Curriculum-mapping will aid civics education

LETTER | The talk of the town now is on civics learning. Integrating civics material will have to be accepted by all. Civics education is being implemented in schools in an integrated and holistic manner encompassing both the literacy and practical aspects of the subject.

Instructions to teachers are to integrate "civic matters" in Bahasa Melayu, English, Islamic Education, Moral Education and History subjects during the assembly and co-curricular activities.

Civics education is aimed at teaching citizens to know their rights, responsibilities and moral values so that they can contribute to the well-being of the community and country.

A thoughtful understanding of citizenship and civic life is one of the goals we have for all of our students as they move on towards college and the workplace.

But as many teachers can attest, it’s not so easy to teach! For every new teacher, it is essential to come up with a concrete plan of formulating a curriculum or shall we say, the "lesson plan", which focuses on enhancing the students’ abilities and development of the institution as a whole.

Curriculum-mapping is a reflective process that helps teachers to understand what has been taught in a class, how it has been taught, and how learning outcomes were assessed. The curriculum-mapping process results in a document known as a curriculum map.

Most curriculum maps are graphical illustrations that consist of a table or matrix. Each of them has to face the common challenge of completing the course contents in the most effective and engaging way throughout the year.

It may sound complicated at first, but proper planning and dedicated efforts can assist in accomplishing the objectives with ease. Curriculum mapping can simplify procedures for teachers and help them in setting realistic expectations for the students and simplify teaching procedures over a given period of time.

Before starting with a classroom session, teachers have to consider several things. They need to have a clear idea of their own expectations, without which they will not be able to develop an engaging curriculum which is equally developmentally appropriate.

The following elements should be kept in consideration while preparing a course curriculum -

For any teacher, it is crucial that they develop a proper understanding of the students’ abilities before planning the curriculum.

Gathering prior information about the students, their study styles, behavioural patterns and so on, can help in developing a clear picture and effective measures to interact with them.

Every administrator has their own way of maintaining a certain institutional culture. Accordingly, they may want their staff and teachers to focus on helping the students develop their curricular and co-curricular skills.

Textbooks or modules are just an initial resource towards the journey of attaining educational excellence. They can provide the basic idea of expectations for learning, along with quality vocabulary content and various other research-driven contents.

Setting learning expectations may pose a challenge in the first couple of years of teaching.

Teachers have to prepare sessions in such a way that each student is given equal attention. They should also make sure that while designing learning goals, struggling learners are given as much access to the content as possible.

Teachers should always maintain curriculum flexibility. Sometimes they may face difficulty in preparing lesson plans and realise that a lot of time has been spent in planning instructions.

They should always accept flexibility and change with open arms. Teachers should scrap and replace the lessons plans that are not working. If the students do not understand a certain topic, they should approach it in a different way, while making it interesting and engaging.

For new teachers stepping into the profession of education, it becomes a bigger shoe to fill. At times, they may doubt themselves and question their abilities. However, constant dedication to their craft and focus on educating students for better outcomes can bear better results.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.