based learning (where students learn about other subjects like science, history
or geography) using English as the medium of instruction. Task based learning also works well.
Here is an easy activity you can do at the start of a course that combines all four skills and helps
the students learn new things about each other.

About me
Level: A1+
Grammar: Present simple
Vocabulary: Likes and dislikes
Skills: Writing, reading, listening, speaking

Have students write a short introduction (50-70 words) about themselves on a piece of paper.
Include things like where they are from, their likes and dislikes etc. They shouldn’t include their
names.
Collect the papers and distribute at random. Have students read out the information while the
others listen. The students should then guess who they think it is about.

Once they’ve determined who it is, have your students mingle and ask further questions about
each other based on what they heard.
Integrated skills in Pearson Test of English (PTE) General
One of things which sets the PTE General apart from other examinations is that it incorporates
integrated skills.
In Section 2 students are tested on both their listening and writing. They first have to listen to a
recording and then have to write down exactly what they heard. This is something we have to do
in our daily lives and by including it in the exam, it encourages students to practice combining
skills in class.

Sections 7 and 8 also rely on skill integration. Section 7 is a reading activity where students have
to read a text and then complete some notes. In Section 8 they must write a correspondence such
as an email or letter. However, to do so, they need to use the information found in the previous
section.
Sample activity
Here is an example activity you can do to help students practice integrated skills and prepare for
PTE General.
Level: Any (choose text and writing task depending on level)

Grammar: N/A
Vocabulary: N/A
Skills: Reading, listening, writing, speaking
Choose two short texts similar to what might appear in Section 7 of the exam that your students
might be interested in.

Split students into pairs – A and B. Give one text to person A and the other to person B.
Have student A read the text to their partner who has to transcribe it. Remind them to speak
slowly and clearly, pausing when necessary.
Swap so that B reads their text to A who now has to write down what they hear.
Get students to check accuracy by comparing their transcriptions with the original texts. Assist
them and help with difficult vocabulary or other problems.
Next have them briefly discuss each text with their partner, giving their opinion on the content.
Finally, they should write a correspondence like in Section 8 of the exam. This will vary
depending on the text given and the level of the group, however, it should be something like an
email to a friend or a letter of complaint to a hotel manager.

THE NEED FOR INTEGRATION IN THE BASIC SCHOOL CURRICULUM

UNIT FOUR
THE ENGLISH CURRICULUM/SYLLABUS
ASPECT OF THE CURRICLUM FOR PRIMARY LEVEL
THE RATIONAL AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE VARIUOS CONTENT AREAS IN
BASIC SCHOOL SYLLABUS

RATIONALE FOR PRIMARY ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Language is both a medium of communication and a library in which the elements of culture are
stored. It remains the most reliable means through which the elements of one’s culture and that
of other people are transmitted from generation to generation. First, the study of English as a
second Language will equip learners with effective communication skills that will provide them
with an appreciation of the values embodied in the language and culture of others. In the light of
present day global development and technological advancement, the learning of a second
language and the acquisition of literacy must promote the respect for the language and culture of
others.

Secondly, the special status of English as a language across the curriculum and as the official
language of Ghana and the role it plays in national life including being the language of
government business and administration, commerce as well as the media, makes it important that
Ghanaian children learn English as a second language.
Also, to enable our learners become members of the international community, they must be
exposed to English, the most widely used global language. This means that success in education
at all levels depends, to a very large extent, on the individual’s proficiency in the English
language.
However, children must first be given a strong foundation in their first language to make the
learning of English easier for them as confirmed by research. It is for these and other reasons that
English Language is a major subject of study in Ghanaian schools.
PHILOSOPHY
Borrowing from a variety of philosophical ideas like the interactionists and contextualists, this
language and literacy learning curriculum is informed by two major ideas, namely the
Developmental Theory and she Social Constructivism.

Children go through developmental stages as they learn language and research is clear that
children develop language at their own pace as they interact with the social environment around
them. Therefore, when children are provided with a good social environment, they develop
language faster than children who are in a non-interactive and poor language environment.
In teaching language and literacy, the syllabus adopts the socio-constructivist dimensions to
learning. At school, literacy learning goes through the same developmental processes. Children
have in-built potentials to develop and acquire new languages while approximating grammatical
structures as they learn to speak. They invent names for the objects in their world, from the
beginning but gradually, as they interact, they learn the appropriate language of the community.
The social constructivist theory holds the notion that reading and writing are an active process of
constructing meaning from print; hence, the use of their favourite phrase “meaning making” to
describe how active the reader is in learning language and literacy and comprehending what s/he
reads or hears. The teacher guides learners to decode text and supports them to engage and make
sense of the texts they read. This is to ensure that good readers do not just take in a store of given
information but make their own interpretation of experiences to elaborate and test those
interpretations.

