Purita P. Bilbao, Ed. D.

Filomena T. Dayagbil, Ed. D.

Brenda B. Corpuz, Ph. D.
• Module 3 The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer

 Lesson 1 Fundamentals of Curriculum

Designing
 Lesson 2 Approaches to Curriculum
Designing
 Lesson 3 Curriculum Mapping
 Lesson 2
Approaches to Curriculum
 Identify some familiar curriculum designs and
approaches to the designs
 Analyze the approaches in the light of how these are
applied in the school setting
• You have started to be familiar with the preliminaries
of making simple design through a lesson plan
components.
• You will further enrich your knowledge by looking
into how other curricularists approach the curriculum
design.
• In this lesson, we will see how several examples of
curriculum designs are used in the schools and
classrooms.
Content Focus
Types of Curriculum
Design Models
Types of Curriculum Design Models
1. Subject-Centered Design
2. Learner-Centered Design
3. Problem-Centered Design
1. Subject-centered Design
- focuses on the content
- rely highly on textbook
- believers: Henry Morrison and William Harris
- devoted time in Science, Math, Language, Social
Studies, P.E., and others
- classified into the following variations:
a. Subject Design
b. Discipline Design
c. Correlation Design
d. Broad Field Design/Interdisciplinary
a. Subject Design
- the oldest and so far the most familiar design
- easy to deliver
- textbooks are always available
- drawback: learning is compartmentalized
- stresses so much content
- forgets about students’ natural tendencies, interests and
experiences
- teachers are the dispenser of knowledge
- learners are simply the empty vessel
b. Discipline Design
- focus on academic disciplines
- Discipline refers to specific knowledge learned through a
method which the scholars use to study a specific content
of their fields
- often used in college
c. Correlation Design
- links separate subject designs in order to reduce
fragmentation
- Example: English literature and social studies correlate well.
While history is being studied, different literary pieces
during the historical period are also being studied
(chemistry, physics, and math) (literature, art, music,
history, geography)
- teachers plan lessons cooperatively
d. Broad Field Design/Interdisciplinary
- made to cure compartmentalization of the separate
subjects and integrate the contents that are related to one
another
- geography, economics, political science, anthropology,
sociology and history are fused into one subject called social
studies
- Language arts include grammar, literature, linguistics,
spelling, and composition
- also called holistic curriculum
- it draws around themes and integration
- similar to thematic design, a specific theme is identified, and
all other subject areas revolve around the theme
2. Learner-centered Design
- believers: progressivists
- learner is the center of the educative process
- variations include:
a. Child-centered Design
b. Experience-centered Design
c. Humanistic Design
a. Child-centered Design
- proponents: John Dewey, Rouseau, Pestallozi, Froebel
- anchored to the needs and interest of the students
- students are not passive
- learning by doing
- learners are constructivists (construct meanings and
understandings)
- collaborative effort on both sides
- learning is a product of child’s interaction with the
environment
b. Experience-centered Design
- similar to child-centered design
- focus remains on the child
- believes that interests and needs of learners cannot be pre-
planned
- based on what was really experienced in the classroom
- experiences of the learners is the starting point of the
curriculum
- school curriculum is left open and free
- learners choose from various activities that the teacher
provides
- time is flexible and children are free to make options
- emergence of multiple intelligence theory blends well with
this design
c. Humanistic Design
- Influencers: Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
- self-actualization (accepting self, others and nature; simple,
spontaneous and natural, open to different experiences;
possesses empathy and sympathy towards the less
fortunate among the many others)
- it will be achieved later in life but must start in school
- ultimate objective of learning is development of self
3. Problem-centered Design
- draws on social problems, needs, interest and abilities of
the learners
- problems are given emphasis
- centers on life situations, contemporary life problems, areas
of living and many others
- variations include:
a. Life Situation Design
- allow students to clearly view problem areas
- uses the past and present experiences of learners as a
means to analyze the basic areas of living
- emphasis on activities that sustain life, enhance life, aid in
rearing children, maintain the individual’s social and political
relations and enhance leisure, tasks and feelings
b. Core Problem Design
- centers on general education and the problems are based on
the common human activities
- central focus includes common needs, problems, and
concerns of the learners
- popularized by Faunce and Bossing in 1959
- theses and researches
 Approaches to
Curriculum Design
Choose among the following:
1. Child or Learner-centered Approach
2. Subject-centered Approach
3. Problem-centered Approach
School X is anchored on the theory of multiple intelligences in
all its curricular activities. Every classroom provides activity
centers where children can learn on their own with the
different learning resource materials. Learners can just choose
which learning center to engage in with different resources.
This arrangement allows for the capacity of every learner to be
honed. It also allows learning how to learn, hence will develop
independence. The teacher acts as guide for every learner. The
learner sets the goal that can be done within the frame of time.
In another setting, School Y aims to produce the best
graduates in the school district. Every learner must excel in all
academic subjects to be on top of every academic competition.
The higher the level of cognitive intelligence is, the better the
learner. Hence the focus of learning is mastery of the subject
matter in terms of content. Every student is expected to be
always on top in terms of mastery of discipline. Memorization,
and drill are important learning skills. The school gives
emphasis to intellectual development, and sets aside
emotional, psychomotor and even value development. Success
means mastery of the content.
School Z believes that a learner should be trained to solve real
life problems that come about because of the needs, interests
and abilities of the learners. Problems persistent in life and
society that affect daily living are also considered. Most of the
school activities revolve around finding solutions to problems
like poverty, drug problems, climate change, natural calamities
and many more. Since the school is using a problem-based
design, the same approach is used. Case study and practical
work are the teaching strategies that are utilized. Problem-
centered approach has become popular in many schools.
 -End of Lesson 2-
Accomplish Module 3 – Lesson 2