Teacher and the School Curriculum – Comprehensive Study Notes

Module 1: The Teacher and the School Curriculum

Lesson 1.1 – The Curricula in Schools

  • "Sabre-Tooth Curriculum" (Benjamin, 1939) anecdote

    • New-Fist used children’s play to teach survival skills (fish‐grabbing, horse‐clubbing, tiger-chasing)

    • Community prospered until environment changed; elders resisted curriculum change, calling new skills “mere training”

    • Moral: Curriculum must adapt; timelessness is a myth if conditions change

  • Key assertions

    • Curriculum is the heart of teaching; without it classrooms and teachers are purposeless

    • Philippine system has 3 levels with agency-recommended curricula

    • Basic Education (K–12) – DepEd

    • Technical-Vocational – TESDA (+ DepEd for SHS Tech-Voc track)

    • Higher Education – CHED

Allan Glatthorn’s Seven Curricula Operating Simultaneously

  1. Recommended – official prescriptions (DepEd, CHED, TESDA, UNESCO, etc.)

  2. Written – documents (syllabi, modules, teacher lesson plans); e.g., Philippine K–12 guides

  3. Taught – enacted by teacher–learner interaction; shaped by teaching & learning styles

  4. Supported – materials/facilities (books to museums) enabling authentic learning

  5. Assessed – evidence gathered through assessment for, as, of learning

  6. Learned – behaviour/skill/knowledge actually acquired; measured cognitively, affectively, psychomotor-ly; includes HOTS & lifelong learning

  7. Hidden/Implicit – unplanned influences (peers, media, calamities, culture); teachers must anticipate & surface these factors

  • Not all seven appear at once; hidden curriculum may evade teacher control but still shapes learners

Activity Prompts (Think–Pair–Share & Observation Matrix)

  • Debate sabre-tooth relevance, curriculum timelessness vs. training, education vs. training

  • Observe real classroom; map presence/absence of all seven curricula

Lesson 1.2 – The Teacher as a Curricularist

  • Historical label “curricularist” reserved for theorists (Dewey, Tyler, Taba, Bobbitt)

  • Modern view: every teacher is a curriculum specialist involved in knowing → writing → planning → initiating → innovating → implementing → evaluating

    • KNOWER – masters formal & informal subject matter

    • WRITER – produces manuals, modules, digital resources

    • PLANNER – crafts yearly/monthly/daily plans mindful of learners, context, time, outcomes

    • INITIATOR – adopts new curricula from DepEd/CHED/TESDA/UNESCO; open-minded change agent

    • INNOVATOR – continuously revises content, strategies, evaluations

    • IMPLEMENTER – brings plans to life; merges science & art of teaching

    • EVALUATOR – determines attainment, diagnoses, refines or ends curriculum

  • Doing these daily qualifies the teacher as curricularist regardless of fame

Module 2: The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum

Lesson 2.1 – Definition, Nature & Scope of Curriculum

  • Headlines illustrate public stakes: K–12 review, suicides, ICT, co-curricular debate, teacher reluctance

  • Etymology: currere (Latin) = course to be run

  • Sample definitions

    • Tanner (1980): planned/guided experiences for continuous growth

    • Pratt (1980): written document of goals, content, evaluation

    • Schubert (1987): content + culture + social reform agenda

    • Hass (1987): all experiences designed to reach broad goals within theoretical frame

    • Grundy (1987): programme of teacher–pupil activities

    • Goodlad & Su (1992): plan of learning opportunities to change behaviour

    • Cronbach (1992): answers “what/why/how” to teach knowledge, skills, values

Traditional vs. Progressive Points of View

  • Traditional (Hutchins, Bestor, Schwab, Phenix): curriculum = disciplined content/permanent studies; field of study; written syllabi

  • Progressive (Dewey, Caswell & Campbell, Marsh & Willis): curriculum = totality of guided experiences; reflective, experiential, child-centred

  • Composite view: “total learning experiences of the learner under teacher guidance” whether inside or outside school

