SURNAME 

: PRODIGSON
NAME : MARIE AGNES SOPHIE

PROGRAMME TITLE: PGCE PART-TIME

YEAR:2018-19 SEMESTER: 1

MODULE CODE: PG 401-1

MODULE TITLE: CURRICULUM STUDIES

LECTURER: MRS N C POOTTAREN

DUE DATE: 30 APRIL 2018 DATE OF SUBMISSION:

Question 1
A critically reflective essay: Me and the meaning of curriculum
Introduction
For many teachers, the term “curriculum” is rather confusing. Yet, the curriculum is an area of vital
importance1 to the professional teacher despite its constantly changing definition by various theorists over
the years. It has its origin from the latin word “currere”, meaning "running course" 2 but it depicts
more than the subject matter of a course.

Initial thoughts of the term “curriculum”

In relation to my school experience, the term “curriculum” has always meant the way those
responsible of a school want to conduct knowledge. Therefore, this involved the syllabus, the
time allocated for the subjects, the school’s rules and regulations, the organization of
examinations. My initial view presented the Principal as the only individual to manipulate the
curriculum through specific practices, for example, the streaming system where the Rector decides
which teacher will be working with the best pupils and determines the time for the completion of
the syllabus. My vision of the curriculum as such conveyed more the idea of how most people
negatively viewed the curriculum, which is “a syllabus which may limit the planning of teachers
to a consideration of the content or the body of knowledge they wish to transmit or a list of
the subjects to be taught or both” (Kelly, 2004, p. 83). Consequently, this assertion is illustrated
by the fact that it is the Rector who chooses literature books to be studied.

How I now see the curriculum

Print defines the curriculum as all the planned learning opportunities offered to learners by the
educational institution and the experiences learners encounter when the curriculum is implemented. The
curriculum includes thus activities that educators have devised for learners which are invariably
represented in the form of a written document and the process whereby teachers make decisions to
implement those activities given interaction with context variables such as learners, teachers and the
learning environment” (Print, 1993 p. 9). Now I can understand that the curriculum in a sense can
be an official document such as the National Curriculum Framework (NCF, 2008) where the
goals and learning outcomes aimed at the three domains of learning are clearly specified to set
the direction for learning to take place.

Then, Kelly asserts that the curriculum is a whole range of activities which teachers plan and execute
with deliberate reasons and intentions (Kelly, 2004, p. 7). This definition relates to the previous one with

1
Print, M. Curriculum development and design. 2nd Ed. p. 1
2
www.pdx.edu.cae/files/OrientCurriculum.pdf
the mention of activities, and in this perspective, I consider the curriculum to be an educational program
which states firstly, the educational purpose of the program ; secondly, the content teaching
procedures and learning experience which will be necessary to achieve this purpose and thirdly,
some means for assessing whether or not the educational ends have been achieved ( Richards,
Platt & Platt, 1993 p. 94). 3

Other theorists namely Daniel and Laurel Tanner propose a tentative definition of curriculum as the
planned and guided learning experiences and intended learning outcomes, formulated through the
systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experience, under the auspices of the school, for the
learner’s continuous and willful growth in personal-social competence. (Tanner & Tanner, 1975, p. 45).
Consequently, the curriculum is understood to be motivated by its intent. The foundations of the
curriculum dictate its content and how it will be put in practice related to the three sources of
curriculum foundations.

Influences on my new perception of “curriculum”

Curriculum theory is a way of describing the philosophy of certain approaches to the
development and enactment of curriculum. From the readings provided in this module, the three
definitions above mentioned and further research for this coursework I may conclude that everyone
will perceive the curriculum in different ways to give a description of what they mean according to the
context in which the concept is used. My perception of curriculum has thus been influenced by Print’s
(1993) definition cited earlier as I now understand that the curriculum has an impact on the classroom
practices and teaching strategies, aspects of the curriculum which I never considered. As such, educators
have an important role to play in implementing the curriculum in the classroom.

