Republic of the Philippines

Cebu Normal University

Osmeña Blvd. Cebu City, 6000 Philippines

College of Teacher Education

Center of Training (COT) | Center of Excellence (COE) | Level IV Accredited (AACCUP)
Telephone No.: (032) 231 8044
Email: cte@cnu.edu.ph
Website: www.cnu.edu.ph

THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Unit 2: Teacher as Curriculum Designer

Lesson 2.3. Discussing Issues in Curriculum Designing

There are unique attributes that must be considered when designing a curriculum.

Attributes Description
Purposeful The purpose of curriculum designing is to improve the quality of learning.
However, the curriculum designer must specify the real goal of the
curriculum to be designed to have a clear direction as he/she crafts the
curriculum.
Deliberate Curriculum designing undergoes careful planning which takes weeks,
months, or even years. It determines how, when, and who will do the
designing.
Creative Curriculum designing involves critical thinking and
innovativeness to assure that the competencies being introduced are not
obsolete.
Operates on many levels Curriculum designing must be compatible not only to one level but also to
other levels. However, it must be taken into consideration the level of
complexity of the concepts and competencies to be introduced. Thus, the
farther it gets, the wider the learnings will be.
Requires compromises Curriculum designing need not be perfect. There are people who may
disagree with the concepts and
competencies
Can fail Curriculum designs sometimes fail because they do not fit with the needs
of the time. Therefore, another curriculum designs must be introduced.
Has stages Curriculum designing follows various stages which start from
conceptualizing, developing, and up to the refining of its contents.

Design Dimension Considerations

Ornstein and Hunkins (2009) noted that curriculum designs address dimensions of curriculum.

Scope. The scope consists of all contents, topics, learning experiences, and educational plans. The
scope is also referred to as the breadth and depth of the contents. It covers weeks and months which are
separated from several units. Meanwhile, units are divided into lesson plans which all learning processes

Source: Teacher as Curriculum Designer

UNIT 2: Dr. Remedio Bacus
to be undertaken into a period of hours and minutes. When curriculum designers craft the scope, they
consider the three important learning domains which are cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.

Sequence. The sequence is the logical arrangement of the subject matter and how knowledge is
processed. The sequence can be simple-to-complex, prerequisite learning, whole-to-part learning, and
chronological learning. The simple-to-complex sequence starts with easy and then difficult contents. The
simple to complex sequence is organized from concrete to abstract. The prerequisite learning is arranged
from part to part until the whole picture of a general concept is achieved. Whole-to-part learning starts with
the bird’s eye view of the contents, then specific topics are introduced. Chronological learning presents
concepts in sequence. This is usually used in history, political science, and other real-world events.

Continuity. Continuity assures the vertical articulation of the concepts previously introduced to assure
that previous learning is strengthened before introducing another concept. This is evident in a spiral
curriculum wherein concepts are repeated every unit but have a different degree of complexity as the level
becomes higher. According to Jerome Bruner as cited in Ornstein and Hunkins (2009) that curriculum should
be organized according to interrelationships of basic ideas and structures of each major discipline and thus
they should be developed and redeveloped in a spiral fashion.

Integration. If continuity is the vertical articulation of concepts, integration is the horizontal articulation
of concepts. In this, the concepts discussed are integrated into other concepts. For example, an English
teacher may integrate his lesson to Mathematics or Science. With this, relationships are established among
concepts and promotes multiple intelligences.

Balance. Designing a curriculum involves balance. A balanced curriculum develops the cognitive,
affective, and psychomotor skills of the learners. Balancing a curriculum requires an equilibrium between the
philosophy of education and the psychology of learning.

Source: Teacher as Curriculum Designer

UNIT 2: Dr. Remedio Bacus