Overview of Curriculum and Curriculum Development

CURRICULUM

is a very general concept which involves consideration of the whole

complex of philosophical, social and administrative factors which
contribute to the planning of an educational program. (Nunan, 2000: 6)

Curriculum can be defined, as an educational program which states:

• The educational purpose of the program (the ends),
• The contents of program
• Teaching procedures and learning experience which will be necessary to
achieve this purpose (the means)
• Some means for assessing whether or not the educational ends have been
achieved.”
( Richards, Platt and Platt 1993: 94)
NASIONAL CURRICULUM :
Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 20 Tahun 2003 tentang
Sistem Pendidikan Nasional.
Kurikulum adalah seperangkat rencana dan pengaturan mengenai
tujuan, isi dan bahan pelajaran serta cara yang digunakan sebagai
pedoman penyelenggaraan kegiatan pembelajaran untuk mencapai
tujuan pendidikan tertentu.

SYLLABUS
A syllabus is simply an outline and time line of a particular course. It
will typically give a brief overview of the course objectives, course
expectations, list reading assignments, homework deadlines, and exam
dates.
A syllabus is a document which consist, essentially, of list. This list
specifies all the things that are to be taught in the course. ( Penny Ur,
1998)
 DIFFERENT BETWEEN CURRICULUM AND SYLLABUS
Syllabuses, are more localized and are based on accounts and records of
what actually happens at the classroom level as teachers and learners
apply a given curriculum to their own situation.
These accounts can be used to make subsequent modifications to the
curriculum, so that the developmental process is ongoing and cyclical.
(Richard, 2001)

Rationale of Curriculum Development

 The concept of curriculum is as dynamic as the changes that occur in
society.
 Goals and objectives are properly determined through consideration
of the demands of the society, the characteristics of the students, and
the potentioal contributions of the various fields of knowledge.
 Society, learners, and knowledge are all constantly changing, goals
and objectives must change and restated.
Points to consider in developing curriculum
 The purposes of curriculum are the most important curriculum
criteria (Hass, 1987), but unfortunately, schools commonly lack a
comprehensive and reasonably consistent set of objectives on which
to base the learning experiences to be included.
 Without having a set of objectives clearly in view, teachers and
curriculum planners cannot make sound of professional judgment –
they cannot use their knowledge of the curriculum bases to make
choices of contents, materials, or procedures that will lead the
students to achieve the intended goals.
 Goals and objectives are properly determined through consideration
of the demands of society, the characteristics of the students, and the
potential contributions of the various fields knowledge.
 Society, learners, and knowledge are all constantly changing, goals
and objectives must change and be restated.
Principles of Curriculum Development
 An encompassing view of curriculum
Curriculum is much more than a syllabus
A syllabus normally outlines the content to be taught, while curriculum
is dynamic and includes all the learning experiences provided for the
students.
Curriculum encompasses the learning environment, teaching methods,
the resources provided for learning, the system of assessment, and the
ways in which students and staff behave towards one another.
 An explicit acknowledgement of core values
People’s value influence their behaviour and give meaning and purpose
to their lives. While there is a range of value positions in oiur pluralistic
society, there is also a core of shared values.
 Inclusivity
The curriculum framework is intended for all students in which it is
implemented. Inclusivity means providing all groups of students,
irrespective of educational setting, with access to a wide and
empowering range of knowledge, skills and values.
 Flexibility
The curriculum must be adaptable to the particular needs of different
schools and communities. It must be responsive o social and
technological change and meet students’ needs arising from that change
process. It must encourage effective use of new technologies as tools for
learning.
 Integration, breath and balance
Effective education enables students to make connection between ideas,
people and things and to relate local, national and global events and
phenomena. It encourages students to see various forms of knowledge
as related and forming part of a larger whole.
 A developmental approach
Students develop and learnt different rates and in different ways,
constructing new knowledge and understanding in ways which link
their learning to their previous experiences. The developmental
approach of the curriculum framework accommodates these needs.
More Principles of Curriculum Development
 Curriculum should be grounded in an understanding of the students.
 Should be based on what we want students to know and be able to do.
 Students and teachers should be engaged in authentic , intellectual
work.
 Asssessment should demonstrate that students can do important
work
 A coherent curriculum should be developed accros entire school.

Steps in curriculum development:

 Diagnosis of learners’ needs
 Formulation of learning objectives
 Selection of learning content
 Organisation of learning experiences
 Organisation of learning activities
 Determination of what to evaluate and the means of doing it.

