LEARNING EPISODE 04:

UNDERSTANDING THE SCHOOL

CURRICULUM
Formal education begins in school. Schools are institutions established to design total learning activities appropriate for each
learner in each grade level. Thus schools have recommended curriculum which is the enhanced K to 12 curriculum. The
recommended curriculum was translated into written curriculum like books, modules, teachers' guides and lesson plans which
are the basis of the taught curriculum. A teacher who implements the curricula. Needs support materials (support curriculum) to
enhance teaching and learning so that the written and the taught curricula can be assessed (assessed curriculum) in order to
determine if learning took place (learned curriculum). However, there are so many activities that happen in schools but are not
deliberately planned. This refers to the hidden curriculum.

A classroom teacher plans, implements and evaluates school learning activities by preparing a miniscule curriculum called a
lesson plan or a learning plan. The teacher then puts life to a lesson plan by using it as a guide in the teaching-learning process
where different strategies can be used to achieve the learning objectives or outcomes. There are many styles of writing a lesson
plan, but the necessary parts or elements such as (a) Learning Outcomes (b) Subject Matter (c) Teaching -Learning Strategies,
and (d) Evaluation or Assessment should always be included.All of these elements should be aligned so that at the end of the
teaching-learning episode, learning will be achieved with the classroom teacher as a guide.

TARGET Your Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this Episode, I must be able to:

o identify the different curricula that prevail in the school setting;

o describe how the teacher manages the school curriculum by planning, implementing lessons through different strategies
and assessment of learning outcomes; and
o analyzę if the teacher aligns the objectives to subject matter, to teaching strategies and assessment.
REVISIT the Learning Essentials

School Curriculum: What is this about?

From a broad perspective, curriculum is defined as the total learning process and outcomes as in lifelong learning. However,
school curriculum in this course limits such definition of total learning outcomes to confine to a specific learning space called
school. Schools are formal institutions of learning where the two major stakeholders are the learners and the teachers.

Basic education in the Philippines is under the Department of Education or DepEd and the recommended curriculum is the K-
12 or Enhanced Basic Education Curricula of 2013. All basic education schools offering kindergarten (K) elementary (Grades
1 to 6) and Secondary (Grades 7-10, Junior High School and Grades 11 to 12, Senior High School) adhere to this national
curriculum as a guide in the implementation of the formal educatión for K to 12.

What are the salient features of the K to12 Curriculum? Here are the features. It is a curriculum that:

1. strengthens the early childhood education with the use of the mother tongue.

2. makes the curriculum relevant to the learners. The use of contextualized lessons and addition of issues like disaster
preparedness, climate change and information and communication technology (ICT) are included in the curriculum. Thus, in-
depth knowledge, skills and values, attitude through continuity and consistency across every level and subject.

3. builds skills in literacy. With the use of Mother Tongue as the main language in studying and learning tools from K to Grade
3, learners will become ready for higher level skills.
4. ensures unified and seamless learning. The curriculum is designed in a spiral progression where the students learn first the
basic concepts, while they study the complex ones in the next grade level. The progression of topics matches with the
developmental and cognitive skills. This process strengthens the mastery and retention.

5. gears up for the future. It is expected that those who finish basic education in Grade 12 will be ready for college or tech voc
careers. Their choice of careers will be defined when they go to Grade 11 and 12.

6. nurtures a fully developed youth. Beyond the K to 12 graduate the learner will be ready to embark on different career paths
for a lifetime.

You will recall that a school curriculum is of many types for the Kindergarten to Grade 12 in the country.

o The enhanced curriculum K to12 curriculum is the Recommended Curriculum. It is to be used nationwide as mandated
by Republic Act 10533.
o When the curriculum writers began to write the content and competency standards of the K to 12 Curriculum it became
a Written Curriculum. It reflects the substance of RA 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013. In the
teacher's class it is the lesson plan. A lesson plan is a written curriculum in miniscule.
o What has been written in a lesson plan has to be implemented. It is putting life to the written curriculum, which is
referred to as the Taught Curriculum. The guidance of the teacher is very crucial.
o A curriculum that has been planned, and taught needs materials, objects, gadgets, laboratory and many more that will
help the teacher implement the curriculum. This is referred to as the Supported Curriculum.
o In order to find out if the teacher has succeeded in implementing the lesson plan, an assessment shall be made. It can
be done in the middle or end of the lesson. The curriculum is now called the Assessed Curriculum.
o The result of the assessment when successful is termed as Learned Curriculum. Learned curriculum whether small or
big indicates accomplishment of learning outcomes.
o However, there are unplanned curriculum in schools. These are not written, nor deliberately taught but they influence
learning. These include peer influence, the media, school environment, the culture and tradition, natural calamities and
many more. This curriculum is called Hidden Curriculum or Implicit Curriculum.

So what will be the roles and responsibilities of the teacher in the relations with the school curriculum, specifically in the K
to 12 or the enhanced curriculum for basic education? Teachers then should be multi talented professionals who:

o know and understand the curriculum as enumerated above;

o write the curriculum to be taught;
o plan the curriculum to be implemented;
o initiate the curriculum which is being introduced;
o innovate the curriculum to make it current and updated;
o implement the curriculum that has been written and planned; and
o evaluate the written, planned and learned curriculum.

