In a broad sense it includes all aspects of learning that has to be incorporated in all the various levels of planning, such as phase planning, grade level planning and lesson plans as well as assessment, teaching methods, inclusion, barriers to learning etc. Need to be in line with the relevant policy documents such as the NCSC. Curriculum planning needs to be a team effort. Outcomes-based education Outcomes based education (OBEY) forms the foundation for the current curriculum learner-centered, activity-based education. It is built around the belief system (or paradigm) which states that all learners can be successful. ; This belief system also states that educators should be more concerned with what and whether learners learn and not when and how they learn it. OBEY strives to enable all learners to reach their maximum learning potential by organizing everything in the educational system around what students must be able to do successfully at the end of their learning experience Whole school development planning This is a process whereby all the stakeholders in the school consider all the activities and interests of the school and then decide on the goals of the school over a period of time. ; It is done against the background of a SOOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) in the community, local and school contexts. It involves consideration of the vision, mission, budget, staffing and curriculum matters. As the core business of the school, the curriculum informs all the other aspects e. G. How the budget is allocated, what staff is needed etc ; . I. E. It is the process of making sure that the school is ready for the learner, rather than the earner having to be ready for the school.
Work Schedule ; Focuses on how the learning programmer will be delivered in the grade and in the classroom. ; All the educators teaching the same grade, and working as a team, develop the work schedule. ; The work schedule translates the learning programmer into a year- long programmer that specifies how teaching, learning and assessment will be sequenced and paced. ; It is the delivery tool for the grade that specifies the learning outcomes, assessment standards, specific knowledge (core knowledge), time, and an assessment programmer for a year. Lesson Plans Using the work schedule, each individual educator prepares lesson plans for his/her class/classes.
The lesson plan is more detailed than the work schedule and takes into account: ; Learning outcomes and assessment standards Assessment tasks & assessment tools content (SIVA), ; Duration of each lesson activity Conceptual links to previous and future lesson plans Teaching style / methodology/classroom management including homework ; Expanded opportunities, resources, strategies for dealing with barriers to learning and inclusively / strategies for dealing with multicultural & multi-lingual issues. Assessment Standards They are criteria which describe the level at which learners should demonstrate demonstrating their achievement ; Collectively they provide evidence of what a learners should know and be able to demonstrate ; They are grade specific, I. E. There are assessment standards for each grade ; They collectively show how conceptual progression occurs from grade to grade ; They do not prescribe method.
Inclusive Education ; Inclusive Education is dealt with in Education White Paper no 6 ; Marks a shift away from disability and deficit theories, assumptions, practices and models to an enabling and empowering approach. ; It accepts that learners have diverse needs and that the system might be inadequate to respond to those needs. ; Rather than seeing individual learners as being inadequate because they do not fit into the system, the emphasis is on examining the system itself and identifying the factors within the system that are not learner friendly. ; In short: Inclusive education is about finding ways to include everyone, rather than excluding anyone. It is about overcoming or eliminating barriers to learning – no matter what their origin – and the interventions needed may vary from classroom interventions to wider system changes within schools, districts and departments of education. Social Transformation The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa forms the basis for social transformation in our post-apartheid society. ; The imperative to transform South African society by making use of various transformation tools stems from a need to address the legacy of apartheid in all areas of human activity and in education in particular. ; Social transformation in education is aimed at ensuring that the educational imbalances of the past are redressed, and that equal educational opportunities are provided for all sections of our population. If social transformation is to be achieved, all South Africans have to be educationally affirmed through the recognition of their potential and the removal of artificial barriers to the attainment of qualifications. CAPS vs. NCSC NCSC CAPS Critical and development outcomes Built into the curriculum Learning outcomes Concepts, content and skills Assessment standards Content/Assessment Learning programmer Subjects Knowledge, skills, attitudes and values Embedded in content Underlying principles Social Justice – educational opportunities, inclusively, human rights Phase Plan Overview across grades Work schedules Overview of year plan Lesson Plans Lesson plans The CAPS is an adjustment to what we teach (curriculum) and not how we teach (teaching methods).
