1. ONLINE ASSIGNMENT
APPROACHES IN CURRICULUM
ORGANISATIONS- SPIRAL,
CONCENTRIC, TOPICAL AND
SUBJECT
Submitted By
Vrinda Prasad. P
B. Ed Natural Science
Reg. No. 18114352040
FMTC, Pallimukku

2. APPROACHES IN CURRICULUM
ORGANISATIONS- SPIRAL CONCENTRIC
TOPICAL AND SUBJECT
INTRODUCTION
The term curriculum is derived from the Latin word ‘currere’ which
means run, and it signifies a run way or ‘a course which one runs to reach
a goal’. Curriculum is very important factor of education. It changes
according to the situation and circumstanstances of a country. The
curriculum of education is decided in accordance with the policy of the
nation. Curriculum generally denotes all those tasks that are performed by
the students.
DEFINITION OF CURRICULUM
Curriculum has been defined by different ways. Some of the
definitions are narrow in sense while some others define in its broad sense.
Carter. V. Good : “Curriculums a general overall plan of the content or
specific materials of instructions that the school should offer the students by
way of qualifying him for graduation or certification for entrance into
professional or vocational field”.
Crow and Crow : “Curriculum includes all the learners experience in or
outside the school that are included in a program which has been devised to

3. help him to develop mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually and
morally”.
Frobel : “Curriculum should be conceived as an epitome of the rounded
whole of the knowledge and experience of human race”.
SPIRAL APPROACH:
Curriculum which ascends, enlarging as it climbs. The spiral view
accounts for the more refined wisdom distilled from the experience over
time. The upward and outward curriculum organization acknowledges the
gradual nature of development of knowledge and also the development of
learners graduation of linkages too is taken care of and the continuity of the
topic concerned is never broken.
CONCENTRIC PLAN :
The whole science course is spread over a number of years. The same
topic is treated at each stage on your through successive stages or years
according to the mental development of the pupils and the circle of
knowledge goes on widening. To begin with a simple presentation of the
subject matter is given in outlines, gaps being filled in the following years;
more gaps are filled a year or later in accordance with the amount of
knowledge which the pupil are capable of assimilating at each stage of the
course.

4. The analogy of the painting or white washing may illustrate the point.
In painting to give a permanent effect of several coats are given, from primer
to final touch or again it is like raising mud wall in villages. The first layer
is laid and allowed to consolidate then the second layer and so on the wall is
high and strong enough.
So too, in dealing with a subject; very little is taught at first. Then the
scope is extended in the next stage. Thus keeping the subject as the center
or core, ever widening concentric circles of experiences are provided in
which the previous knowledge is repeated and consolidated.
This method of arranging the course is based on the maxims of
teaching – from whole to part and from simple to complex – induction.
Example: In lower classes pupils learn about things use in their daily life
like soaps, glass, paper, iron. At a later stage they may just learn how these
things are made. When they come to high school classes they study about
the manufacturers of soaps, glass, paper ; difference between pig iron, soft
iron and steel making the circle of knowledge wider.
Example: for the topic heat, In first year pupil study about uses of
heat. In the second year pupil study about measure of heat. At a later stage
law of heat.

5. Advantages
1. There is greater opportunity for revision of topics which may form the
background additional knowledge to be gained.
2. Each topic is not disposed and pupil may revise and remember the
different topics.
3. This method of organization will be more successful when teaching is
in the hands of one teacher. Then only continuity can be maintained.
Each year there must be something new problems to solve new
wonders and new mysteries to be seen. This will enable the teacher to
arrange the subject in a psychological as well as logical order. This
facilitates revision.
Disadvantages
1. The teacher must be capable of knowing the abilities with less
repetitions and monotony.
2. There is a possibility of losing the freshness of the subject as it is dealt
with every year.
SUBJECT APPROACHES
In selecting subject matter the aim should be to make the schemes of
work suit local conditions and to choose for lesson material not what is
easiest for children to learn, but what will help them best to grasp the
elements of some of the problems of nature. It is not necessary that the

6. study should go far into details; but study which leaves only hasty
impression of a heterogeneous accumulation of facts should have no place in
the school. If we keep ever before our minds two important points we shall
be helped in farming our schemes;
 That the value of inclusion of nature study in a school curriculum lie
more in the importance of the subject is a means of educating the
child mind than as a means of imparting information.
 That the subject brings the mind into contact with every side of nature
as made evident to us in our environment.
Hence we have a very wide field. Thus for example; rocks, soil and
meteorological phenomena come within our circle of studies. Not only for
themselves, but because of their influence upon living animals and plants.
Teachers who have studied plant life may be tempted to make their
courses almost exclusively botanical, because of the ease with which plants
can generally be obtained. The first hand study of rocks and soils may
involve covering a considerable stretch of ground. While the difficulty of
keeping animals alive an aquaria or vivaria deter many teachers from he
study of living animals. This is to be regretted as young pupils have a ready-
made interest in animal life, and pupils understand that animals are alive,
show fear, pleasure and anger. This arouses their sympathy, and for that
reason the study of animal life has a great moral value. A complete history
of the plants grown on each plot should be kept by the teacher and every
pupil should record in a nature diary has own observation, along with an
account of the operations in which he has taken part.

7. The topic plan/topic method approach
The planned aims of teaching science has an integral whole as
different branches like physics, chemistry and biology. Science lessons are
grouped out to topics of immediate interest of pupils. They may be grouped
into life entered, environment entered and life environment centered topics.
a) Unit based on life cantered topics.
Unit 1- World that science has built.
Unit 2- The air we breathe.
Unit 3- The water we use.
Unit 4- The food we eat.
Unit 5- How man gets food.
b) Unit based on environment centered topics.
Unit 1- The atmosphere.
Unit 2- Water vital need of life.
Unit 3- The earth surface.
Unit 4- Fire and heat
Unit 5- Effect of heating and cooling ob air and water..
c) Units based on life and environment centered topic.
Unit 1- The body machine. How it works?
Unit2- Health to you
Unit 3- Use of biological resources for better living.
Unit 4- Use of mineral resources for better living
Unit 5- Energy and machines for the world tomorrow.

8. Advantages
 There is closer integration between different branches of science with
other subjects.
 This may be more interesting to the pupils especially in lower classed
because the topic happen to be from their environment or life.
Disadvantages
 Text books written on these lines are not easily available.
 Pupils do not get a sound knowledge of the subject as it dealth in a
general way.
 The teachers must not know all the different branches of science and
must not be a widely read teacher.