Components of Curriculum- the spider web

Editor's Notes

• #5: The curricular spider-web model, introduced by Van den Akker, emphasizes the interrelation between curriculum concepts that form the core of curriculum development. Why it is called spider-web curriculum? This denotes that a change in one concept during curriculum development results in a domino effect that affects other concepts
• #7: The model comprises 10 concepts that are interconnected, meaning that a change in one concept during curriculum development can have a ripple effect on other concepts. This underscores the importance of each curriculum concept in ensuring a successful curriculum that aligns with educational needs. Neglecting any of the concepts could compromise the curriculum and its effectiveness in achieving its goals. The spider-web model thus highlights the susceptibility of the curriculum and the importance of aligning its concepts to ensure the attainment of intended goals. The model is a useful tool for curriculum developers to consider as they work to create effective and impactful curricula.
• #9: alludes to universal principles or reasoning of a plan to be executed. This concept deals with the ‘why’ question, that is, why the curriculum is being conceived, which then translates into the vision, as devised by policymakers
• #10: Assessment should evaluate the attainment of educational and curriculum aims of educational programmes at all levels. Thus there is need to broaden the modes of assessment to include the following: Formative assessment, which comprises both diagnostic and continuous assessment, monitoring of educational progress through a national educational assessment carried out at regular intervals; and summative assessment (which usually tests mostly cognitive domain) for selection and certification purposes
• #11: Learners are to become more responsible for their own learning processes and thus should be able to identify, formulate and solve problems by themselves and evaluate their work. Hence teaching methods which are learner-centred based more on learners’ own activities
• #12: asserted that the intertwined nature of content and context requires that educators involved in curriculum organisation may need to create lesson plans and syllabi within the framework of the given curriculum to meet the needs of the learners
• #13: Educator as a facilitator, albeit at the assessment level, as an agent for assessment of learning. This assertion suggests that educators are not only required to be facilitators of knowledge construction but also of assessment to establish what learners still need to acquire, and thus provide appropriate tools to aid with that process.
• #14: According to Raselimo and Mahao,3 education policy has a bearing on curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. ducation policy presents what should essentially be covered in schools. It is befitting, then, to discuss goals that have been outlined in the policy document as they depict aims, objectives and outcomes that should be attained through interaction with the curriculum.41 Aims are general statements that outline long-term intentions of teaching/learning.12 In other words, aims outline a general idea of what learners ought to be able to do at the end of a specified learning period, which is normally long term. In this instance, aims are written from the policymakers’ point of view to highlight and indicate knowledge to be covered. The policy presents both aims and curriculum aims
• #15: Resources are divided into hardware, software and ideological ware.47
• #16: Khoza16 posited that hardware is any tangible resource or tool that helps the process of teaching and learning in education. This may include chalkboards, computers and textbooks. Software resources, according to Khoza48, are materials/tools that are produced for the hardware in view of displaying information during the teaching and learning process. Software resources, such as PowerPoint, can be seen, but cannot necessarily be touched unless when printed. Ideological-ware resources are cognitive processes that manage learner actions in view of effectively using technology for learning and research.49 In other words, these resources drive any lesson in education as learning is about ideology and not necessarily about technology
• #17: the vitality of provision of education to every child, irrespective of their physical or mental condition.50 This implies that no child should be denied access to education. Physical access has been addressed in the policy as it considers the fact that there are learners who are not able to physically access education.
• #18: Location in education is a knowledge-based environment, where teaching and learning take place
• #19: Time as a curricular spider-web concept is concerned with ‘when’ educators are teaching. According to Van den Akker et al., allocation of time is essential to determine how much time can be spent on specific learning tasks. This assertion echoes that of Khoza48, who proclaimed that time is essential, especially when it comes to traditional face-to-face instruction. This is because educators need to adhere to the allocated time for efficient enactment of the curriculum.
• #22: As declared by Van den Akker et al.,15 utilisation and alignment of curriculum concepts guarantee an effective teaching and learning environment.