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Module III
Curriculum Planning
Implementing & Evaluating

Lesson 1 Curriculum Planning

Lesson 2 Curriculum Implementation
Lesson 3 Curriculum Evaluation
Lesson 4 Curriculum Change and Innovation

MODULE 3 topics revolve around the three (3) big processes in curriculum
development; namely, CURRICULUM PLANNING, CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION, AND
CURRICULUM EVALUATION. These are the core topics in Curriculum Development which
you must pour much attention to.

OBJECTIVES

Given the reading texts and tasks to work on for a period of four (4) weeks and with a
once-a-week online meet up (when possible) with your instructor, you must be able to do the
following with moderate competence:

A. Describe the process of curriculum planning with focus on key steps.

B. Identify and discuss at least 2 critical issues in curriculum implementation.
C. Cite and describe at least 2 models for curriculum evaluation.
D. Propose at least one curriculum innovation at the classroom level.

 Lesson 1-C Elements of Curriculum Planning

Introduction
Lesson 1 (Curriculum Planning) includes a discussion on the generic elements of
curriculum planning. When we say ‘generic’ it means these elements are a commonplace,
always present and are considered important in any curriculum planning. Under Module 3, this
topic will be labelled Lesson 1-C.
The various elements will not be discussed in full in this module. However, they are
described very briefly and illustrated in some way or another to aid comprehension and
visualization. This topic is very important so you will have a better understanding of the
entire process of planning a curriculum.
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As you go over Lesson 1-C, you are supposed to highlight important points in the
reading material for obvious reasons; much so, you might want to do further readings from
sources in the internet. Your resourcefulness shall be appreciated very much.
Lesson 1-C Objectives:

When you are through with Lesson 1-C, you must be able to:

1. name and describe with confidence the generic elements of curriculum planning;
2. cite the elements in a logical order of presentation in a curriculum with 100%
accuracy;
3. consider the elements of curriculum planning in a daily lesson preparation.
4. formulate good learning objectives
5. use the appropriate methods and strategies in delivering content
6. apply some principles in evaluating the curriculum at the classroom level.

 Task 1. Test your knowledge.

Activity A. Directions. Write Yes if you agree on each of the following
statements; No if you don’t, and Uncertain if you are not sure, on the blank
provided before each item.
__________ 1. Current developments in the community are great inputs for planning.
__________ 2. Goals are statements that are quantifiable and measurable.
__________ 3. Methods and strategies provide student learning experiences.
__________ 4. Curriculum content must be fairly distributed in depth and breadth.
__________ 5. We construct evaluation materials based on the learning objectives.
__________ 6. All curricula must bring about significant changes in students’
behavior.
__________ 7. The Philippine Constitution provides the bases for curriculum goals.
__________ 8. Content in the curriculum does not stand alone or in isolation.
__________ 9. There is no single best teaching method.
__________10. Curriculum content must reflect learning goals and objectives.

Activity B. Directions. Read and study the following lecture notes regarding
the basic elements of curriculum planning. Make notes on important points.

Discussion A. Elements of Curriculum Planning

The following are the Elements of Curriculum Planning:

1. Situation Analysis through Environmental Scanning

2. Formulation of Goals & Learning Objectives
3. Selection of Curriculum Content / Subject Matter
4. Determination of Methods & Strategies
5. Selection of Evaluation Techniques
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1. In situation analysis, a sensible curriculum planning committee performs a so-

called ‘environmental scanning’. To ‘scan the environment’ means to
‘investigate and look into’ what is happening in the learning environment and in
the community at large. Specifically, the planning committee may want to look
into the following:

a) strengths of the learning community in terms of available resources

(for instance; human resources, material resources, physical resources, etc.)
b) weaknesses that need to be addressed (issues or problems in the learning
community that need immediate solutions)
c) opportunities that can be exploited (positive developments that are
happening in the community outside the school or learning community that
can be taken advantage of by the planning committee)
d) threats that can cause problems (issues or possible problems around the
learning community; the curriculum planning committee must be forewarned
about these)

Planners conveniently do this by gathering data about the educational needs of

the people, their socio-economic status such as means of livelihood, family size,
monthly income, demographic profile, etc. It is through this lens that the planner
captures a comprehensive picture of the situation. Given the right amount and quality
of information, the curriculum planning committee sits down to lay a plan.

