6.

2 Content Selection

6.2.1 What is Content?

All curricula have content and how individuals view content is affected by their view of
knowledge and philosophical position. There are varying conceptions of content. Some
curriculum designers conclude that content is really another term for knowledge consisting of a
collection of facts, concepts, generalisations, principles and theories. For example, an important
concept in geography would be spatial relationships while in physics it would be acceleration.
However, a distinction has to be made between disciplines and content.
The disciplines such as biology, chemistry, sociology and psychology are concerned with
advancement of understanding and the exploration of the unknown. In contrast, content as found
in school subjects (or even undergraduate courses) do not provide students with opportunities for
advancing understanding or creation of new knowledge in the strictest sense. The content
selected is aimed towards helping students understand knowledge that may be new to them but is
already known by scholars and practitioners in the field. From this body of knowledge or
discipline, content is selected for educational purposes and organised according to the cognitive
level of learners.
6.2.2 How should students learn content?
Some people feel that content should be prescribed and transmitted to learners
(behaviourism) while others feel that content should be constructed by learners (constructivism)
based on their experiences. In the former setting, learners are passive recipient of the facts,
concepts and generalisations of a subject while in the latter situation learners seriously engage in
the construction of meaning. Content is not just something told to students but rather something
that students personally construct. Similarly, some educators argue that it is more important to
learn the processes of content than the products of content itself. Such a view divides content as
consisting of product and process, when in reality both should be given equal emphasis [We
discussed this in Module 1]. Cognitive psychologists refer to:
o content as declarative knowledge or what students should know (the facts, concepts and
principles of a body of knowledge), while
o process as procedural knowledge or what should be able to do (the procedures, thinking
skills and methods of inquiry embedded in any body of knowledge)
6.2.3 How should content be selected?
There is so much pressure from parents, academics, the government, the business
community, religious institutions, non-governmental organisations and so forth as to what to
content should be selected and taught in schools. In addition, there is abundant information and it
is doubling at a very rapid rate. Schools do not have the luxury of time to include all the concerns
of society in its curriculum. Choices have to be made on what to include in the curriculum.
Ornstein and Hunkins (1998) list the following 5 criteria to guide the selection of content:

Significance: It is obvious that content selected should be significant. But, the definition
of significance varies with an individuals beliefs. For example, curriculum developers
who favour subject matter designs think of significance in terms of the concepts and
principles of each subject area. Those who favour learner-centred designs think of

significance in terms of the needs and interests of the learner. While those who favour a
problem-centred design would regard the problems and issues in society as significant.
Taba (1962) further argues that we should not just select content based on the cognitive
aspects of learners, but also on their affective dimensions.

Utility: Utility refers to the usefulness of content. This again depends on your
philosophical beliefs. If you subscribe to the subject-centred design, then you believe that
the content learned from the various subject areas will be useful in the workplace. If you
subscribe to the learner-centred design, then you will take into consideration the needs
and interests of learners which will enable them to realise their potential to function
effectively in the workplace. Alternatively, if you subscribe to the problem-centred
design, then you believe that learning about societal issues will enable students to apply
directly what they have learned to their daily lives and the world of work.

Validity: Validity refers to whether the information passed on to students is authentic and
obtained from credible sources. This is especially significant today with the deluge of
information that is easily accessible which may not necessarily be credible or reliable.
How much of the billions of pages on the internet are credible? Content needs to be
checked to determine its accuracy and constantly updated.

Learnability: It may seem strange that anyone would select content that is not learnable.
Unfortunately, it does happen. Can you give examples of this happening? For example,
the content selected for a particular age group might be too difficult and teachers need
more time but insufficient time is allotted. Eventually, teachers will end up rushing
through the material and some students left behind not understanding the content.

Feasibility: Educators who select content have to take into consideration the constraints
of time, expertise of staff, funding and other educational resources that schools might
face when implementing the curriculum. For example, the number of days allotted for
teaching may be insufficient to cover all the content because schools have to allocate time
for extra-curricular activities and other schools events. Content selection has to be
considered within the context of existing reality of economics and the role of the
government.

