VERITAS UNIVERSITY ABUJA

EDU 713 CURRICUJUM AND INSTEUCTION 1

UNIT 1: CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION

INTRODUCTION
Curriculum from the view point of the recipients of school education, means different things
to different people. It has been seen by some as all the learning experiences that the learner
acquired under the guidance of schools directed towards acquiring some skills or
competences. People who favour this conception of curriculum attribute the advantage of
this definition to its focus on the learner and learning rather than teaching and its inclusion of
all experiences of the learners both planned and unplanned.
Furthermore, some people focus on its abstract and complex nature – making the curriculum
of a school so comprehensive that it cannot be described in simple terms or short phrases.
In an attempt to describe some concepts of curriculum reform, such as supervision and
inspection, we shall devote this first unit to definitions and meaning of curriculum, history of
curriculum development and its characteristics.

OBJECTIVES
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
(i) define the term curriculum;
(ii) relate the history of curriculum development, and
(iii) explain its characteristics.

HOW TO STUDY THIS UNIT

(i) Read through the unit twice or thrice notice the key words as you read
(ii) Check your dictionary for meanings of unfamiliar words
(iii) Attempt all activities and assignment given
(iv) Read the instructions before embarking on the assignments.

DEFINITION AND MEANING OF CURRICULUM

Many definitions have been proposed for the term curriculum but a close look at each of them
will show you one or two disadvantages. What curriculum means has been extended beyond
its dictionary meanings as a course of study to embrace the total spectrums of content,
resources, materials and method of teaching through which the purposes of education are
achieved (Wasagu, 2000).
Brubacher (1969) referred to curriculum as the ground which pupils and teachers cover in
order to reach the goal of education (p.155). In other words, it can be regarded as a total
experience with which the school deals with educating young people. That is all the
experiences both curricular and co-curricular which children pass through to become what is
known as an educated person.

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Changes in Definitions Over Time

It has been noted that the definition of curriculum changes from time-to-time and it also
changes due to social conditions, conception of knowledge, the learner and, indeed,
education. Clearly, therefore, your definition of curriculum is a matter of your own
perception.
Wheeler (1969) defined it as the planned experiences offered to the learner under the
guidance of the school (p.11).
Fafumera (1974):58) saw it as the whole of the educative process, that is, the total
environment in which education takes place. In other words, the total environment in which
education takes place; That is, the child, the teacher the subject, the content, the method, the
physical and psychological environment.
Hass (1980 ) defined curriculum as all the experiences that individual learners have in a
programme of education whose purpose is to achieve broad goals and related specific
objectives which is planned in terms of a frame work of theory and research or past or present
professional practice.
As a process, curriculum can be seen as the development of educational experiences and
activities which will achieve for the pupils and all members of society some predetermined
objectives.

ACTIVITY I
1. Define the term “Curriculum”.
2. “How you define curriculum is largely a matter of your own”. Discuss.

HISTORY OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

The systematic study of curriculum is a twentieth century phenomenon. In the past, concerns
about what happened in schools were mostly limited to descriptions of what courses or
subjects ought to be studied. Curriculum as a field of study started at about 1918 out of the
practical managerial necessity for solving technical and practical school’s problems. This
was as a result of an essay written by Franklin Bobbit in 1913 which drew an analogy
between curriculum making and industrial processes. He published his first work on
curriculum in 1918.
The field of curriculum unlike other areas in education like: Educational Psychology,
Philosophy of Education and Sociology of Education, emerged without any mother
discipline. These other areas mentioned here are applications of the various areas to the field
of education.
Curriculum’ derives its name from Latin word meaning ‘ a running course’, race, running on
a wager, a race ground or a career. In its original Latin usage, it means a ‘runway’ or a
course which one runs to reach a goal. In time, the meaning of the word came to denote more
than a race-course to mean a course which students pursue and compete for targets defined in
terms of high grades, passes, certificates or other forms of academic awards.
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Curriculum as a field is, therefore, opened to anyone who is interested in the area and ready
to contribute to its development.

ACTIVITY 2
1. Examine the main developments in the field of curriculum study from 1913 to date.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

A curriculum is an educational experience offered to the learner in a school setting including
the time-tabled subjects and all those aspects of its life certain changes in their behaviour.
The functions of curriculum according to Onwuka (1996) are:
(i) It determines educational direction including the decision of the type of society people
want to live and serve in.
(ii) It determines the principles and procedures which will help educators in selecting and
arranging instructional programmes.
(iii) It concerns itself with the application of the chosen principles.
(iv) It determines and assesses what changes have been brought about.
(v) It determines the next steps to be takenss.
By curriculum development, therefore, we are referring to the process of implementing the
theoretical plan to attain educational ends. Education is expected to preserve and reform
society to the extent that it be a congenial place for individual members to live and work
happily in. It is supposed to familiarize members with the physical features of the society
together with its cultural patterns and practices as well as the effect of these on the
individual’s behaviour and competence.
If education is concerned with the advancement of man and the society in which he finds
himself, the curriculum planned to actualize this must possess the following characteristics:
(i) Purposeful aims and objectives – The aims and objectives must be clearly and
precisely stated bearing in mind the societal values and the needs of the child. In
selecting and stating the aims and objectives, consideration should be given to the
learner’s age level of development, needs and interests. The economic attainment,
religion, philosophy and norms of the people should also be put into consideration.
(ii) Functionality – The curriculum planned must be workable, practicable and feasible.
For a curriculum planned to be called functional, it must be stated in clear and
understandable terms. Practicability is another criteria for judging the functionality of
a curriculum. The curriculum should be able to succeed given the human and
economic resources available. It should also be acceptable by the people in a given
society. It should strike a balance between theory and practice. Issues in the
curriculum should be attainable.
(iii) Flexibility – The curriculum must be capable of adapting to the needs of the changing
learner and the society. Since education is not static, it should change with the

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society. It must be flexible and be able to create an avenue for growth and
development to attain the predetermined objectives. In order words, it should be
sufficiently flexible to enhance its adaptation to the changing condition and needs of
the people.
(iv) Relevance – It should emphasize those aspects that will be of benefit to the learner
and the society. The curriculum should assist in helping to ease contact between the
learner and his studies, socialize him and facilitate the transfer of knowledge and
developmental skills to the entire populace.
(v) Evaluation – It should be subjected to evaluation to ensure that there is progress and
that such a progress is in the desired direction. Evaluation as a characteristic could
facilitate learning and teaching. It could produce records appropriate to the purpose
for which records are essential and provide feedback for curriculum planners and
teachers.

ACTIVITY 3
1. Mention five (5) functions of a curriculum.
2. List five characteristics of a curriculum.

SUMMARY
· From all the definition above, we can see that educators consider curriculum not only
as the subjects studied in school. Their conception has come to embrace all those
activities that used to be referred to as extra-curricular, or co-curricular. We can
summarize all definitions mentioned above by looking at curriculum as the process
undertaken by the school/society of determining what knowledge, skills and attitudes
to be acquired. The acquisition of such knowledge and skills contributes to the
development by learners for the sake of bringing about desirable behavioural changes
and societal improvement (Onwuka, 1996).

REFERENCES k
Hass, G. (1980) Curriculum Planning (3rd ed.) Boston:Allyn and Bacon

Onwuka, U (1996) Some Suggested Methods. A chapter in U. Onwuka (Ed.) Curriculum

Development for Africa. Onitsha: Africana – Feb Publishers Ltd.