2. Formulation of Goals & Learning Objectives

The Philippine Education System is made up of three tiers or levels; namely,

Basic Education Level (K to 12) Higher Education level, and Graduate and Post Graduate
Education Level. The General Objectives of these three levels are aligned with the
Aims of Philippine Education as stated in the Philippine Constitution of 1987.
The Philippine Constitution of 1987 states that, all schools shall aim to achieve
the following:
1. inculcate patriotism and nationalism
2. foster love of humanity
3. promote respect for human rights
4. appreciate the role of national heroes in the historical development of the
country
5. teach the rights and duties of citizenship
6. strengthen ethical and spiritual values
7. develop moral character and personal discipline
8. encourage critical and creative thinking
9. broaden scientific and technological knowledge
and promote vocational efficiency.

Aims of Elementary Education (Education Act of 1982)

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1. Provide knowledge and develop skills, attitudes, and values essential to personal
development and necessary for living in and contributing to a developing and
changing society,
2. Provide learning experiences which increase the child’s awareness of and
responsiveness to the changes in the society,
3. Promote and intensify knowledge, identification with and love for the nation and
the people to which the learner belongs; and
4. Promote work experiences which develop orientation to the world of work and
prepare the learner to engage in honest and gainful work.

Aims of Secondary Education

1. Continue to promote the objectives of elementary education,

2. Discover and enhance the different aptitudes and interests of students in order to
equip them with skills for productive endeavor and or prepare them for tertiary
schooling.

Aims of Tertiary Education

1. Provide general education programs which will promote national identity, cultural
consciousness, moral integrity and spiritual vigor.
2. Train the nations manpower in the skills required for national development.
3. Develop the professions that will provide leadership for the nation.
4. Advance knowledge through research and apply new knowledge for improving. the
quality of human life and respond effectively to changing society.

The statements of goals and objectives in various schools’ curricula directly

support the mandate of the Philippine Constitution in general and are likewise reflective
of the school’s vision, mission, goals and objectives in particular. Curriculum objectives,
like learning objectives in daily lesson plans bring changes in learner behavior which is
the ultimate aim of education. Guided by the aims of education at various levels, the
curriculum planning committee writes the goals objectives of a curriculum.
3. Selection of Content, Scope & Sequence

Traditionalist equate curriculum as a topic outline, subject matter, or concepts

to be included in the syllabus or books.

If curriculum is equated as content, the focus then will be the knowledge to be

transmitted to the students using appropriate teaching method. There can be a
likelihood that teaching will be limited to the acquisition of facts, concepts and
principles of the subject matter, however, the content or subject matter can be taken
as a means to an end.

All curricula have content regardless of their design or models. The fund of
knowledge is the repository of accumulated discoveries and inventions of man from
the explorations of the earth and as products of research. In most educational setting,
curriculum is anchored on a body of knowledge or discipline.
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3.a Criteria in the Selection of Content (According to Scheffer (1970) as

cited by Bilbao, et. al. 2009)

1. Self-sufficiency: To help learners attain maximum self-sufficiency in the

most economical manner is the main guiding principle of subject matter or
content selection (Scheffler, 1970) as cited by Bilbao et al. (2008).
Although the economy of learning implies less teaching effort and less use
of educational resources, students gain more results. They can cope with
the learning outcomes effectively. This criterion means that students
should be given a chance to experiment, observe, and do field study. This
system allows them to learn independently. With this principle in mind,
when the students return, they should present outputs from the activity.

