CURRICULUM
The word 'curriculum' is derived from the Latin word 'currere' , which means 'to run'.
Curriculum means race course/ course of study / course which one runs for reaching a goal.
Definition
Cunningham : Curriculum is a tool in the hands of an artist (the teacher) to mould his material (the pupil) according to his ideal (objective) in his studio (school).
Principles;
Principle of
1. child centeredness
2. community centeredness
3. activity centeredness
4. forward looking
5. Renewal
Curriculum Development
It involves the following basic elements:
1. Analysis
Set goals for school programs
2. Design
Plan exercises for school programs
3. Implementation
Select and implement content for school programs
4. Evaluation
Assess outcomes of school programs
Curriculum and Syllabus
Curriculum is a broad term.
It encompasses all the experiences gained by learners in a school.
Curriculum considers fullest development of the personality of the individual .
Scope of syllabus is narrow and limited.
It is the outline of the course.
It gives the specific details of the study, the hierarchical order of presenting the content etc.
Syllabus is a part of the curriculum.
Philosophy of Science curriculum
Popular schools of philosophy are Idealism, Pragmatism, Naturalism and Realism. The basic elements of these schools of philosophy differ in their aims of education, content, role of teacher & method of instruction. Philosophy of science curriculum can evolve only by understanding the product and process nature of science. The process of knowing and the knowledge used in the process of knowing are equally important.
Philosophy of science deals with four basic questions:
What characteristics distinguish scientific inquiry from other types of investigation?
What procedure should scientists follow in investigating nature?
What conditions must be satisfied for a scientific explanation to be correct?
What is the cognitive status of scientific laws and principles?
Science curriculum is developed on the basis of these points.
Psychological Dimensions of Physical Science curriculum construction
According to Faculty psychologists, the study of
Latin develops reasoning,
Mathematics develops attention ,
Science develops critical thinking, Physical Education develops will power.
According to John Locke, mind is a ' tabula rasa' or ' blank slate'.
In 20th century, Alfred Binet developed Intelligence test.
By the third quarter of the 20th century, Aptitude test was developed.
Later, Piaget, Bruner, Ausbel provide an idea about what students can learn.
1. Development stage
2. Pre- requisite
Last of 20 th century witnessed the emergence of Constructivism by Piaget and Generative Learning Model by Osbourne and Wittrock.
Later, Maxims of teaching evolved.
Sociological Principles of Curriculum Development
The structure and function of a society has its reflection in curriculum. UNESCO has drafted separate curriculum for the developed, developing and under developed countries. In India, curriculum should aim for social change (change in attitude, values, behaviour, manners, relations, customs etc.) , taking into consideration the prevailing superstitions, illiteracy and poverty of the masses. Education should enable to create an urge for social mobility. Recent attempt is to connect science education with society. 'Extension' is suggested for Higher education.
Aspects of Curriculum Organisation
Curriculum organisation has two aspects:
- The ways in which courses may be organised.
- The ways in which materials within the course may be organised.
1. Core Curriculum
Society needs citizens with both common and differentiated competencies and the school should provide these. It views knowledge as an integrated embodiment. The term 'core' has been applied to the part of curriculum which is concerned with the experiences necessary for all learners to develop behavioural competencies, personal and social responsibility necessary for all individuals living in a democratic society. It unifies learning experience of pupils around real problems. The core curriculum provides a natural integration of school, home and community living.
The purpose of the core curriculum:
- Proficiency in the use of language.
- Civic understanding and competence.
- Intelligent action as consumers.
- Understanding family relationships.
- Appreciation of beauty.
- Ability to think rationally.
- Insight into ethical values and principles.
- Ability to use and budget time efficiently.
- Respect for other persons and ability to work cooperatively with others.
2. Subject- centered Curriculum
In this approach, all subjects for instruction are separated. The content areas are taught in isolation. Emphasis on oral discourse and extensive explanations. Teaching strategies: Lecture, Discussions & Questions. Teachers plan the content before teaching, which is centered around content. This method is effective for training specialists in particular disciplines. The drawback of this method is that it does not foster creative or critical thinking. It does not develop an understanding of science related social issues. Overemphasis is given to content.
