THE CHILD-CENTERED

CURRICULUM

Reporter: Yolanda Teves

Sobrepeña
“Children are strong, rich, and capable. All
children have preparedness, potential,
curiosity, and interest in constructing their
learning, negotiating with everything their
environment brings to them.”
-Louise Boyd Cadwell
Children are smarter than we give them
credit for!
o Young children are amazingly observant
o We should never “dumb them down” and
lower our expectations of their capabilities
o They are naturally curious and therefore
capable of controlling their own learning
 Two types of learning…
Rote memorization Discovery and personal
• Learn by hearing/drilling the understanding
same information over and over • Learning by doing (talking,
• i.e. letters, numbers, states and drawing, constructing, painting,
capitals, math formulas, phonics touching, experimenting)
• Rote memorization helpful to • Children understand concepts in
teach some types of information their own way, at their own pace,
• Many subjects in schools taught and within their own
by rote memorization developmental ability (schemas)
• Learning is static • Allows for deeper understanding
and connections of bigger ideas
• Representation of learning is • Learning is a result of the
shown by performance experience and is dynamic
 Two types of questions…
• Answer is either right or • Open ended with no
wrong exact right answer (I
• Typically used with rote wonder…)
memorization • Promotes deeper
information understanding of
• Intimidating/boring to concepts
some children • Young children respond
well to this-but lose this
ability during school
years.
 Two types of activities…
• Expected outcome • Creative and individual
(everyone’s looks the same) (each one is unique)
• A right and wrong way to • No right or wrong way to do
do the activity (i.e. the activity
worksheets, matching • Allows for experimentation
games) with tools and materials
• No personal attachment or • Personal pride in the result
pride in the result
Child-centered curriculum

The philosophy underlying this

curriculum design is that the child is the
center of the educational process. Thus
the curriculum should be build upon his
interest, abilities, purposes and needs.
This type of curriculum emerged from the
extensive research carried on in the 20th century
carried by John Dewey and his followers. A new
respect for the child, a new freedom of action, was
incorporated into curriculum building in the child
centered school. Common characteristics of
programs founded on the new philosophy were the
“activity program”, the “unit of work” and the
recognition of the needs for using and exploring
many media for self-discovery and self direction.
 Child-Centered Curriculum
• The focus is on the process, not the product
• Through documentation (photos, children’s drawings,
transcripts) the parents will feel like they are truly
part of the experience and the children will feel like
valuable members of our community
• The children will be given the freedom to be who
they are- young children! Time allowed every day
for active outdoor play and meaningful indoor play
• It’s not all about worksheets and spelling tests!
 Child Centered Curriculum
• The curriculum focuses on the whole child and
integrates all of the subject areas
• The day isn’t spent “clock watching” to ensure time
for all subjects every day
“Teachers facilitate children’s exploration of
themes, work on short-and long-term projects,
and guide experiences of joint, open-ended
discovery and problem solving. Teachers
listen and observe children closely. Teachers
ask questions; discover children’s ideas,
hypothesis, and theories; and provide
occasions for discovery and learning.”
-Louise Boyd Cadwell
 Teachers…
o Share the role of leader with the children—don’t
always have to be “in total control” of every situation
o Ask and encourage the children to ask questions-but
do not always give answer
o Use words like “I wonder” and “what do you think?”
o Are excited and involved
o Find “teachable moments” throughout the day
 Child-Centered.   Teacher-Centered.
Environment
Low student: teacher ratio (1:10 or less)  Higher student: teacher ratio (1:20-25)

    
One age grouping
Multi-age groupings with a focus on the peer
 
modeling and reinforcement

    
Students have the same teacher for three Teacher changes yearly
years allowing for long-term, trusting 
relationships
 
  
  Child is free to move about room, interacting Child is encouraged to stay seated, silence is
 
with anyone encouraged
 
  
Everything is introduced experientially with Manipulatives usually used only in math
 
manipulatives
 
  

Environment is maintained by children with a Environment is maintained by teacher and

focus on personal responsibility and pro-social   custodian
skills
 
  
 Curriculum
No practical life
Practical life activities used to develop sense of order,
 
cooperation, concentration and independence
 
    
Sensorial activities are systematically used to refine If used, sensory activities are used sporadically and not
 
coordination, discrimination and vocabulary as an integral part of the curriculum
    
Writing precedes reading  Reading precedes writing
    
Phonetic, sight vocabulary and whole language are all Language texts used (although some schools are now
used to meet individual needs and learning styles of   using whole language approaches)
children
    
Grammar introduced in kindergarten and taught in Grammar taught out of context (from text) at older ages
 
context
    
Interdisciplinary approach is used for art, music, history, Separate texts are used for social studies, science,
physics, ecology, zoology, botany, geography, health and music
 
anatomy, chemistry, foreign language, physical
education
    
Math concepts and processes are introduced early  Rote learning is used to teach math facts
    
Daily lesson plans are determined by each child's Daily lesson plans are determined by teacher's manual
 
needs
    
Lessons are given 1:1 or in small groups Lessons given to all students in a class at one time
 
 
    
Use of texts are for reference; lessons and activities Texts are used for all subjects with little
 
are teacher-made individualization
 Character Development
Child-centered activity and curriculum Teacher-centered and curriculum-centered
  activities
 

    
Internally motivated; children work because they Externally motivated; children work because
 
want to they have to
    
Child chooses work and works as long as Teacher chooses work
he/she wants, allowing for self-monitoring and 
concentration
    
Pace of activities is determined by teacher's
Work continues until a child masters a concept 
manual
    

Non-competitive processes; no reference to Competition for grades among peers; emphasis

  is on tests and grades
other students' "grades" or "scores"

    

Hands are considered a pathway to the brain Paper/pencil and oral explanation are used to
  "teach" abstraction
and a mechanism to understand abstraction

    

Children are introduced to concepts first; details Children learn detailed information first, then the
  concept
are learned after a concept is mastered
 Children rather than miniature adults,
become the focus of educational
efforts
 Experience rather than rote learning,
become the medium of learning
 Research assumed significance in the
planning for the developmental needs
of children
 Children’s motivation in learning was recognized
 The creative energies of teachers and children were
released
 Educational expectations and standards were custom
made in terms of each child’s abilities and potentials
 Rigid-grade organization was abandoned along with
traditional promotion policies
 Reporting on children’s progress became descriptive
and
 For the first time, teacher education on a board scale
became professional education
The weaknesses of the child-
centered curriculum are chiefly in
the possibilities for
“misinterpretation” and in the
neglect of adequate consideration
of the matrix in which the
education of children must occur:
1. The misinterpretation of the
philosophy of the child-centered
curriculum was a natural consequence
of radical change. Teachers
sometimes ill prepared to adapt to
changing concepts of child
development, Frequently created a
school environment, which fostered
license rather than freedom.
2.The child-centered philosophy is often conceded to be
an inherent weakness. In this effort to free the child,
many critics charged that the basic purposes in the
establishment of schools were ignored. From the
beginnings of formal education as a function of the
society, conceived as a means of perpetuating the life of a
people. Society supports school in order that its youth
will be educated in its values, beliefs, traditions, customs,
and mores. Society looked upon the child-centered
curriculum and found it lacking. While the schools often
became the scapegoat for ills were the correctly attributed
to other social agencies, nevertheless they were
frequently vulnerable to the charges leveled against them.
Thank you for listening!