The fact that the curriculum consists of various elements which are grouped in models: the
rational or objectives model of Tyler (1949) and Taba (1962) with its sequential approach, the
cyclical model by Wheeler (1967) suggesting five interrelated phases in the curriculum process which
Audrey and Howard Nicholls (1978) refined along with that of Tyler and Taba, the dynamic or
interactive models of Walker (1972) and Skilbeck (1976) without fixed sequence and each of them
having their strengths and limitations influenced my definition of curriculum. These demonstrate that
the curriculum process is important in helping the teacher in the formation of the proper social
life of the learner through the appropriate approaches in line with the curriculum orientations :
academic, humanistic, social reconstructionist, technological or eclectic. Furthermore, according to
Larry Cuban4, there are six parts of the curriculum at work in schools to shape the learning

3
From curriculum to syllabus design: The different stages
to ...fel.uqroo.mx/adminfile/files/.../Nunez_y_Bodegas_Irma_Dolores.pdf
4
http://curriculum.lexington4.net/
experiences of students. These are namely the official or planned curriculum, involving all formal
activities agreed upon by the school and relevant authorities; the taught or actual curriculum
being what is delivered in class and the strategies involved; the learned or educational
curriculum sets to encompass learner’s experiences beyond marks and test scores, and includes
unintended lessons embedded in the learning environments; while the supported or total
curriculum reflects the curriculum shaped by resources allocated to support and deliver it,
including time, personnel, materials and resources allocated thus covering the total programme of
an educational institution. The hidden and informal curriculum are both linked to unplanned
learnings acquired by students. Kelly (2009) defines the hidden curriculum as those things students
learn “because of the way in which the work of the school is planned and organized but which
are not in themselves overtly included in the planning or even in the consciousness of those
responsible for the school arrangements.” As for the informal curriculum it implies all those
many informal activities that go on, usually on a voluntary basis, at lunch-times, after school
hours, at weekends or during holidays, activities in various disciplines commonly referred to as
“extra-curricular” (Kelly, 2004, p.7). Overall, it is clear that educators have to be aware of these
different parts of curriculum as they involve with interrelated curriculum activity and plan the
curriculum with the intent to achieve the whole development of the learner as I consider that the
curriculum can be summarized as all the schooling processes and its aims.

Question 2 (a)
The first goal that I will analyze is the following “provide opportunities for the development of
critical, creative, logical and innovative thinking.” (NCF, 2016, p. 17). According to Michal Fullan
(2001) the primary purpose of education is to make a positive “ difference in the lives of
students and to help produce citizens who can live and work productively in increasingly
dynamically complex societies.” (p.4). Competency in critical, creative, logical and innovative
thinking is a major priority in the learning field. This goal aim to build up confident citizens in a
competitive world. Students must be able to stand on their own and to take initiatives without
relying on anybody.
The second goal is “instill universal values to enable learners to develop a sound personality and
character” (NCF,2016, p.17). This goal underlines the holistic approach. Its purpose is to prepare
students to meet life challenges5 as this educational philosophy is based on the premise that each person
finds identity, meaning and purpose in life through connections to the community to the natural world
and to the humanitarian values6 such as compassion and peace. Adopting such a model of education
means that in addition to the traditional academic components, the child’s whole development: his
emotions, his social skills, his spiritual beliefs, his participation in the community, his role in the greater
world will be catered for as this proposition lay emphasis on the emotive aspect of the curriculum. The

5
www.holistic-education.net/visitors.htm
6
Infed.org/mobi/a-brief-introduction-to-holistic-education
goal wants to transcend the idea that the school is mainly a repository of knowledge whose main concern
is passing that knowledge. Reference to “the specific needs, levels and life experiences of the learner”
demonstrate the pragmatist approach as its proponents believe that reality must be experienced for
learners need to learn by doing. From Dewey's educational point of view, this means that students must
interact with their environment in order to adapt and learn7 focusing on a child-centered approach.
Furthermore, this goal considers teachers as curriculum developers for the development of the “whole
child” incorporates a view that the school must be concerned with the learner’s feelings, his level of inner
aspiration and his way of living and perceiving things8.
The third goal is to “develop autonomous lifelong learners, well-balanced and healthy individuals
through a broad-based curriculum” (NCF,2016,p,17). This goal, underlining the importance of the
learning process is based on the developmental psychologist, Flavell (1976) theory of metacognition,
“thinking about thinking”9 related to the activation of relevant background knowledge and the
deployment of cognitive strategies to achieve particular goals. It encourages creative and reflective
thinking with the learner taking the responsibility of the learning process through personal construction of
meaning. The need to put the learner at the centre of the leaning process states this fact while it also
advocates the constructivist approach through the aim of constructing meaning encouraging Vygotsky
scaffolding strategy. Constructivist proponents assert that people construct their own understanding and
knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences 10. Then to
understand reality and develop greater autonomy in learning, allow the discovery learning as the learner
may enquire about his observations, achieving self-realisation of his potentials. This proposition also
promotes a learner-centered pedagogy focus at the same time on Piaget’s theory of cognitive
development whereby through different stages the learner construct knowledge mainly by
assimilation and accommodation to adapt to the environment in a more complex manner thus
gaining greater autonomy11. As Piaget demonstrated empirically that children’s minds were not
empty, but actively processed the material with which they were presented, and postulated the
mechanisms of accommodation and assimilation as key to this processing.

