assignment

KBSR which is known as Integrated Primary School Curriculum was first introduced in 1983, and subsequently reviewed in 2003. KBSR is the first large scale curriculum innovation that affected the whole education system mainly on three components which are the communication, self development, man and his environment. It comprises basically the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing as well as the language contents focusing more on oral and written. The integration of KBSR includes basic skills and additional skills, content which comprises the knowledge and practice, co-curriculum that determines academic performance and curriculum that determines leadership and skills' performance, language that comprises writing, listening, speaking, reading, grammar and vocabulary which I mentioned earlier. Meanwhile, KSSR which is known as Primary School Standard Curriculum is a standardized English Language Curriculum for primary schools which is introduced by Ministry of Education Malaysia. KSSR is newly implemented in stages or phase by phase starting in year 2011. This curriculum emphasizes on students' holistic development which means all rounded including spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual. it is also introduced to make the education less examination oriented. KSSR covers six key areas which are the communication, spiritual attitude and values, humanitarianism, literacy in science and technology, physical aesthetic development and personal development adding to other skills such as grooming of creativity and innovation, entrepreneurship and integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to produce holistic individuals. KSSR emphasizes on the development of basic language skills so that students have a strong foundation to build their proficiency in the language such as listening, speaking, reading, writing and language arts. It focus more on basic literacy with an emphases on phonics. Example of language arts are exploring songs, stories, chants, games and plays to serve a fun learning environment. Grammar is still going to be taught in context however the content may vary in both KSSR and KBSR. What is KBSR and KSSR all about? What are the characteristics? What are the similarities and differences between KBSR and KSSR? What are the new changes made from KBSR to KSSR? In both KBSR and KSSR, the purpose is communication although the level of communication differs. In KBSR, simple communication is focused and it is within the classroom, however, in KSSR the level of communication is advanced and higher which is recommended and applicable outside of the classroom as well in our daily life. KBSR includes the mastery of basic skills (3R) which are the reading comprising comprehension and pronunciation, writing comprised of vocabulary, grammar and spelling and lastly arithmetic comprised of subtraction, addition, multiplication and division. Malay language will be the medium of instruction. KBSR is simple and selective such as the master of language include pronunciation, grammar and sentence structure which is more oral and literal whereas in KSSR it is all rounded elements which is mainly to reach the objective to produce holistic individuals. Although KSSR emphasizes on basic language too, however, it also focus on the ICT literacy, critical and creative thinking, reasoning skills and language arts which make KSSR different from KBSR. In KSSR, learning is fun, meaningful and purposeful whereas KBSR has more traditional way of learning. The assessment in KBSR is based on formative evaluation. Teachers identify students' strengths, weaknesses and progress through quizzes and assignments. In KSSR, the assessment is based on both formative and summative evaluation which is done at the end of particular lesson, unit or term by assessing them individually.This will enable the teachers to identify the students' ability and performances in studies. KSSR and KBSR also emphasize on development of values. Moral values and attitudes are incorporated in all the subjects. Teacher will be the role model where students will foster positive and respectful behaviour by imitating their teachers. Students feel encouraged and motivated all the time. In addition, KBSR and KSSR have flexible methodology, pedagogy, activities and classroom organizations where teachers can adjust their teaching and learning methods according to the students' developmental aspects.The learning and teaching in both KBSR and KSSR is student-centered. Students acquire knowledge and thinking skills by exposing themselves to various activities. There is no time restriction because KBSR and KSSR serve education on an ongoing effort based on lifelong learning. Although the type of schools may vary, however the curriculum is all same. The transformation from KBSR to KSSR include reduction of school hours by 120 min, increase in English period from 2 to 5, increase in Malay language to 10, reduction of Mathematics subject from 10 to 6 and the abolished of Mathematics and Science in English. I believe that KSSR is more practical and beneficial in our education system. According to an article on Tuesday, September 27th 2011, Putrajaya, KSSR receives positive feedback from parents as well as teachers which catch and increased the interest of learning English among students. The article mentioned that KSSR approach focus on a fun way of learning in which I fully agree with. One of the statement mentioned by Education Deputy Director-General (Policy), Prof Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof that shows why KSSR is the best approach " KSSR not only emphasizes on language proficiency, but also communication among the students. It also uses other methods such as games and music." I agree that students nowadays love focusing on the modern way of learning with the help of technology instead of learning in a traditional way which only uses the chalks and blackboards. Students easily feel bored because there is no center of attraction in the learning process. Normally primary students especially Year 1,2 and 3 love colors, pictures, animations, games, videos and music which will help them learn better. Students will feel motivated to participate actively to complete the activities or tasks since the tasks are also student-centered. Hence, while enjoying the games and activities, students will the language too because they will learn how to express their feelings, thoughts and opinions conveying the real message. Besides, this method will also encourage fluent communication among students as well as the teachers at the same time working cooperatively with each other. Why do we think Ministry of Education come up with the implementation of KSSR? This is simply because they want to overcome the shortcomings and drawbacks in KBSR so that they can prepare future generation that will be able to face the challenges in society. Therefore, the Ministry of Education find it necessary to make those changes to fulfill the needs and meet the challenges in the future. The changes made include curriculum, assessment, teacher training and monitoring, teaching and learning approaches. This transformation of curriculum will also provide fun learning based on critical, creativity and innovation that eventually will abolish the exam oriented system in our education. Besides, teacher will be able to identify the students' needs and make

different adjustments to their teaching methods that will meet the students' learning styles because not all the students have the same understanding and speed of retrieving the input since some are fast learners, slow learners, average learners and also some of them are learning disabilities students. Concluding my whole point of view, although the KBSR and KSSR more or less are similar to each other, but KSSR is much more beneficial because it helps to develop the cognitive thinking of students as well as motivating them to give their fullest learning in a fun way.