XAVIER UNIVERSITY – ATENEO DE CAGAYAN

School of Education

1. Identify the fundamentals of curriculum designing

2. Define, evaluate and present curriculum mapping

A curriculum as a planned sequence of learning experiences should be at the heart and mind of every teacher.
Every teacher as a curricularist should be involved in designing a curriculum. In fact, it is one of the teachers’
roles as curricularist. As such, you will be a part of the intellectual journey of your learners. You will be
providing them the necessary experiences that will enable the learner to what you intend them to learn.

As a curriculum designer, this task was not given much attention in the past. Every single day, a teacher
designs a lesson or utilizes a curriculum that has been made and was previously written. Designing a
curriculum is a very challenging task. It is here where the style and creativity of the teacher come in. thus, this
module will provide the necessary concepts and activities that you as a teacher can refer to as you prepare
yourself to be a curriculum designer.

Every curriculum designer, implementer, or evaluator should take in mind the following general axioms as a
guide in curriculum development (Oliva, 2003):

1. Curriculum change is inevitable, necessary, and desirable. Teachers should respond to the changes
that occur in schools and in their context.
2. The curriculum is a product of its time. A relevant curriculum should respond to changes brought by
current social forces, philosophical positions, psychological principles, new knowledge, and
educational reforms.
3. Curriculum changes made earlier can exist concurrently with newer curriculum changes. A revision in
a curriculum starts and ends slowly.
4. Curriculum change depends on the people who will implement the change. Teachers who will
implement the curriculum should be involved in its development, hence should know how to design
a curriculum.
5. Curriculum development is a cooperative group activity. Group decisions in some aspects of
curriculum development are suggested.
6. Curriculum development is a decision-making process made from choices of alternatives. A
curriculum developer or designer must decide what content to teach, philosophy or point of view to
support, how to provide multicultural groups, what methods or strategies, and what type of evaluation
to use.
7. Curriculum development is an ongoing process. Continuous monitoring, examination, evaluation, and
improvement of curricula are to be considered in the design of the curriculum.
 XAVIER UNIVERSITY – ATENEO DE CAGAYAN
School of Education

8. Curriculum development is more effective if it is a comprehensive process, rather than a “piecemeal”.

A curriculum design should be based on a careful plan, should clearly establish intended outcomes,
support resources and needed time available, and should equip teaching staff pedagogically.
9. Curriculum development is more effective when it follows a systematic process. A curriculum design
is composed of desired outcomes, subject matter content complimented with references, a set of
procedures, needed materials and resources, and an evaluation procedure that can be placed in a
matrix.
10. Curriculum development starts from where the curriculum is. Curriculum planners and designers
should begin the with existing curriculum.

There are many labels or names of curriculum design. Some would call it a syllabus, or a lesson plan. Some
would call it a unit plan or a course design. Whatever is the name of the design, the common components
for all of them are almost the same. However, some schools, institutions, or departments may add other
minor parts or trimmings to the design.

A lesson plan or teaching guide includes 1. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO) or the Desired Learning
Outcome (DLO) formerly labeled as behavioral objectives, 2. Subject Matter or Content, 3. Teaching and
Learning Methods, and 4. Assessment Evaluation.

An informal curriculum is also described as a societal curriculum. Cortes (1981) defines this type of curriculum
as the massive, ongoing, informal curriculum of family, peer groups, neighborhoods, churches, organizations,
occupations, mass media, and other socializing forces that “educate” all of us through our lives.

Curriculum-in-use is the actual curriculum that is delivered and presented by each teacher. The formal
curriculum (write or overt) comprises those things in textbooks, and content and concepts in the curriculum
guides. However, those “formal” elements are frequently not taught.

In many schools, there are documents such as texts, films, and supportive teaching materials. These are simply
that which are written as part of formal instruction of schooling experiences. They are overtly chosen to
support the intentional instructional agenda of a school. They are known as overt, explicit, or written curricula.
A good example is the K to 12 Enhanced Basic Education Program that is currently being implemented in the
Philippines. Various stakeholders (administrators, teachers, etc.) were involved in its writing and development.

