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Introduction
The K to 12 Basic Education Program is a major education reform implemented in 2012
in the Philippines. It serves as a response to the urgent need to improve the quality of Philippine
basic education. The K-12 program aims at decongesting and enhancing the basic education
curriculum for learners to master basic competencies, lengthening the cycle of basic education to
secondary education. all of which are compulsory. Prior to the implementation of K-12
program in 2012, basic education in the Philippines only had four (4) years of secondary
education.
On top of the lengthening of the basic education cycle, the curricula of the subjects in this
new program differ from those of the old one. As a whole, the Philippine K to 12 science
constructing explanations. Unlike in the old curriculum where learning tended to be more
critical thinking, creative thinking, problem solving, team-work and informational literacy .
The K-12 curriculum follows the spiral approach. According to Martin (2008), spiral
curriculum is a design framework which will help science teachers construct lessons, activities or
projects that target the development of thinking skills and dispositions which do not stop at
pupils personal journeys through education and ways, in which they acquire, apply and develop
concerned with ways in which the education system structures experience and provides sufficient
challenge and progress for learners in a recognizable curricular landscape. Therefore, spiral
After the mastery of the initial topic, the student spirals upwards as the new knowledge
is introduced in the next lesson, enabling him/her to reinforce what is already learned. In the end,
a rich breadth and depth of knowledge is achieved. With this procedure, the previously learned
concept is reviewed hence improving its retention. And also the topic may be progressively
2013).
The idea in spiral progression approach is to expose the learners into a wide variety of
concepts/topics and disciplines, until they mastered it by studying it over and over again but with
explained that, science is composed of four areas, namely Integrated Science, Biology,
Chemistry and Physics. In old curriculum, Integrated Science was taught in first year, second
year was Biology, third year was Chemistry and Fourth year was Physics. However, in new
secondary science curriculum implemented last 2012, the concept of those four major areas are
being taught all at the same time. Each year students are exposed to spiral progression approach,
wherein the four areas are being taught per grading period. Aside from that, integrated science
scientifically literate nation can help assure a free and democratic society, an economically
viable society, and a healthy society. Many problems in life involve scientific explanations and
processes. For this reason, an understanding of science and scientific approach is essential in
making intelligent decisions (Realuyo, 2006). Science subject diverge into separate disciplines
in secondary education. This necessitates teachers with knowledge in all these areas at a
sufficient level.
mastery of basic competencies and be globally competitive. Undeniably, the science curriculum
has a big role to play in achieving these aims. Science education aims to develop scientific
literacy among students that will prepare them to be informed and participative citizens who are
able to make judgments that may have social, health, or environmental impact. By scientific
literacy we refer to (a) scientific knowledge and use of that knowledge to identify questions,
acquire new knowledge, explain scientific phenomena and draw evidence-based conclusions
about science-related issues; (b) understanding of the characteristic features of science as a form
of human knowledge and inquiry; (c) awareness of how science and technology shape our
material, intellectual and cultural environments; and, (d) willingness to engage in science-related
issues, and with the ideas of science, as a reflective citizen. Whether or not students pursue
careers that involve science and technology, the science curriculum will provide students with a
this vein, the effectiveness of the science curriculum relies on the teachers knowledge about the
curriculum, his/her teaching strategies and mastery of the subject matter (Duze, 2012).
The following are advantages and disadvantages of spiral progression approach as cited
by Snider (2004). According to him, spiral progression approach avoids disjunctions between
stages of schooling, it allows learners to learn topics and skills appropriate to their
developmental/cognitive stages, and it strengthens retention & mastery of topics & skills as they
are revisited & consolidated. But, the problem with the spiral design is that the rate for
introducing new concepts is often either too fast or too slow. All concepts are allotted the same
amount of time whether they are easy or difficult to master. Units are approximately the same
length, and each topic within a unit is 1 days lesson. And some days there will not be enough
time to introduce. The fact that an entire class period must be devoted to a single concept makes
it difficult to sequence instruction to ensure that students acquire necessary pre-skills before
devote less than 30 min of instructional time across an entire year to 70% of the topics they cover
the result of teaching for exposure is that many students fail to master important concepts.
Another disadvantage of the spiral design is that it does not promote sufficient review once units
are completed. There may be some review of previously introduced topics within the chapter, but
once students move on to the next chapter previous concepts may not be seen again until they are
Angeles (2013), the new curriculum is composed of set of activities like, collaborative learning,
peer tutoring, outcome-based performance or performance task. In which the students are expose
assessment. Authentic assessment means that the task you ask the students to perform is similar
to a task they might have in the real world. Examples of Authentic assessments are, Project
Based Learning, Performance Task, Portfolio, Collaborative works, and Online Examinations.
