A traditional curriculum is one that follows established guidelines and practices in the classroom. This term can refer to a curriculum as a whole, such as the set of courses that students must complete in order to graduate and the order in which they are presented, as well as the curriculum as the content taught in a single class. This curriculum has been criticized for being too narrow at times, and a number of educators have developed alternative educational methods or suggestions for teaching a traditional curriculum in a more expansive manner.
A traditional curriculum, in the sense of an entire curriculum, includes core subjects and electives. Math, science, history, and English are all examples of core subjects. Students can also take social science courses and broaden their horizons studying art, foreign languages, music, acting, and other subjects. The curriculum is organized in a progressive manner, with each level being slightly more difficult than the previous, requiring students to develop skills and apply them as they progress through the program.
The traditional curriculum in an individual classroom entails the presentation of information in the form of blocks or units that are broken down into smaller units of information and presented to the students the teacher. Exchange between students and teachers has traditionally been discouraged, and this curriculum does not include the facilitation of class discussion. Some educators see these as flaws, believing that students are more likely to develop critical thinking skills and internalize and apply information if they participate in class discussions, present projects that allow them to expand on the material, and so on. Such activities are increasingly being accepted into curricula around the world.
Traditional curricula can be heavily standards-based, with testing used to assess achievement and progress. Standards-based curricula can take on a “teach to the test” format, in which students are given information that will help them pass a test but not necessarily information that they can use, which has been criticized educators. Math education, for example, may place a strong emphasis on memorizing formulas and methods of calculation rather than on developing math skills that can be applied in the real world.