Getting to Know the Curriculum Foundations of Teaching and Learning

curriculum

1. Professor Suseela Malakolunthu Commonwealth Education Trust Getting to Know Curriculum

2. Foundations of Teaching and Learning Course 4: Week 1 : Getting to know curriculum Lecture 1: The concept of curriculum

3. Curriculum – What is it? A lot of confusion, many definitions Playing with a purpose? Easy-to-use lesson plans? Set of core competencies and standards? Delivery mechanism? Collection of teaching materials ?

4. Curriculum – ‘ curere ’ As an idea Curriculum came from a Lain word for “ Race course ” referring to the course of actions, deeds and experiences that brings about learning and growth in children.

5. Curriculum – A Broader D efinition “In true education, anything that comes to our hand is as good as a book: the prank of a page-boy, the blunder of a servant, a bit of table talk - they are all part of the curriculum.” Michel de Montaigne Renaissance educator

6. Curriculum is defined as a plan of action for learning : It is reduced to a “ formal ” written document that systematically describes the course of study appropriate with the educational level . It includes - All the different subjects / courses Curriculum – A Plan of Action 6

7. “ The planned and guided learning experiences and intended outcomes, formulated through the systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experiences, under the auspices of the school, for the learner ’ s continuous and willful growth in personal-social competence ” ( Tanner & Tanner, 1980) Curriculum Definition

8. A Framework in Context A framework in an educational context that shapes and guides teaching and learning It is the what, why and how of education

9. 1 . What knowledge, skills, and values are most worthwhile? 2 . Why are they most worthwhile? 3 . How should they be imparted or the young acquire them? ( Cornbleth , 1992) Three Major Questions in Curriculum

10. A Source of Confusion ? Curriculum and Syllabus Curriculum A comprehensive educational package involving the conceptualization, planning, designing, and detailing of a comprehensive learning program for the benefit of deploying it in the schools. Syllabus A concise statement of the contents or topics of a curse/subject. A layout out of key topics and related learning in an individual course/subject in a learning program. It is a sub-set of the curriculum.

11. 1. What is the difference between a syllabus and a curriculum in your school and classroom setting? 2. What is the basis for the curriculum that is provided for your students: What knowledge, skills, and values are considered most worthwhile and why? 3 . How much scope do you have for the invention and creation of activities beyond the prescribed curriculum? Think – Pair – Share

12. Slides © Commonwealth Education Trust. All Rights Reserved. 1, 2, 11, 12 Images: © schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org 5 "Montaigne- Dumonstier " by Anonymous - Unknown. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Montaigne-Dumonstier.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Montaigne-Dumonstier.jpg Copyright Notice Week 1, Lecture 1 Foundations of Teaching and Learning