Alternative Curriculum
Alternative curriculum program is one of the most precious and valuable teaching methods, which assists students, particularly sluggish learners, to rouse, improve and motivate them through learning. It helps them with catering their various requirements, encourages exploration, foster critical thinking and to support personal and self-improvement. For such, it upgrades learning by making it more relevant, significant, stimulating, invigorating and supportive of individual development and improvement. Notwithstanding, in this composition and it will focus on three indicators of alternative curriculum, which are; how to develop a variety of extra-curricular activities appropriate to the grade level of their class, a variety of integration learning activities for students with special needs, and the last one is how to develop a gifted and talented programmer.
Firstly, how to develop a variety of extra-curricular activities appropriate to the grade level of their class. As teachers, they ought to provide extra activities by planning well and preparing it prior to offering it. They should aim for an activity that caters to students' needs to enhance their learning skills. This could include special class, drama, skits, cultural day and arts, outdoor activity and crafts (Fang, 2022). Additionally, by providing them with extra-curricular activities, it will assist develop their skills and knowledge beyond academics that relates to real life situations, like local skills (cultural day). However, it encourages interaction with peers and adults in a variety of settings, promoting social skills and friendships (reflective journal).
Moreover, a variety of integration learning activities for students with special needs. It is about finding various ways of educating and helping students learn together, regardless of what challenges they might have. This incorporates utilising different apparatuses, like pictures or activities that let them use their hands or hands-on activities, to ensure every student can learn and have a great time in school or outside school compound (appendix).
Furthermore, how to develop a gifted and talented programmer. Proving activities to students like spellaton and mathaton and receiving prizes at the end of the day when they had a great effort or got an excellent achievement. However, it helps students foster their understanding of new vocabularies and calculating or solving problems and motivates them to search for words and study maths methods (Baska & Brown, 2021).
To conclude, alternative curriculum is mostly significant for students to foster their learning ability through hands-on activity, cooperation and collaboration with their peers and a teacher, where they are the one that controls their own learning while the teacher facilitates and monitors them. It is stressful, yet it is another chance and strategy of enhancing students to achieve and accomplish their full potential.
References
Baska, J. V., & Brown, E. F. (2021). An analysis of gifted education curriculum models. Methods and materials for teaching the gifted, 107-138.
Fang, W. T. (2022). Outdoor education. In the living environment education: sound science toward a cleaner, safer, and healthier future, pp. 229-260.
Hanreddy, A., & Östlund, D. (2019). Alternate Curricula as a Barrier to Inclusive Education for Students With Intellectual Disabilities. International electronic journal of elementary education, 12 (3), 235-247.
Kelly, B., Longbottom, J., Potts, F., & Williamson, J. (2004). Applying Emotional Intelligence: Exploring the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies curriculum. Educational Psychology in Practice, 20, (3), 221-240.