Defining Curriculum and Instruction Essay

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Definition of curriculum

The word curriculum originated from the Latin word ‘curere’, which means running with a view of reaching a certain place. A curriculum is a formal learning system that refers to a set of lessons that are offered to students. Curriculum as a learning process enables students to gain knowledge and in turn, achieve a certain grade. The curriculum thus plays an important role in assessing the performance of the students. According to Svinicki & James (2010), a curriculum consists of a set of courses that enable students to achieve higher performance. Pupils also gain experience as a result of interaction among themselves. In this sense, their school life becomes the curriculum as it enables them to learn behaviors from others. Thus, the curriculum is a totality of experiences that students acquire as a result of interaction with the teachers and their fellow students (Svinicki & James, 2010, p.13).

According to Marsh (2009), Curriculum should be specific meaning; it should provide students with specific skills or knowledge. If the students do not achieve the set goals, then the curriculum is deemed to be ineffective. In other words, curriculum refers to what is supposed to be taught by the teachers. The learning objectives to be attained by students should be measurable. In this regard, the curriculum should be broken down into smaller components. For the curriculum to be effective, both students and the teachers should have a clear understanding of their roles. As a result of the understanding of the roles and expectations, a conversation between the teachers and pupils is greatly enhanced. This in turn plays an important role in enabling them to achieve positive learning outcomes (Svinicki & James, 2010, p.13).

Definition of instruction

Instruction refers to the manner in which the teacher facilitates students to acquire knowledge and skills. It is a planned process through which an interaction takes place between two people or between an individual and technology. An instructor thus plays the role of providing support to the learners. Instruction is goal-oriented, meaning that there should be a specific objective to be achieved at the end of the instruction process. The main purpose of instruction is to assist learners in attaining their learning goals. Thus, it is concerned with how a teacher delivers instructions effectively to all students in a classroom setup. For instruction to be effective, teachers should have both personal and professional skills. The goal to be attained can be set by either the students or the instructor. The students can set the goal that they intend to attain and also enlist some level of assistance that they expect from the instructor. The learner is required to respond to the instruction process. The response is important as it helps to determine whether the instruction is effective or not. It enables the instructor to determine the extent of learning that has taken place in comparison with the set goals (Koohang & Harman, 2007, p. 231).

An example of curriculum and instruction

An example of a curriculum is the open curriculum that provides students with an opportunity of majoring in the subjects of their interests. This type of curriculum was designed in 1969 and it is currently being practiced in many learning institutions across the globe.

An example of instruction is computer-assisted instruction. This is the type of instruction between a person and technology, for example, the computer. It is relatively a new concept of instruction. The achievement of the set goals is enhanced by the interaction between the student and the computer device.

Reference List

  1. Koohang, A & Harman, K. (2007). Learning objects and instructional design. Santa Rosa, CA: Informing Science.
  2. Marsh, C. (2009). Key Concepts for Understanding Curriculum, Edition 4. London: Taylor & Francis.
  3. Svinicki, M & James, W. (2010). McKeachie’s teaching tips: strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers, Edition 13. London: Cengage Learning.
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