DESIGNING THE CURRICULUM

Teacher as Curriculum Designer

10 Axioms (About Curriculum that teachers need as reminders) (by Peter Olivia)

1.Curriculum change is inevitable, necessary, and desirable.

2.Curriculum is a product of its time

3.Curriculum changes made earlier can exist concurrently with newer curriculum changes

4. Curriculum change depends on people who will implement the change

5. Curriculum development is a cooperative group activity

6. Curriculum development is a decision-making process made from choices of alternatives

7. Curriculum development is an ongoing process

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

9.Curriculum development is more effective when it follows a systematic process

10. Curriculum development starts from where the curriculum is

FUNDAMENTALS OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

Fundamentals- basic and important parts of something

Curriculum- heart of any learning institution which means that schools or universities cannot exist without it; total
learning experiences of individuals not only in school, but in society as well
Design- verb: to designate a process (as in designing curriculum); noun: to denote a particular plan resulting from a
design process (as in curriculum design)
Curriculum design- refers to the structure or arrangement of the components or elements of a curriculum
What are the fundamentals of curriculum design?

 Diagnosis of need
 Formulation of objectives
 Selection of content
 Organization of content
 Selection of learning experiences
 Organization of learning experiences
 Determination of what to evaluate and ways and means of doing it

Curriculum- sum of learning stated as educational ends, educational activities, school subjects, and topics decided upon
and provided within the framework of an educational or in a less formal setup (Garcia, 2007)
-all learning which is planned and guided by the school, whether it is carried on in groups or individually, inside or
outside the school
Curriculum design- refers to the structure or the arrangement of the components or elements of a curriculum

ELEMENTS OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

1.Aims and objectives (What learning outcomes need to be achieved?)
-reasons for undertaking the learning lessons from the students’ point of view
-what to be achieved after the discussion
-SMART
Specific
Measurable
 Attainable
Result oriented
Time bound
Selection of objectives: Based on designed outcomes of teaching-learning process: development of knowledge, skills,
values, attitudes, and habits
3 Classification of Objectives
 Cognitive (learning facts)
 Affective (developing attitudes and values)
 Psychomotor or performance outcome (learning how to carry out procedure, calculation, and process)

2.Content and learning experiences (Subject Matter) (What content should be included to achieve the learning
outcomes?)
-topic or the subject matter that will be covered
Components (considered in selection of content)
a. Knowledge
Concept- regularities in objects of events designated by labels
Principles- significant relationships between and among concepts
Theories- contain set of logically related principles that attempt to explain a phenomenon
Laws- theories that have wide applicability and have been continuously proven to hold true
b. Process/skills
Mental processes- used in handling, dealing with or transforming information and concepts
Physical/manipulative processes- used for moving and handling objects
c. Affective
Attitudes - have feeling and emotional tones
Values- serve as basis for determining when attitude and behaviors are appropriate or not

Criteria for Selection of Content

Relevance. Content reflects the social, cultural and technological realities of the time
Balance. There is a balance between the two polar goals of education: what is constant and what is changing.
Validity. Refers to accuracy of inaccuracy of the content. Content should also coincide with the expressed aims of the
curriculum
Learnability. Content should be selected in consideration with the learners’ level of development
Feasibilty. Considers: resources (human, physical, financial), time allotment, school calendar, enabling legislation, public
support

3.Method and organization (Teaching and Learning Methods) (What learning experiences and resources should be
employed?)
-activities where the learners derive experiences
-should allow cooperation, competition, as well as individualism, or independent learning among students
-Cooperative learning activities, Independent learning activities, Competitive activities, delivery modes (online, module)

4.Evaluation (How will the achieved learning outcomes be measured?)

-to determine if learning occurs to the students
3 Domains
 Self-assessment. Students learn to monitor their own learning
 Peer-assessment. Students provide feedback on each other’s learning
 Teacher-assessment. The teacher prepares and administers tests and gives feedback on the students’
performance
Types of Assessment
 Formative- Providing feedback to help the students learn more
  Summative- expressing a judgement on the students’ achievement by reference to stated criteria. Usually
involved the allocation of marks or grades

TYPES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

1. Traditional or subject centered design
 Subject centered (Focus on the content of the curriculum)
 Emphasis is on the making the learners absorb as much knowledge as possible concerning a particular course or
broad field
 Easy to develop and to implement because it is highly structured
 Issue: does not make provisions for the differential needs and interests of learners
 corresponds mostly to the textbook
 Henry Morrison and William Harris (curricularists who believed in this design)
I. Subject design- oldest and most familiar design
Advantage: easy to deliver
-centers only on the cluster of design
II. Discipline design- focuses on academic discipline (specific knowledge learned through methods scholars use to study
a specific content
-used usually in college (bs bio- biologist, bs philo- philosophers)
III. Correlation design- links separate subject design in order to reduce fragmentation. Subjects are interrelated but still
maintain their individuality (Science(core) + math (related) = physics, biology, chem)
IV. Broad field design/interdisciplinary- variation of subject-centered design
-made to cure the compartmentalization of separate subjects and integrate related contents (geography + economics +
political science + sociology + history = social studies)
-holistic curriculum

