Introduction
The concept
“curriculum” is derived from two Latin words, “Currere” which means to run and
“Cursus” which means a course or program or plan. Etymologically, Curriculum
means to run a course or a program. Today its comprehensive or its definition
is not standard because there are many educationists view and models of
curriculum process. About curriculum model, we can say that it describes the process
of curriculum development according to the view of each other. That is why we
have many different models which have different components depending on the
designer’s curriculum approach. Curriculum models give the aim, method of
achieving and how it can be evaluated. Among Curriculum models, we can have:
the Tyler’s model, the Wheeler’s model, the Kerr’s model, Skilback’s model and
that of Lawton model. But, for us, we are going to interest ourselves to
Wheeler’s model. So, on what Wheeler founds his model? What are elements of
that model? Here, it is question for us firstly, to outline Wheeler’s phases of
the curriculum process; and secondly to explain these phases.
1 – Outline of Wheeler’s
phases of the curriculum process
Wheeler
(1967) described the curriculum as a process which consists of five phases
which are interested. The phase one is that of the selection of aims goals and
objectives. Here, Wheeler categorized goals into ultimate, mediate and
proximate goals. He also recognized general and specific objectives. The phase
two is that of the selection of learning experiences. The author locates
learning experiences in the attainment of aims, goals and objectives. He cited
play and field trips as examples of learning experiences. He categorized
learning experiences into three categories: physical, mental and emotional
experiences. The phase three is that of the selection of the content. That
selection involves the selection of the subject matter which must be the
reflect of the content. The content, explicit or implicit is established with
respect to the subject matter. The phase four is that of the organization and
integration of learning experiences and content. This phase is done depending
on the design of the curriculum chosen. That is either Whether it subject
curriculum and broad field, activity or core curriculum. The last phase is the
phase five entitled evaluation. This phase is that of the evaluation of the
effectiveness of phases 2, 3 and 4 in attaining what is set out in phase 1. In
this phase, answers should be sought to question such as: - Has the student
acquired the knowledge, skill and abilities intended? – Were the experiences
chosen suitable for attaining the objectives or would other experiences have
been more suitable? – Was the integration of experience and content effective
or was learning compartmentalized? – Would a different organization have
brought about better results?
2 – Explanation of Wheeler’s
phases of the curriculum process
Wheeler’s
model is an improvement upon Tyler’s model. Instead of a linear model, Wheeler
developed a cyclical model. Evaluation in Wheeler’s model is not terminal. Finding
from the evaluation are feedback into the objectives and the goals which
influence other stages. This model illustrates the dynamic nature of the
process of curriculum development. It goes on as the needs and interests of
society change and the objectives also change.
Now, when
we analyze the Wheeler’s model of the curriculum process, we observe that the
first way that he presents is the section relative to Aims, goals and
objectives. Here, it is question to give the main ideas which compose the
syllabus and it shows how, before evaluation it is important to define, in
theirs generality, particularity, ultimately, immediately ant proximately,
objectives which will guide or construct syllabus. After this stage, we can go
to the selection of learning experiences. Here, it is necessary to include
physical, mental and emotional experiences in the process. The selection of
content, as we said previously, involves that we select the subject matter
which will constitutes the syllabus. The organization and integration of experiences
bring us to choose the area or domain of activities in which we can realize the
subject curriculum. The last one, evaluation shows if student have acquired the
knowledge.
Nevertheless, notice that, Wheeler’s model does not gives us the specificity
of the beginning or the execution that curriculum takes place. Therefore, we
can say that, this model is deductive; this means that it gives us the main
idea which is important to construct or establish syllabus and its contents. In
other words, it goes from the general to the particular and prescriptive. Thus,
in guise of summarize, we can say that this model is deductive and prescriptive
but non linear.
In
addition, according to Wheeler, these phases are interrelated to one another.
He thinks that curriculum development should be continuous that is why he puts
them in a circle form, it is deductive and prescriptive not in linear form like
Tyler’s model. Curriculum to him is a process which is cyclical. It is circular
because for him, when we evaluate, we do not end; he puts evaluation at the end
of the curriculum development process whereas other models put evaluation at
the middle of the process like the ADDIE[1]
model.
Conclusion
Finally, we can say that Wheeler’s model is one based
on five phases according to which: aim, goal and objective; learning experiences;
content; organization and integration; and evaluation. As we saw, Wheeler developed a cyclical model
in which evaluation is not terminal. Because, finding from the evaluation are feedback
into the objectives and the goals which influence other stages. That model
differs from that of Tyler which is linear.