According to Longstreet and Shane (1993), the “hidden curriculum,” refers to the kinds of learning children
derive from the very nature and organizational design of the schools, as well as from the behaviors and
attitudes of teachers and administrators. There are several things that learners pick up in schools that are not
 XAVIER UNIVERSITY – ATENEO DE CAGAYAN
School of Education

planned or overt, for example, students learning to be orderly, decent dressing, and so on. The hidden
curriculum may include both positive and negative messages, depending on the models provided and the
perspectives of the learner or the observer.

According to Eisner (1985, 1994), the null curriculum is that which we do not teach, thus giving students the
message that these elements are not important in their educational experiences or in our society. From
Eisner’s perspective, the null curriculum is simply that which is not taught in schools. In every nation, some
people are empowered to make conscious decisions as to what is to be included and what is to be excluded
from the overt (written) curriculum. This is because it is physically impossible to teach everything in schools.

Consequently, many topics and subjects areas are intentionally excluded from the written curriculum. This is
related to the hidden curriculum since they are not taught. However, the difference is that the hidden
curriculum is not intentionally left out of the written curriculum.

Concomitant curriculum – This curriculum is taught or emphasized at home, or those experiences that are
part of the family’s experiences, or related experiences sanctioned by the family. When this type of curriculum
is received at church, in the context of religious expression, lessons on values, ethics or morals, molded
behaviors, or social experiences based on the family’s preferences it relates to the societal curriculum.

Electronic Curriculum- Wilson, (2004) explained this type of curriculum as those lessons learned through
searching the internet for information, or through using e-forms of communications. This type of curriculum
may be either formal or informal and inherit lessons may be overt or covert, good or bad, correct or incorrect
depending on one’s views.

Phantom curriculum- This is curriculum messages through exposure to any type of media. The content of
such curriculum plays a major part in the enculturation of learners into the predominant meta-culture, or in
acculturating learners into narrower or generational subcultures. You can imagine that lots of Filipino youth
learn these days through the media.

Types of Curriculum Design Models

1. Subject-Centered Design – This is a curriculum design that focuses on the content of the curriculum.
The subject-centered design corresponds mostly to the textbooks that are usually written based a
specific subject or course.
a. Subject Design. What subject are you teaching? What subject are you taking? These are two
questions that the teacher and the learner can easily answer. It is because they are familiar
with the subject design curriculum.
b. Discipline design. This curriculum design model is related to the subject design. Refers to
specific knowledge learned through the method which the scholars use to study on the
specific content.
 XAVIER UNIVERSITY – ATENEO DE CAGAYAN
School of Education

c. Correlation design. Subjects are related to one another and still maintain their identity.
d. Broad field design/interdisciplinary. This design was made to cure the compartmentalization
of the separate subjects and integrate the contents that are related to one another.

2. Learner-Centered Design – among the progressive educational psychologists, the learner is the
center of the educative process.
a. Child-centered design – anchored on the needs and interests of the child.
b. Experience-centered design – experiences of the learners become the starting point of the
curriculum, thus the school environment is left open and free.
c. Humanistic design – the development of the self is the ultimate objective of learning.
3. Problem-Centered Design – Draws on social problems, needs, interests and, abilities of the learners.
Various problems are given emphasis.
a. Life-situations design – What makes the design unique is that the contents are organized in
ways that allow students to clearly view problem areas.
b. Core problem design – It centers on general education and the problems are based on
common human activities.

1. Child or Learner-Centered Approach. This approach to curriculum design is based on the underlying
philosophy that the child or the learner is the center of the educational process. It means that the
curriculum is constructed based on the needs, interests, purposes, and abilities of the learners.
2. Subject-Centered Approach. This is anchored on a curriculum design that prescribes separate distinct
subjects for every educational level: basic education, higher education, or vocational-technical
education.
3. Problem-Centered Approach. This approach is based on a design that assumes that in the process
of living, children experience problems. Thus, problem-solving enables the learners to become
increasingly able to achieve complete or total development as individuals.

The curriculum mapping approach developed by Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs (1997, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010)
tackles the need to synthesis diverse models and establish a framework that focuses on the suggestions,
prerequisites, and wants that affect students' learning and teaching settings.

