What are the roles that a teacher plays as a curricularist?
The teacher as KNOWER of the curriculum.
As the line of a saying states, One cannot teach what he/she doesnt know. As a teacher he/she should know about the curriculum in a sense that he/she has a broad knowledge of the concepts and topics that are included in the curriculum. He/she should also have a mastery of the subject matter to be discussed in class. In case that the teacher has a limited knowledge about a certain topic, he/she should endeavor to look for reference materials and read to enrich his/her knowledge. The teacher should also acquire formal and informal academic knowledge. Teachers should have a variety of reference materials about the course he/she teaches. For instance, the course is on classroom management in the preschool. The teacher should have a broad knowledge about how to manage the preschool classroom and how to manage young children. Also, he/she should have a background or experience teaching in the preschool. In this way he/she can give examples to the students injecting his/her vicarious experiences in managing classrooms in the preschool.
The teacher as a WRITER of the curriculum.
As a teacher, it is his/her responsibility to take into record of the content - concepts, topics, and subject matter of the courses he/she teaches. In the tertiary level, a teacher designs or writes the curriculum which is called the SYLLABUS. The syllabus contains the concepts, topics, and subject matter included in the course. Before writing a syllabus, the teacher should carefully plan the concepts, topics, and subject matter that are necessary or important. The teacher should also write in the syllabus the objectives as well as the course learning outcomes, performance indicator, teaching strategies/methods or activities as well as assessment strategies.
The teacher as a PLANNER of the curriculum.
A good curriculum has to be carefully planned. As a teacher, it his/her responsibility to make a daily or weekly plan of the curriculum. Through planning, the teacher will be guided as he/she implements the curriculum. He/she takes into consideration some factors when planning. The teacher should consider the ability and interest of the students; the materials he/she will use in teaching (e.g. hand-outs, powerpoint presentation, video clips, etc); time or number of hours allotted to discuss the topics; the desired outcomes or outputs of students. The teacher as an INITIATOR of the curriculum. Since the Commission on Higher Education has recommended Outcomes Based Education (OBE), the teacher is obliged to implement the prescribed curriculum. As a teacher, you have to embrace change and be open-minded about the changes in the curriculum. The teacher should have a belief that this kind of curriculum would enhance the teaching-learning process and that it will enhance students learning. As an initiator, there would be challenges and difficulties (e.g. making syllabi that are in OBE format, designing students activities) that come along the way but an effective and efficient teacher should not be hesitant to try something new or novel. Teacher should serve as a catalyst or an instrument of change. The teacher as an INNOVATOR of the curriculum.
A teacher should be creative and innovative when it comes to
planning and implementing the curriculum. The teacher should be creative in the mode of delivery of the lessons. He/she should deviate from the usual or traditional way of teaching which is discussion. The teacher is no longer the giver of information but should be a facilitator of learning. He/should use differentiated teaching strategies taking into consideration the different learning styles of the students. The teacher should also utilize different evaluation tools and assessment methods to gauge students learning. The teachers innovativeness and creativeness is grounded on his/her skills and competencies.
The teacher as an IMPLEMENTOR of the curriculum.
The teacher serves as the implementer since he/she is the one executing and delivering the content of the syllabus. The teacher discusses and engages with the students, uses support materials, facilitates learning activities in order to achieve the desired goals and desired outcomes. The success and failure of the implementation of the curriculum is depended upon how skillful the teacher is.
The teacher as an EVALUATOR of the curriculum.
After a semester, the teacher should evaluate how effective and efficient he/she is in implementing the curriculum. He/she does some introspection and evaluates if the desired goals and outcomes have been achieved. He/she assesses if the curriculum has worked well or if there will be modifications to be made. The teacher also looks into the students learning achievement.