Meaning and objectives of Mathematics Curriculum – B.Ed Notes

Meaning and objectives of Mathematics Curriculum

  Curriculum plays an important role in education or we can say, it is an important element of education. Curriculum of any subject is determined by the aims of education. In other words, aims of life and society are reflected in the curriculum.

  The aims of education are achieved by the school programmes, concerning knowledge, practical experiences, activities, projects, skills and values.

Meaning of Curriculum

  The term curriculum generally means a course of studies or the outline of concepts to be taught to students to help them meet the content standards.

  The term Curriculum is derived from the Latin word “currere” which means “run” which signifies “a run-way”. Which means one should run through a course or outline to reach a goal.

  In simple terms, curriculum is referred to what is taught in schools, which includes set of subjects, content, set of courses, course of study and other learning activities.

  Thus a curriculum is the instructional and educative programme through which the students achieve their goals, ideals and aspirations of life.

Meaning of Mathematics Curriculum

Mathematics Curriculum means the topics or the contents that should be taught in mathematics in order to achieve the aims and objectives.

Characteristics of Curriculum

We can discuss the specific characteristics of Curriculum on the basis of its Contents, Subject matter, learning activities and its difficulty level.

1. Contents :
   • The contents should be according to the needs of pupils or students.
   • The content of course should be full of direct significance to life’s problems and activities.
   • The contents should be chosen on the basis of its possible contribution to the objective.
2. Subject matter :
   • Subject matter should be considered primarily as a means to achieve an end.
3. Learning Activities :
   • The curriculum should contain variety of physical and mental learning activities
   • Which can lead to knowledge, skill and proper attitude.
   • Which are essential for the desirable adjustment of the minds of students to the environment.
   • Learning activities should be according to interest of students
   • It should feel pleasure in completing them.
   • The activities included in the curriculum of Science should afford opportunities for the exercise of creative activity of young students in fields of discovery and invention.
4. Difficulty level :
   • The order of difficulty of learning activities should be such that students may get the satisfaction of accomplishment (completing a task) through reasonable efforts.