Curriculum Approaches-Behavioral approach

1. BEHAVIOURAL
APPROACH
D.KALAIVANI

2. OBJECTIVES
 The Prospective teacher educator able to,
 Defines approach
 Gives the meaning of curriculum approach.
 Classifies curriculum approaches
 Defines behavioural approach
 explains behavioural approach

3. What is an APPROACH?
It is a way of dealing with something, a
way of doing or thinking about something
(Merriam-Webster)

4. What is Curriculum approach?
It is a way of dealing with a curriculum, a
way of doing/creating/designing/Thinking about
curriculum.
 Accordingly, curriculum approach refers to
dealing with curriculum or thinking about
curriculum.

5. WHAT IS CURRICULUM APPROACH?
 An approach to curriculum shows the
viewpoints of curriculum development and
design, the role of the learners and teachers,
as well as the curriculum specialists in the
planning of the curriculum. It also includes
the goals and objectives of the curriculum. It
is an expression of developer’s view of
reality, philosophy, psychology, social issues
and the domain of knowledge.

6. WHAT IS CURRICULUM APPROACH?
 It reflects the values deemed important and
the amount of knowledge he or she
possesses. There are also the strategies
employed in organising curriculum content
and learning activities that are presented to
the learners.

7. CURRICULUM APPROACHES
 According to Marsh and Willis (1999)
curriculum approaches are:
 different ways of thinking about curriculum
and of connecting thought with practice,
whether it have many beliefs and ideas that
constitute any particular curriculum approach
are made explicit or remain implicit.

8. CURRICULUM APPROACHES
According to Ornstein and Hunkins (1993) the
main curriculum approaches are the
following:
 Behavioural
 Managerial
 Systems
 Academic
 Humanist
 Reconceptualist

9. THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
The behavioural approach is the oldest and still the
reference approach to curriculum. ―Behaviourism
is primarily concerned with observable and
measurable aspects of human behaviour‖
(Standridge, 2002)

10. THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
This approach is developed based on the
principles of behaviourism of Frederick
Taylor. His main aim was to improve efficiency.
Behaviourism is concerned primarily
with the observable and measurable aspects of
human behaviour.

11. THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
 Behaviourism is a teacher centered philosophy
that is closely related to realism. This
 philosophy focuses on human behaviour as a
reaction to external stimuli and believes that
 changing the environment can change
misbehaviour. This approach is also based on
the
 view that there is one right way, one truly that
the student needs to learn and that knowledge
 is the same for all learners.

12. THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
 The basic principles of behaviourism include
the following.
 • Behaviour that is positively reinforced will
reoccur; intermittent reinforcement is
particularly effective
 • Information should be presented in small
amounts so that responses can be reinforced
(“shaping”)

13. THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
 The basic principle of behaviourism is:
Whatever can be known about human beings
must come from an observation of behaviour,
moreover, must be conducted according to
the strict methods of scientific procedure that
is used in the physical sciences. So, the
behavioural approach is logical and
prescriptive and grounded on technical and
scientific principles.

14. THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
 This approach is generally underpinned by a
plan specifying goals and objectives,
contents and sequenced, structured
activities, methodologies, and learning
outcomes with corresponding criteria and
evaluation forms, taking into account the
established curriculum goals and objectives.
Thus, the behavioural approach covers the
curriculum development in its wider sense.

15. THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
 Behavioural approach believes that a learner
starts out with a clean slate and behaviour is
shaped by positive and negative
reinforcement. The approach suggests that
all students will learn knowledge in the same
way. It typifies the classic model of the
student as a passive vessel.

16. THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
 Behavioural approach identifies the teacher
as the expert. Teacher is the centre of
teaching learning process. Teacher should
always be positive and let any students know
that they can do it, and can do it well.
Teacher should encourage positive
behaviour and correct wrong behaviour. The
teacher employs external reinforcement to
motivate and encourage students to reach
the stated objectives.

17. THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
 Reinforcement is the core of behavioural
approach. Continuous reinforcement is
useful when a behaviour is being introduced.
Once a desired behaviour is established,
intermittent reinforcement maintains the
behaviour. Learning is broken into small
steps so that a person can be successful.
They advocate constant repetition of a task
until a desired behaviour is adopted or
changed.

18. CRITICISM
 the behavioural approach has the benefit of
clarity and precision in the specification of
outcomes, although it is also the object of
criticism for this very reason.
 benefits of precise specification are only
observable at the lowest level of learning
where trivial skills, competencies or
outcomes are concerned

19. CRITICISM
 The higher order tasks imply open-ended
goals requiring the definition of a vast
number of specific objectives, which is
impracticable in the process of curriculum
development.

20. CONCLUSION
 Thus, it is clear that behavioural approach
needs to be updated and improved by
applying it critically.