Three interacting processes in curriculum development

 Planning
 Implementing
 Evaluation

PLAN IMPLEMENT EVALUATE

Feedback and Reflection

The dimensions of course development:
 Developing a course rationale
 Describing entry and exit levels
 Choosing course content
 Sequencing course content
 Planning the course structure (syllabus and instructional
blocks/sections)
 Preparing the scope and sequence plan
The process do not necessarily occur in a linear order.

The course rationale

 It is a brief description of the reasons for the course and the nature of
it.
 It seeks to answer the following questions:
Who is this course for?
What is the course about?
What kind of teaching and learning will take place in the course?

Designing the entry and exit level

 In order to plan a language course, it is necessary to know the level at
which the program will start and the level learners may be expected
to reach at the end of the course.

Choosing course content

 Course content is developed to address a specific set of needs and to
cover a given set of objectives.
 Decisions about course content reflect the planners’ assumptions
about the nature of language, language use, and language learning,
what the most essential elements or units of language are, and how
this can be organized as an eficient basis for second language
learning.
Writing course could be planned around any of the
following types of contents:
 Grammar (e.g., using the present tense in descriptions)
 Function (describing likes annd dislikes)
 Topics (writing about world issues)
 Skills (developing topic sentences)
 Processes (using prewriting strategies)
 Texts (writing a business letter)

Similarly a speaking course could be organized around:

 Functions (expressing opinions)
 Interaction skills (opening and closing conversation, turn taking)
 Topics (current affairs, business topics)

The content selection will depend on:

 Subject matter knowledge
 The learners’ proficiency levels
 Current views on second language learning and teaching
 Conventional wisdom
 convenience
 Other considerations include information gathered
during needs analysis:
 Available literature on the topic
 Published materials on the topic
 Review of similar courses offered elsewhere
 Review of tests or exams in the area
 Analysis of students’ problems
 Consultation with teachers familiar with the topic
 Consultation with specialists in the area.

Determining the scope and sequence

 Scope is concerned with the breath and depth of coverage of items in
the couse
 sequence deals with distribution of content throughout the course

Planning the course structure

 It involves mapping the course structure into a form and sequence
that provide suitable basis for teaching.
 Two aspects of the process: selecting syllabus framework (see pg 152
for syllabus framework) and developing instructional blocks/sections.
SYLLABUS DESIGN
A syllabus describes the major elements that will be used in planning a
language course and provide the basis of its instructional focus and
content.
Different types of syllabus:
 Grammatical/structural syllabus: one that is organized around
grammatical items
 Lexical Syllabus: one that identifies a target vocabulary to be taught.
 Functional syllabus: one that is organized around communicative
functions such as: requesting, complaining, suggesting, agreeing.
 Situational syllabus: one that is organized around the language
needed for different situations such as at the airport and at the hotel.
 Topical/content based syllabus: one that is organized around themes,
topics or other units of content (e.g: television, drugs, advertising,
modern architecture, etc.)

Different types of syllabus: (cont.)

 Competency based syllabus: one based on a specification of the
competencies learners are expected to master in relation to specific
situations and activities
 Skills syllabus: one that is organized around different underlying
abilities that are involved inn using a language for purposes such as
reading, writing, listening and speaking.
 Task-based syllabus: one that is organized around tasks that students
will complete in the target language.
 Integrated syllabus: A number of different syllabus strands
integrated in a course.

Developing instructional blocks

 A course needs to be mapped out in terms of instructional
blocks/sections.
 An instructional block is a self-contained learning sequence that has
its own goals and objectives and that also reflects the overall
objectives for the course.
 It represents the instructional focus of the course and may be very
specific (e.g single lesson) or more general (e.g., unit of work
consisting several lessons).
Two commonly used instructional blocks:
Moduls
 It is a self-contained and independent learning sequence with its own
objecives
 For example, a 120-hour course is divided into four modules of 30
hours each.
 Assessment is carried out at the end of each module

Units
 It is longer than a single lesson but shorter than a module
 It is normally group of lessons that is planned around a single
instructional focus.
 It seeks to provide a structured sequence of activities that lead
toward a learning outcome

Organizing a course into teaching blocks seeks to

achieve the following:
 To make the course more teachable and learnable
 To provide a progression in level of difficulty
 To create overall coherence and structure for the course

Factors that account for a successful unit include:

 Length
 Development
 Coherence
 Pacing
 Outcome
Preparing the scope and sequence plan
 Once a course has been planned and organized, it can be described.
 One form in whcih it can be described is as a scope and sequence
plan.
 It might consist of a listing of the module or units and their contents
and an indication of how much teaching time each block in the
coures will require.