2. Learner-centered design
 Learner- center of educative process
 May be based on the anticipated needs and interest of the learners
 Usually built upon normal activities children engage in (playing, storytelling, drawing)
 Content is not organized into subjects but into course works
 3Rs are integrated into course works
 Issue: neglecting the intellectual development of learners
I. Child-centered design- anchored on the needs and interests; learner-active participant
II. Experience-centered design- believes that interests and needs of learners cannot be pre-planned; experiences are the
starting point of the curriculum, thus school environment is left open and free (learners are empowered to choose from
the different opportunities provided by the teacher)
III. Humanistic design
Goal: development of self. Stresses the whole person and integration of thinking, feeling, and doing. Considers cognitive,
affective, and psychomotor domains to be interconnected and must be addressed in the curriculum. (development of
positive self-concept and interpersonal skills)

3.Problem-centered or society centered design

 Heavily loaded with societal concerns, problems, and issues
 May be aimed at making the school, the teachers, and the students agents of social change
 draws on social problems, needs, interests, and abilities of the learners (problems that center on life situations,
contemporary life problems, areas of living)
I.Life-situation design- uses part and present experiences of learners as means to analyze the basic areas of living
II. Core problem design- centers on general education, and problems are based on common human activities
APPROACHES TO CURRICULUM DESIGN MODELS

1.Child learner-centered approach

Based on the underlying philosophy that child or learner is the center of education process
Curriculum is construed based on the needs, interests, purposes, and abilities of learners; and built upon learners’
knowledge, skills, previous learnings and potentials
Principles:
 Acknowledge and respect the fundamental rights of the child
 Make all activities revolve around the overall development of the learner
 Consider the uniqueness of every learner in a multicultural classroom
 Consider using differentiated instruction or teaching
 Provide a motivating supporting learning environment for all the learners

2.Subject-centered approach
-anchored on curriculum design which prescribes separate distinct subjects for every educational level
Principles:
 The primary focus is the subject matter
 The emphasis is on bits and pieces of information which may detached from life
 The subject matter serves as a means of identifying problems of living
 Learning means accumulation of content, or knowledge

3.Problem-centered approach
-based on design which assumes that in the process of living, children experiences problems, thus solving those enables
the learners to become increasingly able to achieve complete or total development as individuals
Principles:
 The learners can direct and guide themselves in solving problems, thus developing every learner to the
independent
 The learners are prepared to assume civic responsibilities through direct participation in different activities
 The curriculum leads the learners in recognition of concerns and problems in seeking solutions. Learners are
problem solvers themselves

CURRICULUM MAPPING AND CURRICULUM QUALITY AUDIT

Curriculum Mapping- model for designing, refining, upgrading and reviewing the curriculum resulting in a framework
that provides for, focus, and function (Hale et al, 2010)
It is reflected process that helps teachers understand what has been taught, how it has been taught, and how learning
outcomes are assessed.
An on-going process; not an individual process
“making a map to success”

Questions to ask:
 What do my students learn?
 What do they study in the first quarter?
 What are they studying in school throughout the year?
 Do my co-teaches handle the same subject, cover the same content? Achieve the same outcomes? Use similar
strategies?
 How do I help my students understand the connections between my subjects and subjects within the year? Next
year?
Benefits
1. Curriculum mapping ensures alignment of the desired learning outcomes, learning activities and assessment
learning.
 2. Curriculum mapping addresses the gaps or repetitions in the curriculum. It reveals if certain program goals or
learning outcomes are not adequately covered or overly emphasized in the current curriculum.
3. Curriculum mapping verifies, clarities and establishes alignment between what students do in their courses and
what is taught in the classrooms and assess as their learning.
4. The curriculum maps visually show important elements of the curriculum and how they contribute to students
learning.
5. Curriculum mapping connects all initiatives from instruction, pedagogies, assessment professional
development. It facilitates the integration of cross- curricular skills.

Curriculum Quality Audit- form of curriculum mapping. It is a process of mapping the curricular program or syllabus
against established standards. This requires a written and tested curriculum linked to both the taught and written
curricula.

Questions to consider:
1. Is the curriculum planned, executed and assessed in accordance with appropriate standards?
2. How does the school system conform to the standards of quality in instructional organization like specificity,
quality, and scope for teaching, learning, and assessment?
3. Are all the students achieving success equally and effectively? If not, what can be done about it?

Benefits of curriculum quality audit:

1. Identify gaps, under and overrepresentation of the curriculum based on the standards.
2. Ensure alignment of learning outcomes, activities, and assessment to the standards.
3. Achieves as internationally comparable curriculum as standards become the basis of the curriculum analysis.

Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST)

-can be used as anchor in curriculum quality audit
-aims to set clear expectations of teachers along well-defined career states of professional development from beginning
to distinguished practice
-adopted and implemented through Department of Education (DO) 42, s.2017
-assures the pre-service teachers embody the competencies of beginning teachers as they practice their profession in
the Department of Education

Other standards for CQA:

 CHED CMOs 74 to 83- standards set by CHED, specific to the degree program being offered and the teachers
who are the outcomes of the programs (examples: CMO 74 s.2017- standards for Bachelor of Elementary
Education; CMO 75 s.2017- standards for Bachelor of Secondary Education)
International standards:
 Competency Framework for Teachers in Southeast Asia (CFT-SEA) of SEAMO and SEAMES
 European Tuning Asia Southeast (TASE) teacher

REFERENCES

Lyn Adame, “Notes in the Teacher and the School Curriculum” 2022

Antonio Delgado, “Curriculum Design” 2012

Hilda Capacite “Fundamentetal of Curriculum Design”

Marison Salomon “Fundamentals of Curriculum design”

Purita P. Bilbao, Filomena T, Dayagbil, Brenda B. Corpuz “The Teacher and the School Curriculum”