2. Significance: Content should contribute to ideas, concepts, principles and

generalization that should attain the overall purpose of the curriculum. It is
significant if content becomes the means of developing cognitive, affective
and psychomotor skills of the learner. As education is a way of preserving
culture, content will be significant when this will address the cultural
context of learners.

3. Validity: The authenticity of the subject matter forms its validity.

Knowledge becomes obsolete with the fast changing times. Thus, there is a
need for validity check and verification at a regular interval, because
current content which may be valid in its original form may not continue to
be valid in the current times.

4. Utility: Usefulness of the content in the curriculum is relative to the

learners who are going to use these. Utility can be relative to time. It may
have been useful in the past, but may not be useful now or in the future.
Questions like: Will I use this in my future job? Will it add meaning to my
life as a lifelong learner? Or will the subject matter be useful in solving
current concerns?

5. Learnability: The complexity of the content should be within the range of

experiences of the learners. This is based on the psychological principles
that would influence learnability.

6. Feasibility: Can the subject content learned within the time allowed,
resources available, expertise of the teachers and the nature of the
learners? Are there contents of learning which can be learned beyond the
formal teaching-learning engagement? Are there opportunities provided to
learn these?

7. Interest: Will the learners take interest in the content? Why? Are the
contents meaningful? What value will the contents have in the present and
future life of the learners? Interest is one of the driving forces for students
to learn.

Guide in the selection of CONTENT:

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a. Content is commonly used in daily life.

b. Content is appropriate to the maturity levels and abilities of
learners.
c. Content is valuable in meeting the needs and competencies of
the future career.
d. Content is related to other subject fields or discipline for
complementation and integration.
e. Content is important in the transfer of learning in other
disciplines.

Basic Principles in Selecting Curriculum Content

Palma, in 1952, proposed the principle of BASIC as guide in writing

content in the curriculum. B.A.S.I.C refers to Balance, Articulation,
Sequence, Integration, and Continuity.

Balance: Content should be fairly distributed in depth and

breadth. This will guarantee that significant contents should be covered
to avoid too much or too little of the contents needed with in the time
allocation.

Articulation: As the content complexity progresses with the

educational levels, vertically or horizontally across the same discipline,
smooth connections or bridging should be provided. This will assure no
gaps and overlaps in the content. Seamless in the content is desired and
can be assured if there is articulation in the curriculum. Thus, there is a
need of team among writers and implementers of the curriculum.

Sequence: The logical arrangement of the content, refers to

sequence or order. This can be done vertically of deepening the content
or horizontally for broadening the same content. In both ways, the
pattern usually is from easy to complex, what is known to the unknown,
what is current to something in the future.

Integration: Content in the curriculum does not stand alone or

in isolation. It has some ways of relatedness or connectedness to other
contents. Contents should be infused to other disciplines whenever
possible. This will provide a holistic or unified view of curriculum
instead of segmentation. Contents which can be integrated to other
disciplines acquire a higher premium than when isolated.

Continuity: Content when viewed as a curriculum should

continuously flow as it was before, to where it is now and where it will
be in the future. It should be perennial. It endures time. Content may
not be the same form and substance as seen in the past since changes
and developments in curriculum occur. Constant repetition,
reinforcement and enhancement of content are all elements of
continuity.

4. Curriculum Experiences
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This element carries the PROCESS in curriculum. Instructional methods and

strategies provide the curriculum experiences – the heart or core of the curriculum.
Instructional strategies and methods put into action the goals and use the contents
in order to produce an outcome.

Whatever methods the teacher utilizes to implement the curriculum, there will
be some guide for the selection and use:

 Teaching methods are a means to achieve an end. They are used to

translate the objectives into action.
 There is no single best teaching method. Its effectiveness will depend on
the learning objectives, the learners and skill of the teacher.
 Teaching methods should stimulate the learners’ desire to develop the
cognitive, affective, psychomotor, social and spiritual domain of the
individual.
 In the choice of the teaching methods, learning styles of the students
should be considered.
 Every method should lead to the development of the learning outcomes in
the three domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.
 Flexibility should be a consideration in the use of the teaching methods.

