Module 6: DIMENSIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lessons, the students will be able to:

1. Identify the six features of Curriculum.
2. Recognize the dimensions of Curriculum Design.
3. Discuss the importance of Curriculum Design in teaching and learning.

LET US EXPLORE

Borrow a Lesson Plan of an experienced teacher (with 5 years or more in teaching)

Study very closely and find out what curriculum design is used. Explain why you
consider it to be using that design.

TOPIC: DIMENSIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

As previously learned, crafting a curriculum follows some designs. Curriculum
designs provide clear relationships between and among the different elements of the
curriculum: objectives, contents, activities and evaluation. Considering all of these
elements, as a curriculum designer, one has to look into the parameters or dimensions
upon which a design can be crafted.
Let us always focus on the four elements of a curriculum as bases in identifying
what to be considered in designing a curriculum. Many curricular suggest to view a
design from the following dimensions: scope, sequence, continuity and balance.

DIMENSIONS OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

1. SCOPE- Tyler Orstein (2004) defines scope as all the content, topics, learning
experiences and organizing threads comprising the educational plan. Scope
does not only refer to the cognitive content, but also to the affective and
psychomotor content. It is depth, as well as, the breadth of these contents. The
terms broad, limited, simple, general are few of the words that can describe the
scope. The scope of the curriculum can be divided into chunks called units, sub-
units, chapters or sub-chapters as the case may be.
2. SEQUENCE- to provide continuous and cumulative learning, a vertical
relationship among the elements of the curriculum provides the sequence.
Contents and experiences are arranged in hierarchal manner, where the basis
can be either be logic of the subject matter or on the developmental patterns of

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Ed 5: The Teacher and the School Curriculum
Module 6: DIMENSIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN
growth of the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. Some schools
formulate their curricular objectives, content, and experiences by grade levels
and consider the stages of thinking.
Smith, stanly and shore (1957) introduced four principles for sequence. These
are the following:
a. Simple to complex learning - experiences from simple to complex, from
concrete to abstract, from easy to difficult.
b. Prerequisite learning – it means that there are fundamental things to be
learned ahead.
c. Whole to part learning – the overview before the specific content or topics.
d. Chronological learning – the order of events is made as a basis of
sequencing the content and the experiences. The sequence can be
arranged from the most recent to the distant past or vice versa.
On the other hand, Posner and Rudnitsky (1994) presented five major principles for
organizing content in units, which can also be applied to a curriculum. In each type are
subtypes which explain in detail the principles. These major principles are:

1. WORLD-RELATED SEQUENCE – what relationship exists among people,

objects or events of the world?
a. Space – spatial relations will be the basis for the sequence. Closest to
farthest, bottom to top or east to west.
b. Time – this is similar to the chronologically principle. The content is based
from the earliest to the more recent.
c. Physical attributes – it refers to the physical characteristics of the
phenomena such as age, shape, size, brightness and others.

2. CONCEPT-RELATED SEQUENCE- this arrangement reflects the organization

of the conceptual world, how ideas are related together in a logical manner.
a. Class relations – class concept refers to the group or set of things that
share common practices.
b. Propositional relations- a proposition is a statement that asserts
something. Sequence is arranged so that evidence is presented ahead
before proposition.
3. INQUIRY-RELATED SEQUENCE – based on the scientific method of inquiry.
Based on the process of generating, discovering and verifying knowledge,
content and experiences are sequenced logically and methodically.
4. LEARNING-RELATED SEQUENCE – this is based on the psychology of
learning and how people learn.
a. Empirical prerequisites – sequence is primarily based on empirical studies
where the prerequisite is required before learning the next level.
b. Familiarity – prior learning is important in sequence. What is familiar should
be taken up first before the unfamiliar.

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Module 6: DIMENSIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN
c. Difficulty – easy content is taken ahead than the difficult one.
d. Interest – contents and experiences that stimulate interest are those that
are novel. These can arouse curiosity and interest of learners. Use these
contents and experiences to whet their appetite for learning.

3. CONTINUITY- Vertical repetition and recurring appearances of the content

provide continuity in the curriculum. This process enables the learner to
strengthen the permanency of learning and the development of skills. Gerome
Bruner calls this “spiral curriculum” where the content is organized according to
the interrelationship between the structures of the basic ideas of a major
discipline.

4. INTEGRATION- “Everything is integrated and interconnected. Life is a series of

emerging themes”.

5. ARTICULATION – This can be done either vertically or horizontally. In vertical

articulation, contents are arranged from level to level or grade to grade so that
content in a lower level is connected to the next level. Horizontal articulation
happens when the association is among or between elements that happen at the
same time like social studies in grade six is related to the science in grade six.

6. BALANCE – keeping the Curriculum: in balance” requires continuous fine tuning

and review for its effectiveness and relevance.

LET US WRAP UP

Answer the following questions:

a. What is the impact of curriculum design in teaching and learning?

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
b. Will the varied designs make a difference in the way you teach or the way
you earn? Why?

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

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Module 6: DIMENSIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

LET US ASSESS

Identify what curriculum design dimension is illustrated in the following situations.

Choose from among SCOPE, SEQUENCE, INTEGRATION, ARTICULATION,
CONTINUITY and BALANCE.

__________________ 1. In the Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) a cluster of

subjects is assigned under MAKABAYAN. These include among others, Social
Studies, Physical Education, Health and HELE. In its implementation, MAKABAYAN
subjects may choose to have a common theme.

_________________ 2. The three subjects which are given emphases in basic

education are Science, Math and English. It is so because or empirical evidence and
actual observations that students perform low in these areas. Considering pupil’s poor
performance in these areas, more time has been allocated in the class schedules for
these.

________________ 3. In college, there are courses that have to be taken ahead of

others. For example, Human Growth and Development is taken ahead of Facilitating
Learning or Principles of Teaching is offered earlier than Assessment.

________________ 4. When a Grade 1 lesson in Living Things is repeated in the next

grade level with higher complexity, a connection should be made. In high school, the
same content heading as Living Things is included is linked to the content taken in the
elementary level.

________________ 5. Content is the curriculum has no boundary, but time to take up

in school is limited. Curriculum makers and implementers must consider activities and
contents which can be covered within a certain period of time. The choice should also
take into consideration needs, interests, importance and relevance among others.

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Module 6: DIMENSIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

ANSWER KEY

RUBRICS FOR ACTIVITY

CRITERIA Excellent (10- Good (7-9 Fair (4-6 Needs
12 points) points) points) Improvement
(1-3 points)

Content and The answers Partially A large part of The answers

Substance completely and answers the the answers does not
correctly question incorrectly answer the
correctly. answer the question at all.
question.
Language and Abides Understood Many mistakes Many mistakes
Comprehension with all the although there in language, in language,
rules of are some and the essay and it is totally
language, and mistakes in is hard to not understood
it is easily language understand.
understood.

REFERENCES

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT by: Purita P. Bilbao, Paz I. Lucido, Tomasa C.

Iringan and Rodrigo B. Javier.
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT, A GUIDE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS by
Greg Tabios Pawilen

Course 5
Ed 5: The Teacher and the School Curriculum