Authentic Assessments measures and evaluate how the learners apply what they learned by doing
assessment are commonly used through laboratory experiments, however it is much more focus
to a certain area compared to the traditional curriculum approach. Add to this the fact that the job
of a science teacher is a tough one. Not only do they have to teach scientific knowledge, develop
the skills of science and foster scientific attitudes, they also have to convey messages about the
Baguio City. Review of related literature yields theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of
spiral progression but few empirical studies are made in the area of science. Study on this topic
in Baguio City is in scarcity, if not existent, because this approach was just fully implemented in
2012. It aims to determine the challenges and practices on the implementation of spiral
A change for the better means any adjustment, revision or improvement of existing condition. To
produce positive changes, development should be purposeful, planned and progressive. It will
take years to evaluate if the curriculum is effective and attuned to the needs of the learners and
the society. One cannot really say that the spiral progression approach in teaching science is
really effective. Evaluation of this approach is a must to determine, if like in other countries, in
which this approach was abolished from their educational system after a certain period of time.
Theoretical Framework
The teaching and the learning of science has a fundamental foundation based on the work
of many researchers whose objective was to understand how children learn and how can teachers
teach effectively so that children can be effective learners. The main philosophies behind Spiral
progression approach are Constructivism, Progressivism and Behaviorism. Jerome Bruner was
the main proponent of spiral curriculum and was also the proponent of constructivism (Haeusler,
2013.) A major theme in the theory of Bruner is that learning is an active and dynamic process in
which learners construct new ideas or concepts new ideas or concepts based upon their
current/past knowledge. Bruner looked at how concepts are presented to the students in order
to motivate students to pursue science instruction beyond the standard requirements in school.
Bruner identified how properly organized knowledge plays a key role in the motivation of
Bruner is the promoter of the spiral curriculum. His research in public school education
examined the nature of learning, knowledge, and instruction. Bruners assessments identified a
number of fundamentals of instruction that should motivate the learner. One of the fundamentals
identified was that the focus should be on the students understanding of the fundamental
concepts, instead of just learning skills or facts. In spiral curriculum, attention to the connections
among concepts and the use of the instructional method of inquiry could help motivate students
in science.
On the other hand, acknowledged as the developer of the spiral curriculum is Hilda Taba,
a nationally recognized authority on curriculum development and design. Taba influenced the
design of the spiral curriculum in her book Curriculum Development: Theory and Practice. Taba
set the foundation of the hierarchy for instruction based on multiple intelligence and knowledge
facts which were created to help show how these similar concepts are scaffold to produce higher
order thinking. The characteristics of Tabas curricula were inductive teaching strategies that
fostered critical thinking skills, multiple objectives, organizing information such as content
sampling, the sequencing of learning activities, and the use of inductive teaching strategies.
Hilda Tabas spiral curriculum is two-pronged with a horizontal integration of learning
and vertical integration of learning. Tabas spiral curriculum is organized around concepts, skills,
or values, with these factors as the underpinning of the horizontal integration of learning. An
Taba. Tabas spiral curriculum use of repetition for key concepts and skills throughout the
academic year is important to the educational academy. Both the cognitive and the affective
domains are impacted by her inductive instructional strategies, which help to enable students to
learn concepts, identify values, and analyze value conflicts and ultimately apply generalizations.
Tabas organization activities around concepts and ideas and the sequencing of learning activities
require the integration of students previous knowledge. Taba still influenced many in the
educational and scientific academies and helped to reform the curricula of the 1960s and 1970s
mastery and it ensures smooth transition between grade levels and continuum of competencies
through spiral progression (SEAMEO INNOTECH, 2012: 4). In the old curriculum, students
were expected to learn so much knowledge, skills, and values within a limited period of time.
Learning tended to be more focused on content, which was fragmented and disintegrated (p. 4).
is decongested, seamless, relevant and responsive, enriched, and learner-centered (p. 3-4).
In conclusion, the spiral approach by John Bruner and Hilda Taba can contribute to the
achievement of this aim. Integrated and seamless learning, as one of the salient features of the K
to 12 Education Program, is indeed not impossible because the new curricula of the subjects
follow a spiral progression where learning of skills, values, knowledge and attitudes increase in
approach?
3. What do the teachers perceive as advantages of spiral progression in teaching Science in
Research Methodology
The quantitative-qualitative or mixed-method design shall be utilized in this study. It
shall be conducted in ______ ( ) selected public secondary schools in Baguio City. The data
gathered shall be processed, analyzed and interpreted using the following statistical tools:
frequency, percentage, means, and Chi- Square. A validated, researcher-made, Likert scale type
of questionnaire shall be used. On the qualitative part of the study, the participants shall be made