INTRODUCTION TO CURRICULUM STUDIES IN MATHEMATICS

Education of human beings, as all we know by now, takes place in both natural and contrived (deliberately created) environments. Although the learner is the key player in any kind of learning environment, the role of both the learner and the teacher assumes greater significance in a contrived environment. In contrived environments, the interaction between the learner and the teacher does not take place in a vacuum. Rather, both the actors in the educational process mediate their interaction with the help of certain pre-decided learning experiences or learning substances. This learning substance is usually the third dimension of any kind of teaching-learning process and in pedagogic terms, is called curriculum.
In this unit you will gain an understanding of the different interpretations of curriculum, its genesis and growth, and the underlying processes and criteria that facilitate curriculum changes. You will understand the role of curriculum in making education more purposeful and geared to meet ever-changing societal needs, and also to achieve the objectives of teaching – learning.

Actors in a race