Wasagu, M.A. (2000) Introduction to Curriculum Studies. In M.I. Junaid, A.A. Salami &
M.G. Maitafsir (Ed.) Reading in Education Vol. I. Sokoto: Educational
Foundation Unit.

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UNIT II MAJOR CONCEPTS AND TYPES OF

CURRICULUM: FOUNDATION OF CURRICULUM

INTRODUCTION
Curriculum writers or specialists use a variety of concepts to refer to one and the same thing.
The concepts of curriculum organisation and curriculum design are often used
interchangeably by curriculum experts.
These concepts, Okpara (1990: 115) describes as the process of arranging or ordering of the
selected content and learning experiences of children in such a way that they reinforce each
other, for easy assimilation resulting in learning outcomes.
Curriculum as a field of study is partly the child of three fields of study, namely: philosophy,
sociology and psychology. The three fields put together had been considered as the
foundations of curriculum planning. With these three foundation areas, the curriculum that
will be planned will help individuals to grow and develop so that they may lead satisfying
lives within the society (Beane et al, 1986). To make a sound decision on what the
curriculum should contain, those involved in curriculum planning should have a sound
knowledge of each of the foundation areas.

OBJECTIVES
The specified objectives of this unit are to enable readers to:
(i) List at least six types of curriculum
(ii) Mention the three foundations of curriculum planning.

HOW TO STUDY THIS UNIT

(i) Go through the unit taking note of the key ideas.
(ii) Attempt all activities and assignment in the unit

TYPES OF CURRICULUM
There are different types of curriculum designs which were developed at different times in
educational history in accordance with societal conceptions of the role of education, the
nature of the learner and of the learning process as well as societal needs. In designing each
of them, consideration was given to continuity, sequence and integration. We will first
consider three of these major variations:
(i) Subject-centred curriculum
(ii) Activity/Experience-centred curriculum
(iii) Child-centred curriculum

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(i) Subject –Centred Curriculum

This type of curriculum is concerned with the collection and arrangement of school
subjects which are generally studied separately or sometimes in relation to each-other.
For instance, in our secondary schools, subjects in the curriculum include: English,
Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Geography, Home
Economics, Agricultural Science, Government, Social Studies and Integrated Science
(in Junior Secondary School). The subjects are sometimes subdivided into divisions.
English for instance is subdivided into composition, grammar, spelling, dictation,
writing, literature, essay, lexis and structure and comprehension.
In this type of curriculum, mastery of the subject matter is usually the basis through
which educational outcomes are achieved. Its scope, however, is determined by the
quantity of subject matter existing within each subject as well as the range of subjects
to be included in the school time-table.
The characteristic feature of this type of curriculum is orderliness. If learners follow
the bodies of subject matter, they build their store of knowledge. They can readily
make use of such store of knowledge when needed. This type of curriculum is
convenient to teachers since they were trained in subject areas. They can easily plan,
organize and teach their areas of specialization. Examination which is the yardstick
for admission and selection of candidates into schools, colleges and universities
appear in subject areas. Employment in some cases is done on the basis of the
subjects candidate studied.
(ii) Activity/Experience-centred Curriculum
This type of curriculum is learner-centred. Consideration in this type of curriculum is
given to learners’ interest, needs and motivation. It is also regarded as problem-
solving. To channel learners into the learning experiences in order to make learning
purposeful, stimulating and rewarding for them, teachers must try to discover their
interests and needs. In other words, one can say that activity curriculum is an
approach with very flexible ideas and adaptation of curriculum to the needs of
children in the natural setting of human growth and development.
One characteristic of the activity curriculum is that children’s interests determine the
content and structure of learning. As they select and work in any task, skills and
knowledge are acquired as they are needed and subject matters from many fields are
used according to the requirements of the task (Yaba, 1962:401).
Within the activity-centred curriculum tradition, the role of the teacher is that of an
instructor and work supervisor while their students are learners as well as productive
workers. In other words, his role is seen as that of a more mature member in the
problem-solving situation to provide advice or help, direct or guide.
(iii) Child-Centred Curriculum
When the claim of a curriculum approach is that a worthwhile curriculum is solely
constructed by reference to needs, wants and interests of the child, it becomes a child-
centred curriculum. Curriculum developers in this type of curriculum should be very

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careful when exploring children’s needs, wants and interests in curriculum matters to
make children do what they want with qualification. When this is done, the
curriculum could be regarded as a worthwhile school curriculum. Barrow (1976:59)
observed that by concentrating on children’s actual wants or interests, it is possible for
the teacher to help them find aspects of value in those wants and interests.

ACTIVITY I
1. Mention the major characteristic of the subject-centred curriculum.
2. What is the major characteristic of the activity-centred curriculum?
3. Identify the role of the teacher in the activity-centred curriculum.
4. Mention 1 major advantage and 1 major limitation of the Broad fields curriculum.

There are other variant curricula approaches apart from these main ones.
These three variations are as follows:
(i) The Broadfield Curriculum,
(ii) The Hidden curriculum and
(iii) The Core-Curriculum.
(iv) The Broad-field Curriculum
This type of curriculum is an attempt at inter disciplinarity. The purpose is to integrate
the subject-matter of closely related disciplines or school subjects such that learners
will see the relationships between different subject areas. In this type of curriculum,
children are introduced to methods of inquiry and generalizations through the
approach of curriculum synthesis. It is an attempt to overcome the
compartmentalization and fragmentation of subjects. This is done by putting together
several specific areas into larger field. In this regard, chemistry, physics and biology
were studied together at the Junior Secondary School level as ‘integrated Science
Social Studies incorporated history, geography, economics and government.
One major advantage of this type of curriculum is that, it facilitates the integration of
subject-matter. One shortcoming of this type of curriculum is that in many cases
‘broad fields’ is broad only in name; the integration is only formal. Where teachers
teaching the integrated subjects are not specifically trained for the broad fields
curriculum, they tend to emphasize or stick to their respective subject areas instead of
doing justice to the integrated subject.

(iv) The Hidden Curriculum

Hidden curriculum refers to the unofficial, unwritten curriculum of the school or that
which is not ordinarily addressed through regular curriculum planning but which
nevertheless influences what and how students learn. The hidden curriculum has been
regarded as a powerful detrimental force that undermines the professed commitment
of the school to foster intellectual development.

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The school as an agent of socialization of the young, has its rules and regulations
governing social conduct of students within the context of the educational
programmes, and a system of procedures that make it an acceptable institution in the
larger society. What is, however, learnt from the hidden or subtle curriculum is
frequently more powerful and lasting than that which is learnt from the more obvious
planned curriculum.
For instance, a teacher decided to teach a topic not using the traditional lecture
method but the group investigation model where learners are grouped to work on the
topic. The group will select a leader from among themselves while others will play
the leds. Apart from the content of the topic which they will work at in group, the
leader will learn to lead, coordinate the affairs of the group while carrying out the
task; learn to respect the views of others by being receptive to them while other
members of the group will learn to follow for the success of the group. The nurturant
values here can be regarded as the hidden curriculum. The method nurtured was not
planned by the teacher.
Since the hidden curriculum is just as much as part of the school programme as any
course or subject or unit that is offered, it should be considered as a powerful and
pervasive source of learning. For this reason, there is a need to subject it to the same
polices and procedures for curriculum planning as any other part of the programme.
In schools, learners offered opportunities to learn about themselves and their
relationship with others. These learning are not always planned or intended in
curriculum plans. They instead grow out of the day-to-day life of the school and its
organization. Because such learnings are embedded in features of the school rather
than in curriculum, they are often referred to as the hidden curriculum.
(v) Core-Curriculum
Core is used to describe a portion of the curriculum, usually those courses prescribed
for all. The identification of the required portion of the school programme is a crucial
issue in curriculum planning. Whatever is chosen to be included will normally be
required of all students regardless of their background characteristics. Essentially,
core curriculum is meant to develop unified studies based upon common needs of the
learners and organized without restriction by subject-matter.
This type of curriculum organization was designed as a synthesis of all other
apparatus and to specifically integrate all subject areas, serve the needs of the
students, promote actual learning and enhance the relationship between life and
learning.
Core – curriculum is used variously to designate Basic Studies, General Studies,
General Education and indeed all subjects and courses (or part of the curriculum)
which educational authorities consider necessary for all students. Such subjects are of
interest to all in a social group no matter how typical or atypically such individuals
may be within the group. A typical example of core curriculum could be seen in what
constitutes Teachers’ Grade II Certificate in Nigeria. In the teacher training

