Curriculum Curriculum Based Material Development

9

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

There are two major points that will be discussed in this chapter. The first is about the theoretical description of related theories to the study and the second point is on the theoretical framework where it will be used as the guideline in designing the materials.

A. Theoretical Description

In this section, there are five topics to discuss. They are Curriculum Based Material Development, Instructional Design Models, Theory of Reading, Cognitive Strategy Instruction, and Reciprocal Teaching.

1. Curriculum Based Material Development

Since this study is conducted in educational institution, the concern of this study is drawn into the curriculum. In this discussion, there are two points to consider. They are curriculum and school-based curriculum.

a. Curriculum

Kerr, as it is stated by Smith 2000: 1, viewed curriculum as all the learning which is planned and guided by the school. These learning may take place inside or outside school and the application of the learning may involve groups or individual. From the definition, it is vivid that curriculum is a school product and the arrangement of the curriculum is planned and guided by school. According to Smith 2000: 1, there are four ways in approaching curriculum theory and practice: curriculum as a body of knowledge to be transmitted - content, curriculum as an attempt to achieve certain ends in students – product, curriculum as process, and curriculum as praxis. As it is explained previously, there are four ways of approaching curriculum theory and practice. The further explanation will be discussed as follows: 1 Curriculum as a body of knowledge to be transmitted – content When viewing curriculum as a body of knowledge content to be transmitted, people still consider curriculum as a syllabus. Smith viewed a syllabus as a concise statement or table of the heads of a discourse, the contents of a treatise, the subjects of a series of lectures 2000: 2. Furthermore, people who tend to compile a syllabus follow the traditional approach of an order of contents. When they still equate curriculum with syllabus, they limit their planning only on the contents of knowledge that they intend to transmit. Therefore, the main concern when approaching curriculum theory and practice on syllabus is on its contents. On the other hand, curriculum is a body of knowledge contents and these contents have to be transmitted to the students by the most effective way Blenkin et al, 1992: 23. 2 Curriculum as an attempt to achieve certain ends in students – product Nowadays, the focus of describing and managing education is on its productive form since education is seen as a technical exercise. In other word, the curriculum is seen as the product of systematic study. In this approach, the stating of objectives becomes a significant factor to develop a planning. By stating clear objectives during the planning, it assists the designer to provide the clear concept of the outcomes where it facilitates the organization of content and method and also the evaluation of the results Smith, 2000: 3. According to Bobbitt 1918, education is one of the means in preparing life whereas the life itself consists of performance of specific activities. Hence, the role of curriculum is to state objectives that show abilities, attitudes, habits, appreciations and forms of knowledge that people need. This stating of objectives will be resulting in numerous, definite, and particularized objectives. Smith, 2000: 3-4. In viewing curriculum as a product, the emphasis is on the formulation of behavioral objectives. The concern of this approach is on the outcomes of the students in the form of desired performance. As it is stated by Tyler 1949: 44, the purpose of education is to bring changes in students’ behavior. Therefore, the statement of objectives of the school should be a statement of changes on the students’ performance Smith, 2000: 5. 3 Curriculum as process When viewing curriculum as process, the focus is on the interactions among teachers, students, and knowledge. As it is stated by Smith 2000: 7, curriculum is what actually happens in the number of elements in constant interaction. Stenhouse 1975: 142 said that curriculum is a particular form of specification about the practice of teaching. It is far beyond covering materials or syllabus. It is a way of translating any educational idea into a hypothesis testable in practice. Moreover, it invites critical testing rather than acceptance. Curriculum is a matter of possibility and then it moves to be a subject of experiment. On the other hand, curriculum as process is a matter of experimentation. Smith, 2000: 11. A process curriculum focuses on the practice of teaching. In this approach, there is an activity where educational knowledge is translated into practice and it involves testing. The contents and means will develop as teachers and students work together and share their thinking and, then, bring it into action. The students become the subjects of the learning since they take part actively in every session. The process curriculum brings about interpretation and meaning making. The expected outcomes in this approach are thinking and action. 4 Curriculum as praxis Smith 2000: 12 said that this approach is the development of the process curriculum. In this approach, the activity is situated upon the experience of both teacher and student where they share their ideas through dialogue and negotiation to solve occurred problems toward their existence and relationships. They also try to make an explicit commitment to human emancipation Grundy, 1987: 105. The outcome of this approach is praxis: informed and committed action. In addition, the development of this approach depends on the dynamic interaction between action and reflection in which a curriculum is seen as an active process and planning, acting, and evaluating are related and integrated in the process Grundy, 1978: 115. When practicing this approach, the attention is on the collective understandings and practices and on the structural questions. We need also to look for certain values especially action which is emphasized on human emancipation. There is a practice in which people share ideas about what makes for good and also its related theories. After discussing approaches to curriculum theory and practice, the study of this paper will be limited to the product approach since the focus of the study is to bring about certain changes toward the students performance. In this approach, curriculum is arranged to meet the desired objectives through series of experiences. The product approach focuses on its behavioural objectives in the planning and it becomes the foundation to determine the contents and the methods of the teaching learning processes. When determining the objectives, the planner has set series of competencies to be achieved as the results of the outcomes. As it is stated by Smith 1996: 2, competencies are series of discrete activities that the people possess the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to engage in effectively. The competency is part of the planning and it turns into the foundation to determine the content and method. Furthermore, the competency is also used to determine the evaluation of the planning. Therefore, the product approach will be used as the guideline in designing the materials.

b. School Based Curriculum