Implementation: January 2012: The Foundation Phase (Grades R-3) and Grade 10 (FEET) January 2013: Phase (Grades 7-9) and Grade 12 (FEET) Main changes: CAPS Foundation Phase: Instructional time increased ; Innumeracy will be called Mathematics and Literacy will be called Language ; First Additional Language added to Foundation Phase (one language must be the Language of Learning and Teaching) ; Intermediate phase: eight learning areas changed to 6 subjects ; CAPS Senior Phase: school-based assessment counts for 40% and end-of-year examination counts for 60% CAPS for FEET Phase: content has been reorganized for several of the subjects and the exam structure has changed in some of the subjects ; All Grades will use a 7 point scale Outcomes and Assessment standards are removed (General Aims) ; Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards are now called Topics (content/themes) and
Skills ; Learning areas and learning programmer are now called subjects ; CAPS give a week by week planning Curriculum Statements and Learning Programmer guidelines replaced by one document called CAPS QUESTION ON CURRICULUM: Discuss different ways of understanding the concept ” curriculum” and how these different understandings relate to each other. Refer to the concept ” curriculum” as prescription and in practice. (30) As an interpreter of the curriculum and a developer of learning programmer, a teacher should be able to distinguish between narrow and broad definitions of the incept ” curriculum”. The term ” curriculum” does not simply equate to a definition that is straightforward and clear-cut.
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In view of the above it is necessary to look at the various common definitions, ideas and purposes surrounding the concept of curriculum which are relevant and practical for education and the development of learning programmer. In its narrowest sense, the word curriculum (in school education) refers to a list of subjects to be taught in school. In its broadest sense, it refers to the total or holistic learning experience, in school as well as society or life. Curriculum refers to the teaching and learning activities and experiences which are provided by schools. ” This broad definition of NINEPIN includes all aspects, which entail: The aims and objectives of the education system as well as the goals that are set out by the school What is the educational purpose of the curriculum? What knowledge and skills are to be achieved?
How the content to be taught is selected and how it is arranged into subjects, programmer and syllabi How will the accumulation of knowledge and skills be introduced? Teaching methods and learning styles and relationships between teachers and learners, and Evaluation and assessment methods How will successful attainment of the knowledge and skills be assessed? The complex nature and many facets related to ” curriculum” compel the subdivision of the concept into smaller manageable compartments or ideas. Commonly accepted types of curriculum are as follows: 1) official and explicit curriculum, 2) curriculum as practice, 3) the covert curriculum, 4) the hidden curriculum.
Official, explicit curriculum: The curriculum as plan and refers to the prescribed blueprint for teaching, usually in written document format and clearly defined. Theory and practice is usually not a recipes equivalent, which brings us to the next aspect. Curriculum as practice: The actual curriculum as it is experienced, which may or may not be predominantly in line with the curriculum as planned and is influenced by various factors which are sometimes beyond the educator’s or learner’s control, such as sudden budget constraints, sick-leave of key staff, misunderstandings etc. The covert curriculum: Implicit or indirect but deliberate teaching. It refers to focal points and outcomes that are the by-products of teaching. Activity, which do not happen by chance, but is anticipated and deliberate.
The hidden curriculum: In essence this refers to a similar process as the covert type curriculum, with the core difference that the indirect consequences or by-products of teaching are not deliberate and more often not even known to the educator or learner at the time. The further understanding of ” curriculum” involves a clear identification of its purpose with regard to education. The approaches and ideas of Tyler, Storehouse and Freer are generally acknowledged as reputable: Ralph Tyler: Suggest he used narrow definition. Curriculum should have an objectives approach with a linear focus on the product. Lawrence Storehouse: Suggest he used a broader definition.
