CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Module 2: The Teacher as a Knewer of Curriculum

Lesson 1 – Approaches to School Curriculum
There are three ways in approaching curriculum:
1. Content or a body of knowledge to be transmitted
2. Product – learning outcomes desired by the learners
3. Process or what actually happens in the classroom when the curriculum is
practiced

A. Curriculum as a Content or Body of Knowledge

As a content the focus will be the knowledge to be transmitted to the

learners using the appropriate teaching method. Most likely the lesson will
be limited to the acquisition of facts, concepts and principles of the subject
matter. However, the content or subject matter can also be taken as a
means to an end.

Four Ways of Presenting a Content

1. Topical approach – content is based on knowledge and experience

2. Conceptual approach – with fewer topics in cluster around major and sub-
concepts and their interaction, with relatedness emphasized.
3. Thematic approach – a combination of concepts that develop conceptual
structure
4. Modular approach – leads to complete units of instruction

Criteria in the Selection of Content

1. Significance – content should contribute to ideas, concepts, principles and
generalization that should attain the over-all purposes of the curriculum. It is
significant if content becomes the means of developing cognitive, affective,
and psychomotor skills.
2. Validity – the authenticity of the subject matter forms its validity. There is a
need for validity check and verification at a regular interval because the
content may not be valid at the current time. Check for the breakthroughs and
current issues.
3. Utility – utility can be relative to time. It may have been useful in the past, but
not now and in the future.
4. Learnability – the complexity of the content should be in the experiences of
the learners. Appropriate organization of content standards and sequencing
of contents are two basic principles that would influence learnability.
5. Feasibility – subject content must be learned within the allotted time.
Teaching strategy used must be within the expertise of the teacher. Resource
materials should be within reach and should conform with the content.
Consider also the nature of learners.
6. Interest – this is one of the driving forces for students to learn. Make your
lesson as interesting as it can be.

What do you think are the guidelines in selecting a content?

Basic Principles of Curriculum Content

1. Balance – content should be fairly distributed in depth and breadth. Important

contents should be covered to avoid too much ar too little within the time
allocation.

2. Articulation – as the content complexity progresses with the educational

levels, vertically or horizontally, across the same discipline smooth
connectives or bridging should be provided. This will assure no gaps or
overlaps in the content.

3. Sequence – the logical arrangement of the content refers to sequence in

order. It can be vertically for deepening the content or horizontally for
broadening of the same content. Just the same the pattern should be from
easy to complex, what is known to the unknown, what is current to something
in the future.

4. Integration – content in the curriculum does not stand alone or in isolation.

Somehow there is always relatedness or connectedness to other contents. If
possible, contents should be infused in other disciplines. This will provide a
wholistic or unified view of curriculum instead of segmentation.

5. Continuity – content when viewed as a curriculum should continuously flow as

it was before, to where it is now and where it will be in the future. It should be
perennial and endure time. Constant repetition, reinforcement and
enhancement of content are all elements of continuity.
 B. Curriculum as a Process
As a process, curriculum happens in the classroom as the teacher asked a
question and students are engaged in some learning activities.
Curriculum as a process is seen as a scheme about the practice of teaching.
The process of teaching and learning becomes the central concern of teachers to
emphasize critical thinking, thinking meaning-making and heads on, hands on doing
and many others.
As a process, curriculum links to the content while content provides materials
on what to teach, the process provides on how to teach the content. When
accomplished, the process will result to various curriculum experiences for the
learners.
To you future teacher, the process is very critical. This is the instruction,
implementation and teaching.

Guiding Principles, When Curriculum is Approached as a Process

1. Curriculum process in the form of teaching methods or strategies are means
to achieve the end.
2. There is no single best process or method. Its effectiveness will depend on
the desired learning outcomes, the learners, support materials and the
teacher.
3. Curriculum process should stimulate the learners’ desire to develop the
cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains in each individual.
4. In the choice of methods, learning and teaching styles should be considered.
5. Every method or process should result to learning outcomes which can be
described as cognitive, affective and psychomotor.
6. Flexibility in the use of the process or methods should be considered. An
effective process will always result to learning outcomes.
7. Both teaching and learning are the two important processes in the
implementation of the curriculum.

C. Curriculum as a Product
Curriculum as viewed as a product, is what the students desire to achieve as a
learning outcomes. The students must be equipped with the knowledge, skills and
values to function effectively and efficiently.
The real purpose of education is to bring about significant changes in students’
pattern of behaviour. It is important that objectives or intended outcomes of the lesson
should be a statement of change to take place in the students.
 Curriculum product is expressed in form of outcomes which is referred to as the
achieved learning outcomes. These learned or achieved learning outcomes are
demonstrated by learners who has meaningful experiences in the curriculum. All of
these are the result of planning, content and processes in the curriculum.

Activity: Making an Inventory of Curriculum Approach as Content,

Process and Product.