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programme, English Language, Mathematics, Principle and Practice of Education and

Teaching Practice are the core course/curriculum.
Characteristic features of core-curriculum: The core curriculum has several
important characteristics. These include:
- Integration of learning experience by writing subject area. i.e. Social Studies
and Integrated Science.
- Relates learning experiences to life problems and students interest. Here, it
was thought that all people have similar problems confronting them at all
times. These problems according to Kluckholn and Strodblck (1961) are:
(a) the character of human nature
(b) the relationship of man to nature
(c) Man’s view of time
(d) His relationship to activity
(e) His relationship to other men.
- In realizing this, Core curriculum focus on real life problems that are
meaningful to the students. The method of teaching is essentially problem
solving techniques and critical thinking.
- Flexibility in arrangement of time and content which facilitate:
(a) the adaptation of learning experiences to individual needs
(b) the use of broaden units
(c) the use of a more flexible teaching methods.
- teachers can consider more seriously the development sequence of growth and
the behavioural objectives.
- brings to the fore the social role of the school through the emphasis on life
problems.
Phonex 1964 interprets the core curriculum as general education. He believed that
“human beings are essentially creatures who have the power to express and
experience meanings”. General education is thus the process of engendering
“essential meanings”: He developed the following “realms of meaning”.
(a) Symbolic - Comprising ordinary language, mathematics and various types of
non-discursive symbolic forms such as gestures, signals, thythnic patterns and
the like.
(b) Empirics - Including “the sciences of the physical world of living things and
of man”.
(c) AESTHETICS - Containing the “various arts, such as music the visual arts
the arts of movement, and literature.

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(d) SYMNOETICS - Signifying the “Personal knowledge” of Michiel Polanyi,

“relational insight or direct awareness” of oneself or others.
(e) ETHICS - Including “Moral Meanings”, and moral conduct.
(f) SYNOPTICS - referring “to meanings that are comprehensively integrative”
and including history, religion and philosophy.

CRITICISMS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM

A number of shortcomings had been observed with this approach. These are:
(a) It does not offer significant and systematic knowledge. The organization of all
learning experiences around new centres have not been successful because the people
involved themselves are not versed enough in this area of integration.
(b) The curriculum then reflects on combination of subject disciplines rather than
integration. Owing to this, a particular subject often dominates the other
“cooperating” subjects. The essential principles or thought forms on the other
subjects are this.
(c) It is difficult to discover a problem that will have significant validity and scope for
curriculum purpose.
(d) There is inadequacy of teaches with broad competence to cope with such curriculum.
Teachers themselves were trained in spcialised subject areas. Implementing the core-
curriculum thus becomes an encumbrance.
In making decision regarding what should be core curriculum in any programme,
those responsible for curriculum policy must reflect upon the three foundation areas in
curriculum (Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology).
In conclusion, we should note that the idea of grouping the curriculum into types is
just to better appreciate the concept of the whole curriculum. It should be noted that
there is no types of curriculum that is value free.

ACTIVITY II
1. Integrated science is an example of what kind of curriculum organization?
2. How would you defend the idea of social studies curriculum?
3. What is hidden in “hidden” curriculum?
4. List three major types of core curriculum in our system.

FOUNDATION OF CURRICULUM: PHILOSOPHY

Curriculum decisions involve the consideration of several issues in education such as:
purpose of learning, sources of subject matter, characteristics of the learner, the nature of
teaching/learning process and others.

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These decisions are based upon fundamental beliefs that arise from one’s philosophy of
education. This made philosophy to be considered and recognised as one of the major
foundation areas in curriculum.
Different Shades of Philosophical Thoughts
The various schools of philosophical thoughts that had influenced the field of curriculum are:
Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism and Existentialism. Educational theories that had been seen
to affect curriculum design are: essentialism and reconstructionism. These two were regarded
thus because each of them starts with ideas about education rather than human nature and
truth.
It is obvious that what we do in education are often guided by what we believe is important
and appropriate for learning and learners. Knowledge of the various schools of philosophy
assist in decision making to clarify issues in curriculum planning.
(a) Idealism
If we believe that children are inherently good and that they have within them a
tendency to do what is good and right and these ideas are applied to education, the
purpose of education would be to put the learner on the path to a good and satisfying
life in which he lives according to values.
When considering the organisation of the school curriculum plans, therefore, it is
important to note that even children are born with inherent goodness, they must be
assisted in bringing up that goodness to the surface. This set of belief about education
is based on the traditional philosophy of idealism.
(b) Realism
If we view a child as an ignorant and rational person, he must be directed towards
worthwhile knowledge. Left to himself, he would probably remain ignorant. It is,
therefore, the responsibility of the teacher to identify worthwhile knowledge for
transmission to students. In teaching the learner, the teacher should employ the direct
methods since the ‘ignorant’ child cannot be expected to understand subtle or indirect
learning techniques.
The school reflects the permanent and end values that have been inherited from
history. If thinking and intellect are necessary to overcome ignorance, diligence and
honesty must be learnt by the child since they are valued in the real world from time
immemorial. This set of belief about education is based on the philosophy of realism.

(c) Pragmatism
If we believe that when children are born, they are born with the physical and mental
equipment which allows them full participation in their environment, whatever values
and ideas people believed in would be regarded as tentative since future social
development may refine or change them. As children grow up, we believe that what
they know and how they behave are as a result of interacting with the world around
them. What children are taught here will not be some fixed bodies of knowledge,
values and eternal truth but experiences that would promote increasing interaction

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with their environment. This according to this school of thought will not only make
them live a satisfying life now but will ensure their enjoyment of a good life later.
What should be designed for children here is not any fixed body of knowledge but
what will help them to understand more fully their interactions with their
environment. This is more or less child-centred in nature. Relating this set of beliefs
about education is based on the philosophy of pragmatism. The philosophy of
pragmatism apart from promoting the idea of child-centred school, has also promoted
interest-centred education.
(d) Existentialism
Philosophy of existentialism, on the other hand, believe that people exist and as they
grow, they develop ideas and values that are highly personal and not necessarily
connected with any organized social pattern. Individuals may be rational but they use
their individual values and behaviour. Here people are free to choose their own values
and behaviour. Because they are free to choose their own, they are, thus responsible
for their own actions.
Education that will be given to children must centre on the perceptions and feelings of
the individual which will facilitate understanding of personal reaction or responses to
life situation.
Teachers here takes on a non-directive role. They serve as resources facilitating the
individual’s search for personal meaning rather than imposing some set of values or
interest. Unlike other schools of philosophical thoughts, existentialism found a
limited place in the real life of the school. We must remember that the school is a
social institution maintained to provide common education for young people. This
conception is based upon the idea of group-living and social values. By its very
nature, therefore, the school as an institution is generally antithetical to existentialism.