5. Evaluation

This element can be viewed as the PRODUCT.

Besides viewing curriculum as a content that is to be transmitted, or process

that gives action using the content, it has also been viewed as a product. In here,
product is what the students desire to achieve as a learning outcomes. The product
from the curriculum is a student equipped with the knowledge, skills and values to
function effectively and efficiently.

The purpose of curriculum is to bring about significant changes in students’

pattern of behavior. It is important that any statement of objectives or outcomes of
the school should be a statement of changes to take place in the students. Central to
the approach is the formulation of behavioral objectives stated as intended learning
outcomes or desired products so that content and teaching methods may be organized
and the results are evaluated. Products of learning is operationalized as knowledge,
skills and values.

Curriculum product is in form of outcomes which are referred to as the

achieved learning outcomes. There can be many desired learning outcomes, but if the
process is not successful, then no learning outcomes are demonstrated by the person
who has meaningful experiences in the curriculum.
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 Task 2. Look into the major points.

Directions. Summarize the preceding Lecture by filling out the column for INPUTS in
the Diagram below.

STEPS IN CURRICULUM PLANNING

The Diagram that follows summarizes Curriculum Planning

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Scan the Environment

Curriculum Planning Committee Gets a True
Administer S.W.O.T.
Strengths . Weaknesses Picture of the Learning Environment; Lays
Opportunities . Threats Concrete Bases for Curriculum Planning &
Possible Curriculum Design

Generate Curriculum
Curriculum Goals & Objectives Consistently
Goals / Objectives
Respond to both Short-Term and Long-Term
Based on Constitutional
National Development Goals
Mandate on Education

Select Curriculum Content Curriculum Planning Committee Designs a

Observe Criteria
Curriculum Based on Principles and Time-
And Principles and Align
with Curriculum Goals Tested Criteria

Choose Meaningful Learning Experiences Delivered at

Appropriate Teaching the Classroom Level Using the Best and Most
Approaches / Methods / Appropriate Approaches, Methods, and
Strategies Strategies

Curriculum is Continuously Assessed and

Design Evaluation Evaluated at the School Level;
Materials / Techniques Evaluation is Consistent with the Overall
Curriculum Goals / Objectives
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 Task 3. Look into details.

Directions: Fill out the following Table with examples of subjects and school
activities you have had in the Basic Education that seek to achieve the mandates of
Philippine Education in the Constitution. The first one has been done for you.

Educational Goal Basic Education Subject School Activities

1. Foster love of humanity. Science & Technology Nutrition Month
& other subjects . . . Celebration
& many mores . . .

2. Promote respect for human Your response here Your response here
rights.

3. Teach the rights and duties of Your response here Your response here
citizenship

4. Inculcate patriotism and Your response here Your response here

nationalism.

5. Promote vocational efficiency. Your response here Your response here

 Task 4. Find some Application.

Directions. Supposed you are one of the respondents in a survey that looks
into the STATE of ONLINE INSTRUCTION in DMMMSU, what will your response be using the
S.W.O.T. instrument? Give just one per item. An example is given for you.

STATE of ONLINE INSTRUCTION in DMMMSU

Ex. There is a very reliable internet connection in the university.

Your response here.
Strength
_____________________________________________________________________________
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Ex. Students are not ready for online instruction.

Your response here.
Weakness
_____________________________________________________________________________

Ex. The university instruction eventually evolves to fulltime online instruction.

Your response here.
Opportunit
y ______________________________________________________________________________

Ex. Many students do not have the internet facility at home for online instruction.
Your response here.
Threat
_____________________________________________________________________________

 Task 5. Give your insights.

Directions. Given the situation where we are threatened by a pandemic, what
curricular reform do you suggest to improve the curriculum of the College of Education
in the South La Union Campus so that it can cope with the present situation? NOTE:
Make BRIEF statements only.

Response: _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Reason:
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

Module III Lesson 1-C Ends Here.