Lesson 2.2 – Approaches to the School Curriculum

  • 3 lenses → Content, Process, Product

A. Curriculum as Content (Body of Knowledge)

  • Examples: primary math topics; secondary integrated sciences

  • Presentation modes

    1. Topical

    2. Conceptual clustering

    3. Thematic

    4. Modular/Unit

  • Selection criteria (Scheffler 1970): Significance, Validity, Utility, Learnability, Feasibility, Interest

  • BASICS principles (Palma; Hunkins & Ornstein): Balance, Articulation, Sequence, Integration, Continuity, Scope

B. Curriculum as Process (Teaching/Learning Actions)

  • Interaction of teacher–student–content; “recipe execution”

  • Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is intersection

  • Guiding principles: multiple methods, learner styles, cognitive–affective–psychomotor stimulation, flexibility, dual focus on teaching and learning

C. Curriculum as Product (Outcomes)

  • Emphasis on behavioural objectives & assessment of knowledge, skills, values attained

  • Learning Outcome=f(Content,  Process)\text{Learning Outcome} = f(\text{Content},\;\text{Process})

Activity: Inventory book for Content/Process/Product classification

Lesson 2.3 – Curriculum Development: Processes & Models

  • Four generic phases: Planning → Designing → Implementing → Evaluating

1. Tyler’s Rationale

  1. Define purposes

  2. Select experiences

  3. Organise experiences

  4. Evaluate attainment

2. Taba’s Grass-Roots Model

  1. Diagnose needs

  2. Formulate objectives

  3. Select content

  4. Organise content

  5. Select experiences

  6. Determine evaluation

3. Saylor & Alexander Model

  • Steps: Establish Goals & Domains → Curriculum Design choice → Implementation via instructional plans → Comprehensive Evaluation

Lesson 2.4 – Foundations of Curriculum

  • Philosophical, Historical, Psychological, Social foundations are interrelated

Selected Philosophical & Historical Figures

  • Franklin Bobbitt, Hollis Caswell, Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba, Peter Oliva

Psychological Clusters & Key Theorists

  1. Behaviorism/Association – Pavlov (classical conditioning), Thorndike (laws of learning), Gagné (hierarchical tasks)

  2. Cognitive-Information – Piaget (stages, assimilation/accommodation), Vygotsky (ZPD, sociocultural), Gardner (multiple intelligences), Goleman (EQ)

  3. Humanistic – Gestalt (wholeness), Maslow (self-actualization), Rogers (non-directive learning)

Social Foundations

  • Durkheim (school & civil society), Toffler (future-ready curriculum), Freire (critical conscientization), Goodlad (active learning), Pinar (multidisciplinary reconceptualization)

Module 3: The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer

Lesson 3.1 – Fundamentals of Curriculum Design

  • Oliva’s Ten Axioms

  1. Change is inevitable & desirable

  2. Curriculum mirrors its time (timeliness)

  3. Old & new changes coexist

  4. Success depends on implementers (teachers)

  5. Development is cooperative

  6. Decision-making among alternatives

  7. Ongoing, never finished

  8. Best when comprehensive, not piecemeal

  9. Needs systematic procedure

    1. Begin where current curriculum is

  • Core Components of Any Design

    • Intended Learning Outcomes (SMART; Bloom—Anderson/Krathwohl)

    • Content/Subject Matter (relevant, age-appropriate, up-to-date, BASICS)

    • Teaching–Learning Methods (cooperative, independent, competitive; blend physical & online)

    • Assessment/Evaluation (formative & summative; feedback loop)

  • Sample Behaviourist lesson structures

    • Rosenshine’s Direct Instruction (10 steps)

    • Hunter’s ITIP (8 steps)

    • Block & Anderson’s Mastery Learning (cycle with 80 % mastery target)