(e) Essentialism
Essentialism and reconstructionism are two educational theories that had influenced
curriculum in recent times. Essentialism is of the view that education should prepare
the learner to adjust to present conditions in society. The school has a great role to
play here. Teachers within the school, according to this theory, play a directive role.
They mainly disseminate information to learners.
Standards must be set for students in order to master enough knowledge and skill to
prepare them for adulthood. To reflect the real world, essentialists observed that
“nothing succeeds like hardwork”. The curriculum might include vocational and
special subjects since they are part of adulthood.
(f) Reconstructionism
Reconstructionism is of the view that democracy has a value that should be
developed. Emphasis in school should be on participatory problem – solving, concern
for social welfare and the application of systematic planning techniques. The school
should, therefore be a microcosm of a truly democratic society. The central focus of

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the curriculum is subject-matter from various fields that will be used as a vehicle for
studying social problems.
We can see that ideas about curriculum and teaching do not arise in a vacuum. Such
ideas are based on views of human nature, sources of values, worthwhile knowledge
and the roles of the teacher and the school. Together, these view points constitute the
ingredients of a philosophy of education (Beane et.al 1980:88). To formulate
educational goals, therefore, philosophy serves as a foundation area to be considered.

Foundation of curriculum: Sociology

When a child is born, he is born into a family. The family, therefore, becomes the
first agent of socializing him. As he grows up, it is noted that the school comes in as
another agent of socialization. With time, it will be seen that the world of the child is
larger than the home and the school and that world influences both his interests and
attitude. The society maintained the school partly to help the growing child adapt to
and prepare for life in the larger society. For this, curriculum developers must put
into consideration the characteristics of the contemporary society as well as, that of
the future in which the child of today will live most of his life as a mature adult.
Children learn a lot out-of-school from sources like: Television, parents, friends, the
community, mosques and churches print media like magazine, newspapers etc.
Children also learn from schools that are meant to help in the meeting of societal
needs. Children of today and adult of the future have a lot to do in making the society
a place worth living. Depending on the type of education the school provides, it
becomes a major factor in the improvement of society. It helps young people to
develop the capacity to respond intelligently to social problems. In this way, the
curriculum serves not only the needs of the learner but also those of the society. Being
a part of the society, sees the purpose the school can serve.
Curriculum developers, therefore, need to decide what kinds of skills, knowledge and
attitudes are needed by the society. Whether they should plan what will conform the
existing social order/values, encourage questioning of those values, what issues and
facts should be studied in schools should be their major concern when planning the
school curriculum. Other social issues, according to Beane et al. (1980), that
curriculum planners should address are:
(i) Technology.
(ii) Family structure.
(iii) Working in the information society.
(iv) Changing sex roles.
(v) Cultural Diversity and Pluralism.
(vi) Changing Lifestyles values.
(vii) Futuristic transformation.

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Foundation of Curriculum: Psychology

The psychological foundations of curriculum is concerned with basic needs of children which
must be met if they will grow up and function well in the society in which they found
themselves. What is being taught in schools should respond to these basic needs of
youngsters at every stage of their growth and development. When planning any school
curriculum, consideration should be given to the nature of and level of the learner, materials
and learning experiences to be used. The nature of teaching-learning interaction has been
found to be critical to learning. For teaching to be effective, the teacher has to bear in mind
activity’s level of difficulty, learner’s prior experience and skill and his own ability,
understanding and capacity to adapt the lesson to these variables.
Some of the basic human needs to be put into consideration while developing a curriculum
include:
(i) The need for love, belonging, affection and security.
(ii) The need for new experiences.
(iii) The need for praise and recognition.
(iv) The need for responsibility.
(v) The need for achievement.
(vi) The need for self-actualization.
A look at the Needs theories of Louis Rath (1972), Abraham Maslow and Mia Kelmer
Pringle (1974) will show you that they identified individually as the basic human needs could
be found in the list of human needs stated above. The end objectives of these needs lies in
the development of an environment in which learners feel genuinely secure. If what is
developed as the school curriculum can be developed to take into account and help to resolve
the emotional needs of children who will be the final recipients of what was developed, the
school will become an emotionally secure environment.

ACTIVITY II
1. Discuss briefly the three foundation areas of curriculum.
2. Relate the psychology foundation to curriculum development.

SUMMARY
· In this unit we examined what is meant by curriculum organisation and curriculum
designs and six types of curriculum.
· We also examined the 3 fields from which the field of curriculum drew its bases.
· We saw how philosophy, sociology and psychology could influence the school
curriculum as the foundations of curriculum.

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ASSIGNMENT
(i) Distinguish between Broad fields curriculum and core-curriculum.
(ii) Discuss how philosophy, sociology and psychology influences school curriculum.

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 Principles of Curriculum Design and Development (PDE 104)

UNIT 3: CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

INTRODUCTION
Curriculum development is the curriculum planning process that results in broad and specific
curriculum plan. It is nothing than decision making that involves selecting and organizing
the components of teaching/learning situations.
This is done through such activities as the determination of curriculum organizing centres and
the specification of suggested objectives, subject matter, activities, resources and measuring
devices.
Curriculum development leads to the creation of resource units, unit plans, course outline,
and other curriculum guides that teachers and learners may use to facilitate the learning
process. Experts in the field express that of all curriculum planning activities, curriculum
development are often regarded as the most crucial since it basically defines the nature of the
learner’s day-to-day life in the school. (Beane, Toebfer & Alessi, 1986).
There are four major stages which are interdependent and interrelating in the process of
curriculum development namely:
(i) the selection of aims, goals and objectives;
(ii) the selection of appropriate learning experiences and content for the achievement of
the aims, goals and objectives;
(iii) organisation of learning experiences;
(iv) evaluation of the extent to which the objectives identified in step 1, have been
achieved.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
(i) Define the term curriculum development
(ii) Mention the stages of curriculum development

HOW TO STUDY THIS UNIT

(i) Go through the unit taking note of the key points.
(ii) Check the meaning to any unfamiliar word in your dictionary.
(iii) Attempt all activities and assignments in the unit, check your responses from the
content of the unit.

