What is Curriculum?
The Oxford English Dictionary definition of curriculum is "a course,
specifically a regular course of study or training, as at a school or university."
Curriculum is an outline consisting of the scope and sequence of what is
taught at each grade level and across different grades. It is the total
range of formal studies and education offered to students. By defining a
"course of study," the curriculum becomes an instrument of social
efficiency, bringing order to the process of schooling. This allows students
to benefit from a well-planned variety of subjects and activities. In addition,
curriculum not only specifies "what" to teach students, but "how" to teach them.
The curriculum for every child is important as it ensures that each teacher
teaches the same things at each grade, and that teaching and learning builds
from year to year. Curriculum is especially important in this day of state
testing, because a school’s curriculum must incorporate the state
requirements for testing as a graduation requirement.
A good curriculum should:
• Involve
parents and teachers in the process.
• Address
how skills and concepts are taught.
• Reflect
the best instructional strategies, based upon current research.
• Provide
instructional guidance to the student during his or her educational experience.
• Incorporate
and integrate major areas of development.
• Anticipate
changes in growing and learning.
• Be adaptable
to a wide range of disabilities and cultural diversity.
• Be adaptable
to the individual child and to groups of children.
• Provide
a specific answer to the question, “What is an appropriate action
for this child now?”
• Be accountable.
• Be beneficial.
• Have precise
and simply written instructions.
Types of Curricula
There are two widely used curricula models: developmental curriculum and
functional curriculum. The benefits and limitations of each are briefly
discussed below.
Developmental Curriculum
The developmental curriculum model is based on the milestones of growth
and development of non-disabled children. A child is assessed against a
standardized norm-referenced scale that suggests the approximate age at
which normally developing children acquire specific skills. The progression
of a developmental curriculum is based on the acquisition of skills in a
sequence and typically includes skills across the following areas: communication,
motor, cognition, sensory, social/emotional, academic, self-help, and vocational.
For persons using a developmental curriculum, the instructional skills and
materials used are based on a developmental age.
The benefits of a developmental curriculum are that it:
• covers a
large number of skills in a systematic manner.
• helps target
areas for additional assessment.
• divides
skills into component parts.
• is
used to compare development commensurate with age.
The limitations of a developmental curriculum are that it:
• follows
the developmental sequences of a non-disabled child.
• focuses
on form rather than the function of the skill.
• uses materials
and skills that often are not meaningful for a child with disabilities.
• is not sensitive
to cultural differences.
Functional Curriculum
The functional curriculum model is based on the current and future needs
of the student. Students are not taught skills to progress through developmental
milestones; rather, the focus is on skills that will best prepare the student
to function throughout life. The student is assessed (usually by criterion-referenced
instruments) performing a variety of skills and the curriculum is developed
from this assessment. The skills are taught across life areas, including:
independent living, work, recreation/leisure, regular education, and community
life. When using a functional curriculum, the instructional skills and materials
are based on the chronological age of the student, and adaptations and modifications
are developed to increase the participation of the student in various activities.
The benefits of a functional curriculum are that it:
• uses extensive
parental and student input.
• uses highly
individualized content.
• uses skill
sequences that are relevant and meaningful to a student with disabilities.
The limitations of a functional curriculum are that it:
• may include
skills that are beyond the student’s abilities.
• is time
consuming and requires complex scheduling.
• has no specific
guidelines as to what to teach first.
Because individuals with deafblindness have both vision and hearing difficulties,
and may have other disabilities as well, they often have complex problems
in learning new skills. They may:
• lack the
ability to communicate meaningfully.
• be frustrated
in attempting to have their needs met.
• have difficulty
developing a learning style.
• have difficulty
establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships.
The functional approach to curriculum development has been recognized as
a good model to use in response to these special learning issues.
In addition, individuals with deafblindness and/or severe disabilities,
often have difficulty learning skills quickly, knowing where and when to
use skills, and generalizing acquired skills to numerous settings. Using
a functional curriculum approach can assist in determining the current and
future needs of the individual with deafblindness and selecting appropriate
functional skills. Then, through repeated practice that is embedded in relevant
skill sequencing taught in a variety of settings, with age appropriate materials
and natural cues, the individual can learn to use functional skills in appropriate
settings.
