Seven School Curriculum Types and their

Classroom Implications
Allan Grathon (2000), as cited by Bilbao et al. (2008), describes the seven types of
curriculum as follows:

1. Recommended Curriculum

 Perhaps you have asked these questions: Why should I take all these
subjects and follow the course flow religiously? Why is there a need to
implement the K to 12? The answer is simple! The Ministry of Education,
the Commission on Higher Education, or any professional organization can
recommend and implement a curriculum.
 In the Philippines, for example, what is being implemented by the
Department of Education (DepEd) or the Commission on Higher Education
(CHEd) is an example of a recommended curriculum.
 In some cases, a law making body like the congress and the senate, or a
university or a school can recommend a subject, a course, or any
academic program which is deemed necessary for national identity and
security, for environmental protection and sustainable development,
among others.

2. Written Curriculum

 This refers to a lesson plan or syllabus written by teachers. Another

example is the one written by curriculum experts with the help of subject
teachers. This kind of written curriculum needs to be pilot tested or tried
out in sample schools to determine its effectiveness.

3. Taught Curriculum

 This is about the implementation of the written curriculum. Whatever is

being taught or an activity being done in the classroom is a taught
curriculum. So, when teachers give a lecture, initiate group work, or ask
students to do a laboratory experiment with the their guidance, the taught
curriculum is demonstrated. This curriculum contains different teaching
styles and learning styles to address the students’ needs and interests.

4. Supported Curriculum

 Instructional materials, such as textbooks, audio visual materials, blogs,

wikis, and others are examples of support curriculum. Other examples are
playgrounds, zoos, gardens, museums, and real life objects. It is called
 supported curriculum because it helps teachers implement a written
curriculum thus enables the students to become life-long learners.

5. Assessed Curriculum

 When students take a quiz or the mid-term and final exams, these series
of evaluations is the so-called assessed curriculum. Teachers may use the
pencil and paper tests, and authentic assessments like portfolio and
performance based assessments in order to know if the students are
progressing or not.

6. Learned Curriculum

 This type of curriculum indicates what the students have actually learned.
This can be measured through learning outcomes. A learning outcome can
be manifested by what students can perform or do either in their
cognitive, affective or psychomotor domains. The learning outcome can be
determined by the results of the tests, and it can be achieved by the
students through the use of learning objectives.

7. Hidden Curriculum

 This refers to the unplanned or unintended curriculum but plays an

important role in learning.

Now, let’s discuss some classroom implications of the different types of

curriculum by taking the following situation as example.

Let’s assume that you are a college student taking up Bachelor of Secondary
Education, major in English. Your course or degree program is a recommended
curriculum prescribed by CHED. The syllabi given to you by your teachers are the
written curriculum. When your teachers start to teach, that is a taught curriculum. And
when they ask you to use the internet and search information about a given topic, this
is a supported curriculum.

Furthermore, teachers need to evaluate your performance. So, when you are
given a test or exam that is the assessed curriculum. The results of the assessed
curriculum will determine what you have actually learned – and that is the so-called
learned curriculum. However, the hidden curriculum can affect what will be taught and
assessed by your teachers, and eventually may affect what you will learn.

To sum it up, curriculum is not only about a course or a simple listing of subjects
but it is the total learning experience of students as indicated by the seven types of
curriculum.
Reference

Bilbao, P. P., Lucido, P. I., Iringan, T. C., and R. B. Javier (2008). Curriculum
development. Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing, Inc.