Curriculum Content or Subject Matter

Components of Curriculum and Curricular Approaches

Curriculum Content or Subject MatterPrepared by; Vincent B. De Ocampo

CURRICULUM CONTENT OR

SUBJECT MATTER

All curricula have content, regardless of their design or models.

What is content?

Content is another term

for knowledge.

A compendium of facts,

concepts, generalization, principles and

theories

Views of the curriculum?

Subject-centered view

Learner-centered view

The fund of human knowledge represents the repository of

accumulated discoveries and inventions of man down the centuries, due to man’s exploration of the world.

Curriculum from Different Points of View

1. Subject-centered view

Gerome Bruner: “Knowledge is a model we construct to give meaning

and structure to regularities in experience.”

Curriculum from Different Points of View

2. Learner- centered view

Subject area and

its learning content

Each subject area has its own body of subject matter or learning content

Subject area and its learning content

Communication arts Mathematics Science

Social Studies Music Physical Esucation

Vocational Education


1. Communication arts

listening, speaking, reading, writing and effective use of language


2. Mathematics

numeric and computational skills, geometry and measurement, algebra, logic and reasoning


3. Science

all branches of natural sciences, exploration and discovery dealing with natural phenomena and scientific investigation


4. Social Studies

basic elememts of Geography, History, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Civics, Political Science, and Psychology


5. Music

basic music theory, practice in listening, singing, playing musical instrument, and music preparation


6. Physical Education

health and physical fitness, individual team sports, spectatorship and wise

use of leisure


7. Vocational Education

psychomotor and manipulative skills in basic crafts and trades, design,

work ethic and appreciation of manual productive work

Criteria in the selection of subject matter content

Content selection is a very crucial stage in curriculum development.

Criteria in selection of subject matter

1. Self- sufficiency – attaining self- sufficiency in most economical manner;

- less teaching and learner’s effort but more results and effective learning outcomes


2. Significance – content will contribute to basic ideas, concepts and principles, and generalizations to achieve the aim of the curriculum;

- it will develop the cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills of the learners; and cultural aspects will be considered


3. Validity – authenticity of the subject matter

4. Interest - a key criterion in learner-centered curriculum; content should be based on the interest of the learner


5. Utility – usefulness of the content to the learner either for the present or the future

6. Learnability – subject matter should be within the range of the experiences of the learners


7. Feasibility – content should be learned within the time allowed, resources available, expertise of the teacher and nature of the learner.

Other considerations in selection of learning content:

a. Frequently and commonly used in daily life;

b. Suited to the maturity levels and the abilities of the students;

c. Valuable in meeting the needs and the competencies of a future career;

d. Related with other subject areas; and

e. Important in the transfer of learning

Principles In Organizing Different Learning Content

Learning

Content

BALANCE

SEQUENCE

INTEGRATIONCONTINUITY

ARTICULATION

• Balance – Content curriculum should be fairly distributed in depth and breadth of the particular learning or discipline.

• Articulation – Each level of subject matter should be smoothly connected to the next, glaring gaps or wasteful overlaps in the subject matter will be avoided.

• Sequence –It refers to the deepening and broadening of content as it is taken up in the higher level.

• The horizontal connections are needed in subject areas that are similar so that learning will be related to one another. This is INTEGRATION.

• The constant repetition, review and reinforcement of learning is what is referred to as CONTINUITY.