1

cHAPTER Curriculum Essentials

Curriculum
Development for
Teachers

Module 1 Curriculum and The Teacher

Module Overview:

Module 1 is all about school curricula and the teacher. This introductory module
identifies the different types of curricula that exist in the teacher's classroom and
school. Further, Module 1 describes the important roles of the teacher as a curricularist
who engages in the different facets of curriculum development in any educational level.

Lesson 1 Curriculum in Schools

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Discuss the different curricula that exist in the schools

 Enhance understanding of the role of the teacher as a curricularist
 Analyze the significance of curriculum and curriculum development in the
teacher's classroom

Take Off

Have you read "The Sabre-Tooth Curriculum by Harold Benjamin (1939)?" Take
some time to read it and find out what curriculum is all about during those times.
Start here and enjoy reading.
A man by the name of New-Fist-Hammer-Maker knew how to do things his
 community needed to have done, and he had the energy and the will to go ahead and
do them. By virtue of these characteristics, he was an educated man. New -Fist was
also a thinker. Then as now, there were few lengths to which men would not go to
avoid the labour and pain of thought… New-Fist got to the pojnt where he became
strongly dissatisfied with the accustomed ways of his tribe. He began to catch
glimpses of ways in which life might be made better he for himself, his family and his
group man. By virtue of this development, he became a dangerous man…..
New-Fist thought about how he could harness the children's play to better the
life of the community. He considered what adults do for survival and introduced
these activities to children in a deliberate and formal way. These included catching
fish with bare hands, clubbing little woolly horses, and chasing away-sabre-toothed-
tigers-with-fire. These then became the curriculum and the community began to
prosper-with plenty of food, hides for attire and protection from threat. "It is
supposed that all would have gone well forever with this good educational system, if
conditions of life in that community remained forever the same." But conditions
changed.
The glacier began to melt and the community could no longer see the fish to
catch with their bare hands, and only the most agile and clever fish remained which
hid from the people. The woolly horses were ambitious and decided to leave the
region. The tigers got pneumonia and most died. The few remaining tigers left. In
their place, fierce bears arrived who would not be chased by fire. The community
was in trouble.

One day, in desperation, someone made a net from willow twigs and found a
new way to catch fish-and the supply was even more plentiful than before. The
community also devised a system of traps on the path to snare the bears. Attempts to
change education system to include these new techniques however encountered
"stern opposition."

These are also activities we need to know. Why can't the schools teach them?
But most of the tribe particularly the wise old men who controlled the school, smiled
indulgently at this suggestion. "That wouldn't be education... it would be mere
training". We don't teach fish grabbing to catch fish, we teach it to develop a
generalized agility which can never be duplicated by mere training . . . and so on.

"If you had any education yourself, you would know that the essence of true
education is timelessness. It is something that endures through changing conditions
like a solid rock standing squarely and firmly in the middle of the raging torent”

The story was written in 1939. Curriculum then, was seen as a tradition of
organized knowledge taught in schools of the 19th century. Two centuries later, the
concept of a curriculum has broadened to include several modes of thoughts or
experiences.

No formal, non-formal or informal education exists without a curriculum.

Classrooms will be empty with no curriculum. Teachers will have nothing to do, if there
is no curriculum. Curriculum is at the heart of the teaching profession. Every teacher is
guided by some sort of curriculum in the classroom and in schools.

In our current Philippine educational system, different schools are stablished in

different educational levels which have corresponding recommended curricula. The
educational levels are:

1. Basic Education. This level includes Kindergarten, Grade 1 to Grade 6 for

elementary, and for secondary, Grade 7 to Grade 10, for the Junior High
School and Grade Il and 12 and for the Senior High School. Each of the levels
has its specific recommended curriculum. The new basic education levels are
provided in the K to 12 Enhanced Curriculum of 2013 of the Department of
Education.
2. Technical Voçational Education. This is post-secondary technical vocational
educational and training taken care of by Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA). For the TechVoc track in SHS of DepEd,
DepEd and TESDA work in close coordination.
3. Higher Education. This includes the Baccalaureate or Bachelor Degrees and
the Graduate Degrees (Master's and Doctorate) which are under the
regulation of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)

Content Focus

In whatever levels of schooling and in various types of learning environment,

several curricula exist. Let us find out how Allan Glatthorn (2000) as mentioned in
Bilbao, et al (2008) classified these:
Types of Curricula in Schools
Have you realized that in every classroom there are several types of curricula
operating? Let us look into each one.
1. Recommended Curriculum. Almost all curricula found in our schools are
recommended. For Basic Education, these are recommended by the Department
of Education (DepEd), for Higher Education, by the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) and for vocational education by TESDA. These three
government agencies oversee and regulate Philippine education. The
recommendations come in the form of memoranda or policies, standards, and
guidelines. Other professional organizations or international bodies like UNESCO
also recommend curricula in schools.
2. Written Curriculum. This includes documents based on the recommended
curriculum. They come in the form of course of study, syllabi, modules, books or
instructional guides among others. A packet written curriculum is the teacher's
lesson plan. The most recent written curriculum is the K to 12 for Philippine
Basic Education.

3. Taught Curriculum. From what has been written or planned, the curriculum
has to be implemented or taught. The teachers and the learners will put life to
the written curriculum. The skill of the teacher to facilitate learning based on the
written curriculum with the aid of instructional materials and facilities will be
necessary. The taught curriculum will depend largely on the teaching style of the
teacher and the learning style of the learners.

4. Supported Curriculum. This is described as support materials that the teacher

needs to make learning and teaching meaningful. These include print materials
like books, charts, posters, worksheets, or non-print materials like Power Point
presentation, movies, slides, models, realias, mock-ups and other electronic
illustrations. Supported curriculum also includes facilities where learning occurs
outside or inside the four-walled building. These include the playground, science
laboratory, audio-visual rooms, zoo, museum, market, or the plaza. These are the
places where authentic learning through direct experiences occurs.

