Candidate
Name: B.ALVIN PRAVEEN JOTHI
Candidate
Code: 182 16 397 003
Course:
B.Ed Physical Science
Semester: 1 (2016)
Semester: 1 (2016)
NATIONAL CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK AND KERALA CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK
INTRODUCTION
The framework is an endeavor of the
National Council for Teacher Education to encourage interested parties and
stakeholders to give their views on the qualitative and quantitative
improvements that could be achieved in educating teachers at school, graduate,
post-graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral levels. A board framework for
planning upwards, beginning with schools for identifying focus areas and
subsequent consolidation at the cluster and block levels, could form a
decentralized planning strategy at the district level. Meaning full academic
planning has to be done in participatory manner by headmasters and teachers.
Schools in terms of teaching-learning processes.
NATIONAL CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK
The term National Curriculum
Framework is often wrongly construed to mean that an instrument of uniformity
is being proposed. The intention as articulated in the NPE, 1986 and the
Programme of Action (PoA) 1992 was quite the contrary. NPE proposed a national
framework for curriculum as a means of evolving a national system of education
capable of responding of India’s diversity of geographical and cultural milieus
while ensuring a common core of values along with academic components. The NPE
– PoA envisaged a child-centered approach to promote universal enrolment and
universal retention of children up to 14 years of age and substantial
improvement in the quality of education in the school” (PoA),P. 77). The PoA
further elaborated on this vision of NPE by emphasizing relevance, flexibility
and quality as characteristics of the National Curriculum Framework. Thus both
these documents envisioned the National Curriculum Framework as a means
modernizing the system of education.
Critical Pedagogy
Teacher and student engagement is
critical in the classroom because it has the power define whose knowledge will
become a part of school-related knowledge and whose voices will shape it.
Students are not just young people for whom adults should devise solutions.
They are critical observers of their own conditions and needs, and should be
participants in discussions and problem solving related to their education and
future opportunities. Hence children need to be aware that their experiences and
perceptions are important and should be encouraged to
develop the mental skills needed to thick and reason independently out of
school – their capacities, learning abilities, and knowledge base –
and bring to school is important to further enhance the learning process. This
is all the more critical for children from underprivileged backgrounds,
especially girls, as the works they inhabit and their realities are under
represented in school knowledge. Participatory learning and teaching, emotion
and experience need to have a definite and valued place in the classroom. While
class participation is a powerful strategy, it loses its pedagogic edge when it
is ritualized, or merely becomes an instrument to enable teachers to meet their
own ends. True participation starts from the experiences of birth students and
teachers.
Some principles regarding the
approach to knowledge in the curriculum
·
Acquiring a critical perspective on
social reality and the natural environment through the lenses provided by the
subject matter.
·
Connecting with the local and the
contextualized in order to ‘situate’ knowledge and realizing its ‘relevance’
and ‘meaningfulness’; to reaffirm one’s experiences outside school; to draw
one’s learning from observing, interacting with, classifying, categorizing,
questioning, reasoning and arguing in relation to these experiences.
·
Marking connections across
disciplines and bringing out the interrelatedness of knowledge.
·
Realizing the ‘fruitfulness’ and
‘openness’ of enquiry, and the provisional nature of truth.
·
Engaging with ‘local knowledge’/
indigenous practices in the local area, and relating these to school knowledge
wherever possible.
·
Encouraging questions and leaving
space open for the pursuit of new questions.
·
Being sensitive to the issues of
‘equality’ in classroom transaction as well as established stereotypes and
discrimination regarding learn ability of the knowledge area by different
groups (e;g; girls not being given field-based projects, the blind being
excluded from the option of learning mathematics, etc.).
·
Developing the imagination, and
keeping imagination and fantasy alive.