7
http://study.com/academy/lesson/john-dewey-on-education-impact-theory.html
8
Fenwick, W. (1992), Deciding what to teach and test, Developing, aligning and auditing the
curriculum. Corwin Press.
9
www.education.com/reference/aticle/metacognition
10
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/
11
http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/constructivism.htm
Question 2(b)
LESSON PLAN
LEARNING AREA: French essay
CLASS: Grade 10
PERIOD: 1&2
THEME: Social network
TITLE: The uses of social networking sites
DURATION: 70 minutes
SETTING: classroom
AIM : The main aim of the activity is to be able to discuss on an informative essay.
LEARNING OUTCOME:
On completing the lesson, the students should be able to:
a). Analyse the concept of social network
b). Debate on the various ideas
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
Prior to the classroom exercise, the students of form 3 level are assigned a research work to find out
the uses of social networking sites. They may come forward to present their work in groups in
front of the class followed by discussions.
PROCEDURE:
a). Each group come forward with their idea.
b). debate concerning the different ideas discussed.
c). sharing of notes
d). teacher discuss on how to put the ideas in an essay
EVALUATION:
Questioning and talk. Most students were able to make a summary of what they have understood.
Some students at first had some difficulties to debate. Explanation was delivered to those who
needed it.

Detailed activity : an informative essay (French) (see appendix 1) aim to illustrate how the above
three goals can be achieved.

This activity will lead the student to use his knowledge from the Computer literacy class so as
to lay the bridge, linking terms used in the information technology sector to French language.
The critical, creative, logical and innovative thinking is achieved with the student becoming an
active learner. It is clear that today’s students are willing to use technology but do not view it
as an educational tool, therefore this activity may equip them with bigger comprehensive pictures
of reality. The teaching and learning experience of the students has thus changed as they are
given the responsibility of their own knowledge instead of the teacher’s common brainstorming
practice which does not necessarily allows them to reflect constructively on the subject. They are
capable of planning how to approach a given learning task. For the holistic development of the
learner, a video is viewed on the topic and extracts of interviews are provided where young people
may express themselves on the subject to help the learners to connect to society. This activity
may appeal to the life experiences of the learner as discussion about the learner’s personal
opinion is expressed. Thus, as a teacher, instead of imposing ideas to the learners as in
traditional expository teaching practices, through discovery the teacher becomes more a facilitator,
guiding the learner to reach the knowledge required. The key points of the essay which are the
disadvantages and advantages of social networking sites can be drawn autonomously as the
learner understands reality and construct meaning leading to the constructivist approach. Sentences
may be picked from the extracts to build up the content of the essay. The learner’s process of
learning itself may differ as it is a child-centered approach with little influence from the teacher
to point out which sentences need to pick out.

Question 3 (a)
Throughout the years the teaching practice has evolved in different ways, benefiting some
students while forsaking others. Any curriculum planning tends to cater for the needs of all
learners. Wheeler’s cyclical model lie along with the continuum between the extremes of rational
and dynamic models, incorporating elements of both to provide a different approach to devising
curricula. The cyclical model has a logical and sequential structure. It also analyses the situation
as a starting point. This model is furthermore very flexible while the objective model is very
rigid, the cyclical model always readily incorporate new information, it less rigid and more
relevant. Nevertheless, the cyclical model presents some weaknesses as the amount of time
required to undertake an effective situational analysis.

