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FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

HPGD1103
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
JANUARY SEMESTER 2017

ASSIGNMENT

NAME : ZAKIAH BINTI OMAR


MATRIC NUMBER : CGS01550926
OUM EMAIL : zawawi5296@oum.edu.my
OUM LEARNING CENTRE : OUM KUALA LUMPUR LEARNING CENTRE
TUTOR : DR. NAGALINGAM
SUBMIT BY : 12/03/2017

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Essay 1 (The important of considering psychological foundation when developing a
particular curriculum)

The word psychology can be define as as the science of mind, corresponds to


animal behavior, and consists of the basic psychological sciences. Another meaning
of Psychology is the science of behavior and mind, embracing all aspects of conscious
and unconscious experience as well as thought. It is an academic discipline and a
social science which seeks to understand individuals and groups by establishing
general principles and researching specific cases. Psychology is used in education
especially for learning and teaching.

Foundationsarethe forces that influence the minds of curriculum developers.In


this way they affect the content and structure of the curriculum.The curriculum
reflects the society and culture of a country and this is the desire of a society that their
children should learn the habits, ideas, attitudes and skills of the adult society and
culture and educational institutional are the proper way to impart these skill. Here,it
means this is the duty of teacher and school to discipline the young of the society and
provide them the set of experiences in the form of curriculum. The needs, knowledge
and information of the society provide foundation in the formation of curriculum

Meanwhile, the term curriculum refers to the lessons and academic content taught
in a school or in a specific course or program. In dictionaries, curriculum is often
defined as the courses offered by a school, but it is rarely used in such a general sense
in schools.

Another meaning is, curriculum also can be define as a plan that consists of
learning opportunities for a specific timeframe and place, a tool that aims to bring
about behavioral changes in students as a result of planned activities and includes all
learning experiences received by students with the guidance of the school (Goodlad
and Su, 1992).

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Psychological foundation is based on the individual differences, every student has
its own unique personality and they have differences in their leering and skills. They
are different in nature so they can‟t be treated alike in teaching learning process, some
may be fast learner while other slow. Therefore the curriculum should be based on the
above facts, and it should be design to support the capacity and potentialities of all the
students.

Psychological foundation is need to consider when developing a particular


curriculum. It is just like the heart of education.Curriculum is influenced by
psychology. Psychology provides information about the teaching and learning process.
For example,it provides teachers the methods,techniques and environment that lets
learning happen effectively. It also seeks answers as to how a curriculum be organized
in order to achieve students‟ learning at the optimum level, and as to what amount of
information they can absorb in learning the various contents of the curriculum.

Psychology play a vital role in the teaching learning process.It is the foundation
for all type of educational related programmed. The methods of teaching, the selection
of content of subject and the methods and theories of learning, the overall
development of the students and to inculcate the norms of the society in the students.
Psychology helps in all the processes above in the development process of the
curriculum.

In the past curriculum for child development and learning was developed in
traditional ways without keeping in view the psychological implication in the
development of curriculum.Today psychology is the core and foundation element of
all the learning processes; curriculum development, Child mental development,
teaching methods, learning theories, administration of education system and planning,
character building of the students, attitude of students and teacher, the society, the
use of different technologies.

Today the researchers and Scholars using experimental approach to find new
ways of teaching learning process, how students learn under different conditions.

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They are finding new ways and materials from the analysis of teaching learning
problem and formulating new approaches for teaching and learning process.

Psychology helps in all fields of education, it not just add to knowledge,


psychology is applied in practical class room situation as well as in the curriculum
development process by defining teaching methods.

Therefore it is said that the importance of psychological foundations of


curriculum is more than significant and still on the rise. The scope of the psychology
for applying in curriculum construction and its principles, concepts, processes. The
role of psychology in the development of curriculum is vast and with each day it is
becoming increasingly more meaningful and unavoidable.The purpose of psychology
and psychologist is the study of human behavior, the study of living being. Investigate
and explain the behavior of animate creatures. Therefore, curriculum needs
educational psychology to provide information particularly in some areas like
preparing objectives of education..It is very important to plan what are suitable
objectives to put for the curriculum that need to set up.

Due to considering the psychological foundation when developing the


curriculum,its provided the set up for building the characteristics of the
students.Students are not the same including habits,behavior,thinking style and
cognitive level. Therefore, the psychological foundation is very important while
preparing the basic concept and guideline of the student characteristic. It purposely to
ensure that there will be no gap for the students.