SCIENCE
On important human response to the
wonder and awe of nature from the times has been to observe the physical and
biological environment carefully, look for any meaningful patterns and
relations, make and use new tools to interact with nature, and build conceptual
models to understand the world. Broadly speaking, the scientific method
involves several interconnected steps: observation, looking for regularities
and patterns, making hypotheses, devising qualitative or mathematical models,
deducing their consequences, verification or falsification of theories through
observation and controlled experiments, and thus arriving at the principles,
theories and laws governing the natural world. The laws of science are never
viewed as fixed eternal truths. Even the most established and universal laws of
science are always regarded as provisional, subject to modification in the
light of new observations, experiments and analyses. Science is dynamic,
expanding body of knowledge, covering ever-new domains of experience. In a
progressive forward -looking society, science can play a truly liberating role,
helping people escape from the vicious cycle of poverty, ignorance and
superstition. The advances in science and technology have transformed
traditional fields of work such as agriculture and industry, and led to the
emergence of wholly new filed of work. People today are faced with an
increasingly fast-changing world where the most important skills are
flexibility, innovation and creativity. These different imperatives have to be
kept in mind in shaping science education.
God science education is true to the
child, true to life and true to science. This observation leads to the
following basic criteria of validity of a science curriculum:
Cognitive validity
It requires that the content,
process, language and pedagogical practices of the curriculum are age
appropriate, and within the cognitive reach of the child.
Content validity
It requires that the curriculum must
convey significant and correct scientific information. Simplification of
content, which is necessary for adapting the curriculum to the cognitive level
of the learner, must not be so trivialized as to convey something basically
flawed and/or meaningless.
Process validity
It requires that the curriculum
should engage the learner in acquiring the methods and process that lead to the
generation and validation of scientific knowledge and nurture the natural
curiosity and creativity of the child in science. Process validity is an
important criterion since it helps the student in ‘learning to learn’ science.
Historical validity
It requires that science curriculum be informed by a
historical perspective, enabling the learner to appreciate how the concepts of
science evolve over time. It also helps the leaner to view science as a social
enterprise and to understand how social factors influence the development of
science.
Environmental validity
It requires that science be placed
in the wider context of the learner’s environment, local and global, enabling
him/her to appreciate issues at the inference of science, technology and
society and equipping him/her with the requisite knowledge and skills to
enter
Ethical validity
It requires that the curriculum
promote values of honesty, objectivity, cooperation and freedom from fear and
prejudice, and inculcate in the leaner a concern for life and preservation of
the environment.
The Curriculum at different Stages
Consistent with the criteria given
above the objectives, content, pedagogy and assessment for different stages of
the curriculum are summarized below:
At primary stage, and the child
should be engaged in joyfully exploring the world around and harmonizing with
it. The objectives at this stage are to nurture the curiosity of the child
about the world ( natural environment, artifacts and people), to have the child
engage in exploratory and hands- on activities for acquiring the
basic cognitive and psychomotor skills through observation,
classification, inference, etc.; to emphasis design and fabrication,
estimation and measurement as prelude to the development of technological and
quantitative skills at later stages; and to develop basic language skills: speaking,
reading and writing not only for science but also through science. Science and
social science should be integrated as ‘environmental studies’ as at present,
with health as an important component. Throughout the primary stage, there
should be no formal periodic tests, no awarding of grades or marks, no
detention. At the upper primary stage, the child should be engaged in learning
the principles of science through familiar experiences, working with hands to
design simple technological units and modules (e.g. designing and making a
working model of a windmill to lift weights) and continuing to learn more about
the environment and the health, including reproductive and sexual health,
through activities and surveys. Scientific concepts are to be arrived at mainly
from activities and experiments. Science content at this stage is not to be
regarded as a diluted version of secondary school science. Group activities
discussions with peers and teachers, surveys, organization of data and their
display through exhibitions, etc. in schools and the neighborhood should be
important components of pedagogy. There should be continuous as well as
periodic assessment (unit tests, term-ends tests). The system of ‘direct’
grades should be adopted. There should be no detention. Every child who attends
eight years of school should be eligible to enter class IX. At the secondary
stage, students should be engaged in learning science as a composite
discipline, in working with hands and tools to design more advanced
technological modules than at the upper primary stage, and in activities and
analyses on issues concerning the environment and health, including
reproductive and sexual health. Systematic experimentation as a tool to
discover/verify theoretical principles, and working on locally significant
projects involving science and technology, are to be important parts of the
curriculum at this stage. At the higher secondary stage, science should be
introduced as separate disciplines, with emphasis on experiments/technology and
problem solving. The current two streams, academic and vocational, being
pursued as per NPE-1986, may require a fresh look in the present scenario,
students may be given the option of choosing the subjects of their interest
freely, though it may not be feasible to offer all the different subjects in
every school. The curriculum load should be rationalized to avoid the steep
gradient between secondary and higher secondary syllabi. At this stage, the
core topics of a discipline, taking in to account recent advances in the field,
should be identified carefully and treated with appropriate rigor and depth.
