LESSON 2: THE TEACHER AS A CURRICULARIST

Pre Discussion

In this part of the lesson gives several meaning of curriculum for the students to
have a deeper understanding of it. Its nature and scope are discussed too. These are
vital for a teacher as a knower of the curriculum.

Also, in lesson 2, the approaches, development and foundations of curriculum

are tackled to present the several roles of a teacher as a curricularist. In other words
What specific roles do teachers play as a curricularist? Should they do these roles? Let
us find out!

WHAT TO EXPECT?

1. You can discuss the role of the teacher as a curricularist in the classroom and
school.

Look at the words inside the box. Read each one of them. Which one describe
the teacher as curricularist? Circle the word.

Broadening Facilitating Showing Frustating

Growing Initiating Growing Evaluating Innovating

Exciting Building Rewarding Believing

Recommending Planning Copying

Did you find the many roles of a teacher in school is very complex? Teachers do
a series of interrelated actions about curriculum, instruction, assessment, evaluation,
teaching and learning. A classroom teacher is involved with curriculum continuously all
day. But very seldom has a teacher been described a curricularist.

LESSON OUTLINE

Curricularists in the past are referred only to those who developed curriculum
theories. According to the study conducted by Sandra Hayes (1991), the most influential
curricularist in America include John Dewey, Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba and Franklin
Bobbit. You will learn more of them in the later part of the module.

In this lesson, we will start using the word curricularist to describe a professional
who is a curriculum specialist ( Hayes, 1991; Ornstein & Hunkins, 2004; Hewitt, 2006).
A person who is involved in curriculum knowing, writing, planning, implementing,
evaluating, innovating, and initiating may be designated as curricularist. A TEACHER’S
role is broader and inclusive of other functions and so a teacher is curricularist.

So what does a TEACHER do to deserve the label curricularist? Let us look at

the different roles of the teacher in the classroom and in the school. The classroom is
the first place of curricular engagement. The first school experience sets the tone to
understand the meaning of schooling through the interactions of learners and teachers
that will lead the learning. Hence, curriculum is the heart of schooling.

Let us describe the teacher as curricularist

The teacher as a curricularist . . . . .

1. Knows the curriculum. Learning begins with knowing. The teacher as a learner
starts with knowing about the curriculum, the subject matter or the content. As a
teacher, one has to master what are included in the curriculum. It is acquiring
academic knowledge both formal (disciplines, logic) or informal ( derived from
experiences, vicarious, and unintended). It is the master of the subject matter.
(Knower)
2. Writes the curriculum. A classroom teacher takes record of knowledge
concepts, subject matter or content. These need to be written or preserved. The
teacher writes books, modules, laboratory manuals, instructional guides, and
reference materials in paper or electronic media as a curriculum writer or
reviewer. (Writer)
3. Plans the curriculum. A good curriculum has to be planned. It is the daily role of
the teacher to make a yearly, monthly or daily plan of the curriculum. This will
serve as a guide in the implementation of the curriculum. The teacher takes into
consideration several factors in planning a curriculum. These factors include
learners, the support material, time, subject matter or content, the desired
outcomes, the context of the learners among others. By doing this, the teacher
becomes a curriculum planner. ( Planner)
4. Initiates the curriculum. In cases where the curriculum is recommended to the
school from DepEd, CHED, TESDA, UNESCO, UNICEF or other educational
agencies for improvement of quality education, the teacher is obliged to
implement. Implementation of a new curriculum requires the open mindedness of
the teacher and the belief that the curriculum will enhance learning. There will be
many constraint and difficulties in doing things first or leading, however, a
transformative teacher will never hesitate to try something novel and relevant
(Initiator)
5. Innovates the curriculum. Creativity and innovation are hallmarks of an
excellent teacher. A curriculum is always dynamic, hence it keeps on changing.
From the content, strategies, ways of doing, blocks of time, ways of evaluating,
 kind of students and skills of teachers, one cannot find a single eternal curriculum
that would perpetually fit. A good teacher, therefore, innovates the curriculum
thus becomes a curriculum innovator. (Innovator)
6. Implements the curriculum. The curriculum that remains recommended or
written will never serve its purpose. Somebody has to implement it. As mentioned
previously, at the heart of schooling is the curriculum. It is this role where the
teacher becomes the curriculum implementor. An implementor gives life to the
curriculum plan. The teacher is at the height of engagement with the learners,
with support materials in order to achieve the desired outcome. It is where
teaching, guiding, facilitating skills of the teacher, is expected to the highest level.
It is here where teaching as a science and as an art will be observed. It is here
where all elements of the curriculum will come into play. The success of a
recommended, well written and planned curriculum depends on the
implementation. (Implementor)
7. Evaluates the curriculum. How can one determine if the desired learning
outcomes have been achieved? Is the curriculum working? Does it bring the
desired results? What do outcomes reveal? Are the learners achieving? Are
there some practices that should be modified? Should the curriculum be
modified, terminated or continued? These are some few questions that need the
help if a curriculum evaluator. That person is the teacher. (Evaluator)

In conclusion there are different roles which a responsible teacher does in the
classroom every day! Doing these multi-faceted work qualifies a teacher to be a
curricularist.