1. Selection of Aims and Objectives

Instructional objectives are the specific and immediate outcomes of particular
teaching-learning situation. In curriculum development they take form in a listing of

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statements describing the intended learnings for students. Instructional objectives are
known to serve three purposes in curriculum development. For clarity they are often
introduced by the verbal form e.g. “To list the parts of …”
(i) They clarify for teacher and learner what is to be accomplished.
(ii) They serve as a guide for design and selection of meaningful content,
activities and resources.
(iii) They provide guidance for measuring learner’s progress.
Some educators hold that learning involves changing behaviour or developing new
ways of behaving (Behaviour is an action type of thing). If this is the case, they
suggest that only behaviour can be measured. The implication of this is that objectives
should be stated in behavioural terms. Stating objectives behaviourally indicates its
statement using action verbs such as list, prepare, identify, add, mention and so on.
In selecting objectives, consideration should be given to the following:
(i) An analysis of our culture – It is important to teach those kinds of behaviour,
those ways of thinking, teaching and acting that have value in our society and
that help the person to become an effective human being in it.
(ii) Present status of student – What has he already learned? What is he ready for?
(iii) What we know enough about to teach
(iv) Their relevance to the school’s philosophy of education.
(v) The consistency of these objectives with our theory of learning.
Learning is known to occur in three areas namely; Cognitive, Affective and
Psychomotor. If the conception of the learning process and the process of education
include the motion that the learner is active, that he is looking at the world and trying
to make something out of it, the three domains of knowledge should be considered
when selecting objectives.
(a) The Cognitive Domain – This refers to the acquisition and use of knowledge.
The levels within this domain include:
(i) Knowledge (memory of ideas or facts).
(ii) Comprehension (understanding of information)
(iii) Application (applying knowledge to problem situation)
(iv) Analysis (identification of parts and their relationship).
(v) Synthesis (combining parts to form a whole).
(vi) Evaluation (developing judgments about values)
(b) Affective Domain – Objectives in this domain are concerned
with feelings and emotions involving attitude, interests,
appreciations, and models of adjustment. There is a link between

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the objectives in the cognitive domain and those in the affective

domain. A certain amount of cognition seems to be involved in
every affective behaviour.
Levels in this domain include:
(i) Receiving or attending (paying attention to things).
(ii) Responding (reaching to or using that which is received)
(iii) Valuing (identifying and committing to particular beliefs).
(iv) Organization (establishing a set of values).
(v) Characterization by a value or value complex (acting on and displaying
values).
(c) The Psychomotor Domain – This deals with motor activities. It is integrally
related to the cognitive and affective processes. It has six levels of
classification namely:
(i) Perception
(ii) Set
(iii) Guided Response
(iv) Mechanism (Physical abilities – endurance, strength, flexibility and
agility).
(v) Complex overt Response (Skilled movements).
(vi) Adaptation (Non-discursive communication).
One major ingredient in curriculum development as shown above is the
statement of objectives. These will provide learners with an understanding of
what they are supposed to accomplish.

ACTIVITY I
1. List the six classifications in the cognitive domain.
2. What classifications is contained in swimming activity, name them.

2. Content
The content component of teaching- learning situations refers to the important facts,
principles, concepts and understanding associated with the predetermined objectives.
This phase of curriculum development raises the question, “what content will the
teachers and learners need to consider in order to accomplish the instructional
objectives?” When we talk about selection of appropriate learning experiences and
content for the achievement of predetermined objectives, it involves several issues.

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 Principles of Curriculum Design and Development (PDE 104)

i. Relevance
The first has to do with the relevance of the content and learning opportunities
to the objectives, the child and his society. Here, those responsible for
curriculum development must make decisions about what knowledge is most
appropriate and most pertinent. Content should include what is necessary and
sufficient for accomplishing the objectives at hand.
ii. Up to dateness
A second content issue is the degree of the up-to-dateness of the concepts and
generalizations which are embodied in the content and learning opportunities.
The more pertinent content is to the needs and interests of the learner and his
day-to-day existence, the greater the likelihood that he will perceive its
meaning and worth. As a result, there is every possibility that the content will
be learned and used.
iii. Comprehensiveness
The third issue in the identification of content focuses in terms of its
comprehensiveness and balance. Content identified must reflect al the areas of
human personality as stipulated in the objectives. This also deals with its level
of difficulty. The content should depend partly on the capacity of learners to
understand it. When content is not congruent with the cognitive capacity of
learners, they are likely to feel as though they are trying to listen to or read an
unfamiliar foreign language. This could lead to frustration on the part of the
learners. The content coverage should therefore, reflect areas of social
adjustment that must be accompanied by the ones for intellectual attainments
and physical fitness and appropriate emphasis should be given to each
according to the demand of the society.
iv. Deep-rootedness
The fourth issue has to do with the deep-rootedness of the content and
opportunities in the culture of the society. Whatever will be developed should
have a direct bearing on the culture of the society.
3. Organization of learning experiences.
In structuring learning experiences and content, consideration should be given to
research findings in the theories of learning and child development and sound
educational practices. The contents should be organized in such a way as to produce
major changes in the learners in the direction of stated objectives. This will go a long
way to influence the efficiency of instruction and the amount of learning that takes
place in any educational setting.

Criteria for organization

For effective organization to take place, what was developed must have what is
known as continuity because a single learning experience has a profound influence

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upon the learner. He can use the knowledge of one area to understand another
different but related area.
Another criterion to be considered in organisation of learning experience is sequence.
Sequencing emphasizes the importance of having each successive learning experience
built upon the preceeding one.
Sequence, therefore, implies continuity as well as progression from the lower to the
higher level of treatment of curriculum elements.
Integration is another criterion for effective organisation of learning experiences and
this is dealing with the utilization of curriculum elements from one subject area to
other subject area of the curriculum. In other words, one should buttress the other, for
example, using what is learnt in arithmetic to solve problems in science, economics
trading and other fields. Where this happens, the learner will see that what he learns
in one area is not simply an isolated experience to be utilize in one single course but
one of the many capacities he needs in various situations in his daily life.
4. Evaluation
Teachers, learners and others are concerned about whether learning has actually taken
place or not. For the reason, curriculum developers had to concern themselves with
the identification of means to determine both quality and quantity of learning. If
education is regarded as a process that seeks to change the behaviour of learners in the
direction of predetermined objectives, one can define evaluation as the process of
determining the nature and extent of those changes in learner’s behaviour after a
programme of curriculum and instruction.

Evaluation performs certain functions as an important phase in curriculum

development.
(i) It is meant to check the reality of the hypotheses upon which the curriculum
has been based. There is a need to determine through the process of
evaluation what changes had been produced by the curriculum and their
effects on the total educational outcome.
(ii) It serves a diagnostic function in the school and in curriculum development.
In the school, one can assess the weaknesses and strengths of an educational
programme by careful assessment of the achievement of learners in the
programme. Through students’ performances, one can know whether certain
types of educational objectives are either under-emphasised, adequately
emphasized or over-emphasised. by the curriculum or pattern of instruction.
This can provide the basis for curriculum revision or improvement.
(iii) Information on the variation in the achievement of individual learner is made
possible by evaluation. This could make the teacher vary his methods of
teaching to meet the needs of more learners. The evaluation instruments
should therefore, be closely related to the educational objectives of the
programme.

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 Principles of Curriculum Design and Development (PDE 104)

(iv) Results of evaluation can provide adequate data which will enable the teacher
to report to parents and the school management about the success or otherwise
of the school. Consideration should, therefore, be given to any instrument that
will be used for evaluation.
The assessment instrument should possess the following characteristics:
objectivity, reliability and, of course, validity. Where the instrument is
objective, reliable and valid, the results of evaluation can be accepted and
generalized.
One can say here with some degree of certainty that the greatest service
evaluation can perform is to identify aspects of the course/programme where
revision is desirable. Evaluation can be done at the beginning, midway, and at
the end of the course if we want it to be effective.

ACTIVITY II
1. Define the term curriculum development
2. List the stages involved in curriculum development process
3. Mention five criteria for selecting objectives
4. Mention the domain of learning showing the various levels of each.

SUMMARY
· In this unit we defined the term curriculum development and examined the process of
curriculum development.
· Evaluation is seen as the last step in the process. Function of evaluation were
examined and the unit was ended with the observation that to be effective, evaluation
should be done at the beginning, midway and at the end of the course.

ASSIGNMENT
(i) What will you consider the purposes of instructional objectives in curriculum
development
(ii) Assess the domains of knowledge in relation to curriculum development learning
experiences.