The tendency to cover a large number of topics of the discipline superficially
should be avoided.
Outlook
Looking at the complex scenario of
science education in India, three issues stand out clearly. First, science
education is still far from achieving the goal of equity enshrined in our
Constitution. Second, science education in India, even at its best, develops
competence but does not encourage inventiveness and creativity. Third, the
overpowering examination system is basic to most, if not all, the fundamental
problems of science education in India. The science curriculum must be used as
an instrument for achieving social change in order to reduce the divide based
on economic class, gender, caste, religion and region. We must use textbooks as
one of the primary instrument for equity, since for a great majority of
school-going children, as also for their teachers, it is the only accessible
and affordable resource for education. We must encourage alternative textbook
writing in the country within the broad guidelines laid down by the National
Curriculum Frame work. These textbooks should incorporate activities,
observation and experimentation, and encourage an active approach to science,
connecting it with the world around the child, rather than information-based
learning. Additionally, materials such as workbook, co curricular and popular
science books, and children’s encyclopedia would enhance children’s access to
information and ideas that need not go in to the textbook, loading it further,
but would enrich learning that takes place through project work. There is a
dearth of such materials with rich visuals regional languages. The development
of science corners and providing access to science experimentation kits and
laboratories, in rural areas are also important ways of equitably provisioning
for science learning. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is an
important tool for bridging social divides. ICT should be used in such a way
that it becomes an opportunity equalizer by providing information,
communication and computing resources in remote areas. ICT if used for
connecting
·
Thematic lesion with a verity of
exercise and activities at different levels for different groups.
·
Graded self-access materials that
children can engage with on their own with minimum scaffolding from the
teacher, allowing them to work own their own or with other children.
·
Whole – group activity plans, say,
storytelling or performing a small drama, based on which children can do
different activities. For example, all children from classes I to V may enact
the folk story of the rabbit and the lion together, and after this group I and
II may work with flashcards with the name of various animals; Group III and IV
may make a series of drawings and then write out the story against each
drawing, working in small group; and Group V may rewrite the story, suggesting
alternative endings to it. Without the support of appropriate materials, most
teachers find themselves trying to juggle monograde class groups, with the
result that for the majority of children, time on the task becomes very
low.
Teacher need to be prepared to:
·
Care for children, and should love
to be with them.
·
Understand children within social,
culture and political context.
·
Be receptive and be constantly
learning.
·
View learning as a search for
meaning out of personal experience, and knowledge generation as a continuously
evolving process of reflective learning.
·
Own responsibility towards society,
and work to build a better world.
·
Appreciate the potential of
productive work and hands-on experience as a pedagogic medium both inside and
outside the classroom.
·
Analyze the curricular frame work,
policy implications and texts.
MAJOR
SHIFTS
From
|
To
|
Teacher centric, stable designs
|
Learner centric, flexible process
|
Teacher direction and decisions
|
Learner autonomy
|
Teacher guidance and monitoring
|
Facilitate, supports and encourages learning
|
Passive reception in learning
|
Active participation in learning
|
Learning within the four wall of the classroom
|
Learning in the wider social context
|
Knowledge as “given” and fixed
|
Knowledge as it evolves and is created
|
Disciplinary focus
|
Multidisciplinary, educational focus
|
KERALA CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK
Kerala views education as a crucial
path for shaping its future, to face the challengers of the present
day world, we have to envision a progressive education
system. However, a close look at society indicates her existence of a section
of people who have an intense desire to gain social and financial supremacy.
