STRATEGIES AND PROCESSES IN DESIGNING THE TRANSDISCIPLINARY

CURRICULUM

The strategies and processes in redesigning this Transdisciplinary Curriculum are based on the
strategies and processes mentioned on the book of Ronald Doll (1996).

Evaluating Programs
Preplanning
or Projects

Determining Need Determining and

Organizing Learning
Experiences

Stating or Reviewing
Aims or Goals Selecting Learning
Content

Choosing a Type of
Stating Program or
Design
Project Objectives

Identifying Evaluation Means

1. Preplanning
This preplanning stage involves reviewing of the existing curriculum guides in K-12
Science and Mathematics subjects. All fields of Sciences and Mathematics are merged by
integrating the competencies of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, and
Biology.

2. Determining Needs
After the preplanning stage, the needs of the learners are identified. This is necessary to
determine what the curriculum must involve to cater the needs of the rapidly changing
world and create a more scientifically and technologically advanced society. These are
the needs we have listed during our review of the curriculum:
• Job opportunities have changed over the years. Workers who have 21st century
skills are needed in many types of job. Learners should develop the 21st
century skills to be equipped with it as they graduate.
• Functions in the workplace are already dependent on the integration of several
subjects studied in school most especially in STEM fields. Different subjects
should be integrated to identify connections and interrelatedness.
• Knowledge, skills, and ethical values are the domains that need to be
developed in order to produce responsible and well-informed citizens that will
improve the status of the country in the areas of health, education which
includes environmental education, engineering, science, and technology.
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) listed by the United Nations are
needed to be achieved in lessons in order to determine possible issues and
problems in the environment and society, and create potential solutions to
such issues and problems. Learners will be oriented with these SDGs as early
as possible to become agents for sustainable development.

3. Stating or Reviewing Aims or Goals

The goals of this Transdisciplinary Curriculum are anchored in the K-12 Curriculum. The
goal of this curriculum is defined according to the long-term and short-term period while
mainly grounded on promoting the Sustainable Development Goals of the United
Nations.

Long Term Goals

Establish a concrete understanding of the fundamental scientific and mathematical
knowledge along with its application in technology and engineering to innovate potential
studies that cater to the needs of the local and global community with respect to the
Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
 Short Term Goals
Provide all-inclusive classroom opportunities that allow the learners to apply and create
ingenious prototype designs that demonstrate a core understanding of the integrated
subject matters while in-sync with the goals of the United Nations.

In brief forms, our goals actually specify these major wishes:

• By the year 2040, all children in the Philippines will be scientifically,
technologically, and environmentally literate.
• By the year 2040, all children in the Philippines will be competent in STEM
fields.
• By the year 2040, the Philippines will be known to be one of the countries to
top PISA and TIMSS.

4. Stating Program or Project Objectives

With the designed Transdisciplinary Curriculum, it aims to:
• Merge all fields of Sciences and Mathematics by integrating the competencies
of Mathematics in Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, and Biology.
• Cater to the needs of the students in order to strengthen their knowledge and
understanding across the fields of Sciences and Mathematics.
• Foster the scientific, mathematical, engineering, and technological attitude as
well as ethical values.
• Empower the learners with regards to the transdisciplinary integration of the
different disciplines through computational thinking and STEM-based
pedagogical approaches.
• Develop timely and relevant prototypes that adhere to the need of the
communities and the goals of the United Nations.
• Conduct assessments to evaluate and provide necessary interventions as part
of the continuing effort to improve STEM education.

These objectives encompass the three domains: the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor
to produce a holistic development of every learner.

5. Identifying Evaluation Means

These are the evaluation means that needed to be conducted in this Transdisciplinary
Curriculum:
• Teachers’ observations
• Recording of learners’ behaviors towards STEM Education approaches
• Interviews
 • Rating scales
• Checklists
• Questionnaires/Surveys
• Teacher-made tests
• Standardized test

6. Choosing a Type of Design

In this type of curriculum, this is a learner-centered design which makes the learners the
center of the educational process. All activities are geared toward the holistic
development of the individual learner in all learning domains: cognitive, affective, and
psychomotor. Under this learner-centered design, this curriculum is also a process skill
design which emphasizes how to learn and how to solve issues and problems in their
communities. With the integration of STEM fields and Sustainable Development Goals in
every lesson, learners are viewed to develop necessary skills that extend beyond learning
concepts. They are expected to create possible solutions to issues and problems they
encounter in real-life in order to achieve the SDGs.

7. Selecting Learning Content

Learning content included in this curriculum is based on the K-12 curriculum. Lessons in
Math and Science are integrated to create a unified lesson. This redesigned curriculum
includes the production of prototypes/products that will help address the SDGs. These
prototypes are aligned to the integrated lessons’ objectives. STEM Education approaches
are integrated in the lesson to achieve the transdisciplinary design. Resources needed
during the implementation are still aligned to the objectives of this curriculum.

Teachers will be trained first to be knowledgeable of the content of this new curriculum.
After this, modules will be made for the learners and teachers’ guides for the
implementers of the content. Contents are well-organized based on its spiral and
transdisciplinary nature.

8. Determining and Organizing Learning Experiences

The learning experiences included in the Transdisciplinary Curriculum are based on the
objectives stipulated. These are the criteria in choosing learning experiences:
• Learning experiences must be aligned with the learning competencies.
• Learning experiences must meet the needs of the learners.
• Learning experiences must involve the three domains of learning: cognitive,
affective, and psychomotor.
• Learning experiences must have an integration of STEM fields to create possible
prototypes/products at the end of the lesson.
 • Learning experiences must aid individual learners to increase their scientific,
technological, and environmental literacies.
• Learning experiences must increase the engagement of learners during
discussions.
• Learning experiences must offer opportunities for each individual learner to use
variety of learning resources.
• Learning experiences must utilize Transdisciplinary Approach such as STEM-
based Lesson, Socio-Scientific Issues Approach, Computational Thinking
Approach, and Design Thinking Approach.
• Learning experiences must lead in achieving Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).

9. Evaluating Programs and Projects

To determine the worth of the design, evaluation methods both formative and summative
are necessary to be conducted. This curriculum use the Stufflebeam’s Context, Input,
Process, and Product (CIPP) Model of Evaluation. The most significant characteristic of
this model is it provides holistic evaluation. It offers process evaluation which can rarely
be observed in other models.