3. Activity Curriculum
It is based on the theories of Plato, Rousseau and John Dewey. Emphasizes the development of four fundamental impulses:
- Social impulse (sharing experience and ideas)
- Constructive impulse (play, rhythemic movements, working with new materials)
- Impulse to investigate and experiment (to discover things)
- Expressive and artistic impulses (refinement and expression of communicative and constructive impulses)
To develop these fundamental impulses, curriculum emphasis activities derived from traditional subjects. Carpentary, cooking, sewing, craft, agriculture, sculpture, painting etc are included in the curriculum. It is in agreement with the psychological principles of learning, Over emphasis on activity. But it creates wide gap in knowledge from different branches of science and discontinuity of experience from class to class.
Concentric
Plan
Here, the
science course is arranged over a number of years. In the beginning years, a general treatment is attempted. Later, it is developed in successive years, according to the mental development of the students. Here, the learner moves from simple to complex in gradation, considering the psychological development of the learner.
Example
Topic : ACIDS
I Year : food items having sour taste
II Year : common properties of acids
III Year: strong and weak acids
IV Year : monobasic and dibasic acids
Later years : electronic concept of an acid etc.
Spiral Curriculum
In spiral curriculum, the content materials with in the course are arranged in a spiral manner.
It ascends and enlarges as it climbs. The spiral view accounts for the more refined
wisdom distilled from the experience over time. This type of curriculum
organization shows the gradual nature of development of knowledge and the learner, over the years.
Historical approach
In this approach, the organization of the science curriculum is in accordance with the evolution of science. The major emphasis is the realization of scientific life rather than the mastery
of the principles and method. The pupils should be guided in to the spirit of the
intellectual life of great men of science, who made significant contribution for its development.
Eg : Evolution of modern periodic table through series of stages.
Type study
In this system, the material to be taught is classified into types. A type is that which represents the characteristics of group. The approach is advantageous as it helps pupils to draw their own generalizations from types. Thus it follows inductive approach. This approach is based on sound psychological principles, gives training in scientific thinking and develops powers of observation. The types are arranged according to the increasing order of complexity. The main draw back of the type study is that all the content to be taught cannot be classified into types.
Eg : An element represents a family of elements - Chlorine as a representative of halogen group elements.
Topical approach
In this approach the content of the topic selected is dealt in detail in
the same class. The topic dealt in any classes will not repeat in further classes. For
example the topic surface tension in STD VIII will not be included in the upper or lower
class curriculum. This method is suitable for higher classes. This approach has the
disadvantage that it may lead to lop-sided syllabus with some topics have unjustified
weightage and other lacks the same. (adapted from text)
General science approach
General science course emerged a as a revolt against the compartmentalization of different disciplines of science. The general science scheme was meant to popularize science instruction by presenting more simple, attractive and interesting study of scientific facts and principles in relation to real life experiences. It is based on the common experience of children and explain the laws of nature without compartmentalisation . It consists of an elementary study of the fundamental facts and principles of various sciences related to the immediate environment of the pupils.
The major advantages of General science approach are
1. Science learned in the school will be of much use in the daily life of students.
2. Since general science deal with real problems of life pupils develop the ability to
solve practical problems encounter in their environment.
The disadvantages lies in the difficulty of selection of subject matter and organization of the course as a unified whole . It requires proficient teachers to handle the topics successfully.
It does not provide sound knowledge of subject matter. The lack of text books written according to the scheme and lack of well equipped libraries and laboratories are other major drawbacks.
Disciplinary Approach
On account of the defects of general science curriculum, it has been replaced by a disciplinary approach in the secondary school science course. The scheme is suitable for primary classes where children have a natural interest in the elementary facts and processes in science.
In the disciplinary approach sciences are treated as separate disciplines
namely, physics, chemistry, biology etc. The content is treated exhaustively and is made
to cover wide areas. The advocates of this scheme claim that the system provides the
pupils a sound knowledge of the fundamentals of various sciences and is more practical
than the general science approach.
Hidden curriculum
Hidden curriculum is sometimes referred to as unintended curriculum which consists all the learning experiences that produce changes in the students’ views, attitudes and values but are not
part of the formal curriculum. It resembles in the models and values reflected by the
teachers and administrators.
The hidden curriculum often reflects trends such as rewarding great success,
ignoring average performance and criticizing or punishing failure. The inequalities
prevailing in the society in terms of gender, language, cultural differences, and socio-
economic-status become inherent part of the hidden curriculum. The control mechanism
with in the school and the classroom, the distributions of resources and the decision
about tracking both for student and teacher assignments are part of the hidden curriculum.