Another group is striving had to free itself from the clutches poverty and
procure the basic necessities of life.
The government of Kerala, after the
formation of the state, set the direction for the educational system by
declaring that the state would provide for:
·
Compulsory primary education for all
·
Educational expenditure of all
children
·
Free text books and lunch for the
needy
The policies followed by the
successive governments in Kerala made formal education more accessible to its
common folk.
Scientific temper
There
is a need to differentiate between science and pseudo-science. Learning should
approach a problem based on case and effect relationship. An education that
develops logical reasoning in children is crucial in this context. They should
play a key role in freeing the society from superstitions and prejudices and
should propagate the need for a scientific outlook in life.
Cultural identity
Regional
and traditional forms knowledge (related to agriculture, irrigation, resource
management, art and handicraft) can be utilized for the development of the
society. The process of education we envision should help the learners to
identify such sources and preserve what is useful and relevant.
Vocational skills
We
must realize the value of labour in developing and transforming the society. In
this context education should focus on the development of a positive attitude
to labour and inculcate in all children the ability to work.
Democratic values
Education
should help the leaner in imbibing democratic values-equality, justice,
freedom, concern for other’ well being, secularism and respect for human
dignity and rights.
Resistance
Strength
to resist all sorts of invasions (cultural, economic, geographical) and
undesirable tendencies triggered by globalization is vital for a democratic
society. Education needs to recognize this reality and develop the required
strength among the learners to address the challenges posed by globalization.
Construction of knowledge
The
process of constructing knowledge has its unique features. Knowledge is never
viewed as a finished product. It is refined in every act of sharing. The
process of education must develop in learners, the ability to construct
knowledge through interaction and sharing.
Critical approach
The
education we envision should have the space for engage in critical dialogue.
The practice of passive listening has to be discarded and in its place learners
need to become active participants in the process of constructing knowledge.
They should view their experiences in a critical manner and should question all
social evils. Efforts to resist temptations, obstinacy and prejudices are
equally important. Looking at different ideas and generating an integrated view
is crucial. Learners must be able to analyse the ideas in vogue at social,
political and cultural levels, discern errors and take positions by responding
to them. The educational system should prepare the learners to shift from the
position of passive listeners to active constructors of knowledge.
Socially and culturally marginalized
Ours
is a plural society. Only if we succeed in bringing the marginalized to the
mainstream will we succeed in actualizing social justice. The educational
system in our state has not yet been transformed itself to meet the needs of
children who are socially and culturally backward. General education must
accommodate all children who are socially and culturally deprived.
Current Issue
Ø
Non-availability of schools within
easy reach for tribal children.
Ø
Poverty remains a roadblock in
educating such children
Ø
Child labour continues to pose a
major challenge
Ø
Non-availability of educational
concessions on time
Ø
Lack of a conductive home
environment
Ø
Inadequate facilities in
institutions
Ø
Lack of learning materials that suit
the different languages of tribal groups
Ø
Discriminations that prevail among
them
Ø Superstitious practices that prevail among them
Ø Inferiority feeling arising out of the marginalized status
Ø Children being left alone at home as parents cannot adjust
their working hours according to the school time
Ø Lack of awareness among parents regarding the emotional
support to be accorded to children
CONCLUSION
Quality concern, a key feature of
systemic reform, implies the system’s capacity to reform itself by enhancing
its ability to remedy its own weakness and to developed new capabilities. It is
desirable to evolve, a common school system to ensure comparable quality in
different regions of the country and also to ensure that when children of
different background study together, it improves the overall quality of
learning and enriches the school ethos. A board framework for planning
upwards, beginning with schools for identifying focus areas and subsequent
consolidation at the cluster and block levels, could form a decentralized
planning strategy at the district level. Meaning full academic planning has to
be done in participatory manner by headmasters and teachers. Schools in terms
of teaching-learning processes.
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