STAGES OF TEACHING

Teaching involves different activities. It implies a rationally designed process. It refers to a flow of acts, from the beginning to the end. To make teaching effective teacher has to do different actions or play specific roles during the process. It is observed very accurately that teaching activities can be divided into three different phases –        Pre-active stage of teaching        Interactive stage of teaching        Post-active stage of teaching PRE-ACTIVE STAGE OF TEACHING:  It is the preparatory or planning stage of teaching. According to P.W. Jackson, in this stage, the teacher “selects objective, plans the curricula, arranges the classroom, and studies pupils’ readiness”. This stage consists of the following operations or sub-stages: - Formulating instructional objectives: The teacher determines what should be the specific instructional objectives in terms of clearly defined terminal behavior. For formulating I.O. the teacher needs to consider the entry-level behavior of the learner, the time period, the needs of the society, and the school. Deciding the Subject Content: The teacher decides the amount of content to be imparted and the specific structures he/she will try to develop in the classroom. Arranging and sequencing the content for Presentation: The teacher tries to arrange and analyze the content matter for presentation in the class during teaching. Deciding the Strategy: The teacher makes a decision regarding a proper strategy he/she will employ in teaching. Teaching considers the nature of the content and entry-level behavior of the learner.   INTERACTIVE STAGE OF TEACHING:  This stage of teaching is concerned with the implementation and carrying out of what has been planned at the pre-active stage of teaching. The activities of the teacher are right from entering the classroom till the presentation if the content is included in this stage of teaching. According to P.W. Jackson, “The teacher provides the students verbal stimulation of various kinds, makes an explanation, asks questions, listens to the student’s response, and, provides guidance at the stage of teaching”. This is the execution stage. This stage includes the following activities: - Understanding the Class: The teacher’s first activity in this stage is concerned with the perception of classroom climate. He/she keeps an eye on the faces of the learners to locate which areas may be troublesome, and which faces may be discouraging, encouraging, or apathetic. In this way, the teacher tries to understand the whole climate of the classroom. Diagnosing the Learner: The teacher then tries to diagnose the student’s achievements in three levels: -  Activities  Interest in attitude Academic Backgrounds After diagnosing the student’s achievement level, the teacher starts the interaction session. Action and Reaction: It is the actual interaction between the teacher and the taught. The moment the teacher goes into the classroom, non-verbal interactions start between him/her and the student. With his/her speech, the verbal reactions start. With more questions put by the teacher to the students, the reactive process gains momentum. Then the students also put questions to the teacher, which makes teaching more learnable for the student. The action and reaction make the teaching go on and ultimately make it a success. POST-ACTIVE STAGE OF TEACHING:  This final stage is concerned with evaluating activities. The teacher evaluates the student’s performance on the basis of terminal behavior. The teacher also assesses the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process as occurred in the interactive stage. This stage consists of the following sub-stages: - Selecting appropriate testing devices: The teacher selects appropriate tools and techniques for measuring different dimensions of behavior as expressed in terminal behavior. The test may be written, oral or practical, etc. Testing the actual behavior: With the help of testing devices, the teacher evaluates the performance of the learner. Defining the Changes of Behavior: The teacher compares the expected and actual behavioral changes of the learner. Changing the Strategies of teaching: The results found in the previous sub-stage helped the teacher to understand the strength and weaknesses of the teaching-learning process. Accordingly, the teacher modifies the teaching strategy for better result

 

NECESSITY OF CURRICULUM

 

NECESSITY OF CURRICULUM

1. Curriculum provides a solid frame or a structure to an education system or course and has an end goal that teachers/curriculum planners set for their students to reach.

2. Curriculum provides a boundary about what to teach and what not to teach in a school for a specific stage and specific grade.

3. It defines the method and techniques to be used by the teacher for the student's holistic development.                                                                                                         

4. It describes the various evaluation processes to be followed for assessment.

5. It is a guideline for the students, teacher, and the other stakeholders related to the school by following which the education system of a school can run successfully.

6. A well-built curriculum can act as a reagent for developing a positive attitude towards other religions, castes, gender, etc.

7. It can also act as a means for developing moral and ethical values among the students to make them good citizens.

8. Curriculum helps to organize the subject matter in a logical and psychological sequence as per the child's demands and needs.

9. A good curriculum is a reflection of that nation and society.

10. Good curriculum organizes the selected content in simple to complex hence making the education system systematic.

11. It provides work experience and vocational education to the students. Thus making them skilled for the future work environment.

12. It ideally serves as a time management and organizational tool as well; by setting an agenda ahead of time. Teachers and students have the opportunity to prepare for future reading and assignments.