6.3 Principles of Content Organisation

After having decided on the content, the next step is to organise the content in a form that
will facilitate learning. The following principles have been proposed when deciding on content
organisation (Sowell, 2000; Ornstein & Hunkins, 1998):
6.3.1 Scope
Scope refers to both the breadth and depth of content and includes all topics, learning
experiences and organising threads found in the curriculum plan. Scope not only refers to
cognitive learning but also affective learning, and some would argue spiritual learning
(Goodland and Zhixin Su, 1992). Sometimes the scope of a curriculum is narrow, consisting of
just a simple listing of key topics and activities.

The physics syllabus is overloaded

Laboratory sessions has increased with the

introduction of the new chemistry curriculum
Scientific literacy of secondary school students is
low

When we talk of scope, we are concerned with questions such as: How much science should
students in primary school know? What is the level of mathematics required of students before
they graduate from secondary school? When curriculum developers are engaged in deciding how
much content should be included, they are determining the scope of the curriculum. When
deciding about the scope of a curriculum, the following guidelines may be useful:
You might want to ask about the usefulness of the content selected.
You might want to ask whether the content caters to diverse student abilities
You might want to ask if the amount of content selected can be covered in the specified
period of time
You might want to ask if there is a balance in the content selected between cognitive,
psychomotor and affective or spiritual outcomes

6.3.2 Sequence
Sequence refers to the organisation of content and the extent to which it fosters
cumulative and continuous learning (referred to as vertical relationship among sections of the
curriculum). Do students have the opportunity to make connections and enrich their
understanding of content? It is important that the sequencing of content lead to cumulative
development of intellectual and affective processes.
The sequence of content and experiences should be based on the logic of the subject
matter and the way in which individuals learn. It should be based on psychological principles and
understanding of human development and learning [refer to Chapter 3: Psychological
Foundation of Curriculum]. The following are some principles identified as guidelines in
sequencing the curriculum: (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998, Taba, 1962, Bruner, 1960).
a) Simple to complex content is organised going from simple subordinate components to
complex components depicting interrelationships among components. Optimal learning
occurs when students are presented with easy, often concrete content and to more
difficult and abstract content.
b) Spiral - In a spiral curriculum, concepts may be introduced on a simple level in the
early grades, then revisited with more and more complexity and application later on
(Bruner, 1960)
c) Prerequisites it works on the assumption that bits of information or learning must be
grasped before other bits of information can be understood.
d) Whole to part content is better understood if an overview (whole) is first presented to
show the connections between the parts.
e) Chronology this is a useful organiser for sequencing content especially in subjects such
as history, political science and world events.
f) Vertical organisation - This simply means that content and skills are arranged so that
they build on one another; that they align with the general sequence of cognitive
development. They indicate what students have learned and what they will learn later.
g) Horizontal organisation - It involves how skills and content that are taught during one
level or one period of time relate to another. For example, in a social science course, you
might consider particular issues from a historical, sociological, political and economic
point of view.
6.3.3 Integration
Integration is the bringing together of the concepts, skills and values of different subject
areas to reinforce each other. Bits of information from different subject areas are brought
together in such a way to present the learner with a unified picture of knowledge. Some have
argued that however much curriculum planners try to integrate information; it is the learners who
integrate what they are learning in their minds. It is something that happens within the individual
learner.
The idea of integration was popularised in the 60s by Hilda Taba because of concern that
school curriculum was too disjointed, fragmented and detached. Lately, there has been a surge of
interest in curriculum integration due to rapid accumulation of information that is doubling in a
shorter period of time. Increasingly, there is a realisation that knowledge has to be viewed in a
much broader sense, particularly in dealing with ideas that cut across disciplines. When faced

with real-world situations, seldom is one area of content sufficient to explain complex
phenomena. The need to examine phenomena drawing from various disciplines has intensified
interest in the integrated curriculum. Examples of the integrated curriculum include sciencetechnology-society and reading across the curriculum. In the science-technology-society (STS)
curriculum, science is combined with social sciences in attempting to solve practical, everyday
problems. The integrated approach takes the student outside the laboratory and away from the
textbook into the local community.
6.3.4 Continuity
Continuity ensures that ideas, themes and skills are repeated as the learner progresses
through the grades. Why? This is because students may not grasp certain concepts and skills in
one experience and have to be presented again before they become clear. For example, students
in the primary grades are taught the principles of essay writing. The same principles are repeated
in the succeeding years. Continuity ensures the reappearance of certain major ideas at different
grade levels at increased depth and complexity over the length of the curriculum. For example,
doing experiments is a learning experience that is repeated throughout the teaching of science at
increasing levels of complexity and abstraction.

