Chapter VII:

Programme Organization
and Structure
Randy C. Laurente
Vanesa B. Marcos
SCOPE
Scope

• all the content, topics, learning experiences , activities and

organizing threads comprising the educational plan - Ralph
Tyler
- breadth and depth of the curriculum
- The terms broad, limited, simple, general are few of
the words that can describe the scope. With the limitless
knowledge that abounds, scope provides boundaries in
curriculum as it applies to the different education
levels.
- Other considerations in the determination of the scope
should include time, diversity and maturity of the
learners, complexity of content, and level of
education.
- Simply said, Scope refers to the coverage of the
curriculum
The scope of the curriculum can be divided into
chunks :
- Units
- sub-units
- Chapters
- sub-chapters

 Each chunk is guided by the general curriculum

objectives or goal.
SEQUENCE
 Four Principles for Sequence
( Smith, Stanley and Shore1957)
• Simple to complex learning
- Content and experiences are organized from
simple to complex, from concrete to abstract,
from easy to difficult.
• Prerequisite learning
- It means that there are fundamental things to be
learned ahead.
• Whole to part learning
- This principle has a relations to gestalt.
• Chronological learning

- The order of events is made as a basis of

sequencing the content and the experiences.
- The sequence can be arranged from the most
recent to the distant past or vice versa.
 Five Major Principles for Organizing Content in Units
(Posner and Rudnitsky 1994)
1. World related sequnce
a. Space-spatial relations will be the basis for the
sequence.
b. Time- from the earliest to the most recent
c. Physical attributes- the physical characteristics
of the phenomena such as ages, shape, size,
brightness and others.
 2. Concept-related Sequence
a. Class Relations- group or set of things that share
common practices.
b. Propositional Relations- A statement that asserts
Something.
3.Inquiry-related sequence

-based on the process of generating, discovering and

verifying knowledge, content and experiences are
sequenced logically and methodically.
4. Learning- related sequence
a. Empirical Prerequisites- sequence is primarily
based on empirical studies where the prerequisites
is required before learning the next level.
b. Familiarity- prior learning is important in
sequence.
c. Difficulty- easy content is taken ahead than the
difficult one

d. Interest- use interesting contents and experiences to

boost their appetite in learning
CONTINUITY
Continuity- vertical repetition and recurring
appearances of the content provide continuity in the
curriculum. This process enables the learner to
strengthen the permanency of learning and development
of skills.
• Gerome Bruner calls this “ spiral curriculum” where
the content is organized according to the
interrelationship between the structure of the basic
ideas of a major discipline.
• For learners to develop the ideas, these have to be
developed and redeveloped in a spiral fashion in
increasing depth and breath as the learners advance.
INTEGRATION
Integration- “Everything is integrated and
interconnected. Life is a series of emerging themes”.
This is the essence of integration in the curriculum
design.
- Subject matter content or disciplined content lines are
erased and isolation is eliminated
 Principles of Integration
• This refers to the organization or putting together
diverse elements to form a unified and harmonious
whole.
• The students should be able to combine his previous
experiences together in meaningful patterns of
understanding and application.
• Open-ended and provide for a range of learning styles.
 Approaches of Integrated Curriculum
• Intradisciplinary (within the subject areas)
- when the teachers integrate the sub - disciplines
within a subject area, they are using interdisciplinary
approach.
 Approaches of Integrated Curriculum
• Multidisciplinary (between subject areas)
- in a multidisciplinary approach, two or more subject areas
are organized around the same theme or topic.

• Transdisciplinary (beyond subject areas)

- in transdisciplinary approach, to integration, teachers
organize curriculum around student questions and concerns.
ARTICULATION
 Articulation- this can be done either vertically or
horizontally. In vertical articulation, contents are
arranged from level to level or grade to grade so that
the content in a lower level is connected to the next
level.
• Horizontal articulation happens at the same
time like social studies in grade six is related
to science in grade six.
BALANCE
Balance- equitable assignment of content, time,
experiences and other elements to establish balance is
needed in curriculum design.
• Too much or too little of these elements
maybe disastrous to the curriculum
• Keeping the curriculum “in balance”
requires fine timing and review for its
effectiveness and relevance
THANK YOU  