Introduction
In curriculum implementation, a teacher does
more than just implement curriculum. While curriculum specialists,
administrators and outside education companies spend countless hours developing
curriculum it is the teachers who know best what the curriculum should look
like. After all, they work directly with the students who are meant to benefit
from the curriculum. In order to create strong curriculum teachers must play an
integral role in every step of the process. Our aim in this exercise is not to
analyze the role of teacher in curriculum implement, but to outline and discuss
the task of curriculum implementation. Before examine that task, we will
present different component of curriculum implementation in order to the key
components of what we are going to analyze the task.
Presentation of the outline
and discussion of the task of curriculum
Before,
presenting and discuss the task of curriculum implementation, it is important
to analyze the components of curriculum implementation. When we talk about
component of curriculum implementation, it refers to: the process
of cooperatively implementing
the curriculum and performing assessment to meet the needs of all
students culturally responsive curriculum, a curriculum that is contextually
relevant to all
students, including culturally and linguistically diverse learners evidence-based curricular
interventions, specific
teaching and learning techniques with demonstrated effectiveness for their
intended purposes in research and validation studies, comprehensive curricular programs
that have been developed, researched, and validated to be effective in teaching
and learning (e.g., a reading curriculum), an educator with specialized skills
who provides targeted
curricular supports to struggling learners using either push-in or
pull-out methods, grade-
or age-level academic and behavioral standards learner and the Curriculum, a
student who fails to exhibit adequate proficiency or rate of progress toward academic
and/or behavioral benchmarks,
educational tools used by students to promote more efficient and
effective task completion (e.g., various reading rates, time management skills,
library usage abilities),
strategies used by students to increase access to and retention of curricular content and
skills (e.g., active processing, rehearsal abilities, coping skills)
Curriculum
implementation or operationalisation implies taking steps to ensure that the
curriculum developer reaches and is used in schools. It also involves
interaction with learners during the delivery process in the classroom. This
process involves:
-
Breaking
down the curriculum into the syllabus
-
Interpreting
the syllabus by producing some outlines into chapters per stated chapter of
time. We can have like an example: year, term or month.
-
Lesson
plans which are guidelines draw up to help the teacher in conducting classroom
lessons. They can be general or specific.
About general lesson plans, we can say that there are
topics or chapters plans which are drawn up to indicate the major objective to
achieve in a specific topic or chapter. Unlike the general, the specific or
individual lesson notes are known as daily and are an outline of the important
aspects of a lesson arranged in the order that they are to occur.
Learning targets
So, the task of curriculum implementation
concern in addition, learning targets. Here, each subject can be broken down into a number of
modules. For example, perceptual
training and motor co-ordination are essential modules in the subject of
Perceptual Motor Training. The teacher might need to translate these modules
into concrete learning targets for actual teaching in the classroom. It will be
more beneficial to the children if these learning targets are defined in terms
of different types of outcome such as skills, behaviour, knowledge, attitudes,
values and interests.
Planning learning targets
Another
task is the planning learning targets. Here, the
teacher can plan the learning targets that make up the modules in the following
four basic steps: The first consists to specifying Learning Targets in behavioural
Terms. This means that all learning targets should be expressed in observable
behaviour or skills. For example,
when instructed, the children are to button up their shirts with six buttons
for four times. The second consists in setting teaching Priorities. So, because
a very important part of curriculum implementation is that the teacher should
consider carefully the order in which learning targets should be learnt. It is
logical to put learning targets requiring lower level skills before those
requiring higher level skills, for example, teaching the children to draw lines
before teaching them to write. In some cases, the targets themselves may form a
definite sequence or hierarchy when the skills actually come in a continuous or
chained sequence, for example, putting on a shirt and buttoning it up. Some
higher level targets can be learnt more quickly after the pre-requisite skills
have been mastered. For example, learning to write will become easier when
eye-hand co-ordination skill has been acquired. It follows that unrelated targets
can be learnt in any order. The
third consists in specifying; specifying the baseline assessment procedures for
instance. This is the specification of
the procedures to identify the current skill level or the pre-requisite skills
of the children. The assessment
enables the teacher to know whether or not the children have acquired the
pre-requisite skills required for learning the target. The fourth is procedures for Writing Programmes to
Teach Target Skills With the pre-requisite skills of the children known, the
teacher can then design learning materials to help them achieve the target
skills. The learning materials should be designed in small
steps and in order of difficulty. The teacher should choose the appropriate
step for the children according to their pre-requisite skills, so as to bridge
the gap between their pre-requisite skills and the target skills.
Time
allocation
Another task is the place for time allocation. Time allocation is one of the
major concerns in curriculum planning. It is for individual schools to decide
how the curriculum is to be organized in terms of content and time allocation.
Basically, flexibility should be allowed so that the varied needs of different
schools, classes and individual children can be met. In designing a time-table,
apart from classroom availability, options, etc. other variables such as the
children's abilities and learning needs, should be given prior consideration.
