from my MLS curriculum class for Singapore HODs (MLS Jan14) Task: What is your new understanding of Curriculum and what are the challenges ahead in designing for a better curriculum?

1. Learning Curriculum Design
& its Challenges:
Teachers’ Conception and Tensions
Management & Leaderhip Studies
Curriculum Project Teams Jan 2014
Tutor: John Yeo
Curriculum, Teachng & Learning
Academic Group
National Institute of Education

2. I believe curriculum is
subject-centered
(academic rationalism),
with students picking up
important skills and
teachers being an
important vehicle in
making it all work!
Ng Wei Chieh,
Woodlands Primary School

3. There is no word/phrase to
replace curriculum because
curriculum in any school is
unique. Very often, we described
curriculum but could be
incomplete. There will never be
an end in trying to describe
curriculum because it is
something that changes with
environment and people over
time. Our definitions may differ
from one another or may change
personally over time. But one
thing that will remain unchanged -
the passion in teachers (or
leaders who are teachers at
heart) that will continue to ignite
the passion of learning for our
learners.
Liu Kah Yang
Bartley Sec

4. Curriculum to me is child
centered, as the interest of the
pupils will drive their learning.
Goh Khong Lim, KCPPS
We plan learning for the
students based on their
interest, thus I believe it is
child centered.
Wang Xiaoxuan,
Lianhua Pri

5. A curriculum goes beyond a defined and prescribed
course of studies, which students must fulfill in order to
pass a certain level of education. The curriculum
should place child’s best interest, well-being and
important values to develop the child in the centre of
the curriculum to make it more holistic
Suzanah
Placing students in the centre of
what we do is important. Hence,
curriculum has to be child-
centered, with learners taking
charge of their learning. It is
especially so when our learners
have diverse learning abilities,
thus we will need to customise
curriculum to suit the different
needs.
Koh Ying Sin
Telok Kurau Primary Sch

6. Context-centred because the
worth and value of the
knowledge, skills and
attitudes possessed by the
students depends on the
context that he/she is in…
Bryan Lim
CHIJ St. Theresa’s Convent

7. A child centered curriculum is essential
for it to be successful, allowing us to
engage pupils meaningfully and
creating their love for learning.
Low Choon Siong
Evergreen Primary
The outcomes are what we want our students to
acquire after they completed the curriculum. For
example, if we want our students to be a
mathematician after completing the Math
curriculum, we will design our curriculum to
include exploring, deriving and connecting the
concepts etc.
Tan Beng Guan,
HOD ICT, Nan Chiau High

8. Curriculum to me is organic and interdependent.
Organic - it is not cast in stone, it is alive, it needs
to respond to changes in its environment.
Interdependent - if curriculum is organic, it needs
to co-exist with all the elements of its environment
in harmony for the benefit of all. I feel that a lot of
times curriculum design is far removed from the
place where it’s happening. People in the ivory
tower, who have great knowledge in their area of
work, no doubt, tend to be too removed from the
realities of school. At school there’s only one reality -
assessment. In all the wonderful courses I have
attended in MLS, the devil is really, assessment.
Even as MMs, we sometimes are too focused to
operationalise the curriculum to fit the assessment
culture more than anything else. The big question
now is - what’s the purpose of schooling? Are we
really just a large tuition centre? Even tuition centres
these days have sound curriculum designs by the
way :)
Durka Devi, HOD Science,
De La Salle School
Curriculum can be cognition
centered that require thinking skills
on the part of the teacher.
Faizan, Montfort Sec

9. Curriculum to me is child centered
and also society- centered , as we
develop soft skills in our pupils to
meet the demands of the world of
the 21st Century.
Hamidah Binti Osman
Jurong West Pri

10. Curriculum is child-centered
and society-centered to me
because the purpose of
education at our level is to
ultimately prepare students
for the future.
Ilyana Hardianti
Dunman High School

12. It takes a whole village to raise a child.
Therefore, there needs to be a whole
school approach in supporting a child-
centered curriculum, bearing in mind that
the learners’ interest always comes first.
Koh Ying Sin, Telok Kurau Primary SchChallenges and expectations from
the society are influencing
curriculum design from being child-
centered, causing it to be society-
driven.
Low Choon Siong
Evergreen Primary
Because I view curriculum as organic and
interdependent, the biggest challenge for me is
keeping up with its evolution. Though the content
we teach may not have changed in the last ten
years, the environment in which the subject, the
learners and the teachers reside has changed
enormously. The challenge for curriculum design is
then dealing with this ever-changing landscape
while staying true to the subject matter. While we
ride the bandwagon with all the ‘in’ things, we must
not lose site of the essence of the subject matter.
Durka Devi, De La Salle School

13. Suzanah Sap
Anderson Pri HOD ICT
Reason: Integrating ICT into the curriculum
requires all the IP and ICT heads to come
together and to create a common vision and
beliefs.
As different heads have different perceptions
and beliefs on curriculum, coming together as
one may be a BIG problem.

14. I believe curriculum is subject-
centered (academic
rationalism), however with
these challenges preventing it
from being successful!
Ng Wei Chieh
Woodlands Primary School

15. Curriculum to me is child centered
and also society- centered , as the
needs of the pupils and the goals
of the school and nation have to be
met.
Hamidah Binti Osman
Jurong West Pri

16. The greatest challenge in curriculum is finding the
right leverage point. We may be clever enough to
identify a curriculum problem(or perhaps not a
primary one after all) but to be able to move forward
is never simple unless teachers’ beliefs are so
strong that our actions are sufficient to overthrow
the perception of the general public. Passionate and
dedicated curriculum leaders must do what ought to
be done and never get influenced by differing
mindsets or selfish agendas.
Liu Kah Yang, Bartley Sec

17. To design curriculum that
is child centered,
teachers must believe in
it and be trained in the
designing of the
curriculum.
Goh Khong Lim
KCPPS

18. Tan Beng Guan
HOD ICT, Nan Chiau High

19. Inference-centred because your
understanding of it is affected by what you
choose to see, what you choose to focus
on, your assumptions and beliefs…. and it
is different for everyone…
Bryan Lim
CHIJ St. Theresa’s Convent