Thus, participatory and thematic approaches should be emphasised to help children connect
literacy learning in the classroom to solving real world problems in their environment and world
around them. The teacher should promote interaction and make learners active in their own
learning. Learners’ differences in the language classroom should not be taken as a deficit, but
provide the teacher with the background to support children. Current definitions emphasise that
literacy is not just reading and writing but also listening, speaking and thinking. It involves the
knowledge and skills to engage in social and academic processes needed for effective
functioning in the school and community.
GENERAL AIMS

The general aim of the language and literacy curriculum is to enable learners develop an
appreciation and understanding of the English language and to use it effectively, making
meaning with it in ways that are purposeful, imaginative, creative and critical.
SPECIFIC AIMS
The overriding aim for the Language and Literacy curriculum (in both Ghanaian Language and
English language) in basic schools is to promotehigh standards of language and literacy by
equipping pupils with a good command of the spoken and written word to enable them to:
• acquire the basic skills that will help them decode any text;
• read age-level texts easily, fluently and with comprehension;
• cultivate the habit of reading widely for pleasure and information;

• acquire a wide stock of vocabulary and understanding grammatical structures as well as

linguistic conventions for easy reading, good
writing and speaking;
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their first language style in a range of
contexts for varied purposes and audience;

• read with pleasure, literary materials and appreciate a great stock of literary repertoire;
• acquire the skill of self-expression and be able to communicate their ideas to different
audiences to achieve the intended purpose;
• develop and cultivate the skill and ability to read the lines, in-between the lines and beyond the
lines; and to find out hidden meaningsand ideas.
TEACHING AND LEARNING EXPECTATIONS

Teachers are expected to:

1. guide and facilitate learning by generating discourse among learners and challenging them to
accept and share responsibility for their own learning, based on their unique individual
differences;
2. select English Language content, adapt and plan lessons to meet the interests, knowledge,
understanding, abilities and experiences of learners;
3. work together as colleagues within and across disciplines and grade levels to develop
communities of English Language learners who exhibit good communication skills and positive
attitudes towards the learning of English Language
4. use multiple methods to systematicaly gather data about learners' understanding and ability in
order to guide the teaching and learning of English Language, and also to provide feedback to
both learners and parents;

5. design and manage learning environments that provide learners with the time, space and
resources needed for learning English Language.
CORE COMPETENCIES
In using this curriculum, we hope that certain core competencies will be developed in learners to
help them develop our country, Ghana. These

competencies include:
1. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving (CP)
This skill enables learners to develop their cognitive and reasoning abilities to analyse issues and
situations leading to the resolution of problems. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
enable learners to draw on and demonstrate what they have learned from their own experiences
to analyse situations and choose the most appropriate out of a number of possible solutions. It
requires that learners embrace the problem at hand, persevere and take responsibility for their
own learning.
2. Creativity and Innovation (CI)
This competence promotes in learners entrepreneurial skills through their ability to think of new
ways of solving problems and developing technologies for addressing the problem at hand. It
requires ingenuity of ideas, arts, technology and enterprise. Learners having this competency can
think independently and creatively as well.
3. Communication and Collaboration (CC)
This competence promotes in learners the skills to make use of languages, symbols and texts to
exchange information about themselves and their life experiences. Learners actively participate
in sharing their ideas, engage in dialogue with others by listening to and learning from others in
ways that respect and value the multiple perspectives of all persons involved.
4. Cultural Identity and Global Citizenship (CG)
This involves developing learners to put country and service foremost through an understanding
of what it means to be active citizens.This is done by inculcating in them a strong sense of social
and economic awareness. Learners make use of the knowledge, skillscompetencies and attitudes
acquired to contribute effectively towards the socio-economic development of the country and on
the global stage. Learners build skills to critically identify and analyse cultural and global trends
that enable them to contribute to the global community.

