Spiral Curriculum

What is a Spiral Curriculum? Spiral curriculum, an

approach to teaching, widely attributed to the American
Psychologist and Cognitive Theorist Jerome Bruner -
learning theory- refers to a course of study in which
fundamental ideas are repeatedly presented throughout the
curriculum, but with deepening levels of difficulty /
increasing complexity in lessons and reinforcing previous
learning.
 The spiral approach allows the earlier
introduction of complicated ideas
traditionally reserved for later stages of
the learning process after learners have
mastered some key themes that involve
deeper understanding and may discourage
pupils who wish to apply their conceptual
learning to real-world applications.
What are the key principles of The Spiral
Curriculum?
The spiral approach to curriculum design
has 3 main principles that add up to the
approach nicely. These three key
principles of The Spiral Curriculum are:

Cyclical: Learners must return to the

same topic many times all through their
school career.
 Increasing Depth: Every time a pupil
returns to the concept it must explore
more complexity and be learned at a
deeper level;

Prior Knowledge: A student’s previous

knowledge must be used when the learner
comes back to the same concept so that
he builds from the foundation instead of
starting from the beginning.
 Discovery
Learning
T O B E R E P O R T E D B Y: B A C U N AWA
Discovery learning
Discovery learning refers to
obtaining knowledge for oneself.
 B R U N E R ( 1 9 6 6 ) S TAT E S T H AT A
THEORY OF INSTRUCTION SHOULD
ADDRESS FOUR MAJOR ASPECTS:

1. Predisposition - He introduced the

ideas of "readiness for learning". Bruner
believed that any subject could be taught
at any stage of development in a way that
fits the child's cognitive abilities.
 B R U N E R ( 1 9 6 6 ) S TAT E S T H AT A
THEORY OF INSTRUCTION SHOULD
ADDRESS FOUR MAJOR ASPECTS:

2. Structure of Knowledge - This refers to

the way in which a body of knowledge can
be structured so that it can be most
r e a d i l y g r a s p e d b y t h e l e a r n e r.
 BRUNER OFFERED
C O N S I D E R A B L E D E TA I L
ABOUT STRUCTURING
1. Understanding
the fundamental
K N O W L
2 . To g e n e r a t e
knowledge which is
E D E .
3. The discrepancy
between beginning and
transferable to other advanced knowledge in a
structure of a
subject area is diminished
subject makes it contexts, fundamental
when instruction centers
more principles or patterns on the structure and
comprehensible. are best suited. principles of orientation.
 B R U N E R ( 1 9 6 6 ) S TAT E S T H AT A
THEORY OF INSTRUCTION SHOULD
ADDRESS FOUR MAJOR ASPECTS:

3. Effective Sequencing - No one

s e q u e n c i n g w i l l f i t e v e r y l e a r n e r, b u t i n
general, the lesson can be presented in
i n c r e a s i n g d i f f i c u l t y. S e q u e n c i n g , o r l a c k
of it, can make learning easier or more
difficult.
 B R U N E R ( 1 9 6 6 ) S TAT E S T H AT A
THEORY OF INSTRUCTION SHOULD
ADDRESS FOUR MAJOR ASPECTS:

4. Reinforcement - Rewards and

punishments should be selected and paste
a p p r o p r i a t e l y. B r u n n e r i n v e s t i g a t e d
motivation for learning and he felt that
i d e a l l y, i n t e r e s t i n t h e s u b j e c t m a t t e r i s
the best stimulus for learning.
Categorizati
on
 Categorization
Brunner gave much attention to categozisation of information in the
construction of internal cognitive maps. He believed that
perception, conceptualization, learning, decision-making, and
making inferences all involve categorization
 Categories are "rules" that is
specify for things about objects.
1. Criterial 2. The second 3. The third rule 4. The fourth
attributes - rule prescribe assigns weight to room sets
required how the criteral various acceptance limits
characteristics attributes are properties. on attributes.
for inclusion of combined.
an object in a
category.
There are several kinds of
categories:
• Identify categories
• Equivalent categories
• Coding system
The principles of Brunner launched the notion
that people interpret the world mostly in
terms of similarities and differences. This is a
valuable contribution to how individuals
construct their own models or view of the
world.