Organizing physical science curriculum

Organizing physical science curriculum

​Sidharth P

What is curriculum?

What is curriculum organisation?

Approches in organisng curriculum

1. Disciplinary Approach

2. Interdisciplinary Approach

3. Topical Approach

4. The Concentric Approach

5. Integrated Approach

6. Grass root approach

Disciplinary Approach

• The disciplinary approach refers to a method of organizing knowledge, research, and academic pursuits based on a particular field or discipline.

• The disciplinary approach would involve designing courses and programs that focus on a specific discipline or field of study, such as a mathematics or history major.

• A student would take courses that are designed to provide a deep understanding of a particular subject area, with a focus on the theories, methods, and research of that discipline.

Interdisciplinary Approach

• On the other hand, the interdisciplinary approach refers to a method of organizing knowledge, research, and academic pursuits that combine insights and approaches from different fields or disciplines.

• It involves bringing together multiple perspectives, theories, and methods from various academic fields to address complex problems or questions that cannot be adequately understood within the context of a single discipline.

• The interdisciplinary approach encourages collaboration and communication between experts from different fields and can lead to innovative solutions to complex problems

Topical Approach

• Topical arrangement means that a topic should be finished completely in the same class.

• A topic is a comprehensive collection of materials on a specific topic of the particular subject.

• This approach gives mastery over the topic.

• This approach is organised around themes, topics and units of the content.

• For example, if we include the topic ‘water’ in the curriculum of the science of class 5th, then we must consist of all that is to be taught on this topic to the students of 5th standard

Topical Approach

• Topical arrangement means that a topic should be finished completely in the same class.

• A topic is a comprehensive collection of materials on a specific topic of the particular subject.

• This approach gives mastery over the topic.

• This approach is organised around themes, topics and units of the content.

• For example, if we include the topic ‘water’ in the curriculum of the science of class 5th, then we must consist of all that is to be taught on this topic to the students of 5th standard

• The concentric approach, often called spiral, is a way of organizing a curriculum by laying out basic concepts, covering other related material, and then circling back around to the basic concept and filling in more complexity and depth.

• The concept of concentric curriculum design is based on the cognitive psychological theories of Jerome Bruner

• Knowledge is widened slowly and steadily.

Concentric Approach/ Spiral Approach

Integrated Approach

• In this approach, many subjects are taught about one another.

• It encourages students to see the interconnected and interrelationships among the subjects.

• It allows students to investigate, explore, and collect information on a topic from any field.

• It enables students to develop a unified view of the curriculum to broaden the context of their learning beyond a single subject.

• It gives a holistic way which reflects the real world and the way students learn at home and in school.

• It makes a meaningful connection among subject areas which helps students build on their different prior knowledge and experiences.

• It assesses a student’s skills and understanding in a variety of learning contexts.

The grass-roots approach

• The grass-roots model of curriculum refers to an approach in which the design, development, and implementation of the educational curriculum are driven by the needs, experiences, and perspectives of teachers, students, and other stakeholders who are directly involved with the use of the curriculum.

• This is a bottom-up approach.

• This model is characterized by a decentralized approach, in which decision-making authority is distributed among different stakeholders.

• The goal of the grass-roots model is to create a curriculum that is relevant, meaningful, and according to the needs of the community, rather than being imposed from above.