According to Udelhofen (2005), “...the concept of curriculum mapping started with Fenwick English...” (xviii).
Professor Jacobs built on previous work by incorporating teacher-driven curriculum maps, horizontal and
vertical alignments, cyclic reviews, and professional curricular discourse. The curriculum map, according to
Jacobs (2004), “...can become a central decision-making tool for educators”. A unified database accessible
via the Internet can help consolidate the onslaught of programs and demands on schools.

Educators use curriculum mapping to identify and address academic gaps, redundancies, and misalignments
in order to improve a course's overall coherence and effectiveness.
 XAVIER UNIVERSITY – ATENEO DE CAGAYAN
School of Education

Curriculum mapping tries to fulfill four objectives:

Vertical coherence - Vertically aligned or cohesive curriculum prepares pupils for the following lesson, course,
or grade level. Curriculum mapping ensures that students are building on prior knowledge and skills while
preparing for more challenging, higher-level work.

Horizontal coherence - For example, students in one ninth-grade biology class study the same thing as other
ninth-grade biology students in another ninth-grade biology class. Curriculum mapping ensures that
assessments, tests, and other techniques teachers use to measure students' learning performance and
progress are based on what students have actually been taught and the learning standards they are expected
to meet in a given course, topic area, or grade level.

Subject-area coherence - In subjects like math, science, or history, a curriculum can be aligned within and
across grade levels if it is cohesive in that subject area. To ensure that students learn the same amount of
content and receive the same quality of instruction across subject areas, curriculum mapping for subject-area
coherence ensures that teachers are working toward the same learning standards in similar courses (say,
three different ninth-grade algebra courses taught by different teachers).

Interdisciplinary coherence - It can be aligned within and between grade levels when a curriculum is cohesive
across various subject areas (such math, science, and history) Students need to have abilities in reading,
writing, technology, and critical thinking to thrive in any academic subject or discipline.

Integrating curriculum mapping into instruction allows teachers and administrators to focus on balancing
information across disciplines. To assess course content redundancies or gaps, they can observe students in
each classroom. Curriculum mapping also aids teachers and administrators in evaluating the course structure
and the timing of individual courses or ideas.

1. COURSE-LEVEL MAPPING
 Determine the course objectives.
 Determine which assignments/activities are in line with the objectives.
 What impact do required readings, lectures, and class activities have on students' ability to
satisfy course objectives on formal assignments?
 What aspects of the course may be improved to better prepare students?
2. PROGRAM-LEVEL MAPPING
 Determine the program's learning outcomes.
 Identify important courses or experiences that correspond to desired goals.
 How are program elements preparing students to demonstrate mastery of program
outcomes?
 What changes could be made to the curriculum to better prepare students?
 XAVIER UNIVERSITY – ATENEO DE CAGAYAN
School of Education

1.Research Connections
 Read relevant reading resources on the topic of curriculum design or crafting curriculum.
2. Article Writing
 Write an article about the Philippine Education Curriculum.
 Determine whether or if there are any structural issues in the curriculum.
 Determine what and how structural issues should be addressed.
3. Quiz: Curriculum Mapping
 Is it possible to evaluate programs/course using evidence-based practices? Why?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

References:

Purita P. Bilbao, Ed.D, Et. Al, 2015. Curriculum development for teachers. Lorimar publishing, Inc.

David Cababarao Bueno, 2016. Fundamentals of curriculum theory and development. Great books trading.

Hale, J. A. (2008). A guide to curriculum mapping: Planning, implementing, and sustaining the process. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Jacobs, H. H. (1997). Mapping the big picture: Integrating curriculum and assessment K-12. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development.Jacobs, H .H. (2004). Getting results with curriculum mapping. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.

Jacobs, H. H. (2006). Active literacy across the curriculum: Strategies for reading, writing, speaking, and listening, Larchmont, NY: Eye On
Education.Jacobs, H. H. (2008). Keynote presentation. Glendale, AZ: Regional Curriculum Mapping Conference.

Jacobs, H. H. (2010). Curriculum 21: Essential education for a changing world. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.

Udelofen, S. (2005). Keys to curriculum mapping: strategies and tools to make it work. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
“Curriculum Mapping 101”, retrieved from http://curriculummapping101.com/curriculum-mapping-general