Unit 5 - Mathematics curriculum

 

Mathematics curriculum

Curriculum-Meaning & Definition

The word Curriculum is derived from the Latin word “Currere” which means ‘to run’. So curriculum means a course to be run for reaching a certain goal or destination. Curriculum describes the ground which pupil and teacher cover to reach the goal or objective of education.

“Curriculum is a tool in the hands of an artist (the teacher) to mould his material (the pupil) according to his ideals (aims and objectives) in his studio (the school)”- Arthur Cunningham

Syllabus

The term syllabus is usually used for book oriented and theoretical subjects. The basic content of a given subject is known as syllabus.

Types of curriculum

·         Subject centred curriculum

It gives more emphasis on subject matter in place of the child. This is also called book-centred curriculum. Because it lays emphasis on bookish knowledge and learning. It facilitates testing and examination. It is unpsychological in nature. Its content is definite and predetermined.

·         Child centred curriculum

The greater importance is given to the child in place of subject, experiences and activities. This type of curriculums is constructed according to the needs, capacities, attitudes, interest, hobbies and physical as well as mental level of the child. So it constructed on the basis of psychological principles and theories.

·         Activity centred curriculum

Various activities are emphasized in a specific manner.

·         Experience centred curriculum

Experiences are regarded as more important for the development of a child in comparison with emphasis on subject and activities.it is psychological in nature because it takes into consideration the needs, abilities, interest and capacities of the child. It is flexible and progressive. It is democratic. It can establish close relationship between the school and the society.

·         Correlated curriculum

Correlated curriculum signifies the intimate connection and correlation of various subjects in the curriculum.

·         Craft centred curriculum

In this type of curriculum emphasis is given on the training of various crafts like spinning, weaving, wood work, leather work, school craft etc. Our country is the most significant example of craft centred curriculum.

·         Core curriculum

In the core curriculum, some subjects are grouped together as essential and compulsory subject and many other subjects become optional.study of compulsory subjects,known as core curriculum. Core curriculum aims to develop both individual and society.it is child centred and gives practice and experiences to solve social problems.

·         Integrated or fused curriculum

The Integrated or fused curriculum occupies the mid-position on the continuum, and is a pouring together to subjects and students.

 

·         Issue based curriculum

The advocates of issue based curriculum believe that the learning experiences should be organized in terms of major activities of the human being as he lives in his culture. The issue based curriculum planning, learning objectives are framed after the social problem or issue has been analyzed; the subject matter is drawn from any source pertinent to the issue or problem.

·         Competency based curriculum

The competency based curriculum is a means of meeting the needs of educational training and workplace requirements for successful employees. This curriculum provides a hands-on approach to learning what is relevant to the world of work. Students who are enrolled in a competency based programme have a clear understanding of the competencies and objectives they are to master and the standards that will be used to measure their achievement.

·         Hidden curriculum

A hidden curriculum can be defined as the lessons that are taught informally, and usually unintentionally, in a school system. These include behaviors, perspectives, and attitudes that students pick up while they're at school.

 

Curriculum development: Construction, Organization and Evaluation

Basis of curriculum construction

Ø  Philosophical basis – it is the philosophy of a society that determines th ultimate aims of its education. The social structure and its economics organisations are also based on philosophical foundations. Various philosophies such as idealism, realism, naturalism, pragmatism etc. have different views on these issue.

                                i.            Realism : it includes those activities in curriculum through which knowledge can be obtained in real situations of life. Realistic curriculum is developed according to utility and needs.

                              ii.            Idealism : the main aim of curriculum assumes thoughts, eternal values and ideas of man. In idealistic curriculum humanistic subjects are emphasized.

                            iii.            Naturalism : Free development of individuality of child is one of the major aim of education. Naturalists are supporters of providing unlimted liberty to the child for self-expression.

                             iv.            Pragmatism : this curriculum is based on subjects of utility. Construction of pragmatic curriculum is done according to interests of child.

Ø  Psychological basis – according to this base , formulation of curriculum is done according to interest of child, natural tendencies, requirements and abilities of child.

Ø  Sociological basis – according to this base those subjects and activities are included in the curriculum, which provide assistance in developing appreciation of sociability.

Ø  Scientific basis – according to this base, more importance is given to the scientific subjects in curriculum. It opposes literary education and proposes practical and useful knowledge.

Principles of Mathematics curriculum construction

Ø  Principle of utility – while constructing curriculum in mathematics, we should include only those topics which are useful for the students.

Ø  Principle of child centeredness – curriculum should be appropriate to the age, ability and need of the child.

Ø  Principle of flexibility – the curriculum should be flexible enough to adjust itself to the local needs.

Ø  Principle of cultural value – curriculum should contain such activities that help in preserving and spreading the culture of our nation.

Ø  Principle of maturity – curriculum should be suited to the mental and physical maturity of the pupil.

Ø  Principle of leisure time – the curriculum should prepare the child for proper use of leisure time.

Ø  Principle of balance – curriculum should maintain proper balance between direct and indirect experiences, liberal and professional education, compulsory and optional subjects etc.

Ø  Principle of creativity

In the curriculum those activity should be included which enable the child to exercise his creative and conservative power.

Ø  The time factor

The curriculum should not be over-crowded and ambitions.

Principles of Curriculum Organization

Ø  Principle of correlation – while organizing the content in mathematics curriculum the principles of correlation should be followed. The following types of correlation should be considered.

                                i.            Correlation with life

                              ii.            Correlation with other subjects

                            iii.            Correlation between different branches of mathematics

                             iv.            Correlation  between different topics in the same branch of the mathematics

 

Ø  Principles of logical and psychological order – the arrangements of the content should display sequential development of topics which is most appropriate for the student of that age level.

Ø  Principle of activity –the curriculum should be in terms of activities and experiences.

Ø  Principle of vertical correlation – topics arranged in any class also should follow the vertical correlation leading from simple topics to complex ones.

Ø  Principle of difficulty – the content should be in the increasing order of difficulty.

Ø  Principle of motivation – the organization of the content should enthuse the children to learn. The content presented should be challenging, interesting and exciting.

Ø  Principle of individual differences

Curriculum evaluation

It is done on the middle of curriculum development.

Objectives of curriculum evaluation

           ·          To improve an existing programme

           ·          To examine the impact of the programme

           ·          Overall validation of the programme

           ·          Collecting evidences by the teacher for self evaluation

           ·          Evaluate the curricular demands of a digital age

 

Approaches of curriculum organization

There are different approaches to organize the mathematics curriculum. They are:

Ø  Topical Approach

Ø  Spiral Approach

Ø  Psychological and logical Approach

Ø  Unitary Approach

Ø  Integrated Approach