REFERENCES
Agnokogbuo, C.N. (2000) Curriculum Development and Implementation for Africa.
Nsukka: Mike Social Press

Alaezi, O. (1990) The Nigerian New School Curriculum: Issues and Insights. Jos:
Ehindero (Nig) Ltd.

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 Principles of Curriculum Design and Development (PDE 104)

Boston:, J.A.; Toepfer, C.C. & Aless, S.J. (1986) Curriculum Planning and Development
Boston:Allyn and Bacon Inc.

Bobbitt, F. (1918). The Curriculum. Boston: Honghton Miffin Company.

Hass, G. (1980) Curriculum Planning (3rd ed.) Boston:Allyn and Bacon

Onwuka, U. (1996) (Ed.) Curriculum Development for Africa Onitsha: Africana- Fep
Publishers Ltd.

Taba, H (1962) Curriculum Development: Theory and Practice NewYork: Harcourt,

Brace Javanovich.

Wheeler, D.K. (1978) Curriculum Process London: Hodder and Stoughton.

Wasagu, M.A. (2000) Introduction to Curriculum Studies. In M.I. Junaid, A.A. Salami &
M.G. Maitafsir (Ed.) Reading in Education Vol. I. Sokoto: Educational
Foundation Unit.

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UNIT 4: DEFINITION AND MEANING OF INSTRUCTION:

STRUCTURE OF CURRICULUM AND
INSTRUCTION

INTRODUCTION
This unit contains the definition and meaning of instruction and structure of curriculum and
instruction in order to clarify further the language of the curriculum field and to expedite
reading of Unit V.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit you will be able to:
(i) define the concept ‘instruction’
(ii) relate instruction to curriculum
(iii) list the structure or phases of instruction

HOW TO STUDY THIS UNIT

(i) Go through the unit taking note of the key points
(ii) Attempt all activities and assignment in the unit

Definition and Meaning of instruction

Instruction can be defined as the processes of imparting information and knowledge to a
learner. Instruction is a teacher initiated activity, designed to facilitate receptivity by the
learner.
Planning instruction may be seen as setting the stage for proper teaching activities.
Instruction can be organized in three phases: Introduction, Development and Culmination.

1. Introductory Activity
Introductory activities are intended to introduce learners to the particular topic or
problem that will be studied. Introductory activities are meant for the arousal of
learners’ interest and curiosity. Introduction can be based on previous knowledge of
the students. Some of the components the teacher will bear in mind include: direction
of the attention of the learner towards the predetermined objective(s), stimulate recall,
enhance retention and promotion of transfer of knowledge and so on.
2. Developmental Activity
Developmental activities is the main frame of this unit. What is done here leads to the
actual accomplishment of the objectives. At this stage, the unit or topic to be taught
will be presented to the learners through any appropriate teaching method – lecture,
discussion, reading, practice, survey, field trips and so on. The essence of activities

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 Principles of Curriculum Design and Development (PDE 104)

here is to give the learners the content to be learnt focusing on the objectives to be
accomplished.
3. Culminating Activity
Culminating activities conclude the instructional phases. Specifically, they are
intended to synthesize and end the lesson and to demonstrate accomplishment of
objectives. Culminating activities can take the form of question and answer between
the teacher and learners, summary, projects debates, reports, self-evaluation or unit
evaluation. The concern in this phase is about whether learning has actually taken
place. Here the concern will be on means of determining both quality and quantity of
instruction.

ACTIVITY I
1. What is instruction?
2. List the three phases of instruction
3. What do you do at the culminating stage?

STRUCTURE OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION

The essence of curriculum planning is to provide quality experience for learners and it is a
structured stage by stage process which usually begins with an analysis of the situation in
which people find themselves. This is closely followed by formulation of objectives or goals,
the selection of appropriate tools in the form of relevant subject matter, the application of
suitable instruments of evaluation to determine the success so far.
Curriculum instruction follows a definite planning stage. Before instruction could take place,
a teacher must be acquainted with the syllabus; with the syllabus, he could draw his own
scheme of work from which he will draw out his unit of instruction. From the unit of
instruction, he now forms his lesson note.
Syllabus
Syllabus refers to a list of topics or collection of outline of what pupils should study in a
given year or specified period of teaching. It is a brief outline of the ground to be covered in
course of lectures or lesson.
Broadly speaking, the syllabus is that aspect of curriculum that lists subjects to be taught in a
given course or programme. The outline of the syllabus is meant to guide the teacher on the
extent of work involved in a particular class. Sometime, the syllabus often gives detailed
instructions on what is to be taught in each term of each year of a course, what books are to
be used and even what methods are appropriate (Farrant, 1980).
Scheme of Work
The scheme of work is the sub-division of the entire school syllabus into specific portions.
Here, the content and learning experiences that should be studied in a given subject every
term or every week of the academic year should be spelt out. A scheme of work can,

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 Principles of Curriculum Design and Development (PDE 104)

therefore, be defined as a plan or outline of academic work in a sequential concordance. A

scheme of work is prepared by forecasting what part of the syllabus will be covered on each
lesson period and with reference.
The topics in the syllabus are broken into component parts and into logical sequence covering
each topic in a number of lessons. In a scheme of work, works are allocated on termly,
monthly or weekly basis. In order to plan the scheme of work, you as a teacher must know
how many lesson periods is allocated to your subject weekly. If this number is multiplied by
the number of weeks there are in a term, then you will know how many lessons you will have
in a term.
The topic stated in the syllabus are now fitted into the lesson periods. In the scheme of work,
as a teacher, you set out in logical sequence the way you think the broad topics in the syllabus
can be covered by your pupils. The scheme of work should be drawn up primarily with the
pupils in mind. In other words, it must be tailored to suit the ability, interest and rate of
learning of the pupils.
To draw a good scheme of work that will be a practical guide to the teacher, the following
elements should be taken into consideration:
(i) The syllabus
(ii) The pupils (their age, average ability, the quality of group motivation in the class)
(iii) The school calendar – How long the term is and the number of period devoted to each
subject per week.
(iv) Logicality of topics or sub-topics.
The scheme of work is meant to assist the teacher to clarify his thought and guide his
subsequent detailed preparation of the various curriculum areas he will tackle.
What to include in a scheme of Work.
(i) Particulars of the learners (their number, age, sex, ability and stream)
(ii) Previous knowledge and experience of the class in respect of the subject-matter
(iii) The number and duration of the lessons
(iv) The aim of the scheme of work and outline of the subject – matter and the content
with the objectives of each lesson.
(v) Some indication of organizational factors such as: the way students learn, the method
of teaching and learning to be employed.
(vi) Source of information such as: books, work-book, filmstrip etcetera.
(vii) Equipment to be used in terms of audio-visual aids.
It has been noted that some Local Education Authorities provide scheme of work for their
schools and some of these allocate the work on a monthly or weekly basis. They also go as
far as indicating the ground to be covered in each lesson. Scheme of work assists in guiding

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 Principles of Curriculum Design and Development (PDE 104)

the teacher in planning lessons and thereby, facilitating the provision of learning experiences
to learners.

ACITIVITY II
2. Define the following terms:
(a) Syllabus
(b) Scheme of work
2. Mention the elements to be considered when drawing a scheme of work
3. List 6 things to be included in a scheme of work.