5. Personal Development and Leadership (PL)

PL involves improving self-awareness, self-knowledge, skills, health, building and renewing
self-esteem; identifying and developing talents, fulfilling dreams and aspirations and developing
other people or meeting other people’s needs. It involves recognising the importance of values
such as honesty and empathy; seeking the well-being of others; distinguishing between right and
wrong; fostering perseverance,resilience and self-confidence; exploring leadership, self-
regulation and responsibility, and developing a love for lifelong learning.
6. Digital Literacy (DL)
DL involves developing learners to discover, acquire and communicate through ICT to support
their learning and make use of digital media responsibly.
LEARNING MAINS (EXPECTED LEARNING BEHAVIOURS)
A central aspect of this curriculum is the concept of three integral learning domains that should
be the basis for instruction and assessment.
These are:

- Knowledge, Understanding and Application;

- Language Skills;
- Attitudes and Values.
Knowledge, Understanding and Application
Under this domain, learners acquire knowledge through some learning experiences. They may
also show understanding of concepts by comparing, summarising, re-writing, etc. in their own
words and constructing meaning from instruction. The learner may also apply the knowledge
acquired in some new contexts. At a higher level of learning behaviour, the learner may be
required to analyse an issue or a problem.
At a much more higher level, the learner may be required to synthesise knowledge by integrating
a number of ideas to formulate a plan, solve a problem, compose a story, or a piece of music.
Further, the learners may be required to evaluate, estimate and interpret a concept. At the last
level, which is the highest, learners may be required to create, invent, compose, design and
construct. These learning behaviours namely, “knowing”, “understanding”, “applying”,
“analysing”, “synthesising”, “evaluating” and “creating” fall under the domain “Knowledge,
Understanding and Application”.

In this curriculum, learning indicators are stated with action verbs to show what the learner
should know and be able to do. For example, the learner will be able to describe something.
Being able to “describe” something after teaching and learning has been completed means that
the learner has acquired “knowledge”. Being able to explain, summarise and give examples etc.
means that the learner has understood the concept,taught.

Similarly, being able to develop, defend, etc. means that the learner can “apply” the knowledge
acquired in some new context. You will note that each of the indicators in the curriculum
contains an “action verb” that describes the behaviour the learner will be able to demonstrate
after teaching and learning has taken place. “Knowledge, Understanding and Application” is a
domain that should be the prime focus of teaching and learning in schools. Teaching, in most
cases, tends to stress knowledge acquisition to the detriment of other higher-level behaviours
such as applying knowledge.
Each action verb in any indicator outlines the underlying expected outcome. Each indicator must
be read carefully to know the learning domain towards which the teacher has to teach. The focus
is to move teaching and learning from the didactic acquisition of “knowledge” where there is fact
memorisation, heavy reliance on formulae, remembering facts without critiquing them or relating
them to the real world – surface learning– to a new position called – deep learning. Learners are
expected to deepen their learning by knowledge application to develop critical thinking skills and
to generate creative ideas to solve real life problems in their school lives and later, in their adult
lives. This is the position where learning becomes beneficial to the learner.
The explanation and the key words involved in the “Knowledge, Understanding and
Application” domain are as follows:
Knowing: This is the ability to remember, recall, identify, define, describe, list, name, match,
state principles, facts and concepts.
Knowledge is the ability to remember or recall concepts already learnt and this constitutes the
lowest level of learning.

Understanding: This is the ability to explain, summarise, translate, rewrite, paraphrase, give
examples, generalise, estimate or predict consequences based on a trend. Understanding is
generally the ability to grasp the meaning of some concepts that may be mverbal, pictorial, or
symbolic.
Applying: This dimension is also referred to as “Use of Knowledge”. It is the ability to use
knowledge or apply knowledge, apply rules, methods, principles, theories, etc. to situations that
are new and unfamiliar. It also involves the ability to produce, solve, plan, demonstrate, discover,
etc.
Analysing: This is the ability to break down concepts/information into its component parts; to
differentiate, compare, distinguish, outline, separate, identify significant points, etc., ability to
recognise unstated assumptions and logical fallacies; ability to recognise inferences from facts,
etc.
Synthesising: This is the ability to put parts or ideas together to form a new whole. It involves
the ability to combine, compile, compose, devise, plan, revise, organise, create and generate new
ideas and solutions.
Evaluating: This is the ability to appraise, compare features of different things and make
comments or judgment, contrast, criticise, justify, support, discuss, conclude, make
recommendations etc. Evaluation refers to the ability to judge the worth or value of some
concepts based on some criteria.
Creating: This is the ability to use information or materials to plan, compose, produce,
manufacture or construct products. From the foregoing, creating is the highest form of thinking
and learning and is, therefore, a very important behaviour. This, unfortunately, is the area where
most learners perform poorly. In order to get learners to develop critical thinking skills,beginning
right from the lower primary level, it is advised that teachers do their best to help their learners
develop analytic

Question
The wealth or poverty of a nation depends squarely on the content of the curriculum. Discuss.