Planning goals and learning objectives

Goal/aim in curriculum refers to

 a description of the general purposes of a curriculum.
 A statement of general change that a program seeks to bring about in
learners.
Objective refers to a more specific and concrete description of
purposes.
The purposes of aim statement are to:
 Provide a clear definition of the purposes of a program
 Provide guidelines for teachers, learners, and materials writers
 Help provide a focus of instruction
Describe important and realizable changes in learning
Aims statement reflect the ideology of the curriculum and show how
the curriculum will seek to realize it.

Examples of statements describing the aims of

teaching English at the primary level in Singapore:
Our pupils learn English in order to:
 Communicate effectively, in both speech and writing, in everyday
situations to meet the demands of society
 Acquire good reading habits to understand, enjoy, and appreciate a
wide range of texts, including the literature of other cultures
 Develop the ability to express themselves imaginatively and creatively
 Acquire thinking skills to make critical and rational judgements
 Negotiate their own learning goals and evaluate own progress
 Acquire information and study skills to learn the other subjects
taught in English.
 Cope effectively and efficiently with channge, extended learning
tasks, and examinations
 Acquire knowledge for self-development and for fulfilling personal
needs and aspirations
Etc (see page 121)

Other examples of aim statements from different kinds

of language programs
A business English course:
 To develop basic communication skills for use in business context
 To learn how to participate in casual conversation with other
employees in a workplace
 To learn how to write effective business letters.

A course for hotel employees

 To develop the communication skills needed to answer telephone
calls in a hotel
 To deal with guest inquiries and complaints
 To explain and clarify charges on guest’s bill
Aim statements are generally derived from information
during a needs analysis.
For examples, the following areas of difficulty were some
of those identified for non-English-background students
studying in English-medium universities:
 Understanding lectures
 Participating in seminars
 Taking notes during lectures
 Reading at adequate speed to be able to complete reading assignment
Presenting ideas and information in an organized way in a written
assignment.

Steps to develop course aims and objectives based on

needs analysis results:
 Examining and researching each area of difficulty
 Understanding what is involved in each area of difficulty; what
knowledge and skills does each activity imply?
 Describing the overall aims of a short course in two or three aim
statements.
 In a course spanning a longer time period, such as secondary school
course, a greater number of aim statements will be needed.
Aim statements are more than simply the activities that
students will take part in.
They need to focus on the changes in the learners that will result.
Examples:
 Students will learn how to write effective business letters for use in
the hotel and tourism industries
 Students will learn how to listen effectively in conversational
interactions and how to develop better listening strategies.
 Students will learn how to communicate information and ideas
creatively and effectively thorough writing
 Students will be able to communicate in English at a basic level for
purposes of tourism

Aims of an English program are accompanied by

statements of more specific purposes known as
objectives.
 An objective/instructional objective/teaching objective:

 A statement of specific changes a program seeks to bring about and

results from an analysis of the aim into its specific components.

Characteristics of objectives:

 They describe what the aim seeks to achieve in terms of smaller units
of learning.
 They provide a basis for the organization of teaching activities
 They describe learning in terms of observable behaviour or
performance.
Advantages of describing the aims of a course in terms
of objectives:
 They facilitate planning (course planning, materials preparation,
textbook selection, and related process)
 They provide measurable outcomes and thus provide accountability
 They are prescriptive.

Example of breaking down aims into objectives:

Aim:
 Students will learn how to understand lectures given in English
Objectives :
 Students will be able to follow an argument, theme or thesis of a
lecture
 Students will learn how to recognize the following aspects of a
lecture:

cause-and-effect relationships
comparisons and contrasts
premises used in persuasive arguments
supporting details used in persuasive
arguments
Characteristics of objective statements:
 They describe a learning outcome
 They should be consistent with the curriculum aim
 Objective should be precise
Students will be able to use useful
conversation expressions (not precise)
Students will be able to use
conversation expressions for greeting
people, opening and closing
conversations (precise)
 Objectives should be feasible – should describe outcomes
that are attainable in the time available during a cours