Other than that, the psychological foundation is consider when planning or


creating the learning process. It gives benefits to the teachers or educators to ensure
that their learning process goes on smoothly and effectively. It will included steps,
learning environment, space, materials and students previous knowledge also learning
experiences.

It also need to be consider while engaging the teaching methods. It refers to the
interest and motivation level of the students. These may be generated using the
discovery method within the subject itself, the content of the subject should be
interesting and appealing to generate curiosity in the students to find more. In this

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way the student engage in finding the relationships in the subject matter presented to
him, and engage the students in the process of inquiry.Meaningful conversation
involves the students in the organizing or structuring of facts into conceptual system
which help the students to generate new ideas, make new interpretations and raise
new questions.

Depending on how broadly educators define or employ the


term, curriculum typically refers to the knowledge and skills students are expected to
learn, which includes the learning standards or learning objectives they are expected
to meet; the units and lessons that teachers teach; the assignments and projects given
to students; the books, materials, videos, presentations, and readings used in a course.

The important of considering the psychological foundation in curriculum can be


separated to for types of curriculum behavior. Each course explain their own planning.
Education in the 20th century was dominated by behaviorism. The mastery of the
subject matter is given more emphasis. So, learning is organized in a step-by-step
process. The use of drills and repetition are common.

For this reason, many educational psychologists viewed it mechanical and routine.
Though many are skeptical about this theory, we can‟t deny the fact the influences it
had in our educational system.

Cognitive theorists focus on how individuals process information, monitor and


manage their thinking. The basic questions that cognitive psychologists always ask
are How do learners process and store information?, How do they retrieve data and
generate conclusions? and How much information can they absorb?

With their beliefs, they promote the development of problem-solving and


thinking skills and popularize the use of reflective thinking, creative thinking,
intuitive thinking, discovery learning, among others.

Meanwhile, Humanism is taken from the theory of Gestalt, Abraham Maslow‟s


theory and Carl Rogers‟ theory. This group of psychologists is concerned with the
development of human potential.In this theory, curriculum is after the process, not the
product; focuses on personal needs, not on the subject matter; and clarifying

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psychological meanings and environmental situations. In short, curriculum views
founded on humanism posits that learners are human beings who are affected by their
biology, culture, and environment. They are neither machines nor animals.A more
advanced, more comprehensive curriculum that promotes human potential must be
crafted along this line. Teachers don‟t only educate the minds, but the hearts as well.

The Sociology and Curriculum is a mutual and encompassing relationship


between society and curriculum because the school exists within the societal context.
Though schools are formal institutions that educate the people, there are other units of
society that educate or influence the way people think, such as families and friends as
well as communities.

Since the society is dynamic, there are many developments which are difficult to
cope with and to adjust to. But the schools are made to address and understand the
changes not only in one‟s country but in the world as well.

Therefore, schools must be relevant by making its curriculum more innovative and
interdisciplinary. A curriculum that can address the diversities of global learners, the
explosion of knowledge through the internet, and the educational reforms. However, it
is also imperative that a country must have maintained a curriculum that reflects and
preserves its culture and aspirations for national identity. No matter how far people go,
it is the country‟s responsibility to ensure that the school serves its purpose of
educating the citizenry.

As a conclusion we can say that psychological is a knowledge about on how


teachers, philosophers and educators compile the foundation in order to develop
curriculum. It will consider few major areas such as planning objectives, students
characteristics and teaching methods to be apply in the curriculum. No matter how
hard it goes, the results aims to create and perform humans with aspiration and
preserves good attitude to be a positive citizens.

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Essay 2 (Analyze of curriculum and extant principal incorporated into the curriculum)

The preschool curriculum is one of that I familiar with. This curriculum contains
the four kinds of learning approaches such as behaviorism, cognitive, constructive and
humanism. Before we go through, we have to look at the meaning of the learning
approach for each type of learning.

The behavior learning refers to learning is based on the idea that learners respond
to stimulate in their environment. The role of the learning facilitator, therefore, is to
provide relevant and useful stimulate so that the learner responds to and gains the
required knowledge or experience.The behaviorist approach to learning center around
the belief that appropriate behavior can be taught through constant repetition of a task
combined with feedback from the facilitator. Positive feedback encourages and
reinforces success while negative feedback and immediate correction discourages the
repetition of a mistake or undesirable behavior.