THE UNIT OF INSTRUCTION

The unit or series of instruction is always drawn from the scheme of work by the respective
teachers of each subject to facilitate instruction. What the teacher does here is breaking down
the termly work into smaller portions which are regarded as units. The duration for teaching
each unit should be between 3 and 6 weeks. The number of periods that will be allocated to a
unit will be determined by the rate of progress of the teacher’s class. The sequence in which
you will teach the lesson material can be decided at this stage. A unit of instruction can,
therefore, be seen as the projected plans which include both students’ and teachers’ activities
to be performed in order to realize the predetermined objective of the unit of instruction
(Aguokogbuo, 2000).
The idea of planning units of instruction is to help you as a teacher to see the teaching
material as a whole rather than as dismembered parts and also help you to present it in an
interesting way that is understandable to your learners. Having units of instruction will
enhance converting the curriculum into manageable units and, therefore, facilitate effective
teaching-learning situation. A unit of instruction should include the followings:
(i) Subject
(ii) Class
(iii) Age-range of learners
(iv) Unit title
(v) Duration
(vi) Sub-unit title
(vii) Entry behaviour – teacher-centred
(viii) Unit objectives
(ix) Unit content
(x) Methods and activities
(xi) Unit resources (human and material resources)

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 Principles of Curriculum Design and Development (PDE 104)

Lesson Plan/Note
This is the final stage in curriculum implementation. A lesson plan is the final major stage of
preparation before a teacher is ready to go into the classroom for actual active teaching. This
is the stage when the scheme of work or unit of instruction is interpreted for periods of thirty
or forty minutes.
A lesson plan can be regarded as a well thought-out, orderly and sequential arrangement of
the lesson on paper. One can say that it is the core of a successful lesson. It is the guideline
by which the teacher teaches his lesson. Lesson plans can be comprehensive or concise and
sketchy in form and yet containing the salient steps of the progression of the lesson.
In whatever way it may be written, it should be designed in such a way that it contains
adequate information for the teacher, to remind him of all the aspects that must be treated in
any lesson. Most unsuccessful lessons have been noted to come about as a result of improper
lesson planning and unpreparedness on the part of the teacher.
When lesson plan is transcribed into a note book, it becomes a lesson note. It is regarded as a
guide to the teacher in executing the plan of teaching the students.

Components of a lesson plan

The basic components of a lesson plan include the following;
(i) The subject
(ii) Date
(iii) Time/Duration
(iv) Class
(v) Period
(vi) Average age of the learners
(vii) Topic
(viii) Behavioural objective(s)
(ix) Entry behaviour/Previous knowledge
(x) Instructional materials/resources
(xi) Introduction/Set induction
(xii) Instructional techniques or skills
(xiii) Instructional procedure
(xiv) Evaluation

Characteristics of a poor lesson

A poor lesson is usually characterized by at least one of the following faults:

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 Principles of Curriculum Design and Development (PDE 104)

(i) Lack of logical presentation of material

(ii) The omission of important facts due to lack of adequate knowledge of subject content.
(iii) Inaccurate facts taught or accepted as correct.
(iv) Poor timing of the lesson
(v) Lack of ability to motivate the class, resulting in boredom and restlessness in the
class.
(vi) Lack of interesting detail of illustrative aids.
(vii) Excessive corrections when the assignments or written work of learners are being
marked.

ACTIVITY 3
1. What is unit of instruction?
2. List what a unit of instruction should contain.
3. What characterises a poor lesson?

SUMMARY
· In this unit, the term instruction was defined and its phases identified and explained.
· The structure of curriculum and instruction was examined with emphasis on syllabus,
scheme of work, the unit of instruction and lesson plan/note.

ASSIGNMENT
(i) Draw a comprehensive lesson note on any topic in a subject of your choice for JSS III
and a 40 minutes period.

REFERENCES
Aguokogbuo, C.N. (2000) Curriculum Development and Implementation for Africa.
Nsukka: Mike Social Press.
Farrant, J.S. (1980) Principles and Practice of Education (New Ed.) England: Longman.

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UNIT 5: SOME SPECIAL METHODS OF TEACHING AND

THEIR MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS

INTRODUCTION
Teaching is a skilled job that involves making sure that learners learn and like all skilled job,
it has some prescribed methods and techniques.
Teaching can be defined as a process of making it possible for pupils to learn. The ways by
which the teacher presents his materials to learners and engages them in the task at hand is
referred to as a methodology. It has been noted that the method adopted by the teacher may
hinder or promote learning. A teacher needs to have knowledge of a variety of teaching
methods he can choose from in the teaching-learning process.
If a teacher could vary his methods, he will avoid monotony and boredom. How a teacher
present his lesson could sharpen children’s mental activities which are the basis of social
power or it may discourage initiatives and curiosity thus making self-reliance and survival
difficult. In this unit, the following methods of teaching will be explored:
(i) The lecture method;
(ii) Demonstration method;
(iii) Problem–solving methods;
(iv) Project methods;
(v) Brain-storming;
(vi) The Play/Dramatic method.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
(i) Define the concept teaching;
(ii) Mention some methods of teaching available for use in the classroom;
(iii) Discuss the advantages and limitations of each.

HOW TO STUDY THE UNIT

(i) Go through the unit once or twice taking note of the key issues
(ii) Attempt all activities and assignment in the unit
(iii) Check the meaning of any difficult concept in your dictionary
(iv) Cross-check the answers to the activities from the contents of the unit.

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SOME METHODS OF TEACHING

(i) Lecture Method
This is the most common method of teaching and is used at all levels. It involves the
systematic presentation of information or instructions through oral exposition by the
teacher, supplemented by the use of appropriate teaching aids or instructional
materials this method of teaching is often referred to as: “chalk and talk” method it
has been noticed that teachers who have very few teaching aids or materials including
books to use in the teaching-learning situation have to rely heavily on this method.
It is important that what will be taught using this method should be presented or
expressed in clear and simple language, which the learners will readily understand. It
can be seen, here, that the term `lecture’ is used to describe teaching in which a large
part, or possibly the whole of the lesson is occupied by the teacher in exposition and
by the learners in listening or taking notes. The lecture method is, therefore, suitable
for mature learners, especially in colleges, Polytechnics and Universities. Subject-
matter can be presented in an rganized manner to a small or large number of
students who benefit from the knowledge and experience of an expert. One advantage
of the lecture method is that it can be used to give the maximum amount of
information in a limited time. The use of this method, on the other hand, is limited by
the passivity of the learners, minimal feedback, reliance on the hearing sense and the
limited retention of knowledge given in this way.

(ii) Demonstration Method

This is a method of teaching in which sight rather than hearing is the major means of
communication though, of course, the two are often combined. It is effective because
most people more easily remember what they see than what they hear or read.
This method may involve only showing an actual object, mode, picture, or diagram.
Most verbal instructions, especially to younger children should be accompanied by
such use of visual aids. Demonstration, however, usually involves a process in which
the learner has to follow a number of steps. It is realistic and impressive and is a true
learning experience where actual objects, models or apparatus are used, as mentioned
earlier. However, it requires skill, considerable time and usually some expense for
effective organization. For instance, the pupils in a large class can easily learn the
structure of a small plant if each pupil has one of the plants in front of him or if they
can see a large drawing of it on the wall. Learning how to dissect a frog will be
difficult if there is only one frog on the teacher’s desk because only those in the front
row can see what the teacher is doing.
In this case, there is a need to break the pupils into a group of 5 and 6.
Demonstration is of two major parts namely: method and result demonstrations.
While the first teaches `how’, the other shows the result of doing something in a
certain way. Both can be used at all levels of education. For example, in teaching
number to small children, they can be shown how to arrange tones or commuters in
groups of five to ten, and that the result of taking two away from groups of five will

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always be that you are left with three. This will fix this knowledge in their minds
much more firmly than if they are simply told or see numbers written down. Topics
like ablution can also be taught better using demonstration method than verbally
telling them the steps involved in ablution.