ACIVITY 4.1: CURRICULA IN THE SCHOOL SETTING

It's time to look around. Discover what curriculum is operating in the school setting. Recall the types of curriculum mentioned
earlier. Can you spot where these are found? Lets do a hunting game!

OBSERVE

Resource Teacher: ________________ Teacher's Signature: _________________ School:________________

Grade/Year Level: ________________ Subject Area: _______________________ Date: ________________

1. Locate where you can find the following curriculum in the school setting. Sęcure a copy, make observations of the process
and record your information in the matrix below. Describe your observations.

Type of Curriculum Where Found Description

1. Recommended Curriculum (K to 12
Guidelines)
2. Written Curriculum (Teacher's
Lesson Plan)
3. Taught Curriculum (Teaching
Learning Process)
4. Supported Curriculum (Subject
textbook
5. Assessed Curriculum (Assessment
Process)
6. Learned Curriculum (Achieved
Learning Outcomes)
7. Hidden Curriculum (Media)

ANALYZE

Which of the seven types curriculum in the school setting is easy to find? Why?

Which is difficult to observe? Why?

Are these all found in the school setting? How do curricula relate to one another?

Draw a diagram to show the relationship of one curriculum to the other.

REFLECT

Make a reflection on the diagram that you have drawn.

 ACTIVITY 4.2: THE MINISCULE SCHOOL CURRICULUM: THE LESSON, A CLOSER LOOK

Resource Teacher: ________________ Teacher's Signature: _________________ School:________________

Grade/Year Level: ________________ Subject Area: _______________________ Date: ________________

OBSERVE

This activity requires a full lesson observation from Motivation to Assessment.

Procedure:

1. Secure permit to observe one complete lesson in a particular subject, in a particular grade/ year level.

2. Keep a close watch on the different components of the miniscule curriculum: the lesson

3. Follow the three major components of a curriculum (Planning, Implementing and Evaluating/Assessing). Observe and record
your observation.

Observe and Record Observation on the Following Aspects

Major Curriculum Components Key Guide for Observation (Carefully look for the
indicators/behavior of the teacher along the key points. Write
your observation and descriptioni in your notebook.)
A. Planning 1. Borrow the teacher's lesson plan for the day. What major
parts do you see? Request a copy for your use.
Answer the following questions:
a. What are the lesson objectives/learning outcomes?
b. What are included in the subject matter?
c. What procedure or method will the teacher use to
implement the plan?
d. Will the teacher assess or evaluate the lesson? How will
this be done?

B. Implementing Now it's time to observe how the teacher implemented the
prepared lesson plan. Observe closely the procedure.
a. How did the teacher begin the lesson?
b. What procedure or steps were followed?
c. How did the teacher engage the learners?
 d. Was the teacher a guide at the side?
e. Were the learners on task?/Or were they participating in
the class activity?
f. Was the lesson finished within the class period?

C. Evaluating/Assessing Did learning occur in the lesson taught? Here you make
observations to find evidence of learning.
a. Were the objectives as learned outcomes achieved?
b. How did the teacher assess/evaluate it?
c. What evidence was shown? Get pieces of evidence.

ANALYZE

Write a paragraph based on the data you gathered using these key questions?

1. How does the teacher whom you observed compare to the ideal characteristics or competencies of global quality teachers?

2. Was the lesson implemented as planned? Describe.

3. Can you describe the disposition of the teacher after the lesson was taught? Happy and eager? Satisfied and contented?
Disappointed and exhausted?

4. Can you describe the majority of students' reactions after the lesson was taught? Confused? Happy and eager? Contented? No
reactions at all.

REFLECT

Based on your observations and tasks in Activity 2 how will you prepare your lesson plan? Make a short paragraph on the topic.

ACTIVITY 8.3: CONSTRUCTIVE ALIGNMENT OF THE COMPONENTS OF A LESSON PLAN

Resource Teacher: ________________ Teacher's Signature: _________________ School:________________

Grade/Year Level: ________________ Subject Area: _______________________ Date: ________________

OBSERVE

Using the diagram below fill up the component parts of a lesson plan

I. Title of the Lesson :

II. Subject area:

III.Grade Level:

Outcomes Teaching Method Assessment

Fill this up Fill this up Fill this up

ANALYZE

Answer the following questions based on the diagram.

1. Are the three components constructively aligned? Explain.

2. Will the outcomes be achieved with the teaching methods used? Why?

3. What component would tell if the outcomes have been achieved?

REFLECT

What lessons have you learned in developing or writing a lesson plan?

What value will it give to the teacher if the three components are aligned?

SHOW Your Learning Artifacts

Learning Artifacts for Activity 1-3

Present an artifact for Activity 1, 2, and 3.

Activity 1 Artifact

1. Present an evidence for each kind of curriculum operating in the school setting. This can be in pictures, realia, documents or
others.

Activity 2: Artifact

1. Present a sample curriculum in a form of a Lesson Plan.

Activity 3: Artifact

1. Present a matrix to show the constructive alignment of the three components of a lesson plan.

a. Example:

Lesson Title:

Subject Area:

Grade Level:

Lesson Outcomes Teaching Methods Evaluation