SCOPE OF CURRICULUM

 

SCOPE OF CURRICULUM

The scope of the curriculum includes the knowledge, skills and values, and students' experiences needed to achieve the set educational goals. It consists of the experience or subject matter or content to which the learners are exposed. The content of every field of learning is so vast and is expanding at such a rate that it is impossible to cover any field in its entirety. Some hard decisions must be made as to what content should be selected for inclusion in the curriculum and what limitations will be placed on that curriculum.
The matter on the basis of which the scope of the curriculum is framed:

A. Socio-economic condition of the nation:

It is one of the dominant components for framing curriculum. The policy of education and its objective depends on the social and economic condition of that nation. The economic and social logical structure drives the framework of the curriculum. For example, the Indian education curriculum is a reflection of the democratic nature of the nation.

B. Socio-cultural element:

The culture of any nation is the bearer and carrier of that nation’s heritage. That is why sociocultural elements are given immense importance during defining the scope of the curriculum. It should reflect in the curricular and co-curricular activities.

C. Social needs:

It is the responsibility of the nation to fulfill the social needs of its citizen. The nation includes those needs in its education system through the curriculum. Hence these needs are given value during deciding the scope of the curriculum.

D. Peoples's religious consciousness and beliefs:

The religious consciousness and beliefs of the people have a great impact on the education system of a nation. Their religious consciousness and beliefs should be taken care of during defining the scope of the curriculum.

E. In and out of school experience:

School is the miniature of society and society frames some objectives for its citizens. One of the main goals of education is to implement those objectives through the education system in school. While defining the scope of the curriculum a balance should be made between the lives of a student in and out of the school. The students must able to relate the school experience with that of their daily life.

F. Dynamic Education system:

The curriculum should be changed and developed and new content or subject can be incorporated keeping in mind the changing society and its needs.

G. Use of human resources:

During preparing the scope of the curriculum one should keep in mind the availability of human resources related to education. Human resources available should be utilized at the optimum level for the benefit of the learners.

H. Physical/material resources:

The curriculum should be designed on the basis of the other resources available. The state should inform the curriculum developer about the availability of the resources.

I. Budget/financial resource:

Money is one of the important aspects of designing and framing a curriculum. It also serves as an important scope. Someone could not plan a curriculum without knowing how much money she could manage to run that particular curriculum.

J. Variety of the school:

All schools' structures are not the same. Their ideologies are different. Even the contexts are different in many cases. Hence while designing the curriculum the schools' requirements and other aspects like the position of the school, school type, ideology, etc. are needed to be taken care of.

 

TYPES OF CURRICULUM

 

