1

FS4 Exploring the Curriculum

FIELD 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 Maam Acunin Signature ___________ Date ________
Cooperating School Upper Bicutan National High School

My Target
At 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 curriculum
Focused on: The concepts, nature and purposes of the curriculum and how these are translated into the
school community
TASKS
EXEMPLARY
4
SUPERIOR
3
SATISFACTORY
2
UNSATISFACTORY
1
Observation/
Documentation:
All tasks were
done with
outstanding
quality; work
exceeds
expectations
4
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

1
My 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



1
My 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
1
My 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





1
Submission Before deadline

4
On deadline

3
A day after the
deadline
2
Two days or more
after the deadline
1

Over-all Score

Rating:
(Based on
transmutation)


____________________________________ ___________________________
Signature of FS Teacher Date
above Printed Name

Transmutation of score to grade/rating
Score Grade Score Grade
20 - 1.0 - 99 12-13 - 2.50 - 81
18-19 - 1.25 - 96 11 - 2.75 - 78
17 - 1.5 - 93 10 - 3.00 - 75
16 - 1.75 - 90 8-9 - 3.5 - 72
15 - 2.00 - 87 7-below - 5.00 - below
14 - 2.25 - 84

3

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
Progressive
Curriculum
Similarities
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

4


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 its 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 well 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 students life is altered with the help of a well
constructed and actualized curriculum.



5

2. Find out what curriculum is being used in the school near your place. Check the corresponding
classroom.
Subject
Area
Types of Curriculum
Recommended Written Taught Supported Assessed Learned Hidden
English

Math

Science

T.L.E.

MAPEH

Filipino

My Personal Insights
In 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.
6

Things I Need to Do to
Consider in Preparing My
Schools Curriculum
School's mission
and vision
Learner's
needs,interests
and abilities
Teacher's
competence
Learning
content and
experiences
Teaching
strategies and
methods
My 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.







7




































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 students 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.






8


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 dont 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.



9


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, whats 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 students
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.

10








11