Curriculum is a process of dynamic and flexible nature. Paolo Freer: Suggest he used a broad definition. Political approach that stresses the liberation of all learners and content-based on the needs and the interests of the learners. In South Africa, OBEY (Outcomes Based Education) is used and thus there needs to be a suitable link between curriculum and OBEY. Equally important is the influences related to interpretation of the curriculum by its users (e. G. Educators) and an awareness of influences that may trigger a need for change to the curriculum. The context in which an education system finds itself does influence the curriculum and the interpretation thereof.
The educator’s interpretation and implementation of the curriculum is influenced by two main categories, namely personal or individual factors and also contextual factors. Individual and/or personal influences include aspects like beliefs, values, upbringing, personal experiences of acute nature etc. Contextual influences mainly include political, economic and social influences. Discuss the steps that you will follow to design a learning programmer for your specific subject. (30) Whole School Development Planning. This is the process whereby all the stakeholders in the school consider all the activities and interests of the school and then decide on the goals for their school over a certain period of time. The school management team and the educators should identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SOOT) in the school and then use this as a guide to develop and facilitate the necessary learning programmer. Learning program comprises of three stages of planning namely: Phase planning, work schedule planning and lesson planning. For phase planning, all the educators in that phase should be involved. For the work schedule, all the educators in the associated grade should be involved. After this each teacher develops his/her own lesson plans per class, according to his/her teaching style and according to the requirements of the learners. Whole School Development Planning. This is the process whereby all the stakeholders in the school consider all the activities and interests of the school and then decide on the goals for their school over a certain period of time. ” The school management team and the educators should identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and wreaths (SOOT) in the school and then use this as a guide to develop and facilitate the necessary learning programmer. E. G. : SOOT Analysis of Hypothetical School Strengths Educators are exposed to continuous and relevant training School governing body supports curriculum innovation Weaknesses Language barriers Library is limited Opportunities Community is willing to get involved with fund raising.
Threats High turnover of teachers To apply the OBEY methodology, the premises and principles of OBEY must be incorporated: ; All learners can be successful, but not in the same way or on the same day. Successful learning promotes even more successful learning. ; Schools control the conditions that affect successful learning. ; Clarity of focus – know exactly what must be learned, how must it be learned, ensure learning content is relevant and ensure appropriate assessment measures are adopted. ; Design down – ensure there is clear picture of learning objectives and plan backwards to ensure all relevant steps are incorporated and that learning aspects are integrated/linked. Expanded opportunity for all learners – be flexible enough to accommodate different learners can succeed and through this also motivate the learners. If we believe in their success, they will tend to as well. Applying the above with a team approach, the learning programmer is then developed as follows: Get all relevant policy documents, such as Norms and standards for Educators, NCSC documents, learning programmer guidelines. Consult the NCSC and determine at what the learning experience should cover in each grade, in terms of: ; Developmental outcomes Critical outcomes Assessment standards This must be done in conjunction with the current level of development of the learners as well as the different contexts that are relevant to the learners.
The election and negotiation of the learning content to be done so that at the end of the phase the learner should have been exposed to all learning outcomes for the phase and have been assessed on the associated assessment standards. Discuss and decide on the appropriate teaching, learning and assessment methods, core knowledge and concepts in view of the prevailing teaching, learning and assessment context. Specifically consider the available resources and time frames during this planning stage. Staff, equipment, textbooks, classrooms space. Consider the time frames required for effective learning and the associated assessment process so as to assist with the time schedules during work schedule planning.
Ensure that time frames and learning are sequenced in such a way as to promote holistic learning. The learning experience should progress from grade to grade with increasing conceptual complexity in each learning area. There should also be appropriate integration between across different learning areas. Next, the educators for each grade to perform work schedule planning. The work schedule is the delivery tool of the learning programmer and must specify the following items for each year: ; Learning outcomes Specific skills, knowledge, values and attitudes desired for the year. ; An assessment programmer. Thereafter, each educator to produce lesson plans for their particular learners in their classes.