5. Assessed Curriculum. Taught and supported curricula have to be evaluated to

find out if the teacher has succeeded or not in facilitating learning. In the process
of teaching and at the end of every lesson or teaching episode, an assessment is
made. It can either be assessment for learning, assessment as learning or
assessment of learning. If the process is to find the progress of learning, then the
assessed curriculum is for learning, but if it is to find out how much has been
learned or mastered, then it is assessment of learning. Either way, such
curriculum is the assessed curriculum.

6. Learned Curriculum. How do we know if the student has learned? We always

believe that if a student changed behavior, he/she has learned. For example,
from a non-reader to a reader or from not knowing to knowing or from being
disobedient to being obedient. The positive outcome of teaching is an indicator
of learning. These are measured by tools in assessment, which indicate the
cognitive, affective, and psychomotor outcomes. Learned curriculum will also
demonstrate higher order and critical inking and lifelong skills.

7. Hidden/Implicit Curriculum. This curriculum is not deliberately planned but

has a great impact on the behavior of the learner. Peer influence, school
environment, media, parental pressures, societal changes, cultural practices,
natural calamities, are some factors that create the hidden curriculum. Teachers
should be sensitive and aware of this hidden curriculum. Teachers must have
good foresight to include these in the written curriculum, in order bring to the
surface what are hidden.
 In every teacher’s classroom, not all these curricula may be present at one time.
Many of them are deliberately planned, like the recommended, written, taught,
supported, assessed, and learned curricula. However, a hidden curriculum is implied,
and a teacher may or may not be able to predict its influence on learning. All of these
have significant role on the life of the teacher as a facilitator of learning and have direct
implication to the life of the learners.
Now that you are fully aware that there are seven types of curricula operating in
every teacher's classroom, it is then very necessary to learn deeper and broader about
the role of the teacher in relation to the school

Take Action

Activity 1 – Think-Pair-Share
1. Get a partner (A and B).
2. Discuss the Sabre - tooth Curriculum and answer the following:
a. Does the sabre-tooth curriculum still exist at present?
Give examples of your evidence.
b. Describe the kind of curriculum that exists as described in the article.
c. What does the author mean, when he said "A curriculum should be
timeless?" Explain.
d. What is the difference between education and training?

Activity 2 – Observing a Curriculum in a Classroom

Visit a classroom other than your own with permission from the teacher.
(Elem, High School, College).

Do the two activities:

1. Observe the classroom situation.

2. Interview the teacher.

Focus your observation and interview on the presence or absence of the seven
types of curricula and their descriptions.

3. Record your observation and interview on the matrix provided.

Guide questions for Observation and Interview

1. What curricula are present in the classroom from my observation?

2. What curricula are present in the classroom from my interview?
3. How do I describe what I observed? interviewed?
4. Is there a type of curricula not present in the classroom? Identify.
 Type of Curriculum What observation/information did I get or
What answers did I get from my interview?
1. Recommended
2. Written
3. Taught
4. Supported
5. Assessed
6. Learned
7. Hidden

Self-Check

I. Spin a Win: Agree or Disagree

Read each statement and decide whether you Agree or Disagree. Write your
answer before each number.
________________1. In the Saber Tooth Curriculum, learning is experiential and authentic.
________________2. It is a reality that there exist more than one curricula in the teacher's
classroom.
_____________________3. A teacher can say with confidence that learning has occurred, if the
curriculum has been assessed.
_____________________4. Some curricula in the schools/classrooms are unwritten.
________________5. To establish national standards, teachers should be guided by
recommended curriculum in basic and higher education.
________________6. Teachers should expect that school curricula are dynamic and
changing.
_____________________7. Evaluated curriculum makes judgment about learning.
________________8. Textbooks and modules are written curricula that represent the
recommended curricula.
________________9. Only the Department of Education can recommend curriculum.
________________10. In the heart of all the types of curricula, the teacher has a major role.

Self-Reflect
1. Is it necessary for teachers to learn about school curriculum? Why? Write
your answer on the space provided below.

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Lesson 2
 The Teacher As A Curricularist

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Enhance understanding of the role of the teacher as a curricularist in

the classroom and school.

Take Off

What specific roles do teachers play as a curricularist? Should they do these

roles?
This lesson will bring all of you to an enhanced understanding and realization of
the multifaceted roles of the teacher which relate to the curriculum. Let us find out!
Look at the words inside the box. Read each one of them. Which one describes
the teacher as a curricularist? Circle the word.

Facilitating
Exciting Planning Frustrating
Knowing

Growing Evaluating
Growing
Initiating Innovating

Broadening Building Rewarding Believing

Recommending Showing Copying

Are you aware that the teacher’s role 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 as curricularist.
 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.

Content Focus

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 a 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 to learning. Hence, curriculum is the heart of schooling.
Let us describe the teacher as a 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_çontent. 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 mastery 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 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 curriculum. These
factors include the 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 schools 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 full belief that the curriculum will
 enhance learning. There will be many constraints 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, kinds of students and skills of teachers, one cannot find a single
eternal curriculum that would perpetually fit. A good teacher, therefore,
innovates the curriculum and 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
an 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 the 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 of a curriculum evaluator. That person is the teacher. (Evaluator)
The seven different roles are those which a responsible teacher does in the
classroom everyday! Doing these multi-faceted work qualifies a teacher to be a
curricularist.
To be a teacher is to be a curricularist even if a teacher may not equal the likes of
John Dewey, Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba, or Franklin Bobbit. As a curricularist a teacher will
be knowing, writing, implementing, innovating, initiating and evaluating the curriculum
in the school and classrooms just like the role models and advocates in curriculum and
curriculum development who have shown the way.

Take Action

Activity I: 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.

Here are the steps. Follow these.

Step l- Form two groups in the class. Group A will survey elementary teachers,
and Group B will survey secondary or high school teachers.

Step 2- Each group will look for at least 30 teachers coming from one or different
schools and are currently teaching either in the private or public schools

Step 3- 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 __Yes_

classroom. _ __No__

5. I lead in the implementation of a new curriculum __Yes_

in my school. _ __No__

6. I write instructional materials based on the __Yes_

recommended school curriculum. _ __No__

7. I look for other ways of doing to improve teaching __Yes_

and learning in my classroom. _ __No__
 Step 4- Consolidate the data of 30 teachers in a matrix found in the Appendix 1.

Step 5- Report the result of your survey to the whole class.

Self-Check

I am a Teacher! Who Am I as a Curricularist?

Instructions: Identify on the blanks provided who am I as a Curricularist based on the
cases presented.

Case 1: I have a good idea on how to make my learners pay attention to the
lesson. I will use the new idea and find out if it will work.
_________________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________________
Case 4: I need a poem to celebrate the World Teachers’ Day. I composed one to be
used in my class in Literature.
_________________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________________
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 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 the river and waterfall instead of doing the lesson.
_________________________________________________
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 science 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.
_________________________________________________
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?
_________________________________________________
Did you learn more from the cases?

Self-Reflect

Choose one from Case 1 to Case 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.

Name:_______________________________________________ Case No. ___________________

A. My Reflections on Case No ______ ( refer to cases 1 to 10 above)

B. What my partner said about my reflections:

Name of Partner: _______________________________________________________

 Module 2 The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum

Module Overview:

Module 2 describes the school curriculum in terms of its definition, its nature
and scope, which are needed by the teacher as a knower. This module in provides a
wider perspective for the teachers about the curriculum, in terms of a curriculum
approach, curriculum development process, some curriculum models and the
foundations upon which curriculum is anchored.

The School Curriculum:

Lesson 1
Definition, Nature and Scope

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Define the curriculum from different perspectives

 Describe the nature and scope of curriculum

Take Off

Read today’s headlines

1. “Philippines Shifts to K to 12 Curriculum”
2. “Nature Deficit Syndrome On the Rise Among School Children”
3. “Teachers are Reluctant to Teach Beyond the Written Curriculum”
4. “Co-curricular Activities: Learning Opportunities or Distraction?”
5. “Parents Get Involved in School Learning”
What can you say of these headlines? Do these reflect what are going on in our
schools? Should the public know and be involved in the schooling of their citizens? What
are the implications of each headline to the classroom curriculum?
Each member of society seems to view school curriculum differently, hence there
are varied demands on what schools should do and what curriculum should be taught.
Some would demand reducing content and shifting emphasis to development of lifelong
skills. 0thers feel that development of character has been placed at the back seat of
some schools. More debates are emerging on the use of languages in the classroom.
Should it be mother tongue, the national language or the global language?
There seems to be confusion about what curriculum should really be. To have a
common understanding of what curriculum really is, this lesson will present some
definitions as given by authors. Likewise, you will find in this lesson the description of
the nature and scope of curriculum from several points of view. This lesson will also
explain how curriculum is being approaches. It further shows a development process as
a concept and as a process as applied to school curriculum.

Content Focus

Whether curriculum is taken in its narrow view as a listing of subjects to be

taught in schools or broadly as all learning experiences that individuals undergo while
in school, we cannot deny the fact that curriculum should be understood by teachers
and other stakeholders for curriculum affects all teachers, students, parents,
politicians, businessmen, professionals, government officials or even the common
people.

Like many concepts in education, there seems to be no common definition of

‘curriculum’. Because of this, the concept of curriculum is sometimes characterized as
fragmentary, elusive and confusing. However, the word originates from the Latin word
currere referring to the oval track upon which Roman chariots raced. The New
International Dictionary defines curriculum as the whole body of a course in an
educational institution or by a department while the Oxford English Dictionary defines
curriculum as courses taught in schools or universities. Curriculum_means different
things to different people. Sometimes educators equate curriculum with the syllabus
while a few regard it as all the teaching-learning experiences which the student
encounters while in school. Numerous definitions indicate dynamism which connotes
diverse interpretations as influenced by modes of thoughts, pedagogies, philosophies,
political as well as cultural perspectives. Here are some of them.

Some Definitions of Curriculum

1. Curriculum is a planned and guided set of learning experiences and intended

outcomes, formulated through the systematic reconstruction of knowledge and
experiences under the auspices of the school, for the learners' continuous and
willful growth in personal social competence." (Daniel Tanner, 1980)
2. It is a written document that systematically describes goals planned, objectives
content, learning activities, evaluation procedures,_and so forth. (Pratt, 1980)
3. The contents of a subject, concepts, and tasks to be acquired, planned activities,
the desired learning outcomes and experiences, product of culture and an
agenda to reform society make up a curriculum. (Schubert, 1987)
4. A curriculum includes "all of the experiences that individual learners have in a
program of education whose purpose is to achieve broad goals and related
 specific objectives, which is planned in terms of a framework of theory and
research or past and present professional practice." (Hass, 1 987)
5. It is a programme of activities (by teachers certain and pupils) designed so that
pupils will attain so far as possible certain educational and other schooling
ends or objectives. (Grundy, 1987)
6. It is a plan that consists of learning opportunities for a specific time frame and
place, a tool that aims to bring about behavior changes in students as a result of
planned activities and includes all learning experiences received by students
with the guidance of the school. (Goodland and Su, 1992)
7. It provides answers to three questions: l. What knowledge, skills and values are
most worthwhile? 2. Why are they most worthwhile? 3. How should the young
acquire them? (Cronbeth, 1992)

Some Points of View of Other Curricularists

Since the concept and meaning of curriculum are shaped by a person's point of
view, this has added to fragmentation, and some confusion. However, when put
together, the different definitions from diverse points of view, would describe
curriculum as dynamic and perhaps ever changing.

Points of view about the curriculum can either be traditional or progressive

according to the person's philosophical, psychological and even psychological
orientations. These views can also define what a curriculum is all about.

Curriculum from Traditional Points of View

The traditional points of view of curriculum were advanced by Robert Hutchins,
Arthur Bestor, and Joseph Schwab.
 Robert M. Hutchins views curriculum as "permanent studies" where rules of
grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic and mathematics for basic education are
emphasized. The 3Rs (Reading, Writing, 'rithmetic) should be emphasized in
basic education while liberal education should be the emphasis college.
 Arthur Bestor as an essentialist believes that the mission of school should be
intellectual training, hence curriculum should focus on the fundamental
intellectual disciplines of grammar literature and writing. It should include
mathematics, science, history, and foreign language.
 Joseph Schwab thinks that the sole source of curriculum is a discipline, thus the
subject areas such as Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, English and many
more. In college, academic disciplines are labelled as humanities, sciences,
languages, mathematics among others. He coined the word discipline as a ruling
doctrine for curriculum development.
 Phillip Phenix asserts that curriculum should consist entirely of knowledge
which comes from various disciplines.
Collectively from the traditional view of theorists like Hutchins, Schwab, Bestor,
and Phenix, curriculum can be defined as a field of study. Curriculum is highly academic
and is concerned with broad historical, philosophical, psychological and social issues.
From a traditional view, curriculum is mostly written documents such svllabus, course
of study, books and references where knowledge is found but is used as a means to
accomplish intended goals.

Curriculum from Progressive Points of View

On the other hand, a listing of school subjects, syllabi, course of study, and specific
discipline does not make a curriculum. In Its broadest terms, a progressive view of
curriculum is the total learning experiences of the individual. Let us look into how
curriculum is defined from a progressive point of view.
 John Dewey believes that education is experiencing. Reflective thinking is a
means that unifies curricular elements that are tested by application.
 Holin Caswell and Kenn Campbell viewed curriculum as all experiences
children have under the guidance of teachers.
 Othaniel Smith, William Stanley and Harlan Shore likewise defined
curriculum as a sequence of potential experiences, set up in schools for the
purpose of disciplining children and youth in group ways of thinking and acting.
 Colin Marsh and George Willis also viewed curriculum as all the experiences in
the classroom which are planned and enacted by the teacher and also learned by
the students.

The nature of curriculum has given rise to many interpretations, depending on a

person's philosophical beliefs- Let us put all of these interpretations in a summary.

CURRICULUM is what is taught in school, a set of subjects, a content, a program

of studies, a set of materials, a sequence of courses, a set of performance objectives,
everything that goes within the school. It is what is taught inside and outside of school
directed by the teacher, everything planned by school, a series of experiences
undergone by learners in school or what individual learner experiences as a result
school. In short, Curriculum is the total learning experiences of the learner, under the
guidance of the teacher.

Take Action

Activity 1: Traditional or Progressive: What is your View of Curriculum?

1. What is your own definition of a curriculum? Write down your answer in the
space provided.
2. Do you have a traditional view of a curriculum, a progressive view or both?
Explain your view based on your definition.

Self-Check
 Label the description/definition on the left with either Traditional (T) or
Progressive (P).

No. Description (T) (P)

Teachers are required to teach the book from cover to
1
cover.
If the learners can memorize the content, then the
2
curriculum is best.
3 Children are given opportunity to play outdoors.
Parents send children to a military type school with rigid
4
discipline
Teachers are reluctant to teach beyond the written
5
curriculum.
Prerequisites to promotion for the next grade are skills in
6
reading, writing and arithmetic only.
7 Teachers provide varied experiences for the children.
8 Learning can only be achieved in schools.
It is the systematic arrangement of contents in the course
9
syllabus.
10 Co-curricular activities are planned for all to participate.

Self-Reflect

Pick up a daily newspaper and read today’s headline. Choose one and reflect on
this headline that relates on curriculum and to your becoming a curricularist. Write you
answer in at least two paragraphs.
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Lesson 2
 Approaches to School Curriculum

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Describe the different approaches to school curriculum

 Explain by examples how the approaches clarify the definition of curriculum
 Reflect on how the three approaches interrelate with each other

Take Off

From the various definitions, we realize that curriculum is viewed in many ways.
Let us look back and use the definitions as a way of classifying how curriculum as either
a Content, a Process or a Product to fully understand the different perspectives of what
curriculum is all about. This can be one way of approaching a curriculum.

Content Focus

Three Ways of Approaching a Curriculum

Curriculum can be approached or seen in three ways. It can be defined as a
content, a process or an outcome. If you examine the definitions provided by the experts
in the field, there are three ways of approaching a curriculum. First, is to approach it as
content or a body of knowledge to be transmitted. Second, is to approach it as a product
or the learning outcomes desired of learners. Third, is to approach it as a process or
what actually happens in the classroom when the curriculum is practiced.
1. Curriculum as a Content or Body of Knowledge
It is quite common for traditionalists to equate a curriculum as a topic
outline, subject matter, or concepts to be included in the syllabus or a book. For
example, a primary school mathematics curriculum consists of topics on
addition, multiplication, subtraction, division, distance, weight, and many more.
Another example is in secondary school science that involves the study of
biological science, physical science, environmental science, and earth science.
Textbooks tend to begin with biological science such are plants and animals,
physical science with the physical elements, force and motion, earth science with
the layers of the earth and environmental science with the interaction of the
biological and physical science and earth’s phenomena, climate, vegetation
followed by economic activities such as agriculture, mining, industries,
urbanization, and so forth.
If curriculum is equated as content, then the focus will be the body of
knowledge to be transmitted to students using appropriate teaching method.
There can be a likelihood that teaching 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.
All curricula have content regardless of their design or models. The fund
of knowledge is the repository of accumulated discoveries and inventions of man
from the explorations of the earth and as products of research. In most
educational setting, curriculum is anchored on a body of knowledge or discipline.
There are four ways of presenting the content in the curriculum. These
are:
1) topical approach, where much content is based on knowledge, and
experiences are included;
2) concept approach with fewer topics in clusters around major and sub-
concepts and their interaction, with relatedness emphasized;
3) thematic approach as a combination of concepts that develop
conceptual structures, and
4) modular approach that leads to complete units of instruction.

Criteria in the Selection of Content

There are some suggested criteria in the selection of knowledge or subject
matter. (Scheffer, 1970 in Bilbao, et al 2009)
1) Significance. Content should contribute to ideas, concepts, principles and
generalization that should attain the overall purpose of the curriculum. It is
significant if content becomes the means of developing cognitive, affective or
psychomotor skills of the learner. As education is a way of preserving culture,
content will be significant when this will address the cultural context of the
learners.
2) Validity. The authenticity of the subject matter forms it’s validity. Knowledge
becomes obsolete with the fast-changing times. This there is a need for
validity check and verification at a regular interval, because content which
may be valid in its original form may not continue to be valid in the current
times.
3) Utility. Usefulness of the content in the curriculum is relative to the learners
who are going to use these. Utility can be relative to time. It may have been
useful in the past but may not be useful now or in the future. Questions like:
Will I use this in my future job? Will it add meaning to my life as a lifelong
learner? Or will the subject matter be useful in solving current concerns?
4) Learnability. The complexity of the content should be within the range of
experiences of the learners. This is based on the psychological principles of
learning. Appropriate organization of content standards and sequencing of
contents are two basic principles that would influence learnability.
5) Feasibility. Can the subject content be learned within the time allowed,
resources available, expertise of the teachers and the nature of the learners?
Are there contents of learning which can be learned beyond the formal
teaching-learning engagement? Are there opportunities provided to learn
these?
6) Interest. Will the learners take interest in the content? Why? Are the
contents meaningful? What value will the contents have in the present and
future life of the learners? Interest is one of the driving forces for students to
learn better.
The selection of the subject matter or content, aside from the seven
criteria mentioned earlier, may include the following guide in the selection of the
CONTENT.

Guide in the Selection of the Content in the Curriculum

1) Common used in the daily life
2) Appropriate to the maturity levels and abilities of the learners
3) Valuable in meeting the needs and competencies of the future career
4) Related to other subject fields or discipline for complementation and
integration
5) Important in the transfer of learning to other disciplines

BASIC Principles of Curriculum Content

In 1952, Palma proposed the principle of BASIC as a guide in addressing
CONTENT in the curriculum. B.A.S.I.C. refers to Balance, Articulation, Sequence,
Integration, and Continuity. In organizing content or putting together subject
matter, these principles are useful as a guide.
Balance. Content should be fairly distributed in depth and breadth. This
will guarantee that significant contents should be covered to avoid too much or
too little of the contents needed within the time allocation.
Articulation. As the content complexity progresses with the educational
levels, vertically or horizontally, across the same discipline smooth connections
or bridging should be provided. This will assure no gaps or overlaps in the
content. Seamlessness in the content is desired and can be assured if there is
articulation in the curriculum. Thus, there is a need of team among writers and
implementers of curriculum.
 Sequence. The logical arrangement of the content refers to sequence or
order. This can be done vertically for deepening the content or horizontally for
broadening the same content. In both ways, the pattern usually is from easy to
complex, what is known to the unknown, what is current to something in the
future.
Integration. Content in the curriculum does not stand alone or in
isolation. It has some ways of relatedness or connectedness to other contents.
Contents should be infused in other disciplines whenever possible. This will
provide a wholistic or unified view of curriculum instead of segmentation.
Contents which can be integrated to other disciplines acquire higher premium
than when isolated.
Continuity. Content when viewed as a curriculum should continuously
flow as it was before, to where it is now, and where it is now, and where it will be
in the future. It should be perennial. It endures time. Content may not be in the
same form and substance as seen in the past since changes and developments in
curriculum occur. Constant repetition, reinforcement and enhancement of
content are all elements of continuity.
2. Curriculum as a Process
We have seen that the curriculum can be approached as content. On the
other hand, it can also be approached as a process. Here, curriculum is not seen
as a physical thing or a noun, but as a verb or Ann action. It is the interaction
among the teachers, students and content. As a process, curriculum happens in
the classroom as the questions asked by the teacher and the learning activities
engaged in by the students. It is an active process with emphasis on the context
in which the processes occur. Used in analogy of the recipe in a cookbook, a
recipe is the content while the ways of cooking is the process.
Curriculum as a process is seen as a scheme about the practice of
teaching. It is not a package of materials or a syllabus of content to be covered.
The classroom is only part of the learning environment where the teacher places
action using the content to achieve an outcome. Hence 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 curriculum on how to teach the content.
When accomplished, the process will result to various curriculum experiences
for the learners. The intersection of the content and process is called the
Pedagogical Content Knowledge or PCK. It will address the question: If you have
this content, how will you teach it?
This section will not discuss in detail the different teaching strategies
from where learning experiences are derived. Rather, it will describe how the
process as a descriptor of curriculum is understood. The content is the substance
 of the curriculum, how the contents will be communicated and learned will be
addressed by the process.
To teachers, the process is very critical. This is the other side of the coin:
instruction, implementation, teaching. These three words connote the process in
the curriculum. When educators ask teachers: What curriculum are you using?
Some of the answers will be: 1. Problem-based. 2. Hands-on, Minds On 3.
Cooperative Learning 4. Blended Curriculum 5. On-line 6. Case-based and many
more. These responses approach curriculum as a Process. These are the ways of
teaching, ways of managing the content, guiding learning, methods of teaching,
and learning and strategies of teaching or delivery modes. In all of these, there
are activities and actions that every teacher and learner do together or learners
are guided by the teacher. Some of the strategies are time-tested traditional
methods while others are emerging delivery modes.
When curriculum is approached as a PROCESS, guiding principles are
presented.
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, 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,

3. Curriculum as a Product
Besides viewing curriculum as content that is to be transmitted, or
process that gives action using the content, it has also been viewed as a product.
In other words, product is what the students desire to achieve as a learning
outcomes.
The product from the curriculum is a student 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
behavior. It is important that any statement of objectives or intended outcomes
of the school should be a statement of changes to take place in the students.
central to the approach is the formulation of behavioral objectives stated as
intended learning outcomes or desired products so that content and teaching
 methods may be organized and the results evaluated. Products of learning are
operationalized as knowledge, skills, and values.
Curriculum product is expressed in form of outcomes which are referred
to as the achieved learning outcomes. There may be several desired learning
outcomes, but if the process is not successful, then no learning outcomes will
be achieved. These learned or achieved learning outcomes are demonstrated by
the person who has meaningful experiences in the curriculum. All of these are
result of planning, content and processes in the curriculum.

Take Action

Activity I: Making an Inventory of Curriculum Approach as Content, Process and

Product

Instruction: Choose book that is being used in elementary, high school or college.
Identify the following: Content, Process, Product.

Inventory of the Curriculum Content, Process and Product

Title of the Book:

Grade Level: Subject area used:

No. Content Process Product

Example: Example: Example:
A. Type of A. Individual A. List of types of
curriculum in research curriculum.
the classroom B. Interview B. Skill in interview
C. Observation and observation
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
 Self-Check

Instruction: Match the CONCEPT in column II with the CHOICES in Column III. Write the
letter of your ANSWER in Column I.

I. Answer II. Concepts III. Choices

1. Curriculum as way of doing A. Content
2. Authenticity of the content B. Process
3. Curriculum as the subject matter C. Product
4. Fair distribution of the content across
D. Validity
the subjects
5. Curriculum as the outcome of learning E. Balance
6. Seamless flow of content vertically or
F. Articulation
horizontally in the curriculum
7. Evidence of successful teaching G. Sequence
8. Enduring and perennial content, from
H. Integration
past to future
9. Allowing the transfer of content to
I. Continuity
other fields
10. Arranging of contents from easy to J. Learning
difficult Outcomes

Self-Reflect

Instruction: After learning from this lesson, how would you prepare yourself to become
a teacher, using the three approaches to Curriculum? Write on the space
below.
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Lesson 3 Curriculum Development: Process

and Model

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Explain and summarize the curriculum development process and models

Take Off

Curriculum is a dynamic process. In curriculum development, there are always

changes that occur that are intended for improvement. To do this, there are models
presented to us from well-known curricularists like Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba, Galen
Saylor and William Alexander which would help clarify the process of curriculum
development. There are many other models, but let us use the three for this lesson.

Content Focus

Curriculum Development Process

Curriculum development is a dynamic process involving many different people
and procedures. Development connotes changes which is systematic. A change for the
better means alteration, modification or improvement of existing condition. To produce
positive changes, development should be purposeful, planned and progressive. Usually
it is linear and follows a logical step-by-step fashion involving the following phases:
curriculum planning, curriculum design, curriculum implementation and curriculum
evaluation. Generally, most models involve four phases.
1. Curriculum planning considers the school vision, mission and goals. It also
includes the philosophy or strong education belief of the school. All of these will
eventually be translated to classroom desired learning outcomes for the learners.
2. Curriculum designing is the way curriculum is conceptualized to include the
selection and organization of content, the selection and organization of learning
experiences or activities and the selection of the assessment procedure and tools
to measure achieved learning outcomes. A curriculum design will also include
the resources to be utilized and the statement of the intended learning outcomes.
 3. Curriculum implementing is putting into action the plan which is based on
the curriculum design in the classroom setting or the learning environment.
The teacher is the facilitator of learning and, together with the learners, uses
the curriculum as design guides to what will transpire in the classroom with
the end in view of achieving the intended learning outcomes. Implementing the
curriculum is where action takes place. It involves the activities that transpire
in every teacher's classroom where learning becomes an active process.
4. Curriculum evaluating determines the extent to which the desired outcomes
have been achieved. This procedure is on-going as in finding out the progress
of learning (formative) or the mastery of learning (summative). Along the way,
evaluation will determine the factors that have hindered or supported the
implementation. It will also pinpoint where improvement can be made and
corrective measures, introduced. The result of evaluation is very important for
decision making of curriculum planners, and implementors .

Curriculum Development Process Models

1. Ralph Tyler Model: Four Basic Principles

Also known as Tyler's Rationale, the curriculum development model

emphasizes the planning phase. This is presented in his book Basic Principles of
Curriculum and Instruction. He posited four fundamental principles which are
illustrated as answers to the following questions:

1. What education purposes should schools seek to attain?

2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these
purposes?
3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?
4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained or not?

Tyler's model shows that in curriculum development, the following

considerations should be made:

1. Purposes of the school

2. Educational experiences related to the purposes
3. Organization of the experiences
4. Evaluation of the experience

2. Hilda Taba Model: Grassroots Approach

Hilda Taba improved on Tyler’s model. She believed that teachers should
participate in developing a curriculum. As a grassroots approach Taba begins from
the bottom, rather than from the top as what Tyler proposed. She presented seven
major steps to her linear model which are the following:

1. Diagnosis of learners’ needs and expectations of the larger society

2. Formulation of learning objectives
3. Selection of learning contents
4. Organization of learning contents
5. Selection of learning experiences
6. Determination of what to evaluate and the means of doing it
 3. Galen Saylor and William Alexander Curriculum Model

Galen Saylor and William Alexander (1974) viewed curriculum

developments as consisting of four steps. curriculum is “a plan for providing sets of
learning opportunities to achieve broad educational goals and related specific
objectives for an identifiable population served by a single school center.:

1. Goals, Objectives and Domains. Curriculum planners begin by specifying

the major educational goals and specific objectives they wish to accomplish.
Each major goal represents a curriculum domain: personal development,
human relations, continued learning skills and specialization. The goals,
objectives and domains are identified and chosen based on research findings
accreditation standards, and views of the different stakeholders.
2. Curriculum Designing. Designing a curriculum follows after appropriate
learning opportunities are determined and how each opportunity is
provided. Will the curriculum be designed along the lines of academic
disciplines, or according to student needs and interests or along themes?
These are some of the questions that need to be answered at this stage of the
development process.
3. Curriculum Implementation. A designed curriculum is now ready for
implementation. Teachers then prepare instructional plans where
instructional objectives are specified and appropriate teaching methods and
strategies are utilized to achieve the desired learning outcomes among
students.
4. Evaluation. The last step of the curriculum model is evaluation. A
comprehensive evaluation using a variety of evaluation techniques is
recommended. It should involve the total educational programme of the
school and the curriculum plan, the effectiveness of instruction and the
achievement of students. through the evaluation process, curriculum planner
and developers can determine whether or not the goals of the school and the
objectives of instruction have been met.

All the models utilized the processes of (1) curriculum planning, (2)
curriculum designing, (3) curriculum implementing, and (4) curriculum evaluating.

Take Action

Activity 1: Comparison of the Three Models (by groups or clusters of 3 to

5 persons)
Instruction: With your group members, determine the similarities and differences of the
three models of Curriculum Development Process.
How are the models similar?

Similar Features Tyler’s Taba’s Saylor and Alexander

Tyler xxxxxxxxx
Taba xxxxxxxxxx
Saylor & Alexander xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Comment:

How are the Models Different?

Different Features Tyler’s Taba’s Saylor and Alexander

Tyler xxxxxxxxx
Taba xxxxxxxxxx
Saylor & Alexander xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Comment:

Self-Check

1. Describe the model of curriculum development which you understand well.

Write n two paragraphs.

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Self-Reflect

1. What phase of the curriculum process do you find very important as a teacher?
Why?

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 Lesson 4 Foundations of Curriculum
Development

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Describe the foundations of curriculum development

 Explain how each foundation influences the curriculum development

Take Off

Curriculum development is anchored on a very solid foundation.

Although considered to be a new discipline, its significance in the light of global
developments has now been acknowledged. What philosophical, historical,
psychological, and sociological influences inform the current school curriculum? How
do these foundations reflect the development of curriculum in our 21 st century
classrooms and learning environment? Who are the identified curricularists with these
foundations? Let us find out!

Content Focus

Foundations of Curriculum

1. Philosophical Foundations

Educators, teachers, educational planners and policy makers must have a

philosophy or strong belief about education and schooling and the kind of
curriculum in the teachers’ classrooms or learning environment. Philosophy of
the curriculum answers questions like: What are schools for? What subjects are
important? How should students learn? What methods should be used? What
outcomes should be achieved? Why?

The various activities in school are influenced in one way or another by a

philosophy. John Dewey influenced the use of "learning by doing", he being a
pragmatist. Or to an essentialist, the focus on the fundamentals of reading,
writing and arithmetic are essential subjects in the curriculum.
 There are many philosophies in education but we will illustrate only
those presented by Ornstein and Hunkins in 2004.

A. Perennialism
 Aim: To educate the rational person; cultivate intellect
 Role: Teachers assist students to think with reason (critical thinking
HOTS)
 Focus: Classical subjects, literary analysis. Curriculum is enduring
 Trends: Use of great books (Bible, Koran, Classics) and Liberal Arts

B. Essentialism
 Aim: to promote intellectual growth of learners to become competent
 Role: Teachers are sole authorities in the subject area
 Focus: Essential skills of the 3Rs; essential subjects
 Trends: Back to basics, Excellence in education, cultural literacy

C. Progressivism
 Aim: Promote democratic social living
 Role: Teacher leads for growth and development of lifelong learners
 Focus: Interdisciplinary subjects. Learner-centered. Outcomes-based
 Trends: Equal opportunities for all, Contextualized curriculum,
Humanistic education

D. Reconstructionism
 Aim: To improve and reconstruct society. Education for change
 Role: Teacher acts as agent of change and reforms
 Focus: Present and future educational landscape
 Trends: School and curricular reform, Global education, Collaboration
and Convergence, Standards and Competencies

2. Historical Foundations

Where is curriculum development coming from? The historical foundations will

show to us the chronological development along a time line. Reading materials would
tell us that curriculum development started when Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956) wrote
the book “The Curriculum.” Let us see how each one contributed to curriculum
development during his own time. Here are eight among the many, we consider to have
great contributions.

Persons Contributions/Theories and Principles

 He started the curriculum development
movement.
Curriculum is a science that emphasizes
students’ needs.
Curriculum prepares learners for adult life.
Objectives and activities should group together
when tasks are clarified.

Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956)

Like Bobbit, he posited that curriculum is

science and emphasizes students’ needs.
Objectives and activities should match. Subject
matter or content relates to objectives.

Werret Charters (1875-

1952)

Curricula are purposeful activities which are

child-centered.
The purpose of the curriculum is child
development and growth. He introduced this
project method where teacher and student plan
the activities.
Curriculum develops social relationships and
small group instruction.

William Kilpartick (1875-

1952)

Curriculum should develop the whole child. It

is child-centered.
With the statement of objectives and related
learning activities, curriculum should produce
outcomes.
Emphasized social studies and suggested that
the teacher plans curriculum in advance.

Harold Rugg (1886-1960)

 Curriculum is organized around social
functions of theme, organized knowledge and
learner’s interest.
Curriculum, instruction and learning are
interrelated.
Curriculum is a set of experiences. Subject
matters is developed around social functions
and learning interests.

Hollis Caswell (1901-1989)

Curriculum is a science and an extension of

school’s philosophy. It is based on students’
needs and interest.
Curriculum is always related to instruction.
Subject matter is organized in terms of
knowledge, skills and values.
The process emphasizes problem solving.
Curriculum aims to educate generalists and not
specialists.
Ralph Tyler (1902-1994)

She contributed to the theoretical and

pedagogical foundations of concepts
development and critical thinking in social
studies curriculum.
She helped lay the foundation for diverse
student population.

Hilda Taba (1902-1967)

He described how curriculum change is a

cooperative endeavor.
Teachers and curriculum specialist constitute
the professional core of planners.
Significant improvement is achieved through
group activity.

Peter Oliva (1992-2012)

3. Psychological Foundation of Curriculum

Psychology provides a basis to understand the teaching and learning

process. It unifies elements of the learning process. Questions which can be
addressed by psychological foundations of education are: How should
 curriculum be organized to enhance learning? What is the optimal level of
students' participation in learning the various contents of the curriculum? In
this module, we shall consider three groups of learning theories: behaviorism or
association theories; cognitive-information processing theories and humanistic
theories (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2004).

Let us review some theories in learning related to these clusters of

learning theories.

3.1 Association and Behaviorism

3.2 Cognitive Information Processing Theory

Persons Contributions/Theories and Principles

He is the father of the Classical Conditioning

Theory, the S-R Theory
The key to learning is early years of life is to
train them what you want them to become.
S-R Theory is a foundation of learning practice
called indoctrination.

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

He championed the Connectionism Theory.

He proposed the three laws of learning:
 Law of readiness
 Law of exercise
 Law of effect
Specific stimulus has specific response.

Edward Thorndike (1874-

1949)

He proposed the Hierarchical Learning Theory.

learning follows a hierarchy.
Behavior is based on prerequisite conditions.
He introduced tasking in the formulation of
objectives.

Robert Gagne (1916-2002)

 Persons Contributions/Theories and Principles

Theories of Jean Piaget

 Cognitive development has stages from
birth to maturity:
Sensorimotor stage (0-2), preoperational
stage (2-7), concrete operations stage (7-
11), and formal operations stage (11-
onwards)

Keys to Learning
 Assimilation (incorporation of new
experience)
 Accommodation (learning modification and
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) adaptation)
 Equilibration (balance between previous
and later learning)

Theories of Lev Vygotsky

 Cultural transmission and development:
Children could, as a result of their
interaction with society, actually perform
certain cognitive actions prior to arriving at
developmental stage
 Learning precedes development
 Sociocultural development theory

Keys to Learning
 Pedagogy creates learning processes that
lead to development.
Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)  The child is an active agent in his or her
educational process.
 Gardner’s multiple intelligences
 Humans have several different ways of
processing information and these ways are
relatively independent of one another.
 There are eight intelligences: linguistic,
logico-mathematical, musical, spatial,
bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal,
intrapersonal, and naturalistic.

Howard Gardner

Emotion contains the power to affect action.

 He called this Emotional Quotient.

Daniel Goleman

3.1 Humanistic Psychology

Persons Contributions/Theories and Principles

 Gestalt Theory
 Learning is explained in terms of
“wholeness” of the problem.
 Human beings do not respond to isolated
stimuli but to an organization or pattern of
stimuli.

Keys to Learning
 Learning is complex and abstract.
 Learners analyze the problem, discriminate
between essential and nonessential data,
and perceive relationships.
 Learners will perceive something in
relation to the whole. What/How they
Gestalt perceive is related to their previous
experiences.

 He advanced the Self-Actualization Theory

and classic theory of human needs.
 A child whose basic needs are not met will
not be interested in acquiring knowledge of
the world.
 He put importance to human emotions
based on love and trust.

Key to Learning
 Produce a healthy and happy learner who
can accomplish, grow and actualize his or
her human self.
Abraham Maslow (1908-
1970)
 Nondirective and Therapeutic Learning
 He established counselling procedures
and methods for facilitating learning.
 Children’s perceptions, which are
highly individualistic, influence their
learning and behavior in class.

Key to Learning
 Curriculum is concerned with process, not
product; personal needs, not subject
matter, psychological meaning, not
cognitive scores.
Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

Social Foundations of Curriculum

Persons/Symbols Contributions/Theories and Principles

Society as a source of change

Schools as agents of change

Knowledge as an agent of change

Schools and Society

Considered two fundamental elements –

schools and civil society – to be major topics
needing attention and reconstruction to
encourage experimental intelligence and
plurality.

John Dewey (1859-1952)

 Wrote the book Future Shock
Believed that knowledge should prepare
students for the future
Suggested that in the future, parents might
have the resources to teach prescribed
curriculum from home as a result of
technology, not in spite of it. (Home Schooling)
Foresaw schools and students worked
creatively, collaboratively, and independent of
their age.

Alvin Toffler

In summary, the foundation upon which curriculum is based are

educational philosophies, historical developments, psychological explanations,
and societal influences. All of these foundations are interrelated to each.

Take Action

Activity 1: Explore the Web (by Groups)

Instructions:
1. Form a five-member group. Choose a group leader. With all the group
members, search two outstanding personalities in the cluster of
Curriculum Foundations who contributed to curriculum development. Write
their biographies. You may find other persons not included in the list given in
this lesson.
Cluster 1 – Philosophical Foundations
Cluster 2 – Historical Foundations
Cluster 3 – Psychological Foundations
Cluster 4 – Sociological Foundations
2. Submit in group biographies of the identified persons in not less than 3
pages, short-sized bond paper, double spaced, with list of references at the
end.

Self-Check

Quick Check! Tag the Person

What significant contribution can you recall about this person?
 1. Lev Vygotsky
2. Daniel Goleman
3. William Kilpartick
4. Hilda Taba
5. Ralph Tyler
6. John Dewey
7. Abraham Maslow
8. Carl Rogers
9. Franklin Bobbit
10. Alvin Toffler

Self-Reflect

After discussing this lesson, reflect on the following questions.

1. Identify which among the foundations of curriculum, has influenced what you
have learned in school as a college student?
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2. How will the thinking of Abraham Maslow influence your teaching practice in the
future?
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3. Do you agree with Alvin Toffler?

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