At different stages of development, the children require different skills to
help them cope with those needs which are characteristic of a particular
developmental stage. Priority of learning should therefore be given to these
skills and emphasis in training should vary according to the present and future
goals of these children. The understanding of the children’s needs will
facilitate time-table arrangements, with due weight given to various subject
areas. Apart from basic and functional academics, the children also need to
develop their capacity to respond appropriately to sensory and social
experiences, regardless of their ages and abilities. This involves the
exploration and understanding of aesthetic and creative experiences, which may
be integrated in any part of the curriculum. Music, Art and Craft and Physical
Education contribute particularly to such development. The children also need
to acquire these skills as leisure time activities. In considering the
allocation of time to these areas of learning for both the junior and senior
sections of the school, similar emphasis should be given.
Classroom arrangements
Another task is classroom arrangements
in curriculum implementation. Classroom arrangements should provide a favorable environment and
atmosphere conducive to learning. This requires good planning in the use of
space, arrangement of furniture, display of learning materials, etc.
Flexibility should be allowed so that the arrangements can vary according to
the type of learning activity adopted at the time. For example, desks and
chairs can be arranged in groups rather than in straight lines so that the
children can work in groups of various sizes according to their different
abilities and learning needs. To provide the children with maximum exposure to
a diversity of learning environment and experiences, the following learning
corners/interest areas are suggested as possible variations: reading corner, creative work area, nature corner, self-care corner, educational toys corner / toys resources room role play
area. These learning corners and interest areas serve different purposes. For
example, the reading corner is for the display of light reading materials for
casual reading; the educational toys corner is for the children to learn
through play; the nature corner serves to nurture in the children the love of
plants and animals as well as the way to look after them and the creative work
area helps with the development of creativity in the children. The children
should be asked to remember where the various materials are kept and to put
them back after use. Therefore, these learning corners and interest areas can
provide them with a wide range of learning experiences. So, to enhance the
learning environment, display boards are valuable display areas for the
children's work, group projects, charts, diagrams, photos, cut-outs from
newspapers or magazines, etc. all of which have much to contribute to the
children's learning and enhance their sense of achievement.
Assessment
Assessment is another task in curriculum
implementation. In effect, a well-structured curriculum should enable the
school to follow a procedure of teaching intervention, incorporating
assessment, programme planning and evaluation. To achieve this aim,
criterion-referenced assessment designed by the teacher is recommended. Assessment
should not be seen as something external to the learning process or something
added on at the end of a learning sequence simply for administrative purposes
or as a means of reporting to parents. Rather, it is an integral part of
effective learning, whereby the children are provided with feedback on their
progress. The teacher should plan in his scheme of work the learning
experiences which he will provide for the children. Similarly, as part of his
scheme of work, he should also plan the assessment of the children’s progress.
The assessment can be followed these approaches: Purposes of Assessments: (To identify the
children's learning needs, To help the teacher plan educational programmes for
the children, To indicate which specific educational objectives have or have
not been achieved, To serve as continuous evaluation ) ; Process in Assessment: (Identifying
the children's learning needs, Assessing the children's baselines in specific
subjects and establishing their pre-requisite skills, Setting learning
objectives, Implementing curriculum programmes, Implementing curriculum
programmes, Evaluating the effectiveness of curriculum programmes & Making
adaptations to curriculum programmes.); Assessment Flow Chart; Methods of Assessment. For this last point, when
evaluating the children's performance in terms of specific criteria set, the
teacher has to analyse the curriculum and the method of instruction used before
he can develop appropriate assessment to identify the children's learning
needs. As the teacher knows the children better, he is in a better position to
assess their learning needs.
In order to gather relevant information and collect observational data,
assessment designed by the teacher should be used to measure the children's specific
skills and abilities. The assessment may be in the form of checklists,
paper-pencil tests, interviews or observation of the children engaged in
activities. They should be individually administered both at the beginning and
at the end of the teaching period, so that the children's progress can be
measured. The assessment results will then reflect the children's strengths and
weaknesses. Assessment is thus an important part of the teaching process.
We can add; the role definition of
each stakeholder, the scheduling, professional training who are concerned with
preservice and service training. The main difficulty, as we saw, of these tasks
is coherent realization in the school life of everyday.
Conclusion
At the end
of our work, we must just remind the fact that it was question of the task of
curriculum implementation, mainly its outline and discussion. In regard to
that, time allocation is one of the major concerns in curriculum planning, the
role definition of each stakeholder, the scheduling, professional training who
are concerned with preservice and service training. Assessment
is another task in curriculum implementation. Another task is classroom arrangements
in curriculum implementation. Classroom
arrangements should provide a favorable environment and atmosphere conducive to
learning.
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