ACTIVITY 4 – THE TEACHING-LEARNING RESOURCES, ICT, AND THE CURRICULUM

In order to cope up with the demands of society, educational institutions like the Department of Education and
Commission on Higher Education must continue constructing and developing curricula to be utilized in schools for the
purpose of providing and nurturing the learners with the knowledge, skills, learning experiences, and the overall quality of
education they need to become productive and successful citizens of their time.

The International Bureau of Education has defined curriculum as a systematic and intended packaging of
competencies that learners should acquire through organized learning experiences both in formal and non-formal settings.
Curricula are provided as pathways for teachers to plan an authentic and effective teaching and learning process for their
students. In addition, these curricula are implemented depending on the quality of the teaching techniques, strategies, and
resources the teachers will apply in their classrooms.

One of the activities in our Field Study 1 tackled about one of the domains of the Philippine Professional Standards
for Teachers, specifically Domain 4 which is Curriculum and Planning. This domain encompassed the teachers’ knowledge
and ability to translate curriculum content into learning activities that are relevant to learners. The teachers are expected to
apply their professional knowledge to plan and design, whether individually or with the help of their colleagues, well-
structured and sequenced lessons that must be incorporated with a range of teaching and learning resources in order to
communicate to students the learning goals, and the understanding and achievement of such.

Curriculum planning is very important as it serves as a framework of reference for the teachers to ensure the
appropriate delivery of learning content to the students. According to Clio Stearns, curriculum planning helps ensure daily
teaching has a larger purpose by breaking down a broad concept into smaller, more manageable steps, and helps the
students to picture the bigger goal or purpose of what they have learned.

Meanwhile, teachers must also take into account the importance of aligning teaching and learning resources with
the constructed curriculum. Teaching and learning resources are materials designed to help in the facilitation and acquisition
of learning and knowledge. These resources range from traditional, non-ICT materials such as blackboard and chalk,
textbooks, charts, and worksheets, to digital resources such as televisions, audio and visual presentations, slides, and
interactive games to name a few.

It is important for teachers to always stay up to date with the latest teaching trends and curriculum developments to
produce more meaningful and high-quality learning experiences for students. Selecting the right teaching and learning
resources might be overwhelming for some, but teachers must think of factors to consider to choose the best materials
among the ones they have in mind.

The underlying ability the teachers must have to orchestrate differentiated instruction day after day, hour after hour,
by assessing their students and adjusting strategies and tactics moment by moment, requires sophisticated knowledge and
skills. Teachers developed better strategies through years of teaching experience and accumulated knowledge. These
experiences and knowledge will be utilized to create an organized set of learning process for their students to easily grasp the
lesson and attain their intended learning outcomes.

A teacher must be able to construct a plan in order to effectively organize educational activities and experiences.
Following a well-designed lesson plan helps students and teachers understand the goals of an instructional module. It allows
the teacher to translate the curriculum into learning activities as well as align the instructional materials with the assessment. It
must also be clear to the teachers what knowledge and skills they wanted their students to learn, possess, master, enhance,
and develop in order to create a more appropriate experience for them. In addition, these must be constructed incongruent
with the intended learning outcomes organized in the curriculum.

Building alignment between assessment and learning outcomes also allows teachers to develop and communicate
the pathway for students' learning progression. It enables them to explain what knowledge and skills were expected on entry
to the course and the knowledge and skills that will be developed throughout the course. Hence, in order to set achievable
and appropriate learning outcomes that are aligned with learning competencies, teachers must make sure that these
outcomes are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and realistic, and time-bound.\

When constructing learning outcomes, Bloom’s Taxonomy has a wide range of action words to use in congruence
with the level of complexity of knowledge, skills, and values the teacher wanted the students to attain. The learning
outcomes must elicit actions for these must be demonstrated by students after the instructional process. These learning
outcomes must also be constructed in a way that is observable for the teacher to determine whether the students have
gained any progress or development, or whether the students have been stagnant with their learning.

Learning outcomes must be specific in order for the students to have a clear understanding of what they must
achieve after the teaching and learning process. It is also important that the learning outcomes are measurable and
attainable in order to make sure that these outcomes are within the capacities and capabilities of the students. The learning
outcomes must be relevant and realistic; learning outcomes must be able to be demonstrated by the students either in terms
of knowledge, skills, or values. Lastly, learning outcomes must be within time bound. The learning outcomes that must be set
by teachers must be attained by the students within a set time. It is not advisable for teachers to set learning outcomes that
might take the students a month to achieve.

In addition, in order to successfully achieve these learning competencies and outcomes during the process,
teachers must utilize effective teaching strategies, methods, and techniques appropriate for the achievement of such, and
must also be suitable to the students’ diverse learning styles and preferences. Furthermore, teachers can assign some tasks or
tests for the students that can help the teacher evaluate what they learn as a learning experience that is effectively
organized and contributes to the attainment of objectives intended learning outcomes allow the student to obtain
knowledge and the skills they need.