As a teacher and being is a curricularist, even if a teacher may not equal to the
likes of John Dewey, Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba, or Frankling Bobbit. As a curricularist a
teacher will be knowing, writing,implementing, innovating initiating and evaluating the
curriculum the school and classrooms just like the role models and advocates in
curriculum and curriculum development who have shown the way.

Assessment

Activity 1: Let’s Do a Simple Survey

Have you done a survey before? In this activity you will gather information direct
from teachers to find out what curriculum activities they are involved in.
 Step 1 – Individually conduct a virtual or telephone or face to face (if the teacher
is a family member or a neighbor) survey to a teacher. Male students will ask
elementary teachers while female students to secondary teachers.

Step 2 – With the use of the Teacher Survey Tool below, conduct the survey
during your vacant periods.

The Teacher as a Curricularist Survey Tool

Name of Teacher: ________________________________________________

School: _____________________________Grade Level Assignment: _______

No. of Years Teaching: ________________Degree Graduated: _____________

Circle YES or NO that will correspond to your self-assessment. Then rank the items
which you answered YES. Which activity do you do most of the time? What activity do
you do least of the time?

As a school Teacher, Rank

1. I master the subject matter that I have to teach. Yes No

2. I implement what I have planned for my teaching. Yes No
3. I monitor and assess if my students are learning. Yes No
4. I modify my activity to suit my learners in my classroom. Yes No
5. I lead in the implementation of a new curriculum
In my school. Yes No

6. I write instructional materials base on the recommended Yes No

school curriculum.
7. I look for other ways of doing to improve teaching and Yes No
learning in my classroom

Step 3 – Consolidate the responses using a matrix. You may use your own matrix.
Encoded or hand written is accepted.

Step 4 – Submit your output in the gclassroom

Activity 2. I am a Teacher! Who Am I as a Curricularist?

Instructions: Identify on the blanks provided who are you as a curricularist based on the
cases presented.
Case 1: I have a good idea on how to make my learners to pay attention to the lesson. I
will use the new idea and find out if it will work.
________INNOVATOR__________________

Case 2: DepEd sent the standards, competencies and guidelines in teaching the Mother
Tongue in Grade 1 in our school. I will study and use it in the coming school year.

_____________INITIATOR___________________

Case 3: There is so much to do in one school day. I seem not able to do all, but I have
to accomplish something for my learners. I have made a daily activity plan to guide me.

____________________PLANNER_____________

Case 4: I need a poem to celebrate the World Teacher’s Day. I composed one to be
used in my class in Literature. ______WRITER____________________________

Case 5: My class is composed of learners from different home background and culture.
I cannot use a “one-size-fits all strategy” in teaching so I can respond to the diverse
background. In my readings, I discovered that there are ways of teaching. I tried one
myself and it worked ___________________KNOWER_________________ .

Case 6: Knowledge is limitless. What I learned in college is not enough. I need to know
more, so I enrolled in the graduate school to advance my learning.
_INNOVATOR_______________

Case 7: At the end of the year, my performance as a teacher is reflected in the school
performance of my students. So I need to provide a monitoring tool to measure how
they are progressing. The result will inform me how I will address my learners’
weakness and enhance their strengths.
______________________EVALUATOR____________

Case 8: I am teaching in a very far away barangay with no electricity yet. Many of the
instructional aids for teaching sent to our school school are films and video tapes which
need power. I cannot use them, but the lessons are very important. So I thought of
making an alternative activity. I took my class to a river and waterfall instead of doing
the lesson. ___INITIATOR_________________________________

Case 9: My principal asked me to attend a write shop to make the lesson exemplars in
the teaching of science in Grade 7. In the workshop, I used my experiences as a scince
teacher for ten years, and my knowledge of the subject matter. At the end of three days.
I was able to produce lesson exemplars which I am proud of.
____WRITER________________
Case 10: In Grade 7 to Grade 10 of the K to 12 Enhanced Curriculum, science as a
subject is presented taught and learned in a spiral manner. This is part of the DepEd
implementing guidelines of the curriculum. I am a Biology major, and I have insufficient
knowledge about the other areas of science such as Physics and Earth Science.
Because of this dilemma, I have to request the principal that we have team teaching.
Which role of the curricularist, am I trying to do?
INNOVATOR_______________________________

Enrichment

Choose one from Case 1 to 10 above. Reflect on the case you have chosen and
write your reflections on the box below. Ask your classmate to read and comment
on your reflections. Both of you, discuss your answers.

Enrichment

Name: ____MA.CAROL FLORO____________ Case No. _____6___________

A. My reflections on Case No_(refer to cases 1 to 10 above)

Case 6: Knowledge is limitless. What I learned in college is not enough. I need to know
more, so I enrolled in the graduate school to advance my learning.
_INNOVATOR_______________

B. What my partner said about my reflections: