Chapter 1 – Curriculum Essentials

This chapter consists of two modules that are divided into lessons. It discusses the basic
concepts related to curriculum and the teacher.

Module 1 – Curriculum and the Teacher

Module 1 is all about school curricula and the teacher. Here, the different types of
curricula that exist in the teacher’s classroom and school are identified and the important roles
of the teacher as a curricularist are discussed.

Lesson 1 – Curriculum in Schools

Desired Learning Outcomes

➢ Discuss the different curricula that exist in schools.

➢ Enhance understanding of the role of the teacher as a curricularist
➢ Analyze the significance of curriculum and curriculum development in the teacher’
classroom.
Take off Activity

Read “The Saber-Tooth Curriculum by Harold Benjamin (pseudonym J. Abner Peddiwell)

or view it in YouTube and answer the following questions:

a. Describe the kind of curriculum that exists as described in the article/YouTube. What
three fundamentals were taught to youngsters in the Paleolithic (old-stone age) curriculum?

b. When the environment changed, progressive stone-age educators would argue that
new skills are needed to be taught, including fishnet making and ways to deal with a new
menace, the glacier bear. Were the suggested changes in the curriculum welcomed by the
tribal elders or resisted? Why?

c. What does the author mean, when he said “A curriculum should be timeless? Explain.

d. What is the main message of the Saber-tooth curriculum?

e. What is the difference between education and training?

Content Focus

The story was written in 1939. Curriculum then, was viewed as a tradition of organized
knowledge taught in schools of the 19th century. Two centuries later (21st century) the concept
of curriculum has broadened to include several modes of thoughts and experiences.

No formal, non-formal or informal education exists without curriculum. No school exists

without it. It is through the curriculum that the schools vision, mission, goals and objectives
(VMGO) are realized.. There are three educational levels in our current educational system.
Each has corresponding recommended curricula: 1) Basic Education which includes
kindergarten, Grade 1 to Grade 6 for elementary, and for secondary, Grade 7 to Grade10 for
the junior high school and Grade 11 and 12 for senior high school. The new basic education
levels are provided in the K to 12 Enhanced Curriculum of 2013 of the Department of
Education. 2) Technical-Vocational Education which is a post-secondary technical-vocational
education and training is taken care of by the Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA). For the tech-voc track in senior high school of DepEd, DepEd and TESDA
work in close coordination, 3) Higher Education which includes the baccalaureate (bachelor)
degrees and the graduate degrees (Master’s and doctorate) which are under the regulation of
the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

In whatever levels of schooling and in various types of learning environment, several

curricula exist and these are:

➢ Recommended Curriculum. Almost all curricula found in schools are recommended. The
curricula of the three levels of education in our country have curricula recommended by
DepEd for Basic Education, TESDA for technical-vocational education and CHED for
higher education. These three government agencies oversee and regulate Philippine
Education. Their recommendations come in the form of policies, standards and
guidelines (PSG). Other professional organizations also recommend curricula in schools.
(e.g. PASUC, PAFTE, …)
➢ Written Curriculum. This includes written documents based on recommended
curriculum. Examples are course of study, syllabi, modules, books, lesson plan, K to 12
(the most recent written curriculum for Basic Education.
➢ Taught Curriculum. From what has been written of planned, the curriculum has to be
taught or implemented. Any written curriculum remains a piece of paper unless it is
implemented. It is the implementation phase in curriculum development that gives life
and meaning to the written curriculum. It is here that the teachers’ knowledge of the
content (CK) and their knowledge of pedagogy (PK) interact to provide the desired
quantity and quality of student learning. Study the figures below:
 It is to be remembered that the first step towards becoming a member of the
professoriate today is to demonstrate one’s credentials as an expert in the disciplinary
content knowledge of one’s particular field of study (In your case, teacher education
with corresponding area of specialization). While we still consider in-depth content
knowledge, a teacher also need knowledge of pedagogy to effectively guide students in
their own acquisition of knowledge. In the figures above, the space created when two
circles overlap represents space for effective teaching. A reduced space for effective
teaching indicates an imbalance of knowledge (Barkley & Major, 2016).

➢ Supported Curriculum. This is described as support materials that the teacher needs to
make learning and teaching meaningful. (e.g. books, charts posters, worksheets, power
point presentation, slides, movies…) and also includes facilities inside and outside the
classrooms (e.g. playgrounds, laboratories, audio-visual rooms, public parks, markets…)
➢ Assessed Curriculum. Taught and supported curricula have to be evaluated to find out
whether of not the teacher has succeeded in facilitating learning. So in the process of
teaching and at the end of the teaching episode, an assessment is made—assessment
for learning, as learning, or of learning. If the process of assessment is to find out the
progress of learning, then the assessed curriculum is for learning. If it is to find out how
much has been learned or mastered, then it is assessment of learning.
➢ Learned Curriculum. New knowledge, skills attitudes and values that are acquired as
measured by tests (written or performance) and other assessment tools
➢ Hidden/Implicit Curriculum. Things which are not openly taught in the classroom but
students learn them ‘because of the way things are done in school.’ The school
environment, physical, social, and cultural are sources of the hidden curriculum.

End of Lesson Activity

1. In your life as a student, what type of curriculum have you been exposed to? Give
examples. Use the template below. You can extend the table. This is a group activity also to
be uploaded to your FB group page.
 Type of Curriculum Examples

References

1. Bilbao, P. (2015). Curriculum development for teachers. Quezon City, MM. Phil.:
Lorimar Publishing

2. Barkley, E.F & Claire H. Major. (2016). Learning assessment techniques: A handbook
for college faculty.CA, USA.: John Wiley & Sons
3. CSE 102: Algorithmic thinking and reasoning: The saber-tooth curriculum (1939) J.
Abner Peddwell. Cse 101.cse.msu.edu/visitors/saber.php

NOTE: No. of Activity for submission: (2) – Tale off activity and end of the lesson activity.

Due date: Sept. 5, 2022.