    • Good & Brophy’s Systematic Instruction

Lesson 3.2 – Approaches & Types of Curriculum Design

A. Subject-Centered Designs

  1. Subject Design (traditional discrete subjects)

  2. Discipline Design (learning as scholars do)

  3. Correlation Design (subjects linked but distinct)

  4. Broad-Field / Interdisciplinary (fused e.g., Social Studies, Language Arts)

    • Strengths: clarity, resources, mastery; Drawbacks: compartmentalization, teacher-centred

B. Learner-Centered Designs

  1. Child-Centered (needs/interests; constructivist)

  2. Experience-Centered (flexible learning centres; MI theory fit)

  3. Humanistic (self-actualization; affective + cognitive + psychomotor integration)

C. Problem-Centered Designs

  1. Life-Situation Design (Spencer’s survival activities; relevance)

  2. Core/Problem Design (Faunce & Bossing 11-step inquiry cycle)

Curriculum Approach Alignment Examples

  • Child/Learner-Centered → MI-rich classrooms, flexible timelines

  • Subject-Centered → mastery & competition focus, drill/memorisation

  • Problem-Centered → PBL, case studies on societal issues (poverty, climate)

Lesson 3.3 – Curriculum Mapping & Quality Audit

Curriculum Mapping

  • Defined: reflective, ongoing plotting of outcomes–content–methods–assessment across a time line (Jacobs 2004)

  • Stakeholder questions it answers: What/when is taught? Alignment among teachers? Cross-subject links?

  • Benefits

    1. Ensures vertical & horizontal alignment (avoids gaps/overlaps)

    2. Visualises coverage, pacing, resources

    3. Facilitates standards alignment & integration of 21st-century skills

  • Basic Steps (matrix): timeline → outcomes → content → resources → methods → assessment → review → revise

  • Sample maps:

    • Grade 3 Science quarterly grid (Matter → Living Things, etc.)

    • BEEd Professional Education map (subjects vs. Program Outcomes; L / P / O coding)

Curriculum Quality Audit (CQA)

  • Mapping a written & taught curriculum against explicit standards

  • Key Questions

    1. Is curriculum executed per standards?

    2. Do organisation, specificity, scope & assessments meet quality marks?

    3. Are all students achieving equitably?

  • Benefits: identifies under/over-represented areas, secures alignment, promotes international comparability

  • Philippine example: Pre-service Teacher Education syllabi mapped to PPST (DO 42 s. 2017) by RCTQ & partner SUCs; other benchmarks include CHED CMOs 74–83, SEAMEO CFT-SEA, Tuning Asia-SE (TASE)

Cross-Module Connections & Implications

  • Adaptability mirrors sabre-tooth parable and Oliva axiom 1

  • Teacher’s multi-role (curricularist) links to mapping/audit for ongoing improvement

  • Foundations (psycho-social-philosophical) underpin choice of design and approach

  • Content–Process–Product triad aligns with mapping rows (content & method) and columns (assessment/product)

  • Ethical/practical stakes: preventing student disengagement, addressing suicides, integrating ICT, balancing co-curricular demands

  • Real-world relevance: life-situation design & problem-centered approaches equip learners for climate challenges, employability, civic duties

Key Numerical / Statistical References

  • Mastery Learning target: 80%80\% success before enrichment/corrective steps

  • Hunter & Rosenshine models emphasise ≥75%\ge 75\%–80%80\% mastery on post-tests

  • Philippine K–12 rollout (2013) aligns Kindergarten–Grade 12 structure: K+6+4+2K+6+4+2 paradigm

Practical Reminders for Future Teachers

  • Start every plan with clearly written ILOs linked to national standards

  • Keep a live curriculum map; revisit after each quarter/semester

  • Engage colleagues & stakeholders in cooperative design and audit

  • Monitor hidden curriculum cues (media trends, cultural shifts)

  • Balance BASICS in content sequencing to avoid overload: “more” ≠ “better”

  • Select designs/approaches consonant with learner context & societal needs; be ready to hybridise

  • Use PPST indicators as self-evaluation checklist during planning, teaching, and reflection