Download - Curriculum Content or Subject Matter
Components of Curriculum and Curricular Approaches
Curriculum Content or Subject MatterPrepared by; Vincent B. De Ocampo
CURRICULUM CONTENT OR
SUBJECT MATTER
All curricula have content, regardless of their design or models.
What is content?
Content is another term
for knowledge.
A compendium of facts,
concepts, generalization, principles and
theories
Views of the curriculum?
Subject-centered view
Learner-centered view
The fund of human knowledge represents the repository of
accumulated discoveries and inventions of man down the centuries, due to man’s exploration of the world.
Curriculum from Different Points of View
1. Subject-centered view
Gerome Bruner: “Knowledge is a model we construct to give meaning
and structure to regularities in experience.”
Curriculum from Different Points of View
2. Learner- centered view
Subject area and
its learning content
Each subject area has its own body of subject matter or learning content
Subject area and its learning content
Communication arts Mathematics Science
Social Studies Music Physical Esucation
Vocational Education
Subject area and its learning content
1. Communication arts
listening, speaking, reading, writing and effective use of language
Subject area and its learning content
2. Mathematics
numeric and computational skills, geometry and measurement, algebra, logic and reasoning
Subject area and its learning content
3. Science
all branches of natural sciences, exploration and discovery dealing with natural phenomena and scientific investigation
Subject area and its learning content
4. Social Studies
basic elememts of Geography, History, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Civics, Political Science, and Psychology
Subject area and its learning content
5. Music
basic music theory, practice in listening, singing, playing musical instrument, and music preparation
Subject area and its learning content
6. Physical Education
health and physical fitness, individual team sports, spectatorship and wise
use of leisure
Subject area and its learning content
7. Vocational Education
psychomotor and manipulative skills in basic crafts and trades, design,
work ethic and appreciation of manual productive work
Criteria in the selection of subject matter content
Content selection is a very crucial stage in curriculum development.
Criteria in selection of subject matter
1. Self- sufficiency – attaining self- sufficiency in most economical manner;
- less teaching and learner’s effort but more results and effective learning outcomes
Criteria in selection of subject matter
2. Significance – content will contribute to basic ideas, concepts and principles, and generalizations to achieve the aim of the curriculum;
- it will develop the cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills of the learners; and cultural aspects will be considered
Criteria in selection of subject matter
3. Validity – authenticity of the subject matter
4. Interest - a key criterion in learner-centered curriculum; content should be based on the interest of the learner
Criteria in selection of subject matter
5. Utility – usefulness of the content to the learner either for the present or the future
6. Learnability – subject matter should be within the range of the experiences of the learners
Criteria in selection of subject matter
7. Feasibility – content should be learned within the time allowed, resources available, expertise of the teacher and nature of the learner.
Other considerations in selection of learning content:
a. Frequently and commonly used in daily life;
b. Suited to the maturity levels and the abilities of the students;
c. Valuable in meeting the needs and the competencies of a future career;
d. Related with other subject areas; and
e. Important in the transfer of learning
Principles In Organizing Different Learning Content
Learning
Content
BALANCE
SEQUENCE
INTEGRATIONCONTINUITY
ARTICULATION
• Balance – Content curriculum should be fairly distributed in depth and breadth of the particular learning or discipline.
• Articulation – Each level of subject matter should be smoothly connected to the next, glaring gaps or wasteful overlaps in the subject matter will be avoided.
• Sequence –It refers to the deepening and broadening of content as it is taken up in the higher level.
• The horizontal connections are needed in subject areas that are similar so that learning will be related to one another. This is INTEGRATION.
• The constant repetition, review and reinforcement of learning is what is referred to as CONTINUITY.