(iii) Problem-Solving
In a situation where the lecture method treats learners as objects of assistance, the
problem-solving method makes them critical thinkers. This method requires the
ability to reason and demands active thinking on the part of the learners. Problem-
solving method bases itself on creativity. In this method, the teachers’ task is to
present his learners with suitable problems, which are within their reach and capacity
to solve. He could provide suitable materials and suggest methods or procedure to
solve the problem identified. There after, they are left alone to find solutions to the
problems.
Many simple problems of calculation, drawn from every day life could provide more
practically useful learning experience than a large number of formal `sums’ on a
standard pattern. Capacity to use reasoning to solve problems will increase as pupils
have more knowledge of facts, materials and methods, which can be employed.
Any teacher desirous to using this method should follow these steps:
(i) raising the problem;
(ii) interpreting or more precisely formulating it;
(iii) gathering and evaluating data (including materials required);
(iv) formulating tentative solutions and testing them, where possible, by
experiment;
(v) verifying the result.

ACTIVITY I
1. State the disadvantage of the “lecture method”.
2. Discuss the two types of demonstration method.
3. Problem solving falls into which classification of the cognitive domain?

(iv) Project Method

This is a method of teaching that enables the teacher to relate his teaching to real-life
situations. In this method pupils learn through independent activities though under the
guidance of a teacher. With the help of the teacher pupils should plan and execute a
project in a logical sequence. Every step should be followed from the beginning of the
project to its completion. Onwuka (2000) sees a project as a purposeful activity or a
meaningful whole or unit of experience, which proceeds in a social environment
(p.330). When using this method, the teacher should refrain from doing the work for
the pupils because all the experiences connected with a given project with obtaining
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and using the knowledge required to carry it out properly, constitute the project. By
this method, pupils learn to work together on selected plans. The emphasis in this
method is commonality of purpose and on the cooperative effort of both the teacher
and his pupils.
The learning experiences are the problems to be solved whether they are theoretical or
practical. Which ever they are, the teacher and his pupils have to work cooperatively.
This method of teaching can be used to nurture cooperation among pupils when they
are working as a group in the process of problem-solving and rational thinking.
Pupils of almost any age group in the school can be given the task of finding out or
collecting all the knowledge they can for themselves about a given topic. Some
projects involve searching for information from books while others depend on
practical investigations or making things, such as, apparatus for a particular purpose.
They may involve works both inside the classroom and outside the school, and may
extend over widely varying periods of time, but usually over several lesson periods at
least.
Project work can be undertaken separately by each member of a class, or by groups
working in cooperation. In either case, it should involve every pupil in active learning,
and in taking some responsibility for his own work. Working in groups can also give
pupils opportunities for developing leadership/ followership organising ability.
Scholars hold the view that project method requires technical and organizational
competence of the teacher to be a success. The interest and enthusiasm nurtured or
aroused in project method can help children to learn other things more quickly and
firmly in their more formal lesson. This is because the project method of teaching
helps to stimulate, hold children’s interest and motivate them in the study of technical
facts and related knowledge in all spheres of learning. It is most suitable for pupils
who are not only inquisitive but also creative and interested in the immediate outcome
of their activities, though it can also be used to stimulate these valuable learning
qualities in others.

(v) Brain Storming

This is an advanced use of the discussion method of teaching, which involves
cooperative thinking by groups towards the solution of specific problems. In other
words, it involves a class in oral exchange of ideas, facts and opinions about a topic of
mutual concern and interest. The purpose of this method is stimulation and generation
of ideas in the pupils and facilitation of their expression.

Advantages
In this method, the teacher draws upon experience and knowledge of the learners
instead of leaving them to rely entirely upon his. He acts as a leader and directs or
redirects ideas and information produced by them. Some suggestions in a brain
storming session may not be worthwhile and should be quickly rejected. This
provides an exercise in critical evaluation for pupils and the teacher. It makes for

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active participation of students, stimulates them to think individually and to learn to

express themselves freely.
Brain storming is only suitable for older students in secondary schools, Colleges and
Universities who can think on their own with little guidance from the teacher. It helps
the teacher to evaluate students’ interest in learning, and encourage them to develop
clear thinking, self-assurance and sometimes leadership. It is valuable as a way of
helping learners to realise that many subjects must be looked at from several points of
view and that different factors or opinions must be taken into consideration in the
solution to the brainstormed problem or issue. It makes students understand that there
is no single ‘right answer’ to all questions, but that various possible answers should be
explored and considered with a view of finding the best or fullest solution.

Disadvantages
The main disadvantage of this method is that it is time consuming. It must be well
organised to avoid waste of time and going off in an unexpected direction. The
teacher must plan before hand the main aspects of the topic, which he wants the brain
storming to cover. His relationship with the students must be cordial to enhance their
freedom to speak out, yet respect his control. As the name goes, the teacher must
encourage as many as possible to participate in brainstorming but not allow one or
two to dominate the sessions.

(vi) The Play/Dramatic Method

As the name goes, the play/dramatic method of teaching involves learners dramatizing
or acting of ideas or events in order to ease learning. The importance of play in the
life of the growing child in and out of school cannot be over emphasized. One form of
play is dramatization. It has been observed that children are fond of playing parts
during which imagination leads them to act in the capacity of known or of imaginary
individuals.
Facts and skills can be converted into play or drama by a teacher just by making the
process of learning such facts and skills more interesting and meaningful. Topics in
some subject areas can be reorganized and dramatized by the students in the
classrooms in order to make them clearer and easier to understand and make learning
a pleasurable venture.
In English Literature for example, Wedlock of the Gods by Zulu Sofola can be acted
in the class to enhance its understanding. The process of contracting marriages and
marriage ceremonies in Social Studies can also be dramatized. In Health Education,
ways of treating burns and first aid treatment of a broken arm can be dramatized.
This method is a shared activity with others; a happy activity that is helpful in
achieving socially desirable end. It can also foster team spirit. If the teacher can plan
and apply it properly in the classroom, students are likely to learn with ease and
accomplish much without strain because play can stimulate interest and provide
variety in the classroom.

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 Principles of Curriculum Design and Development (PDE 104)

One major limitation of this method is that it can be time-consuming.

A topic that could be taught in one two periods may take four to five periods or more
using the play or dramatic method.

ACTIVITY 2
1. Define the term teaching
2. Mention any six (6) methods of teaching you know.
3. Discuss the advantages and the disadvantages of the brain storming method.

SUMMARY
· In this unit the term teaching was defined
· Six different methods of teaching were examined showing their advantages and
possible limitations.

ASSIGNMENT
(i) Assess any two methods of teaching of your choice, showing the advantages and
possible limitations of one over the other.

REFERENCES
Agnokogbuo, C.N. (2000) Curriculum Development and Implementation for Africa.
Nsukka: Mike Social Press

Alaezi, I. (1990) The Nigerian News School Curriculum: Issues and Insights. Jos:
Ehindero (Nig) Ltd.

Onwuka, U (1996) Some Suggested Methods. A chapter in U. Onwuka (Ed.) Curriculum

Development for Africa. Onitsha: Africana – Feb Publishers Ltd.

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