6.4 Selection of Learning Experiences

6.4.1 What are Learning Experiences?

While content is the meat of the curriculum plan, we can consider learning experiences
planned for the students as the heart of the plan (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998). The learning
experiences are the means towards achieving the goals and objectives of the curriculum. Tyler
(1960) used the term learning experiences in his curriculum development model (discussed
earlier in Module 5). Learning experiences is the instructional component of the curriculum
providing for the interaction between teacher, student and the content. Learning experiences,
designed for the purpose of achieving the goals and objectives of the curriculum plan can be
divided into:
o teaching methods adopted, and,
o learning activities.

There are many types of teaching methods and some examples of teaching methods include; the
inquiry method, the discovery approach, the lecture method, small group discussion, roleplaying, fieldwork and so forth. The term learning activities was used by Taba (1962) in her
curriculum development model (discussed in Module 5). Learning activities are opportunities for
students to question, clarify, create and apply knowledge. Examples of learning activities are
answering questions, solving problems, journal writing, viewing videos, doing experiments,
playing games and so forth. Both teaching methods and learning activities are equally important
parts of the learning experience and should be carefully planned. In many instances, there is
overlap between teaching methods and learning activities and some people may find the
distinction problematic.

6.4.2 Criteria for Selection of Learning Experiences

ACTIVITY 6.4
Malaysian Primary 6 Science
Topic: Conservation
Objectives:
List waste materials that can be reused and recycled
Explain the paper recycling paper
Carry out recycling projects
Content:
Concept of recycling and reusing
Components of the paper recycling process
Learning Experiences:
View photos and video-clips on recycling of waste materials
Class project on collecting newspapers for recycling
Visit to a paper recycling plant
[Source: Curriculum Specifications for SMART SCHOOLS, Curriculum Development Centre,
Ministry of Education Malaysia, July, 1997]

1. How are the objectives, the content selected and learning experiences related?
2. Suggest other learning experiences for the same content.
3. Does the subject or course you teach make the distinction between content and
learning experiences?

Learning experiences (teaching methods and learning activities) are selected to translate
the goals and objectives of the curriculum plan. It includes all the actions of teachers necessary
to influence student behaviour and ultimately, their learning. The particular actions of the teacher
may vary according to the teaching method adopted and learning activities used, but they all are
aimed towards bringing about learning.
The most important criterion for the selection of learning experiences is to ensure that
there is alignment between objectives, content and learning experiences. Will the learning
experiences selected achieve the objectives of the curriculum? This criterion is termed as
validity. Learning experiences should also be selected in terms of feasibility. In other words,
whether the experiences suggested can be carried out given the time, available facilities and
expertise of teachers. It would be futile to propose learning experiences which may be good on

paper but difficult to implement in the classroom because teachers are not trained and facilities
are inadequate. For example, learning experiences which require using the internet when the
school does not have internet connection.
Learning experiences should also be selected on the basis whether they will enhance
students learning of the content as well as motivate them to continue learning. The learning
experiences should also attempt to develop thinking skills of students and to stimulate greater
understanding of their own existence as individuals and as members of groups. In other words,
the learning experiences selected should encourage group interaction and collaborative learning
which are skills required in the world of work. Learning experiences should foster cognitive,
affective, psychomotor and spiritual development of the learner.
In the selection of learning experiences, educators should not separate content and
experiences. In reality, both content and learning experiences do not exist in isolation. For
example, a student cannot just engage in learning or studying without experiencing some activity
and some content. Likewise, teachers cannot deal with content without being engaged in some
experience or some activity. [You will notice that each chapter in this course has a number of
learning activities such as self-test &activity to encourage you to play with the content]