Cognitive approaches mainly focus on the mental activities of the learner like
mental planning, goal setting, and organizational strategies. In cognitive theories not
only the environmental factors and instructional components play an important role in
learning. There are additional key elements like learning to code, transform, rehearse,
and store and retrieve the information. Learning process includes learner‟s thoughts,
beliefs, and attitude.

Meanwhile, the constructivism approach states that learning is an active,


contextualized process of constructing knowledge rather than acquiring it. Knowledge
is constructed based on personal experiences and hypotheses of the environment.

The humanistic learning approach in the curriculum said that the learner as an
individual and consider that learning is not just about the intellect, but also about
educating the “whole person,” taking a person‟s interests, goals, and enthusiasm into
account, so that full potential can be achieved. This approach to learning is student
centered, with learners encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and
being intrinsically, rather than extrinsically motivated. The primary goal of a

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humanistic education is human well-being, including the primacy of human values,
the development of human potential, and the acknowledgment of human dignity.

Now, let‟s look at the preschool curriculum. If we look detail at the goal of the
preschool curriculum it stated that, National Preschool
Curriculum Standard (KSPK) Preschool education aims at developing the potential
of children aged four to six years in a holistic and integrated in physical, emotional,
spiritual, intellectual and social learning environment that is safe, nourishing and fun
activities, creative and means. This is to improve skills, instill
confidence and a positive self-concept in children self in order to be successful
in their existing environment and prepare for the challenges and responsibilities in
primary schools later. From the goal or objectives from the preschool curriculum we
can say that it was built based on those four learning approaches that are behaviorism,
cognitive, constructive and humanism.

The objectives of the Malaysia Preschool Curriculum was set up including and
relating with behaviorism learning approach. Here the students will teach about
Having a positive self-concept, confidence, identity, dare to try, has
emotionalmaturity, respect the feelings and rights of others and able to work
independently as well as work as a team.

While, for cognitive approach in the curriculum stated some objectives such as
communicate using Malaysian Language, acquiring basic science process skills,
mathematical skills, thinking skills, reasoning skills, solving problems in everyday
life of students, creativity and aesthetics and appreciate the beauty of nature and
cultural heritage.

Children will learn how to adopt values and applying the values of each religion
in their daily life. This objectives really related with constructivism learning
approach.

For the humanistic learning approach, the objectives of the preschool curriculum
nearly related with it. It stated that children are ability to communicate sound, develop

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positive relationships with adults and peers, raise the views and feelings and
collaborate with others.

Now, let‟s look at the process of teaching and learning for preschool. Learning and
teaching approach is serial list. It means that learning takes place in manageable steps
with each stimulus producing a specific result. The process of acquiring knowledge
progresses in a linear, step-by-step approach. Students tackle a subject step-by-step,
building from the known to the unknown with the simplest possible connections
between different items of knowledge. The cognitivism approach is familiar with this
learning process.

The environment of learning process is very important due to develop children


skills. In preschool curriculum, learning only occurs in the controlled environment
where appropriate conditions can be maintained to condition the learner. The
behaviorist assumption is that human beings are passive and therefore any inherited
dispositions, traits or ideas are unimportant and not considered part of the learning
process.

The importance of external stimulus explain that without the appropriate stimuli
desired learning will not occur. Motivation for learning occurs solely in response to
the introduction of certain stimuli. For example, if a student knows that they will be
testedon the information they are given in class the response will be to acquire this
knowledge in order to successfully mastering the skills. These what were related to
the constructivism curriculum approach.

Preschool curriculum depress on learning with fun but at the same time
implementation of skills is not forgotten. Play as part of early childhood education has
the potential to provide preschool children with highlyengaging and meaningful
context for learning reading and being successful in early literacy concept.
Throughplay, a child strengthens language development, acquire their intellectual
skills, humanistic and developing children behavior. Teaching andlearning through

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play can enhance a child‟s language development and reading abilities, cognitive level,
attitude and social including communication and interaction. The four learning
approaches also depress on those skills. If we compare the learning in preschool
curriculum, of course we would recognize the same things or content with the
learning approach.

Preschool is part of Malaysia's education system.The curriculum provides


learning experiencestochildren aged 4-6 years in order to enrich the student‟s
potential in all aspects ofdevelopment, basic skills and foster positive attitudes as a
preparationbeforeentry into theirprimary school.

