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FS4 Exploring the CurriculumFIELD STUDY

LOOK DEEPER INTO THE CONCEPTS, NATURE AND PURPOSES OF THE CURRICULUM

Name of FS Student Rivera, Roxane E. Course Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English Year & Section III- I ___ Resource Teacher Ma’am Acunin Signature ___________ Date ________Cooperating School Upper Bicutan National High School

My TargetAt the end of this activity, I should be able to explain the concepts, nature and purposes of the

curriculum and how these are translated into the school community.

My Performance (How I Will Be Rated)Field Study 4, Episode 1 – Look deeper into the concepts, nature and purposes of the curriculumFocused on: The concepts, nature and purposes of the curriculum and how these are translated into the

school community

TASKS EXEMPLARY4

SUPERIOR3

SATISFACTORY2

UNSATISFACTORY1

Observation/ Documentation:

All tasks were done with outstanding quality; work exceeds expectations

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All or nearly all tasks were done with high quality

3

Nearly all tasks were done with acceptable quality

2

Fewer than half of tasks were done; or most objectives met but with poor quality

1My Analysis Analysis questions

were answered completely; in depth answers thoroughly grounded on theories

Analysis questions were answered completely

Clear connection with theories

Analysis questions were not answered completely

Vaguely related to the theories

Analysis questions were not answered

Grammar and spelling unsatisfactory

Episode 1

2

Exemplary grammar and spelling

4

Grammar and spelling are superior

3

Grammar and spelling acceptable

2 1My Reflection Reflection

statements are profound and clear, supported by experiences from the episode

4

Reflection statements are clear, but not clearly supported by experiences from the episode

3

Reflection statements are shallow; supported by experiences from the episode

2

Reflection statements are unclear and shallow and are not supported by experiences from the episode

1My Portfolio Portfolio is

complete, clear, well-organized and all supporting documentation are located in sections clearly designated

4

Portfolio is complete, clear, well-organized and most supporting documentation are available and/or in logical and clearly marked locations.

3

Portfolio is incomplete; supporting documentation is organized but is lacking

2

Portfolio has many lacking components; is unorganized and unclear

1Submission Before deadline

4

On deadline

3

A day after the deadline

2

Two days or more after the deadline

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Over-all Score Rating: (Based on transmutation)

____________________________________ ___________________________Signature of FS Teacher Date

above Printed Name

Transmutation of score to grade/ratingScore Grade Score Grade20 - 1.0 - 99 12-13 - 2.50 - 8118-19 - 1.25 - 96 11 - 2.75 - 7817 - 1.5 - 93 10 - 3.00 - 7516 - 1.75 - 90 8-9 - 3.5 - 7215 - 2.00 - 87 7-below - 5.00 - below14 - 2.25 - 84

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My Tools Accomplish the H Chart. Interview an administrator or a faculty member. Get their ides/views of the curriculum. Write the differences on both sides and the similarities at the center and then write your personal insights.

>

Traditional Curriculum

Similarities

Progressive Curriculum

Teacher-centered Education for next

school level  High student-teacher

ratio  External discipline  Isolated curriculum  Product orientated  Learning by drill  Concepts presented as

facts to memorize  Basic learning  Quantative assessment  Teaching to the test 

They are both after a certain goal

They are made to maximize the learning and the learning experiences of the learners

They both serve as guiding principle of teaching and learning

Student centered  Education for the

moment  Low student-teacher

ratio  Positive discipline  Integrated curriculum  Process orientated  Makes use of many

varied ways of learning  Concepts presented for

investigation by student 

In-depth learning  Authentic (real life not

test) assessment 

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My Personal Insights

Traditional and progressive curriculum may differ in the way they define and view what curriculum is all about but it is clear that both points of views has only one goal and it’s to provide the learner the education, knowledge, skill and values they need to become a fully developed individuals.

Curriculum as defined by the traditionalist is a body of subjects or subject matter prepared by the teacher for the students to learn, definitely if we’ll be talking about the literal meaning of curriculum then tradionalist are absolutely tight. Curriculum is the plan of action prepared by the educational bodies to accomplish a specific goal or to achieve the vision of the school. But what is the sense of a plan if it is not implemented and put into action? Progressivist has also a point when they say that curriculum can only be called curriculum if the written materials are actualized.

Curriculum is not only made to present a plan of action but also to show ways on how these actions should be done. How can we know if the curriculum is well constructed if there is no change in behavior manifested by the learners? We must remember that like in the teaching and learning process the learner is also the first principle to consider in making the curriculum.

With our present educational system we may say that we are currently in the process of exercising the Progressivist point of view. We are promoting students centered classroom where students are not just acceptor of knowledge but also the source and finder of information but based on my observation, traditional point of view wasw still dominantly used by public school teachers. I can see that not everything written in the curriculum is actualized inside the classroom and this may be due to some unavoidable circumstances like limited time span, lack of educational resources and lastly because most of the teachers focus more on the cognitive development than the application and evaluation of what was learned.

Bottom line is that the Tradionalist and Progressivist has their own brilliant points about the curriculum. The decision is now on the hands of the educators in which side of the coin are they going to believe and exercise but the most important things is that by the end of the school year a student’s life is altered with the help of a well constructed and actualized curriculum.

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SubjectArea

Types of CurriculumRecommended Written Taught Supported Assessed Learned Hidden

EnglishMath ScienceT.L.E.MAPEHFilipino

2. Find out what curriculum is being used in the school near your place. Check the corresponding classroom.

Things I Need to Do to Consider in Preparing My School’s CurriculumSchool's mission and visionLearner's needs,interests and abilitiesTeacher's competenceLearning content and experiencesTeaching strategies and methods6My Enriching Activities If you are to design a curriculum for your own school, what are the things you need to consider?

