Summary Paper

Approach of Curriculum

By group 2

Annifa Mhifta Imama

Erlina Telaumbanua

Rahma Yurianti

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDICATION

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTEMENT UNIVERSITY RIAU KEPULAUAN
2021
 Approach to curriculum Design

Models of Curriculum Design

This book is based on a model of curriculum design which is represented by the curriculum
design diagram.

This diagram is instead to be easy-to-remember, so that teacher can use it whenever they face
the curriculum design issues or are reading articles on curriculum design. How adequate is the model?
One way to answer this question is to compare it with other models to see where they overlap and
where they don’t.

The figure in the bellow taken from Designing Language Content by Kathleen Graves (2000),
this a very readable practical book on curriculum design which draws strongly on the experience of
teachers.
 The column 1 lists the parts of book of the curriculum design model use in this book. Column 2
lists the corresponding parts of Graves’ model. Each of the models has eight parts and ther is
considerable overlap between the two models. There are two the major differences:

a. Content and sequencing in the language curriculum design model matches two parts of the
Graves (2000) model - organizing the course and conceptualizing content.
b. Monitoring and assessment and evaluation in Language curriculum Design model are
included in one part of the Graves (2000) model – designing an assessment plan. In her
book Graves distinguishes evaluation from assessment, but deals with both in same chapter.

One more model which more noticeably different, the model by Murdoch (1989).

The left hand column cover the main factors to be considered in curriculum design (the
cuter circle of model used in this book). The four boxes in the right-hand column relate to the
practical aspects of curriculum design (the large inner in the model used in this book). Principle,
monitoring, assessment and evaluation are not include in Murdoch’s model, but it is clear that
he intends that principle should be considered when dealing several of the parts of his model.
Doing Curriculum Design

Several places – needs analysis, material writing, selection of principles, goals etc.
Tesmer and Wedman (1990) describe this view as a “waterfall” model, where one stage of
curriculum design, for example environment analysis is done thoroughly, and then the next
stage of needs analysis is done thoroughly, and so on in much the same way as the flow water
fills one container in a stepped-down series and the flows of water fills one does happen, it is
probably rare.

They are two main factors to considering when applying a model of curriculum design:

a. What is the starting point for the curriculum design process, that is, what is already
available?
b. How will we move through the process of curriculum design as shown in the
curriculum design model?
Starting Point

Curriculum design begins either with no exiting resources or some existing resources.

Most sources however have something more concrete to start from:

a. Curriculum designers and teachers can stars from nothing and gather and write the
material. They are thus responsible for all parts of the curriculum design process.
b. Curriculum designers and teachers can draw on a bank of existing materials from
which they select the most appropriate material for the course.
A bank could include:
1. Copies of activities prepare by themselves or other teachers for other courses or
for previous delivers of the course.
2. Published supplementary materials such as graded readers, grammar activity
books, and conversation texts, speed reading courses and so on.
3. Clipping from newspaper or magazine, recording from the radio or TV, or
photocopied material from text or course books.
The curriculum designers and teachers this takes more responsible for content
sequencing and goals.
c. Some curriculum statement and some course books deliberately provide only some
of the materials needed for a complete course. Curriculum statement usually provide
the content and sequencing, goals and assessment parts of the course, and leave it to
the teacher to decide on the materials to deal with format and presentation.
The advantages of this spill responsibility for different parts of the curriculum design
process are as follow:
1. The course can be made more suitable for the environment in which it is
taught.
2. Adjustments can be easily made to suit a range of needs.
3. The teacher is seen as a professional who has to make important curriculum
design decision, and who has the flexibility and skill to bring the material
and learners together in the most suitable way.
4. The material produced by the curriculum designer can be used over a very
wide range of differing situations.
 d. The teachers chooses a published course book and uses that as the only material or
the main material for the course. This starting point easiest if usable course book is
available.

This approach to a course has many advantages. Firstly, it allow a course to be initially
taught without getting involved in an elaborate, poorly informed curriculum design process.
Secondly, it allows for careful works to be done on aspect of the course that really deserve
attention. Thirdly, it allows the teachers or curriculum designers to develop curriculum design
skills in a save, gradual way instead of having to have control of whole curriculum design
process, expertise in parts of it can be develop, applied and then supplemented.

The Process of Curriculum Design

In more approach the main parts of the curriculum design process describe in the curriculum
design model will be covered, but they may be covered at various time, various degree of thoroughness
in various orders, and by various design.