The designing of preschool curriculum is mainly got relation and connection with
those psychological foundation of curriculum. When developing the children in
preschool, the curriculum it self was set up by considering all factors that related.
Children first year at preschool are filled with many wondrous moments. It's a time of
tremendous social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development, and it can come
and go before you know it. The skills learned at this stage is long life time of learning.
Young children learn through play and creative activity, so they develop they're
learning problem solving and physics. Preschool is also a time for developing good
learning habits and positive self-esteem.

The preschool curriculum concern the duty and role of a teacher. Teacher's role is
an ongoing cycle of guiding student learning and assessing student progress. Teachers
learn the most effective method for utilizing various interest areas and the schedule, as
well as using a variety of strategies to motivate student learning and increase student
skills, understanding and knowledge. This include the criteria of developing those
curriculum foundation (behavior, cognitive, constructive and humanistic).

Learning in preschool require children to learn in different views such as learning


through play, learning through experience, learning through material, environment, and

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learning from adult. Through preschool curriculum, the implementation of these
learning experience stated all the criteria that mention in those curriculum foundation.

By designing and adapting the preschool curriculum that extent and incorporated
with (behavior, cognitive, humanistic and constructive)the learning and teaching
process will be more efficient and achieve the developmental skills. Every child is
precious and children are assets to our society. They are the most valuable resource of
the nation. It is strongly believe that developing a nation and its people begins with
early childhood education with effective curriculum . While it is the duty of teachers
to ensure a child has the opportunities to develop, it isresponsibility to help parents
bring the potential to fruition. In developing a child's potential, we are in reality
developing the human capital of the child and of the nation. In carrying out this task,
we are enabling the child to grow holistically so that the child is equipped with
abilities, knowledge and skills to become a productive member of the nation.

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Essay 3 (Retooling the school influence curriculum development)

School days today increasingly involve more than reading, writing, arithmetic -
and the golden rule. The focus here is on retooling the school to become the future
school which totally different from the current school. Educational facilities
nationwide are depending upon a host of technological devices to allow students to
venture beyond the classroom environment for learning. Schools, faced with
preparing students for the future job market, need networks, e-mail services, and
conference systems. They also need videoconferencing and interactive learning to
deliver customized instruction. Finally, they need flexible classrooms, common areas,
space for team teaching, and the ability to fully integrate today's technology.

Globalization has impelled countries to new their educational systems especially


as new knowledge, skills and attitudes are needed in an increasingly competitive and
diversified world economy. Education is an essential agent in the development of
human capital for economic growth.

In retooling school for the future, schools are the natural place where changes for
the attainment of national goals are instituted. In this context, curriculum reform has
to be managed within a national education system dedicated to strong quality control
enforced through high-stakes examinations

Primary Futures aims to widen the horizons and aspirations of school children by
helping them make the connections between their learning and their futures.School
days today increasingly involve more than reading, writing, arithmetic and the golden
rule. Educational facilities nationwide are depending upon a host of technological
devices to allow students to venture beyond the classroom environment for learning.

The significance of retooling the school is to reforms curriculum with innovative,


creative and meaningful which meant teacher involvement in "designing,
implementing and studying new or inproved teaching and learning approaches, and
may be in curriculum design, pedagogy and assessment.

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When we retool the school, surely the curriculum development will be modified
too. Schools was mainly based on modification of externally developed materials due
to its complementary status to the national curriculum and claimed that teachers
would require training in curriculum theories-rising, new instructional repertoires and
interpersonal skills to navigate through collaborative work.

Curriculum development resides solidly focused approach to instruction and


learning. It goes on the planning, design, implementation and evaluation of a
curriculum. Here it views, curriculum decision making is shared with stakeholders
including parents, students and agencies in society, apart from the conventional
ensemble of school.

It‟s totally different with the current school whereas the teacher's role becomes
one of a curriculum developer with greater responsibility for deciding what students
will learn. This gave rise to concern among experts who question teachers'
competence and autonomy in interrelated aspects such as their ideals, their sense of
ownership, their professional confidence and their negotiation within their
organizational structure. Though, it means teachers received their planning role
inpositively, implementation as an aspect of participation.

When we retooling the school for the future, it would change the curriculum as
well. Current learning and teaching process uses the old style which means no
technologies applied. But after retooling the school will come out with new
curriculum style where teaching and learning are now using technologies. For
example, digital technologies have an effect on 3 aspects of the practice of teaching in
economically developed societies.

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They play a role in the acceleration of many aspects of social, professional and
economic life and thus the intensification of much of teachers‟ work. Many of the
digital tools offered to teachers to „transform‟ their practice, are in fact toolsfor
intensificationin efficiency and productivity. Such activities can include registration
and record keeping, access to materials and resources, organization of curriculum
resources and pupil work, and monitoring.