Accomplish the graphic organizer below.

My Personal InsightsIn my own opinion I can say that the seven types of curriculum is rooted or related

to one another. For example the taught and learned curriculum is based on the recommended or the written curriculum and the supported curriculum is used in the context of the other curriculum.

The curriculum given by the national educational agency is handed down to the schools to be divided into chunks of lesson that is to be taught and actualized inside the classroom and this is now the what we called taught curriculum. The materials used to support the actualization of the lesson is called the supported curriculum. The progression that will happen to the students will be measured through series of evaluation or test and this is now the assessed curriculum. The learning outcome of the learner is now the learned curriculum and whatever it is that the students learned that is not intended by the curriculum is what we called the hidden curriculum.

Though some of the teachers are not aware with some types of curriculum I can clearly see that somewhere, somehow they are already exposed and used to these seven different types of curriculum. In my observation I saw that these 7 type of curriculum is manifested in the class that I am observing because it is more than what was recommended by the school that is taught by the teacher but as well as other things that can influence the individuality of the learners.

Bottom line is that the way the written curriculum is actualized is far more important than what was written because learners have diversity of intelligences and it is important to carry out the lesson in such a way that all students can learn and understand.

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My Analysis

1. Why do we need to consider the traditional and progressive points of view of curriculum?

We need to consider these two because these will be the basis our curriculum development. These two will serve as our guiding star in constructing a well planned curriculum. These two may sound contradicting to one another but still both have a role to play with the development of our curriculum. If we are going to sum up what curriculum is all about then it will all boils down with the Tradionalist and Progressivist point of view. In its narrow sense traditional curriculum is viewed as a listing of subject to be taught in school. In a broader sense, curriculum refers to the total learning experience of individual not only in school but in society as well.

2. How do the different educational philosophies relate to the curriculum in the schools you visited? Cite examples/situations.

Education is application of educational philosophies. Educational philosophies are one of the major foundations of the curriculum and every teacher takes a philosophy or integrates philosophies and applies them into their teaching. The educational philosophy that relates to the school I visited is the philosophy of progressivism. In progressivism knowledge leads to growth and development of lifelong learner who actively learn by doing.

My resource teacher is more on the student’s acquisition of their own knowledge than spoon feeding them with bits of information. For example instead of teaching or discussing a lesson she will let her students do it through group reporting or individual reporting. Instead of having a quiz for evaluation she will give group activities like role playing, poster making and other collaborative learning experiences. In this way students enhance not only their literal knowledge but as well as their social skills and their intrapersonal skills.

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3. Why is there a need to revise the curriculum from time to time?

There is a need to revise the curriculum because the learners needs ad interest changes over the period of time. The world is changing so with the abilities of the learners and the teachers. We need to develop the curriculum to meet the changing demands of the society and to be able to compete with the global community. . If there is no revision then there is no more room for improvement to match the ever changing society

Before the curriculum is more on the emphasis of rote learning like memorizing facts but now it is more on analyzing and application of facts. , education also has social foundations. Society and education are intertwined. Education aims for lifelong learners and when they stop learning then their knowledge becomes limited and stagnant. This is when curriculum development comes in. It is a gradual process of improving, changing, developing or enhancing the curriculum until there is no more room for upgrading in other words until it is perfect. But until the world has reached perfection, the curriculum must be as dynamic as the changes in culture.

One of the biggest development ion our curriculum is the integration of modern technology. The role of technology finds its place on the onset of curriculum. Before we don’t have computer subjects but with the vast amount of computers and modern technologies around us it is already a necessity for a learner to learn on how to use computer and to acquire basic computer skills.

As like what was said by UK educational minister Caitriona Ruanoe, “as we phase the revised curriculum over the next years we will began to see the positive results of the hard work of many, especially the teachers. Together, we can produce young people who are able to confidently take and make a positive contribution to our global society.”

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My Personal Insights

I used to think that curriculum is just a course of study or just simply list of subject matter for the whole school year but I was wrong for I have learned that curriculum is what we make out of this course study, how we apply what was written and how we actualized it in the classroom setting.

There is no point in arguing between the traditional and progressive point of view because one will not exist without the present of another. They go hand in hand and they complement each other. It is not important which among them gave the most accurate definition of curriculum, what’s important is that they shared a common goal and that is to provide learners with the highest quality of learning experience. In making curriculum there are lots of things to consider and first on the list is educational goals for without these we are like travelers with no specific destination. With a clear educational objective it will be much easier for us to formulate plans on how we possibly achieved our goals. Another principle to consider is the educational experiences that can be provided to achieve our goals. We have variety of educational experiences but the choice depends on our student’s interest and need. Learners have a diversity of intelligences and teachers must be flexible enough to sustain these interest and needs. After we have chosen what learning experience to be included in our lesson the next thing to do is to organize these experiences. Everything in our curriculum must be systematically organized including the learning activities. And the last stage is the evaluation. It is vital for us to know whether out goal is attained or not and if it is not attained what wrong and what can we do to change it.

I am jus at little bit disappointed that nowadays curriculum is not being followed and properly implemented by the school. One of the main reasons why we have a cluttered educational system is because we failed to actualize what was written with the written curriculum. No matter how good we are in making a well constructed curriculum it will make no sense at all if this will not be put into actions. I also believe that teachers should be part of the curriculum making body since they are the ones primary exposed to the learners plus the fact that they will also be the one to carry out the curriculum. As teachers they are more aware of what should be omitted and added to the curriculum to meet the changing needs of the learners.

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