Components of a Functional Curriculum
Select Functional Skills and Materials
Functional skills should be chronologically age appropriate, should make
the student more independent and should prepare the student to function
in community environments. In addition, the materials and activities needed
to perform the skills should be present in the environment, in which, the
student lives, participates, or will frequent in the future.
Teach in Functional Settings Using Natural Cues
Make the teaching environment as similar as possible to the environment
where the student is expected to perform the skill. This is best accomplished
by teaching in natural settings and using cues that are similar to those
used by nondisabled peers.
Use Varied Materials
A variety of materials should be used in teaching a skill. In this way,
the student learns to generalize, discriminate among objects, and respond
to natural cues. This helps to relieve boredom and provides students the
opportunity to make choices. Students tend to learn more quickly and remain
motivated when they are allowed to make choices.
Incorporate Communication into Daily Routine
Communication is one of the most important skills an individual can acquire.
However, students with deafblindness and severe disabilities often lack
communication skills. They may have a fairly good receptive vocabulary,
but have difficulty in learning to use words, signs, or symbols expressively
and spontaneously. A functional curriculum promotes communication throughout
the day, in a variety of settings. Communication is best learned in a social
context by making needs known, asking questions and interacting with peers,
family, and community members.
Incorporate Motor Programs into Daily Routines
Motor skills training is an integral part of the educational program for
individuals with deafblindness. Motor skills allow the individual to explore
and interact with the environment, to be mobile, and to have control over actions in his or her life. The functional curriculum incorporates
motor programs into the daily routine, focusing on practical and functional
activities. For example, the student might look towards peers, the teacher,
or materials; reach for different items; or wheel to and from activities
in wheelchairs.
Incorporate Skills in a Logical and Sequential Manner
Skills should be listed in a logical and sequential fashion. They should
follow a natural sequence, which outlines each routine activity. For example,
a morning activity could follow the sequence: Wheel to the group, greet
other students, take available items and pass it to another peer.
Incorporate Behavior Programs into the Daily Routine
Most classrooms, at one time or another, experience difficulties with disruptive
and inappropriate behaviors, including screaming, tearing up materials,
and self injurious behaviors. Behavior programs should focus on rewarding
and reinforcing appropriate behavior consistently throughout the day across
staff and classroom activities through positive behavioral supports.
Incorporate Learning in Groups
The benefits of group instruction include: controlling/motivation variables,
providing opportunities to respond to and learn from peers, and learning
group skills, such as conversation, interaction, and cooperation. Instruction
may be provided to students in a group either simultaneously or sequentially.
Determining Curriculum Priorities
Regardless of the curriculum model used, determining what to teach in the
broad skill areas of motor, self-help, language, etc., is rather simple.
However, it becomes more difficult to determine exactly what skills all
learners need. There is no magical formula for establishing educational
priorities, but the educator, parent, and student team can begin to determine
priority goals by considering educational relevance, caregiver concerns,
and student preferences. Some questions to ask are:
Skill Selection
• Is
the skill necessary for movement to a more inclusive environment?
• In how many
environments will the skill be used?
• Does the
skill promote interactions with nondisabled peers?
• Would the
student choose to learn the skill?
• Is the skill
functional and chronologically age appropriate?
• Will performance
of the skill result in less dependence on caregivers?
Caregiver Preferences
• Are
there places that the child is already taken in which he/she needs instruction?
• What are
the ways the child can participate at home?
• In what
activities do neighborhood children who are the child's age participate?
• What
are some of the activities in which the child shows interest by smiling,
laughing, etc.?
• Are there
times when it is noticeable that the child has particular difficulty?
• Does the
child have household responsibilities?
• When the
child gets home from school, what does he or she do until dinner?
Learner Preferences
Students have preferences and should be given choices in what they do,
whenever possible. An inventory could be used to identify what he/she particularly
enjoys.
Reprinted with permission from the Texas Deafblind Focus, Winter 2000
Edition.
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