Question 3 (b)
As a curriculum planner for lower forms for my subject area (French), the first constraint will
be the psychological factors which concern the way a child learns and the understanding of the
learners and learning procedures and indirectly influences the selection of content, teaching
methods and learning activities for students. According to the NCF, the first competence to be
developed in the learner is communication skills, thus learners should be able to communicate in
French during the class acquiring greater mastery of the language as he progresses from form 1
to 3 level yet involving learners in conversation in French is quite difficult as they fear the
mockery of their peer or are not confident enough to use the language. Then some learners are
able to express themselves easily due to good exposure to the language which places the
learners at a different level, those capable of conversing easily in the language may not show
interest in the oral practice. Other factors involved are the environmental and technological
factors, the lack of infrastructure entails the fact that classes are far too overcrowded to allow
good oral practices. While integrating information and communication technology to teaching
practices is encouraged, it is not easily accessible to most language teachers. Most computer
laboratories in schools are used for the teaching of computer literacy. Films’ viewing to facilitate
understanding of literature classes is hindered due to lack of equipment, audiovisual rooms are
outdated or rarely updated with resource materials required.
Steps to be taken should eventually include financial investment in infrastructures, especially in
terms of technology. Language laboratories may be implemented to promote language studies,
with our bilingual society all learners should have equal opportunity which may be provided
through schooling. The third competence of the NCF to be acquired for lower forms being the
mastery of the language system tends to influence practices that are exams-oriented. As a result,
all those concern with the teaching and learning process focus more on the product rather than
the process. Consequently, investment in child-pedagogy is important to ensure the whole
development of learners while studying French. To achieve this aim schools should be aware of
the latest language learning tools and didactics so as to improve learning for the benefits of the
learners, education being a dynamic process. Activities promoting speech, writing and reading in
the target language should be encouraged by schools for effective learning to take place and
arouse learners’ interest in the subject. Learners’ mindset towards speaking French language
should be changed especially in rural areas where the focus is set on writing skills so that the
learner succeed in his exams while he is still unable to communicate effectively in the language.
Bibliography
DEMAREST, A.B. (2015) Place-based curriculum design: Exceeding standards through local
investigation. New York: Routledge.
DRAKE, S. M. (2007) Standards-based integrated curriculum: Aligning curriculum, content, assessment
and instruction. California: Corwin Press.
ERICKSON, H. L. Concept-based curriculum and instruction for the thinking classroom. California:
Corwin Press.
FENWICK, W. (1992) Deciding what to teach and test: Developing, aligning and auditing the
curriculum. California: Corwin Press.
FENWICK, W. (2010) Deciding what to teach and test: Developing, aligning and auditing the
curriculum. 3rd Ed. California: Corwin Press.
KELLY, A.V. (2004) The Curriculum theory and practice. 5th Ed. London: Sage Publications.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION in collaboration with the MIE. (2008) The National Curriculum
Framework.
PINAR, W.F. (2012) What is curriculum theory. 2nd Ed. New York: Routledge.
PRINT, M. (1993) Curriculum development and design. 2nd Ed. Australia: Allen & Unwin.
TANNER, D. & TANNER, N.L. (1975) Curriculum development: Theory into practice. US: Macmillan
Publishing Co., Inc.
WHITE, J. (ed.) (2004) Rethinking the curriculum: Values, aims and purposes. London: Routledge.

Electronic sources
The National Curriculum Framework: Secondary.
www.pdx.edu.cae/files/OrientCurriculum.pdf [accessed on 03.04.16]
IRMA, D. From curriculum to syllabus design. Available
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http://curriculum.lexington4.net/ [accessed on 03.04.16]
educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/integrated-curriculum.pdf [accessed on 15.04.16]
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Appendix 1
Detailed activity for Form 3 level [class of 30 pupils divided in groups of 6]
Duration 100 min
Argumentative essay of informative type : Selon vous, quels sont les avantages et désavantages des
réseaux sociaux tels que Facebook ?
Pre-requisite : Research work in group on the uses of social networking sites
The class activity will be as follow:
Step 1: Presentation of information gathered [6 min allocated to each group – 30 min]
Step 2: Discussion on students’ own use of Facebook [10 min]
Step 3: Reading of Extracts of other teenagers’ opinion on their use of Facebook (annex 1 Munisamy, R.
(2015) Le français au collège, 2nd Ed. Maurice: Edition Le Printemps p.10 –13) [15 min]
Step 4: Writing down opinions they also share. [10 min]
Step 5: Viewing of a video from youtube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlmqZnmJD6g] [5 min]
Step 6: Gathering opinions for the arguments: avantages and disadvantages by the students in groups. [20
min]
Step 7: Summing up of ideas for the written work. [10 min]
Step 7: Evaluation: Written work as formative evaluation to be done in group for submission one week
later.
Step 8: Evaluation: Written work of 250 words as formative assessment to be done in group for
submission one week later.