A “waterfall” model

 Macalister and Sou (2006) draw on a “waterfall” model in their description of a course’s
design. The output of one stage becomes the input of the next.
 Murdoch (1989) describe a similar sequence, beginning with an analysis of learners’ present
proficiency and necessities, and study of the learners’ reasons for studying English an long-term
learning aims (need analysis).

The limitation of the environment are then studied, particularly the resource limitations that,

 Goals list the goals and objectives for each lesson and the course.
 Content and sequencing
a. Decide on the number and size of lesson or units
b. Choose the ideas content
c. Choose the language content
Star from the learners’ present proficiency and wants.
Choose regular, frequent language items where possible.
Check on proportion of the four strands.
Check that there is the best coverage of the needed language.
 d. Sequence the language item.
Start with the item learners will find most useful and learners will be the most successful
with:
1. Separate opposites and other closely related items
2. Space and vary the repetition.
e. Divide the language and ideas content into lesson units.
Allow for the same items to occur in different units to get repetition.
 Format and Presentation
1. Decide on the form in which the material will appear.
Considering the size and cost.
Considering how much detail must be provided for the teacher.
2. Choose suitable activities.
Considering the proportion of the four strands.
Considering adaptability to class size and levels of proficiency.
Considering learner and teacher training needs.
3. Decide on the lesson format.
Fit the activities to the lesson format.
Sequence the activities.
4. Produce the material.
5. Prepare a teacher’s and learner’s guide.
 Monitoring, assessing and evaluating
1. Decide how each objective will be observed or measured.
2. Decide how the goals for the course will be monitored.
3. Decide how to evaluate the course and revise it on the basis of the evaluation.
The waterfall model is most likely to be applied in the design of the commercial course
book, or in well-funded curriculum design project.

A focused opportunities approach

In a “focused opportunistic” approach, the format and presentation part of the curriculum design
process is typically done first. That is, material is gathered or prepared to teach the course. Tessmer and
Wedman (1990) warn against this approach, mainly from the point of the view of efficiency in that
working thoroughly on one aspect of curriculum design may result in wasted effort because the
findings may not be able to be used in the other less-elaborated parts of the curriculum design process.
The attractiveness of this model is that it allows a concentrate focus with possible high-quality
improvement to a course.

This approach requires a tolerance of some inadequacies in other aspects of curriculum design.
But if it is known that these will be eventually worked on, then they can be tolerated. The major
reasons for taking this approach is time pressure.

A “layer of necessity” model

In Tessmer and Wedman’s model, curriculum design is seen initially as a choice between
various layers. Each layer is complete in itself and includes the major parts of the curriculum design
process – environment analysis, determining needs and goals, deciding on the instructional strategy
(format and presentation), developing the materials, and evaluating and revising. But each layer differs
in the detail and thoroughness with which each of these parts of curriculum design are carried out. The
curriculum designer has to decide what layer of curriculum design will be chosen, this decision will
depend on balancing the amount of time and resources available to do the curriculum design and the
level of thoroughness needed.

If the time and resources available are very limited for example, the curriculum designer might
choose the least detailed layer. This layer would involve all the following steps:

a. Decide on the most severe environmental constraint on the course and how it will affect
curriculum design.
b. Decide on the most urgent necessity that learners have to meet at the end of the course.
c. Make a short list item to cover.
d. Decide on a simple lesson format that will use of available material.
e. Gather the material for the course.
f. Decide on a simple form of assessment.

Tessmer and Wedman (1990) suggest some guidelines for using a “layers of necessity”
model. Firstly, one the level of necessity has been chose it is best to cover all the steps at the
level with roughly the same degree of thoroughness. Secondly, at any level all the major [arts of
the curriculum design process should be touched.
Deciding on an Approach

Have looked at a range of starting points and different paths through the curriculum design
process. Choosing which path to take will depend on the starting point, the time available for course
preparation, the availability of skill of the curriculum designer. We will assume that time is short and
that only a small amount of needs analysis information is available. Clearly the least demanding
approach is to choose an existing course book as a source material, and then apply a focused
opportunistic approach to gradually improve and eventually replace.

Whatever approach is chosen, the advantages of following a systematic approach to curriculum

design involving all the parts of a models is that parts of the process are not missed out. Poor
curriculum design misses important parts and does not deal with parts in a principled way.