Retooling the school means we change the content of the curriculum. A national
curriculum is normally defined as a school curriculum scheme which is mandated by
the government of a sovereign state for schools within its jurisdiction. A formal
curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school. It is prescriptive
in nature and specifies what topics must be understood and what levels of
achievements must be achieved at a particular grade or standard.This causes the
development of fragile racial tolerances, as opposed to a complete acceptance of
diversity and the celebration of it. A national curriculum should be a national
curriculum. The meaning is, it should be in a single school system where children of
all races come together to learn and discover the world of knowledge. Children must
be and grow together in one type of school (future), doing the same thing together and
not have to grow up to use that terrible word called tolerance.

Believe it or not, with the changing of curriculum when retooling the school, the
classroom design will change too to be suit to the curriculum. The classroom physical
design has been intact for long time. We have rows of pupils‟ desk facing one
teacher‟s desk and that is also how interaction takes place in the class. Each classroom
is an entity by itself. So Teachers must design classrooms that are conducive to new
teaching styles. Designing an effective classroom allows students the maximum
opportunity to learn. In designing a classroom, a teacher must consider the most
important factor, the students. A successfully designed classroom will make the
teacher more efficient.This is because space, whether physical or virtual, can have a
significant impact on learning. Learning Spaces focuses on how learner expectations
influence such spaces, the principles and activities that facilitate learning, and the role
of technology from the perspective of those who create learning environments.

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Information technology has brought unique changes to learning spaces. The world is
moving away from teacher and lecturer centered classrooms to student centered
learning spaces. The term classroom will in effect be changed to learning space and
students will have a choice in the way of learning (multiple intelligence) they most
prefer and will immerse themselves into their preferred style of learning to develop
skills and research.

All knowledge is everywhere and every time with mobile technology becoming
cheaper and more accessible every day. Justintime delivery will no longer apply to the
manufacturing industry alone. Just-in-time knowledge and learning will be the
standard for retooling individuals for just-in-time expertise. Employers will hire
primarily based on talents and relevant skills, not expertise based on areas of
knowledge. Schooling systems will have to prepare students for these new career
requirements and adapt curriculum accordingly.Learning Technology or Educational
Technology is the practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by
creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources. It
involves and covers systems and processes of developing human capability. It often
includes software, hardware, as well as Internet applications and
activities.Technology is already revolutionizing learning in communities all around
the world. We need to unleash the technological innovation to create an education
system worthy of our children capacity and imaginations. This how retooling the
school gives impact or influence curriculum especially to children knowledge and
performance.

Retooling the school will change the structure and time line of learning. In new
curriculum, the advancements in technology will build curriculum based on modified
education and these will be capable of empirically calculating the effectiveness of
teaching and learning also testing models and the environments of learning space.
This will cause many traditional learning models to be abandoned and new
personalized methodologies will replace them. Online feedback software and testing
will determine the best way to present learning modules and these will be evaluated
and used by independent learners making choices and decisions to retool for ontime
time expertise, careers and needs.Formal schooling will no longer serves the function

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of gathering knowledge; it should be focused on developing inquiry and research
skills. It no longer needs to cover a span of time as in traditional schooling systems.

Overall, we can summarize that retooling the school will surely influence the
curriculum development. The only remaining issue we need to confront with all our
professional will and alacrity is, that the ability and readiness for changing. We
should also remember always that in the transformation process, we cannot forsake
values and moral considerations.The world will only function optimally and
peacefully with no threats of war, terrorism, poverty and hunger. The gap between
countries with access to education and countries with no access is widening, and this
will have serious consequences on global peace and advancements. In order to coexist
and gain a multicultural and ethical perspective on global communities, and to take
ownership, responsibility and accountability for global problems, learners will have to
learn in an environment that has built in values, ethics and moral systems. As a result,
we may produce students with high thinking skills, innovative, able to compete and
strong confident. In other words, we produce students with balance physical,
emotional, social and intellectual development.

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REFERENCE

Essay 1

http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/50a8/3417ea8e3d66083db74c2559d49f3996

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0006/000645/064553eo.pdf

Essay 2

http://simplyeducte.me/2014/12/.../the meaning and important of curriculum

development

http://edglossary.org/curriculum/

Essay 3

http://www.character.org/wp-content/upload/character-education.pdf

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