By Dr. Sultan Muhammad Khan
Keywords; Teacher Centered curriculum,
Integrated curriculum, Limitations
of Teacher Centered Curriculum, Advantages of Teacher’s centered Curriculum, Components of Integrated Curriculum, objectives of integrated curriculum
There are many types of curriculum,
but here we will discuss Teacher Centered curriculum and Integrated
curriculum, Types or curriculum are;
Subject curriculum, Teacher
Centered curriculum, Learner centered curriculum, Activity/Experience
curriculum, Integrated curriculum, Core curriculum, Board field curriculum, Hidden
curriculum
Teacher-Centered Curriculum:
Teachers participate in a variety of
curriculum activities at classroom level. These are the very core of their
daily teaching tasks and include such activities as selection of specific
content, selection of teaching approach, use of audio-visual aids and so on. In
recent years teachers have become increasingly involved in a broader level of
curriculum decision-making such as involvement in major curriculum projects. It
mostly involves few teachers, although some teachers participate in syllabus
committees.
At the school level, however, staff
members are becoming more responsible for a vast array of curriculum decision.
In countries where they have adopted
teacher centered curriculum the schools have considerably greater
responsibility for curriculum development. In these schools teachers have
become involved, willingly or unwillingly, in more school-level curriculum
decision-making.
Regardless of the state in which one
teaches, it has become obvious in recent years that all teachers are
participating more in curriculum decision-making at the school level. The
nature of this participation may be seen in the various roles that teachers
adopt in the decision-making process.
It is suggested that teachers may
participate in any combination of curriculum decision-making roles at the
school level:
- Implementers
- Adapters
- Developers
- Researchers
Implementers.
As an ‘implementer’ or ‘receiver’,
the teacher’s role is to apply the developed curriculum. In this role the
teacher has a minimum of responsibility and involvement in the curriculum
development phase of the curriculum process, though he has a significant role
in the application phase of this process.
Adapters.
As an adapter, the role of the
teacher is just the same as implementer. This is somewhat conceptual term which
indicates that the teachers become ready to accept the curriculum in order to
implement it.
- As a developer, the teacher’s
role is to take part in the curriculum development process. In Pakistan,
some representative teachers are being invited to attend various meetings
held by the higher authorities in order to make contributions in the
curriculum development or curriculum evaluation process.
Researchers.
Curriculum is a dynamic process.
Keeping in view this characteristic, there is a need to conduct research in
order to bring about desirable changes in the curriculum. Teachers in most of
the countries and also in Pakistan are taking part in various types of
researches in curriculum development process. The nature of these researches
is.
- To review the curriculum.
- To evaluate the curriculum.
- To change the curriculum etc.
Advantages
of Teacher’s centered Approach:
ü As
the curriculum is designed by the teacher, it become easy to achieve the
desired goals.
ü Subject
matter become psychologically sound due to its relevance with interests, needs
and level of the children.
ü Content/Subject
matter is logically arranged.
ü Irrelevant
material/Subject matter is avoided.
ü Teachers
feel comfortable and confident in the classroom activities.
ü Democracy
is encouraged.
ü Co-operation
is developed.
ü Society/Community
is also involved (directly or indirectly) in the development of curriculum.
ü No
objection is raised by the teacher in connection with the availability of
sources and resources.
Limitations
of Teacher Centered Curriculum
If this approach is followed in
Pakistan then the following limitations may hinder the process.
ü A
change in the attitude on the part of learners, teachers and community is
difficult to develop.
ü Lack
of sources and resources.
ü Hindrance
due to rigid administration, planning and management.
ü It
will become difficult to maintain a common standard in various institutions.
ü The
existing curriculum for the teaching training institutions is not suitable for
the teacher centered approach.
ü A
drastic change in the examination system/evaluation will be required.
INTEGRATED CURRICULUM
Defining Integrated Curriculum
What exactly is integrated
curriculum? In its simplest conception, it is about making connections. What
kind of connections? Across disciplines? To real life? Are the connections skill-based
or knowledge-based?
• Correlation may be as slight as casual
attention to related materials in other subject areas . . . a bit more intense
when teachers plan it to make the materials of one subject interpret the
problems or topics of another
- Integration: the unification of
all subjects and experiences.
Arguments for supporting integrated
curriculum
There are two strong arguments
supporting an integrated curriculum. First, there is simply too much
information to be covered in the traditional structure of a forty or fifty
minute class period. Secondly, most subjects are taught to students in
isolation from other related information. Advocates of an interconnected
curriculum believe that individuals learn best when encountering ideas that are
connected to one another. A strong belief system exists supporting that
"all things are connected."
What do the critics say?
Critics of integrated curriculum
have formulated several arguments against the idea;
v First,
it is sometimes appropriate for information to be taught within the content
area. Some concepts run the risk of becoming confused when connected to
unrelated subject matter.
v Secondly,
most teachers have always been a part of a somewhat modernist method of
teaching. Therefore, implementing integrated curriculum becomes
increasingly more difficult.
v Third,
critics claim that many teachers may lack knowledge and skills of the various
disciplines.
v Finally,
a key criticism of integrated curriculum is assessment. Schools continue to
struggle with effective methods to assess student achievement in regard to
higher level thinking and deeper understanding. In order for integrated
curriculum to replace traditional teaching styles, the entire structure of the
school needs to be change. Frankly, this is a change that many modernist
teachers are not willing to accept.
v The
integrated curriculum approach is successful in making students more aware of
content area connections, challenging students, providing a learning
environment, supporting academic and social needs, dissolving the boundaries
among the disciplines, and fostering stronger student/teacher relationships.
Ø Components of Integrated Curriculum
Ø Focuses
on basic skills, content and higher level thinking
Ø Encourages
lifelong learning
Ø Structures
learning around themes, big ideas and meaningful concepts
Ø Provides
connections among various curricular disciplines
Ø Provides
learners opportunities to apply skills they have learned
Ø Encourages
active participation in relevant real-life experiences
Ø curiosity,
motivates, and challenges learners
Ø Provides
a deeper understanding of content
Ø Offers
opportunities for more small
Ø Accommodates
a variety of learning styles/theories (i.e., social learning theory, cooperative
learning, intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy) and multiple intelligences
The organization of integrated
curriculum is a post second world war occurrence. This phenomenon gain greatest
support in the 1960s. Based on the essential organization of content, as in the
subject design, the academic disciplines design emphasizes on the role played
by those diverse entities called academic disciplines. Thus it is clearly
defined in terms of knowledge, skills and values.
OBJECTIVES OF INTEGRATED CURRICULUM
IN PAKISTAN
1.
The basic objective of
integrated curriculum is to emphasize the learning and basic language skills
for the children of class’ I to III this would increase the literacy rate of
the country.
2. Reeducation
of text books to one or two only so that the Teachers may focus their attention
on the improvement of language skills of the students and along with it they
may be able to impart the concept of other subjects.
3. In
integrated curriculum, the mental level and interests of the children acquire
the central place which is the basic condition of acquiring knowledge.
4. Interesting
textual material not only attracts the children but also provides opportunities
to groom up their mental abilities. Therefore efforts have been made to prepare the integrated curriculum
with the following comprehensive general objective.
5. The
general objective of the integrated approach
is to make a clear relation between various subjects (having similar concepts) so that the learners may
apply their knowledge in real life situation.
Read more about types of different
curriculum
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