TYPES OF CURRICULUM (On the basis of characteristics of the curriculum) 1. Overt/explicit/written: it is simply a written document as part of formal instruction of schooling experience. It may refer to a curriculum document along with text and supportive teaching material that is overtly chosen to support the intentional instructional agenda of a school.  the overt curriculum is usually confined to those written understandings and directions formally designated and reviewed by administrators, curriculum directors, and teachers, often collectively. 2. Societal curriculum: it is taught outside the school forming social knowledge of the world. Families, peer groups, neighborhoods, media, and other socializing forces that educate all of us throughout our lives are the agents of the societal curriculum. This type of curriculum can now be expanded to include the powerful effects of social media for example Facebook and how it actively helps to create new perspectives and can help to shape both individual and public opinion. 3. Hidden or covert curriculum: it is derived from the nature and organization of schools. It is what children learn from the administrative structure of schools and the attitude of teachers and administrators. Examples of the hidden curriculum: standing in line, raising hands to be called on, and discipline in the classroom. It may include both positive and negative messages depending on the environment provided and the perspective of the learner or the observer. 4. Null Curriculum: it is any subject matter that is not taught in school which can give students the impression that these materials are less important. For example, in the American school, the culture and history of many known Western people are often covered slightly or sometimes not at all. Physically it is not possible to teach everything in schools, many topics and subject areas must be intentionally excluded from the written curriculum. TYPES OF CURRICULUM (On the basis of the objective of the curriculum) Curriculum can be framed on the basis of its aims and objectives subject matter of teaching and the method adopted curriculum may be classified into different types as follows: 1. Subject centered 2. Child centered 3. Activity centered 4. Integrated curriculum SUBJECT-CENTRED CURRICULUM: the subject-centered curriculum emphasizes oral discourse and extensive explanation. It expects teachers to plan instruction before teaching begins and to organize it around the content and it assumes that certain content should be taught to all students. The subject-centered curriculum usually consists of a study of pacific facts and ideas. The teaching method usually includes direct strategies like lectures, discussion, and questioning. The most widely used subject-centered curriculum is the separate subject curriculum. The separated subject curriculum is divided into discrete areas of study like history, chemistry literature, etc. CHILD-CENTRED CURRICULUM: The curriculum is to be varied and elastic, meeting individual differences and adapting to individual needs and requirements. Satisfaction with the child's nature is one of the important objectives of education. Unsuitable subjects of study lead to frustration among the children and often hinder their normal development. School and subject are meant to be for the child and not the child for the school. The child is not to be victimized in the name of cultural heritage, or mental discipline. The curriculum is to be child-centered where the subjects of study fall in line with the child's nature. When the interest and needs of the learner are incorporated in the curriculum, motivation tends to become intrinsic rather than extrinsic. Some important characteristics of child-centered curriculum: A. It is centered on learners B. Emphasis on promoting the all-around development of learners. C. Subject matter selected and organized cooperatively by learners during learning. D. Controlled and directed cooperatively by learners in the learning situation. E. It emphasizes meaning immediate to improving living. F. Emphasis is also given to habit and skill as an integral part of larger experiences. G. Emphasis is also given to understanding and improving through the process of learning. H. Emphasis on variability in exposure to learning and in results expected. I. Education adds each child to build a socially creative individuality. J. Education is considered a continuous intelligent process of growth. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUBJECT-CENTRED AND CHILD-CENTRED CURRICULUM SUBJECT CENTRED CHILD-CENTERED 1. Centered on subject 1. Centered on learners. 2. Emphasize upon teaching subject matter 2. Promoting the all-round growth and development of the learners. 3. Subject matter selected and organized before the teaching situation. 3. Subject matter selected and organized cooperatively by all learners during the learning situation. 4. Emphasize upon teaching facts and imparting information to the students. 4. Emphasis upon meanings that will function immediately in improving living. 5. Motivation is mostly extrinsic. 5. Motivation is intrinsic. 6. Emphasis upon teaching specific habits and skills as separate and isolated aspect of learning 6. Emphasis upon building habits and skills as an integral part of larger experiences. ACTIVITY CENTRED CURRICULUM In its purest form activity centered curriculum operates with the child as the sole center of learning. Since education is life and life is ever-changing the activity-centered curriculum expects to change continually. In this approach, the psychology of learning is based on the emotional involvement of the learner. If a child develops an interest in something and becomes emotionally involved with it, Hindi learning will enhance according to the proponents of an activity-centered curriculum. This curriculum is never fixed and completely crosses subject-matter lines. Completely flexible, emphasis is placed on observation, play, stories, and handcraft. The activity-centered curriculum has not been acceptable to the public as the subject-centered curriculum. When used it has been most successful at the elementary level. Although it has never secured a foothold in secondary school, the activity-centered curriculum has had some influence on the High school program. The lack of full acceptance in high school may be partly due to the subject orientation that secondary teachers and administrators have. Also, the public seems to prefer the traditional organization and methodology of the subject-centered curriculum. Characteristics of activity-centered curriculum: 1. The interest and purposes of children determine the educational program. 2. Common learning comes about as a result of individual interest. 3. The curriculum is not planned in advance, but guidelines are established to help the students to choose alternatives as they progress through the program. 4. Solving problems becomes the principle teaching method. 5. The teacher, in preparing to teach in the activity-centered curriculum needs all the prerequisites of the core teacher and even more. 6. Because the activity-centered curriculum is flexible, the need for variety and scheduling arrangements is important. 7. Schedules using a large block of time are necessary to afford the program to its maximum potential. Integrated curriculum: Integrated curriculum transaction has come about in an attempt to decrease the number of separate subjects that have been gradually brought into the subject-centered curriculum. In place of separated and isolated classes in reading writing spelling grammar and literature the integrated curriculum combines these subjects under English or any other language. The integrated approach provides teachers and students more latitude within the broad subject area. The integrated social studies course encompasses history geography economics political science psychology sociology and anthropology. Integrated science program combines chemistry botany zoology physics geology. Mathematics gets integrated with arithmetic geometry and algebra. Advantages of integrated curriculum: a. This approach establishes logical an useful organization for presenting knowledge. b. In integrated curriculum knowledge is presented to the students in a comprehensive manner. c. Students can learn with understanding and appreciation. d. Basic principles and generalizations necessary for critical thinking are emphasized more than isolated facts. Disadvantages of integrated curriculum: A. Composition of several subjects into one does not guarantee integration in all cases. B. With the emphasis on generalization rather than specifics, learning tends to be too abstract.